Social Library, Volume 82

Jennifer Peterson /

Image courtesy Saint Paul Public Library's Createch on Facebook

In this edition of our Social Library series, we’re highlighting a library collecting the recordings of community stories, another providing new passport services, athletes at an annual storytime, a hidden pig, and a state-wide snapshot day. Each edition of our series brings fresh ideas and new approaches from innovative libraries around the world. We hope you enjoy these featured posts from libraries we follow on Facebook!

  • Through a post from the Saint Paul Public Library in Minnesota, we learned about a project called StoryPhone. Teens at Createch are building a StoryPhone booth, which will debut at the library's upcoming Story Fair. What is StoryPhone, you ask? "It's a really simple idea: what if you could call up the library and leave your story via voicemail? StoryPhone allows you to tell your story on your own time, in whatever setting you choose. Leave your story after the tone!" But StoryPhone is part of a much larger project: 100 Years/100 Stories. "One-hundred years ago, Saint Paul Public Library (SPPL) expanded from a single building to a network of neighborhood libraries, improving access to books and resources for Saint Paul residents. Since then, we've come a long way. This year we celebrate the centennial of four of those early buildings: Arlington Hills, which is now Eastside Freedom Library, George Latimer Central, Riverview, and Saint Anthony." The library is collecting community stories about living and learning in Saint Paul, as told through written word, photography, audio, and video. And we were also excited to learn more about Createch, "a physical space for teens to gather, access tools needed to pursue interests and spark new passions. Each of the five Library and Parks spaces are different and shaped by teens, mentors, neighborhoods, and community partners."
  • Kansas City Public Library in Missouri shared a local television news story about their new Passport Services. Offered at two locations, patrons can get help from library staff in applying for a new passport, no appointment necessary! The library charges $25 in addition to the standard passport fee.
  • The Fayetteville Public Library in Arkansas was also in the news, for their recent Reading with Razorbacks program. Each year, Kappa Delta Pi, the education honor society at the University of Arkansas, joins the library's reading program featuring their athletes. In addition to reading books, the Razorbacks colored, made book marks and signed autograph and each child receive a free book to take home.
  • Image courtesy Cook Public Library on Facebook
  • Cook Public Library in Minnesota announced the return of the Spring Pig! This famous pig hides throughout library during the month of April, and when patrons find him, they can go to the front desk to get a treat. What a fun and simple way to get young visitors to explore the library!
  • The Washington State Library is showcasing photos from around the state, and representing all library types, as part of the two-week Washington Library Snapshot Day celebration. #WASnapshotDay tagged posts are showing up across social media, on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

Thank you to all these libraries for their great work, and if you'd like to see your library featured in future Social Library editions, please let us know via [email protected]rg or find us on Facebook.