Monday 13 November 2017

Sunset on the Library as Incubator Project

Photo by: Commander John Bortniak, NOAA Corps. Public Domain image.

If you haven’t heard via social media already, the Library as Incubator Project team has bittersweet news to share: it is time to sunset the LAIP.

We’ve had an amazing time working with many contributors to keep this community relevant and meaningful, but the time has come to make space for new and different projects.

Over the course of our time curating the LAIP, we’ve witnessed a sea change in the ways libraries and librarians think about the fundamental exchange libraries represent: that of connecting people and information. 

The idea that freely accessible hands-on learning opportunities and in-person connections are as valuable to communities as access to books and other materials has become standard in our professional conversations. The idea that a programming calendar represents a legitimate library collection and that programming librarians are essentially collection development librarians curating an ephemeral, responsive, and highly collaborative collection, now represents library business as usual. 

We are grateful to have had a hand in bringing these ideas to the fore by sharing stories and thinking deeply about what information is, what it means to be an artist and to create new information, and what it means to be a librarian whose job is to get that information into people’s hands.

Special thanks and shoutout to all of our various LAIP team members over the years: Christina Jones (co-founder!), Katie Behrens, and Angela Terrab! Y’all are the best!


What will happen with the site / Book to Art Club / @IArtLibraries

The University Archives at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have graciously offered to capture the site as it stands today. This will be archived in the UW’s ArchiveIt account. We also intend to keep the site accessible for the general public, although no new content will be added. WiLS is providing outstanding support for the LAIP by hosting the website. We are really pleased to be collaborating with them on this and appreciate their enthusiasm and support.

Ann Miller, Makerspace coordinator for Mead Public Library in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, will continue her role as Book to Art Club coordinator. You can visit that project at http://ift.tt/2zDog4k.

As for our social media platforms, the @IArtLibraries accounts will remain online for a while as an archive, but we won’t be adding new content after November. Recently we’ve been tagging posts with #IArtLibraries; we invite you to share those posts and continue the discussion via #IArtLibraries

What we’re up to

As of this writing, Erinn is an adult services librarian at Northland Public Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is the library where she learned to read and where she had her first job as a shelver. She is also a writer, and is at work on a variety of projects including a poetry collection and a novel, and she crochets, paints, sews, and regularly teaches herself other creative stuff.

Erinn’s professional website is here: http://ift.tt/2hqoeCR; reach out to her via that contact page, or find her on Twitter at @erinnbatykefer

Laura is a Community Engagement Librarian for the Central Library at Madison Public Library in Madison, Wisconsin. She identifies and facilitates opportunities for creative engagement with library space, resources, and services. These include things like the Volunteer Toolbox, a cross-agency volunteer training series, and Library Takeover, an event-planning bootcamp for teams of community members who want to learn how to plan and host great large-scale events. On a personal note, she’s upping her running game and perfecting her read-aloud technique with her kiddo.

Please feel free to visit Laura’s professional website; there is a contact form on that page where you can send her a note. You can follow her on Twitter at @LauraDM08.

Holly is a youth services librarian at the Madison Public Library. She loves working with the youngest kiddos and their families, and baby storytime is her favorite. Holly is always working on ways to bring library services out of the building to reach more families. Follow Holly on Twitter at @hollystorckpost.

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Thank you again for your support and partnership over the last seven years. It’s been a pleasure working with you!



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