August 2018 Newsletter
Open House & Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
On Tuesday, August 21, VTLIB welcomed Governor Phil Scott and other Vermont legislators, state employees, and organizations involved in the moving project to the Open House & Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for our new space in the Vermont Historical Society (VHS) building in Barre!
We look forward to inviting the Vermont library community to our new space soon!
Governor Phil Scott addresses attendees. (L to R: Governor Phil Scott, Assistant State Librarian for Information & Access Tom McMurdo, Assistant State Librarian for Library Advancement Jason Broughton)
Assistant State Librarian Jason Broughton addresses attendees. (L to R: Governor Phil Scott, Secretary of Administration Susanne Young, Jason Broughton, VHS Executive Director Stephen Perkins) - Photo by
Natalia May, Vermont Law School/CLIC
Cutting the ribbon! (L to R: Executive Assistant to the State Librarian Cherie Yaeger, Tom McMurdo, Governor Phil Scott, Stephen Perkins)
Assistant State Librarian Tom McMurdo discusses the Information & Access division of VTLIB with Governor Scott. - Photo by Natalia May, Vermont Law School/CLIC
Governor Scott visits the Library Advancement division during a tour of VTLIB. - Photo by
Natalia May, Vermont Law School/CLIC
Assistant State Librarian Jason Broughton shows Governor Scott the ABLE Library Recording Studio. - Photo by Natalia May, Vermont Law School/CLIC
Important VTLIB Updates
VTLIB Five Year Plan 2018-2022
As a recipient of Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) federal funds, the Vermont Department of Libraries is required to submit a state plan to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) every five years. Our 2018-2022 five year plan is available here: https://bit.ly/2No7NFl
Featured Partnership
Rooted in Vermont
“Rooted in Vermont Food In Your Backyard” Week @ Your Library (October 1-7, 2018)

During the week of Oct. 1 - 7, the Vermont Department of Libraries (VTLIB) and Rooted in Vermont
( https://bit.ly/2NpKzi2 ) are promoting library programming about food found in your backyard. We encourage libraries to schedule or develop one or more programs/activities for their community that focus on food that patrons can find through gardening, foraging, or hunting and fishing.

Rooted in Vermont is a grassroots movement that celebrates how Vermonters enjoy and acquire local food. They’re working to change the “local food” narrative so everyone sees local food as their own – not just some trendy thing. Rooted in Vermont’s project manager Shane Rogers will actively promote the week via social media and the Rooted in Vermont grassroots email list. We will send you lots of creative ideas for inspiration – including ideas for presenters, program topics, passive program concepts, and more.

Contact Lara Keenan for more information.
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Information & Access
Featured Database:

GALE Communications & Mass Media
ATTN: State Employees
The Vermont Department of Libraries is hosting a workshop for state employees entitled " Customer Service/Soft Skills Workshop: A Trio of Topics ."

Intended for supervisors and managers from any state departments, this will be led by Rona Carr, founder and president of U R It, a New York-based foundation dedicated to teaching communication, facilitating inclusion, and creating opportunities. The topics discussed will include polishing your professional and personal communication/ presentation skills, gracious refusals, and saying “no” with confidence and grace.

This workshop will have Q & A, role playing customer service scenarios, and discussions on customer service resources, information, and books!

Date & Location: Thursday October 25th 9AM -2 PM at the Vermont Department of Libraries, 60 Washington Street, Barre.

Registration is available through our website: https://bit.ly/2EQXkyC

Note: similar workshops will be held specifically for librarians, also in October.
CLOVER Corner
The Interlibrary Loan Round Table met for the first time on August 1 st at VTLIB in Barre. The group discussed goals for the round table and set a schedule of meeting quarterly in different locations around the state. A recording of the meeting is available here: https://bit.ly/2PaFJFP

This was a great first meeting with librarians from all types of libraries! Topics discussed were the courier system, best practices for interlibrary loan, and advocacy for interlibrary loan in Vermont. A format was established for future meetings: the first half of the meeting will be working on a specific project or issue and the second half will be further issues to be tackled and planning the next meeting topic.
 
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 1st from 10:00-12:00 at Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro. There will be online attendance as well, and that option will be included for all future meetings. This group is open to anyone from any library. It is a forum for librarians around the state interested in interlibrary loan and resource sharing in Vermont.
 
The agenda for the next meeting is:
-Create a “best practices” list for interlibrary loan in Vermont. Come with your best practices and procedures, suggestions for streamlining the service, creative solutions, etc. This document will be shared statewide to help current and new librarians. It is applicable to all libraries, so information from all types of libraries is needed!
 
-Discuss advocacy for interlibrary loan in Vermont. How to show and explain the importance of this service to administration, patrons, politicians, etc. This can be the beginning of the conversation. There will be a list of the most requested titles in CLOVER to share with everyone.
Bringing Resources to Light
Join us each month as we illuminate a fantastic resource from Vermont Online Library. This episode: Gale’s Communications and Mass Media Collection ( http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=PPCM&u=vol_portal ).

With the current conversations around mass media, news, and online information gathering, the Communications and Mass Media Collection will help you and patrons quickly access authoritative coverage on issues such as social media, news outlets, privacy, and more. You can find articles on the effects of Facebook on society, how politicians’ personal disclosures might affect voter decisions, whether privacy is now possible, the effects of news anchor behavior, and more. With a quick search in the database, you can show your patrons yet another way their library provides more than they might expect!
Library Advancement

From the Headlines
 
 

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September is Library Card Sign Up Month!

VTLIB is proud to celebrate Library Card Sign Up Month with our Vermont libraries! Each week in September we will be featuring Vermonters signing up for their cards at libraries around the state on our Instagram.

To submit a photo and to obtain a photo release for persons in the photo, email [email protected].
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Open Surveys and Requests for Libraries

*Vermont Department of Libraries Continuing Education Survey
 
*Vermont Health Connect – Outreach to Libraries
Request an in-person workshop or materials for your community or library

Continuing Education
Free Webinar from Public Library Association (PLA)

Your Neighbor is a Writer: Curating a Local E-book Collection,” is an on-demand webinar from PLA. It has particular relevance to Vermont libraries, as there are so many writers of all types, self-published and otherwise, in our state. I t’s content includes a discussion of to “discuss the place of self-published works in collection development and the role of librarians as tastemakers.”

Visit https://bit.ly/2PHXvRR to access the free webinar.
VTLIB Webinar on Collaboration

Join us for a one-hour webinar about creative ways to partner with other organizations through collaboration and programming. Featured organizations will be:

  • Everybody Wins Vermont
  • Rooted in Vermont
  • Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont

Thursday, August 30th, 2pm-3pm. Register here:

To see the rest of our fall CE opportunities, visit: https://bit.ly/2EQXkyC .
Youth Services

  • Youth Services Consultant Cass Mabbott Speaks on Vermont Public Radio

Literacy is typically thought of as the ability to read and write, but experts say it’s a much broader skill set, encompassing vocabulary, storytelling and more. We look at early childhood literacy and what’s being done in Vermont to get children ready to read, write and communicate well before they reach school age. For your listening pleasure: http://digital.vpr.net/post/look-early-childhood-literacy#stream/0

  •  Author Kwame Alexander's Thoughts on Children's Books and the Color of Characters

Governance & Management
  • Library Directors and Trustees: Have you connected with Lara, yet?

Attention Library Directors and Trustees – Lara is the statewide governance and management consultant for public library directors and trustees, and she offers resources and trainings on everything from strategic planning to Trustee roles to volunteer management. She answers questions over email/phone and does a wide range of in-person trainings for trustees. Helping you make your library as strong and sustainable as possible is her goal. If you have a question, or wonder how Lara might be able to help your library, please feel free to give her a call (802-636-0026) or send her an email ( [email protected] ).
 
  • Strategic Planning and Your Library

The Strategic Planning section of our website has been updated – and we invite you to check it out here: http://libraries.vermont.gov/services/public_libraries/strategic_planning . VTLIB consultant Lara Keenan is collecting strategic plans from public libraries around VT, talking to librarians and trustees about the process they used, and gathering resources and information to help you with your next plan. If your library has done a plan recently, please reach out to Lara and let her know how it went. Phone: 802-636-0026. Email: [email protected] .

Small & Rural Libraries
  • Today in Librarian Tabs

Many of you might know about this, but in case not, super-librarian and Vermont resident Jessamyn West has a newsletter that comes out periodically and, in her words, is “librarian-themed but not exclusively librariana.” Always different topics, always thought-provoking and informative, it includes not only Jessamyn’s wise insights, but also links to more information and to things going on in the Big Picture Library World. Free to your inbox, subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/jessamyn . So helpful! Thanks, Jessamyn!

  • A Bugle Riff for this month’s “Buenisimo Happening at a Vermont Small & Rural Library:”

The John G. McCullough Free Library in North Bennington is hosting “Friday Night Jams” this August: “Bring your voice, your drums and any non-electric instrument to the library’s back lawn and join in!” Food trucks were promised, too. What a fun way to bring community together and have some noisy fun!
Special Populations & ABLE Library
  • US News: “Minnesota ‘Voice Banking’ Service Preserves Voices”
 
  • PLA Webinar [Recorded December 2017 ]: “Understanding Power, Identity and Oppression in the Public Library”
 
  • The Morning Call: “One in Four Americans is Disabled, According to a New CDC Survey”