KDL partnerships spark curiosity, take learning beyond library walls

When a Grand Rapids Public Museum exhibit sparks visitors’ curiosity and they want to explore the topic more deeply, Marie Mulder is there to help.

Mulder, a collection development librarian for Kent District Library, chooses books for KDL. She also compiles book lists for Grand Rapids Public Museum exhibits, offering additional readings about the subject. Her latest work accompanies the museum’s Unseen Oceans exhibit

“The goal is to give museum-goers a way to keep exploring once they leave, and to give library patrons a reason to visit the exhibit,” Mulder says.

KDL and the museum have worked together for years on book guides, storytimes and hands-on activities. A museum visit can spark a question. A library book can help answer it.

“Hopefully that will spark some interest, and maybe they’ll then visit the library to do even more research around it,” says Craig Buno, KDL’s community engagement manager.

Mulder took over the guides from a former staff member. She has made lists for four exhibits: Mastodons, Backyard Adventures, Unseen Oceans, and the upcoming AlegreMENTE.

“Each one has been a fun challenge because the subjects are so different, from Ice Age animals to the creatures in your own backyard to early childhood brain development,” she says.

Something for everybody

The process starts when someone from the museum contacts Mulder about an exhibition. She then searches KDL’s catalog for books that build on what visitors will see.

“Museum visitors come in all ages, so I try to make sure there’s something on every list for everyone: picture books for little ones, chapter books and nonfiction for older kids, and titles for teens and adults too,” she says. “I also include books in Spanish, so the lists reflect the families we serve.”

This work also helps KDL find books it needs to add.

“One unexpected benefit is that the process sometimes reveals gaps in our own collection,” Mulder says. “When that happens, we purchase new books, so they’re ready for patrons to check out.”

Rob Schuitema, the museum’s director of public programs, says KDL has supplied reading lists since before he arrived in 2008. He remembers asking KDL for books to go with a dinosaur exhibition. Early lists appeared on the backs of bookmarks made in the museum’s print shop in the Streets of Old Grand Rapids exhibition.

The museum also added the lists to teacher guides. Later, it began placing book covers, short descriptions, and suggested ages inside exhibitions.

The lists often have about 20 books, Schuitema says, depending on the topic and which books the library has.

“Their team has always come up with just some really, really interesting titles and things that we wouldn’t have been able to think of probably on our own,” he says.

The museum does not have a paid contract with KDL for the lists. Both groups contribute staff time and knowledge.

“That is truly just two nonprofit institutions working with one another to enhance the visitor experience,” Schuitema says.

Shared values, resources

Buno’s work with the museum began with hands-on science activities. When he was KDL’s Walker branch manager, he brought KDL Lab activities to a Maker Faire at the museum. Visitors took part, and museum staff wanted to find more ways to work together.

Since then, KDL has joined museum events such as engineering programs, Roger That! and activities during school breaks.

“We view the public museum as a partner resource,” Buno says. “They have a lot of similar values that we have, and so we like to partner with them.”

At the museum, library staff lead storytimes, offer activities, and help visitors learn about library services. Some storytimes use museum spaces, such as the barrel factory, as a setting. These events can introduce families to a library storytime before they attend one at a branch, Buno says.

Museum staff also take part in KDL’s lab expos, which offer activities in science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

“It’s kind of a symbiotic relationship,” Buno says. “We support what they do, and they support what we do.”

Schuitema says families have told museum staff they looked for books from the reading lists after their visits. This happens when children want to learn more about a favorite subject, such as dinosaurs.

Visitors also enjoy finding a storytime they did not expect.

“What people comment on often is that they like experiencing the unexpected when they go to a museum,” he says.

For parents, storytime offers another benefit. Children can sit and listen while adults take a short break from walking through three floors of exhibitions.

The comments show that some visitors value the programs, though KDL does not yet know how much the guides affect book borrowing.

“We don’t track checkouts for the specific titles on each list, but we regularly run reports on what our patrons are borrowing,” Mulder says. “Those reports help us understand what our community is interested in and where we should grow our collection.”

Going where it’s needed

KDL also works with other groups. Buno says the goal is to “find a community partner that’s doing something that we want to achieve, and come alongside them and see how we can either promote it or support it.”

For example, mentors with the Literacy Center of West Michigan use library study rooms for English language learning sessions, and KDL plans to offer more resources to the center.

Through Kent County Parks, KDL offers summer performances and a weekly storytime at Millennium Park.

Its bookmobile brings books and services to places such as apartment complexes, senior centers, and retirement homes.

“With the bookmobile, we’re really trying to replicate that library experience out in the community and take the library on wheels out to them,” Buno says.

Four full-time community engagement librarians help manage these partnerships. Each has a focus, such as early literacy, food access, new Americans, or job skills.

KDL branches also use census data and reviews of their partnerships to learn where people need more help. Staff members review that information each year and look for groups that can help meet those needs.

“Not only is it this community engagement department looking out for countywide needs, you’ve got each individual branch really dialing into their local community,” Buno says.

More collaborations studied 

Other partnerships are still being explored.

Buno says KDL is talking about ways to support the Women’s Resource Center’s work with women in jails by sharing library resources.

At the museum, Schuitema hopes to bring the bookmobile to its outdoor spaces once construction is finished.

Library and museum staff have also talked about working with other arts and history groups to list local events and places to learn in one spot.

“We look at each other as collaborators, not competitors, and I think that’s good for both of our institutions and organizations, but also for the general public,” Schuitema says.

Literacy Matters is a series focused on the importance of knowledge, community resources seeking to remove barriers to access, and the value of our library systems to society. Literacy Matters is supported by Kent District Library.