Author: Jaime Eastman

Administrative and Management Skills

Reduce Stress: Building Sustainable Library Workloads

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Purple lettering reads "Reduce Stress." Underneath, black lettering reads "Building Sustainable Library Programs." To the left of the words, an outline of a meditating figure appears. To the right of the words, an outline of a meditating person with a gear in their left hand and a heart in their right hand appears.

This year, I’m viewing “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. So far, we’ve explored ways to exercise more, live life to the fullest, eat healthier, lose weight, save money, get organized, learn a new skill, and reduce harmful habits. This month, we’re focusing on reducing stress. While stress is an unavoidable part of library work, the systems and supports we put in place make a tremendous difference. Working harder isn’t the only answer. Instead, let’s look at ways that thoughtful planning, balanced workloads, and clear communication can create healthier, sustainable staff and programs.

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Administrative and Management Skills

Reduce Harmful Habits: Evaluating Library Programs

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Dark blue text reads Reduce Harmful Habits. Underneath, black text reads Evaluating Library Programs. To the right of the text is an image of two speech bubbles. To the left of the text is an image of a document and magnifying glass.

This year, “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. So far, we’ve explored ways to exercise more, live life to the fullest, eat healthier, lose weight, save money, get organized, and learn a new skill. This month, tackling one of the most common resolutions: reducing harmful habits. Rather than focusing on our own habits, we’ll explore the habits library programs develop over time. Just because we’ve always offered a program or presented it a certain way doesn’t mean that it’s still the best option. Instead, thoughful evaluation can help us find what no longer serves community needs, library goals, or even staff capacity.

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Administrative and Management Skills

Learn A New Skill: Creating Meaningful Staff Training and Support

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Blue text reads Learn a New Skill. Under a blue line, the additional text Creating Meaningful Staff Training and Support appears in black. To the left of the text is the outline of a lightbulb inside a gear. To the right of the text is the outline of a gear with tools.

This year, I’m viewing “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. This year’s resolutions include ways to exercise more, live life to the fullest, eat healthier, lose weight, save money, and get organized. This month, we’re focusing on ourselves and different ways to learn new skills. Library programs are all about connecting patrons to ideas and resources to build their skills, but are we doing enough to support ourselves and our staff? Staff does their best work when they feel supported, prepared, and empowered to learn. We must create cultures that support continuous learning and meaningful growth beyond mandatory training. We’ll discuss ways to find and build meaningful, actionable training that inspires your staff and helps your library thrive. Learning doesn’t stop when we have a particular title or have hosted a certain program. Thoughtful training opportunities create more resilient staff, stronger programs, and better experiences for everyone.

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Blogger Jaime Eastman

Get Organized: Creating Clear, Scaffolded Learning Paths

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Green text reads "Get organized." Underneath, black text reads "Creating clear, scaffolded learning paths." To the left of the text, a green clipboard with a checklist appears. To the right to the text, two green map markers are at alternate ends of a dotted path.

This year, I’m viewing “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. So far, we’ve explored ways to exercise more, live life to the fullest, eat healthier, lose weight, and save money. This month, we’re looking at organization. While it would be easy to talk about cleaning up supply closets or doing a deep clean of your digital files, I’m taking a different approach. Organization isn’t just about space – it’s also about creating clear paths for learning and engagement. Let’s talk about ways that intentional, scaffolded program structures create organization and clear direction for patrons and staff alike. While each library’s program structure is different, my goal today is to share replicable models that work for all types of libraries and programs. I’ll explore how scaffolded programs help you reach specific audiences and customize patron experiences. At its core, scaffolded programming is about purposeful program design over time. Why…

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Administrative and Management Skills

Save Money: Using Low-Cost Library Programs to Maximize Impact

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Green text reads Save More Money between a green dollar bill on the left side and a green piggy bank with a coin on the right side. Underneath, black text reads Using Low-Cost Library Programs to Maximize Impact.

This year, I’m viewing “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. So far, we’ve explored ways to exercise more, live life to the fullest, eat healthier, and lose weight. This month, we’re looking at ways to save money. Saving more doesn’t always mean doing less. Instead of budget cuts, let’s talk about intentional spending that creates the most impact. While library budgets are unique and complicated, today’s tips apply to libraries of all sizes and situations. I’ll be looking at ways we can prioritize low-cost and no-cost programming to help stretch your budget and extend your reach.

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Administrative and Management Skills

Lose Weight: Streamline Supplies for Sustainable Success

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Yellow script reads Lose Weight. On the right, a scale stands unbalanced. On the left, a cup holds office supplies. Underneath, black text reads Streamline Supplies for Sustainable Success.

This year, I’m viewing “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. So far, we’ve explored ways to exercise more, live life to the fullest, and eat healthier. This month, we’re focusing on the resolution to lose weight. While I can’t give you tips to drop a few extra pounds, I can offer considerations to streamline your supply processes and procedures. This may help save time and sanity, letting you focus on what matters.

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Blogger Jaime Eastman

Eat Healthier: Nourishing Curiosity with Library Programming

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Orange text reads Eat Healthier. An outline of a pile of fruit is on the left side of the text, with an outline of a bag of vegetables on the right side. Underneath, black text reads nourishing curiosity with library programming.

This year, I’m viewing “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. In February, we focused on creating movement-friendly library programs. In March, we explored living life to the fullest with messy play and learning. This month, we’re focusing on the resolution to eat healthier. While libraries may also have opportunities to feed bodies, the work I’m focusing on is feeding minds and growing a child’s natural curiosity.

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Blogger Jaime Eastman

Live Life to the Fullest: Why Messy Play Matters in Libraries

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The words Live Life to the Fullest appear in red script with red paint blobs on each side. Underneath, black text reads Why Messy Play Matters in Libraries.

This year, I’m viewing “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. In February, we focused on creating movement-friendly library programs. This month, we’re focusing on the resolution to live life to the fullest. While it’s easy to think of this as doing more, more isn’t always what our libraries need. Instead, we’re looking at ways to be just a little bigger and just a little messier.

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