Member Webinar Spotlight: Lydia Sampson

This spring, the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) is hosting its first season of MLS Member Webinars! MLS member library staff will share their knowledge and expertise on a variety of topics in a series of four webinars taking place May 22 – June 10.

In this blog series, we’re spotlighting a couple of MLS Member Webinar presenters by sharing how their backgrounds connect to their chosen topics.

Learn more about libraries of things in technical services from Lydia Sampson, Assistant Director and Head of the Technical Services Department at the Morrill Memorial Library, in today’s blog!

Be sure to also register for Lydia’s webinar: Processing the Peculiar: Managing Libraries of Things in Technical Services.

What is your name and position, the name of your library, and the community/communities your library serve(s)?

Lydia Sampson: I’m Lydia Sampson, the Assistant Director at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, and also the Head of the Technical Services Department.

What is your webinar about?

L.S.: I will be presenting about managing Libraries of Things (LOT) from a Technical Services perspective, focusing mainly on physical processing, packaging and labeling.

What is your background to Libraries of Things? Why are you passionate about them?

L.S.: When I started in Norwood around seven years ago, we had a small Library of Things. It mostly had puzzles, some electronics, and an extensive collection of knitting and crochet needles. I saw the potential in getting people excited about the library by offering a wider variety of items they may not expect to be available to borrow. I took on a pet project of growing our Library of Things and may have created a monster; we now have well over 700 items!

I love the surprise factor of the Library of Things: the reaction when patrons who hold outdated stereotypes of libraries discover that beyond books we lend a pressure washer, ukuleles, a food dehydrator, and more. It’s like they’ve discovered a best kept secret. I imagine everyone in town having a list of our Library of Things items on their fridge or in their junk drawer and consulting it before buying something they only need to use once in a while, or something they want to try before they buy.

Libraries of Things are not exactly new in the library world but are still rather novel to outsiders, and they’re great way to draw new people in. The public may take for granted that libraries lend books, but they sure do get excited when they see our robotic cat!

Why did you decide to host an MLS Member Webinar?

L.S.: In building our collection, we have learned quite a bit through trial and error: what kind of packaging works and doesn’t, what makes something easy vs difficult to locate, and how to make the section visually appealing. The same questions keep coming up on listservs and in meetings, and I feel like an ad hoc expert after experimenting and having so many conversations over the years.

I want more libraries to expand and advertise their Libraries of Things since they are such a boon to the community, providing convenience and financial savings and allowing residents to experiment with arts and crafts, music, technology, and more. I hope to encourage others because it’s not difficult or daunting, but actually fun to get creative and figure out what to include and how to make it work.

Do you have any advice to other library workers who may be interested in learning more about Libraries of Things? Do you recommend any resources for further learning?

L.S.: I feel like the best resources for learning more about managing Libraries of Things are fellow librarians. At library conferences, I’m constantly chatting with folks about them, and we often share tips in the Assistant Directors Forum I participate in and in our network’s Technical Services Interest Group. At the New England Library Association (NELA) Conference, I met some people involved with the international LOT Mutual Aid Google Group and joined up.

You get so many great ideas, and chances are that if you’re facing a dilemma, it’s something others have already contended with, and they may be able to help guide you. I truly believe that Libraries of Things are a powerful way to connect communities with their libraries in unexpected and meaningful ways, and I’m excited to share what I’ve learned to help others grow their own collections successfully.