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Back in 2017, my colleagues and I at the Orange County Library System<\/a> were brainstorming new community engagement ideas to support our children\u2019s programming. That summer, the TV show Shark Tank<\/em> was massively popular in our area\u2014and not just with adults. We already had our \u201cBizKids Camps\u201d programming over the summer, and a staff member suggested we go an extra step and add a real, live business fair.<\/p>\n So, that\u2019s exactly what we did. Our Orlando Children\u2019s Business Fair offers students a platform to launch their businesses, promote their services or products, and build marketing strategies. The fair was very successful for three years running, until COVID-19 hit. While we could not produce a live fair in 2020, that didn\u2019t stop us from continuing to build momentum by creating a new virtual experience to encourage youth entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our challenge wasn\u2019t unique\u2014every library worker I know is trying to find the right approach. What helped us, though, was evaluating how the tools we use to develop all our classes and programs came into play.<\/p>\n Our staff is encouraged to design children\u2019s content that involves the entire family. Before COVID, that was a benefit in terms of improved community involvement and cross-selling to parents. So, while we couldn\u2019t do the in-person business fair with the kids, other aspects of the BizKids program that included parents and partners still made sense. It also meant that we had interested, committed adults, beyond library staff, who could work with us to make the program successful.<\/p>\n During the pandemic, we\u2019ve found that being intentional about this aspect of our programs has been incredibly important. In addition to the instructional content, we planned for virtual social interaction using the break-out features in Zoom and other social \u201cpauses.\u201d Retention and engagement went way up when we added these elements. And these opportunities for connection were especially vital during times when children had been quarantined and not able to attend in-person classes.<\/p>\n Of course, I was disappointed that we couldn\u2019t do the actual, live business fair. In years past, I went home broke after buying t-shirts and tacos and homemade jewelry from our young entrepreneurs. And we plan to bring all of that back when it\u2019s safe. But the goal of the program wasn\u2019t to feed me. It was to feed our kids\u2019 sense of accomplishment after providing some of the basics of business education. And that can all be done virtually.<\/p>\nUse what you know to engage with your community through the pandemic, grow and move forward. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n This year, we hit those goals by having our BizKids do a final, online performance, complete with a PowerPoint presentation. There was a small audience so that the kids could show off their innovations and all the knowledge they\u2019d learned. One young man pitched his plant nursery business, which included a variety of plants, trees, and shrubs grown in his family\u2019s garden, and even included a virtual tour. He really knew his stuff about the nutrients and values of each fruit and plant. At one point, he was pushing the avocado trees and when asked why, he said (without irony), \u201cOh, they\u2019re dying. So, we have to move them all soon.\u201d It was both funny and sweet, and exactly the kind of moment we experience again and again during these events.<\/p>\n Just like with Shark Tank<\/em>, our library is now evaluating which programs will \u201cmake the cut\u201d going forward. And we\u2019re doing that the same way we did before the pandemic\u2014by listening to our community. What we have now, though, is lots of new information about how well some programs can make the transition to virtual learning, how much more we can do online, and how many more staff members are able to flex between live and digital roles. So, while the changes and challenges of COVID have been a strain, we hope to take what we\u2019ve learned and apply it moving forward in new and exciting ways.<\/p>\n Orange County Library System was one of three winners of an OCLC Community Engagement Award in 2020. Read more about their winning \u201cChildren\u2019s Business Fair\u201d program\u00a0and <\/em>watch a video from the OCLC Award winners here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nStart with a bigger picture in mind<\/h2>\n
![\"bizfair\"](\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bizfair2_485.jpg\")
Like so many successful community engagement efforts, the fair wasn\u2019t a one-off event. It was connected to many other activities, including our ongoing BizKids program. So, as we were forced to make hard decisions with changing needs and COVID restrictions in mind, we took a step back to look at our efforts within their original context.<\/p>\n\n
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![\"bizfair\"](\"https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/bizfair4_500.jpg\")
The Orange County Library System has been doing online classes since 2007, so the technology and processes necessary for doing virtual content were in no way new to us. And for many of those classes, there is usually a \u201creal life\u201d component, too. Library workers often recommend courses to customers, help get new users set up, provide technical assistance, or connect people to additional resources. Just because a class is online doesn\u2019t mean that all the learning happens on a screen!<\/p>\n\n
We finish how we started\u2014by listening<\/h2>\n
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