Engaging Play: Low-cost ways for libraries and cultural institutions to engage communities, elevate staff morale, and provide impact
Wednesday, January 22
4:00pm
REGISTER
Play means having fun, experimenting, and suspending one’s sense of time. Play can make work in libraries and cultural institutions more enjoyable, more flexible, and less stressful – and bring delight to communities in small but meaningful ways.
Join Megan Lotts, the Art Librarian at Rutgers University and author of “The Playful Library: Building Environments for Creativity and Learning,” to explore simple, inexpensive ways to incorporate more opportunities for playful engagement in your organization, through programs, collections, or creative use of space. From edible books to art vending machines to pop-up making spaces, small practical playful installations and actions can make a big difference in community interaction and staff morale.
Participants may request a certificate of attendance for one contact hour following the event. Free to all who are interested. Registration is required. This webinar will be recorded.
Read a sample of Megan Lotts’ 2024 book, “The Playful Library: Building Environments for Learning and Creativity,” published by ALA Editions.
Bio: Megan Lotts is the Art Librarian at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where she teaches research workshops, builds collections, facilitates programming and events, and closely engages with students and faculty researching in the Arts and across the Rutgers New Brunswick campuses. Lotts has presented her research both nationally and internationally and has published articles in portal: Libraries and the Academy, Art Documentation, Journal of Library Administration, multiple articles in College and Research Libraries News and more. Her research interests include outreach, engagement, makerspaces, and the work of library liaisons. She is known for her work with LEGO play, teaching the course Playing to Learn in Higher Education, and curating the Rutgers Art Library Exhibition Spaces. Megan earned an MFA (2004) and MLIS (2007) from University of Wisconsin-Madison and has a BFA in Painting (2000) and BFA in Art History (2002) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She currently lives in New Brunswick, NJ and continues to create site-specific conceptual art-works.