Learning > Adult Services > Program Spotlight: Ignacio Community Library’s Virtual Travel to India

Program Spotlight: Ignacio Community Library’s Virtual Travel to India

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We’ve asked libraries across Colorado to submit program they’ve run in the last year that they’re proud of and they want the rest of us to see and celebrate. Sharing stories in books is great… but what about our stories? The stories of the ways our libraries bring the community together, enrich the lives of our neighbors, and serve the people who live and work in our cities and towns.

Liz vonTauffkirchen, Assistant Director/Librarian, answered our call and we’re excited to let them tell you about Ignacio Community Library’s Virtual Travel to India program in their own words.

Library Name: Ignacio Community Library

City/ Town: Ignacio, CO

Program Name: Virtual Travel to India

Date/ Date Range of Program: September 19, 2024

Intended Audience: Adults (including older adults)

Description:
In addition to the physical, in-person cultural elements, we will travel to India virtually in our Quest Pro VR Headsets.

How did you come up with the idea for this program?
I’ve been wanting to engage the adults more with our VR headsets and I’ve had the idea to do a program like this for a long time, so happy we finally made it a reality!

What partners (if any) did you work with in developing or implementing this program?
My Colleagues, TechSoup (for the deeply discounted Quest Pro headsets), and Community Volunteers who knew a ton about India!

What about this program did you find successful? How did you measure the success of this program?
We had so much engagement and interest in this program, as well as robust preregistrations and attendance. So many patrons wanted to volunteer to help with this one!

Final Thoughts:
We will have more monthly VR travel programs coming in January, but until then we’re on a break from them for the holidays.

Thanks for highlighting library programs, I love getting ideas from other libraries!

Liz has permitted us to share their contact information so that anyone interested in reaching out to them about their program can do so. It is an incredibly generous offer of which you are invited to avail yourself if you’re inspired by their work and want to celebrate them or if you have questions about ways you can follow their lead.

To reach Liz, email them at lvontauffkirchen@ignaciolibrary.org

Colorado State Library (and the readers of this point as well, no doubt) understands how time consuming, emotionally draining, costly (in so many ways), and challenging it can be to run a program or project. Sometimes they fail gloriously… sometimes they fail with barely a whisper. It can be hard to recover from that. You’ve worked so hard!… and it just didn’t work out. Be gentle with yourself. Self-reflect. Pick up the pieces. And then get to the next thing. It’ll be worth it.

For all those other times, be sure to celebrate. Brag about it! Feel good about yourself, the team that collaborated on your work, and the community members who participated with it. Celebrate your hard work and the value that you contribute to your community.

Tell us the story of your program just like this library did here. Submit your library’s program for a Program Spotlight featured here and shared as far as Colorado State Library news reaches.

Cristy Moran
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