It seems the 2020-2021 school year continues to throw curveballs our way. Throughout the year, we have oscillated between the hybrid model and the 100% virtual models of learning. Strangely enough, this state of constant change is starting to feel a little more normal. If there's anything to be said of this year, it's that those in education have become very adept at rolling with the punches!
As our learning model continues to shift, an ongoing challenge for librarians is to facilitate opportunities to build community, especially in the virtual environment. The librarians at Iroquois Central developed an at-home family challenge to help do just that.
One of the most helpful services organized through our libraries this year has been expanded access to Sora, our district's platform for digitized ebooks and audiobooks. Even when it was difficult to get physical books in the hands of the Iroquois community, Sora was available 24/7 for students and staff to access books from our digital book collection.
To highlight the offerings in Sora, librarians utilized STEM grant funding from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to create a mini-collection of STEM/DIY books within Sora. These books provided the Iroquois community with lots of inspiration for projects that could be completed at home. The books selected for this collection promoted DIY projects of many types: cooking/baking, LEGO builds, cardboard creations, and computer coding (only to name a few).
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| The DIY collection was showcased on Sora's main page. |
In order to further promote use of the collection, librarians organized a contest centered around use of the Sora books. The Iroquois Family DIY Contest encouraged families to look at the Sora books and work on an at-home project together. The contest was open in late December and ran through February 1, 2021. The contest was publicized by posting information to the Iroquois district Facebook page as well as the websites for the school libraries. More excitement was generated by emailing students about the contest and "talking it up" in virtual library classes. The timing of the DIY Contest was perfect, as the cold weather was an excellent time to stay inside and work on some projects!
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| The contest flyer. |
As the contest deadline approached, many amazing submissions were sent in! Staff members and students across grade levels shared pictures of their wonderful DIY creations. Pictured below are just a few of the submissions:
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| An elaborate cardboard fort. |
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| Cat food truck! |
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| A crocheted Josh Allen. |
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| Intricate LEGO house. |
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| Animal origami mobile. |
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| A gorgeous creation from a staff member! |
The level of creativity blew the librarians away! It was amazing to see such displays of creativity, but more importantly, it was fun to see families having fun together during these tough times. With some of the remaining grant funding, our department was able to provide all participants with prizes. These prizes varied by age level, but included some project supplies as well as a participation button. Iroquois librarians look forward to hosting more contests in the future.
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| DIY Contest prizes. |
