Love Data Week is fast approaching, and to further immerse myself in the data world, I am working to plan some kind of activities to acknowledge the event. I’ve been drawing inspiration from what other libraries have planned for the week, but I’m also trying to incorporate my past experiences with library events on my campus and my current workload.

I can see that other university libraries are planning interesting lectures, panels, and workshops, which are all things I would love to bring to my campus. However, I have grossly underestimated how long it takes to bring those events to fruition; a quick tour of #lovedata2019 on Twitter reveals that more organized librarians have been planning activities for months!

I have also continuously struggled with low attendance at library activities, most recently during Open Access Week 2018. The introductory workshop and institutional repository upload-a-thon failed to generate any interest, as did the screening of “Paywall: The Business of Scholarship”. However, the cookie decorating table with accompanying OA literature was a hit; about 50 students stopped by and listened to a quick brief on OA, which was one of the most successful library events of the year.

I also need to keep in mind that I currently have a lot on my plate and I’m getting dangerously close to the point where my performance will begin to suffer. Most importantly, the new data visualization lab project that I’ve been managing is almost ready to open and I need to focus most of my work energy on meeting our Open House deadline.

With all of this in mind, I’ve settled on a social media campaign on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the five-day event. Given the success of the hands-on OA cookie decorating, I’m also planning a little Valentine card decorating station in the library with some fliers about the new data visualization lab. These are activities that shouldn’t take too much time or energy, but will hopefully engage my campus with tools and resources they can use to love their data!