November 2019 Edition
Announcements
Come see us at AzLA!
The State Library would like to invite everyone attending the Arizona Library Association’ s annual conference in Tucson this week to stop by our booth in the vendor hall. State Library staff will be presenting on a variety of topics including services for homebound and visually impaired patrons, civic and cultural engagement for teens, legal history, and the role of LSTA in Arizona public and tribal libraries. There will also be presentations on popular State Library resources like Reading Arizona and the Arizona Memory Project. We hope you’ll join us to learn more about State Library resources and services!
Arizona Public Library Survey open
The Arizona Public Library Survey (PLS) opened on Monday, October 7, 2019. The due date for submittal this year is Friday, December 13, 2019. If you did not receive an email regarding the opening of the PLS, please contact either Megan Hammond ( mhammond@azlibrary.gov ) or Chris Guerra ( cguerra@azlibrary.gov ). The email contains information regarding changes to this year’s report. Please feel free to also contact them should you need a reminder as to your library’s login credentials. The PLS portal can be found at: https://az.countingopinions.com/ .
Professional Development News
Whole Person Librarianship
Whole Person Librarianship applies social work concepts to library practice to improve patron services across library types. As library-social work collaborations expand in number and type across the country, all library staff members can learn to provide more holistic service by applying tools that are grounded in decades of social work practice and experience. The techniques used in a Whole Person Librarianship approach bolster library staff skills in areas of mental health, self care, understanding, and working with patrons in crisis, and more.

This training will focus on these topic areas: introduction to library-social work collaboration, Person-in-Environment, resource mapping, Cultural Humility, and Reflective Practice. Participants will gain new perspectives on service that they can apply in their library work.
Register now for one of these sessions:

Mental Health First Aid
Arizona State Library will be offering Mental Health First Aid training to library staff. It will be taught by certified professional instructors from Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens. Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help. For more information, visit the Mental Health First Aid website.

 
New Infopeople Courses
I nfopeople offers a variety of webinars and self-paced online courses on topics of high interest for library staff. Webinars are free, and the Arizona State Library has purchased a block of registrations for the online courses. Arizona library staff may register for courses by sending an email to  Ann Marie Creegan , containing:
·        The course name and dates
·        Registrant’s name
·        Registrant’s email
·        Library name
·        Library address
·        Library phone number
 
Upcoming courses:

This two-week online course will provide an opportunity to learn about connected learning and to apply the concepts to your library setting. The instructor will provide resources, best practices, and useful tips and techniques that can be applied immediately. During the course, you will participate in discussion forums and online meetings. You will have the opportunity to share your experiences and questions with the instructor and with other learners in the course.
When: November 5-18, 2019

This four-week online course will provide you with basic information and resources on the most important interpersonal skills needed to be an effective supervisor. Through assignments and discussions, you will learn about personality and communication styles in the workplace and how a supervisor can use them to get the most out of his or her employees. We’ll talk about coaching and mentoring, and about how to give constructive feedback. During the course, you will be able to share experiences and questions in discussion forums and one live online meeting, and the instructor will provide you with resources that you can keep and refer to in your own library situation.
When: November 12-December 9, 2019


In late summer of 2016, Skokie (IL) Public Library created a Civic Lab--a mobile, pop-up initiative to increase public discussion and civic literacy among library patrons of all ages. In this webinar Christine Goertz and Amy Holcomb, two members of the Civic Lab team, will discuss the background of the Civic Lab, strategies in developing civic literacy opportunities across multiple departments, and the four types of pop-up events that make up the majority of Civic Lab appearances. Additionally, they will cover why civic engagement is inherent in library services as well as the lessons learned from three years of civic literacy programming.
When: November 6, 2019 - 12:00-1:00 PM

New WebJunction Webinars
Don’t miss out on the great upcoming webinars being offered on Webjunction. Access to WebJunction’s self-paced online library courses is now available and free to all library staff members. Simply create an account at  http://learn.webjunction.org  and then explore the catalog of library-focused courses and archived webinars. Certificates of completion will be available to you for any of the courses or archived webinars you complete from the catalog.

Upcoming webinars:

A webinar hosted in collaboration with ARSL on the basics of library advocacy and how to integrate advocacy into your everyday and into your community relationships. Learn about inexpensive ideas and activities to advocate like a natural.
When: November 7 - 1:00-2:00 PM
Registration Open for
 Summer Library Institute
Each year, Library Development coordinates a Summer Library Institute providing professional development, training and networking opportunities for non-MLS public library staff serving mostly small and rural libraries throughout Arizona.

During the five-day Institute, highly regarded library professionals provide learning experiences and training on a variety of topics designed to increase participants' job skills and knowledge.

Summer Library Institute coursework addresses Library Practitioner Core Competencies that may be applied toward Library Practitioner Certification . The Competencies encompass the knowledge and skill sets required for competent performance as a library director or manager of a small or rural public library.

Grants & Opportunities
Calling Small Libraries: IMLS opens grant program for second year
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting grant applications for Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries (APP) , specifically seeking proposals related to:
  • transforming school library practice
  • community memory
  • digital inclusion funding

The deadline to apply is December 2.
Library Census Equity Fund: Apply Now!
The American Library Association (ALA) is now accepting applications for Library Census Equity Fund mini-grants. Applications are due Nov. 22 .

ALA will provide 25 libraries with $2,000 mini-grants to bolster their service to hard-to-count communities and help achieve a complete count in the 2020 Census. 

All types of libraries and library organizations are eligible to apply (e.g., public libraries, school libraries, academic libraries, tribal libraries, state library agencies, Library Friends or Foundations, library cooperatives, state library associations, etc.).

Applicants may propose activities such as conducting community outreach activities or expanding the library’s technology capacity for people completing the census questionnaire online. 

For more information:
Resources
VRATE: Vision Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Expo November 15 & 16
The annual Vision Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Expo (VRATE) is an event that brings together visually impaired and low vision/low hearing people and the agencies and organizations that provide services of interest to them. There is no cost to attend.

The conference/expo includes lectures, discussion panels, and full access to the exhibition center.

Presentations will be given on both days, with keynotes each day. On Friday, Michael Abell will coordinate a panel discussion and on Saturday, Kareem Neal, recipient of the 2019 Arizona Teacher of the Year award, will present. 

Please note that school and education presentations are scheduled on Saturday, November 16.

Location: Glendale Civic Center, 5750 W Glenn Drive, Glendale, AZ
Times: 9am – 4pm each day
Dates: Friday, November 15 and Saturday, November 16
Cost of attendance: FREE

Registration for attendees (participants and caregivers) is encouraged. 
Vendor and sponsor opportunities are still available.

For more information, go to www.vrateaz.com
VRATE Logo:
Stylized hand magnifier the words "Focused on Independence" as the handle. VRATE as the center of the glass with a yellow background. Around the periphery of the glass the words "Vision Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology EXPO."
Library Services is part of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State. The branches of Library Services include Library Development, the State of Arizona Research Library, the Arizona Talking Book Library, and E-Rate. Library Services programs and activities are supported in part with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Holly Henley
State Librarian and Director of Library Services, Archives and Records
Contact
Library Services