[Edited 8/15/2025 to include the costs of the snacks]
Part of a series of reflections on some of the affective components of the Institute for Research Design in Librarianship (IRDL) program, things I put in place to make the Scholars feel welcomed and delighted in the learning environment.
Candy and snacks of the in-person workshop
As we were planning the first in-person Summer Research Workshop of IRDL we talked about how we would set up the environment for comfort and maximize easy physical interactions for group work and networking. We decided on round tables in the center of the room and two small tables in the back for me and Kris to observe. We decided not to have a lectern or formal panel table at the front of the room; the instructors would have wireless microphones (we had both lapel and hand-held) and could teach throughout the room.
In the back of the room were two couches and a big table between them. I asked the library’s Events Manager, who was partnered with us to make the event as smooth as possible, to load that table up with snacks. There were already going to be planned meals and snacks throughout the days, but in those between times, when someone was maybe feeling like they needed a momentary distraction, I wanted to have snacks available.
The Events Manager came through for me in a big way. She put so many snacks on the table that it was like a party. She bought clear glass candy jars with silver metal lids, candy scoops, and filled them with individually wrapped snacks (Nerds, gummy bears, trail mix) and bulk snacks (peanut M&Ms, etc.). She even brought fresh whole pieces of fruit to mix in.
Throughout the days of the workshop we’d say, “Meet me at the snacks,” if we wanted to chat about something during a break. During the tougher cognitive parts of the workshop, we’d notice more frequent trips of the Scholars to the back of the room to fuel themselves.
Clear glass candy jar with a metal lid, filled with peanut M&Ms and a candy scoop
Starburst, fruit gels, Haribo
I estimate that snacks for the in-person workshop cost around $750 per year. The first year would have cost more, to include the purchase of the candy jars and scoopers. Grant funds were used until a change in allowable costs for this particular grant, restricting being able to pay for food. At that point the library absorbed the cost.
Candy and snacks of the online workshop
During the Zoom orientation for the online Summer Research Workshop we hinted that there would be information coming to them soon about snacks, but that is all we told them. Then, later, when they received an email alerting them that they had been gifted a build-your-own box of snacks at SnackMagic, they were delighted. The gift had a set amount budgeted for each person, and they could choose whatever snacks they wanted within that amount. Then a box would appear on their doorstep ahead of the Workshop, so they were stocked with snacks for the whole ten days.
The first year we sent these boxes, the Scholars told us to tell future cohorts to mail themselves their snacks at their work addresses rather than at home, so their kids wouldn’t get to the boxes ahead of them!
We chose SnackMagic after a comparison of a few companies like this because the price point was within our expectation, the snack options were diverse (they even have vegan snacks), and the offer drinks, too. One of the Scholars one year chose nothing but drinks, to try new things.
Every day of the Workshop, during a break, we’d compare notes about which snacks we’d selected, which ones we preferred, and which one we were snacking on at that moment.
We ordered a box ahead of time for quality control. I was excited to receive my box.
The cost of snacks for 25 participants is $1,000 ($40 per box, for 25 people). No grant funds were used to pay for these snacks; the library Dean paid for them.
