Ahhh...the slow and relaxing days of summer are finally here! It's time to pack a picnic, head to the beach, and kick back and enjoy reading a book in the beautiful sunshine. If you need a reading suggestion-past issues of the RILA Bulletin are now digitized and available online! Curious about the library news from 1927? Now's your chance to catch up on what was happening then!

Summer also brings around RILA's changing of the guard, as President Jenifer Bond steps down and Aaron Coutu takes her place.  We wish them both much luck in their new endeavors.

Granted, for many the summer days are anything but slow. Summer reading, summer classes-if anything, libraries are busier than ever during the summer! Just check out some of the things Librarian Ed Graves and his staff have been doing in this issue's Better Know a Librarian spotlight.

Regardless of whether this is your library's slow time or busy time, be sure to take a minute to step outside, clear your head, and soak in the sunshine. Fall will be here before you know it!

Happy summer!

Andria Tieman & Brandi Fong

RILA Communications Committee Co-Chairs

Ed Graves is a Providence Community Library manager for the Fox Point, Smith Hill, and Rochambeau branches. I met him before the Rochambeau Library opened on a steamy, hydrangea-filled morning on the East Side, and while he waited for a furniture delivery to that library, we had a wide-ranging conversation about his background, library management, Minecraft, and the beauty of dahlias.

Ed grew up nearby in Foxboro, MA, and then moved out to Seattle at nineteen. Out West, he worked as a fundraiser for the Seattle Public Library Foundation. At the time, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had agreed to match dollar-for-dollar anything that people like Ed raised, and part of the job was calling every name in the phone book. It was at this time that Ed found himself drawn more and more to libraries. He also learned he could effectively raise money for them. Next, Ed moved to Milwaukee, where he worked in the public library system and went through library school. Ed then spent time at libraries in western North Carolina and southern Vermont, where he gained much experience in the day-to-day problem solving of librarianship, before he ended up in Rhode Island.

When I asked Ed about his approach to library management, he came back to the concept of problem solving and how important it is for managers not to avoid conflicts but even to be interested in them. He stressed that it's crucial for managers to be willing to step into emergencies without hesitation, and he credits a Nonprofit Management certificate program at Marlboro College in Vermont for providing a framework for leadership development.

But, all in all, Ed said that his work isn't only about conflicts. "Really, it's more about engagement than management," he said. He pointed out that he's consistently impressed by the positive attitudes of his staff and their creative contributions to the running of the libraries he manages. As an example, he spoke of the "Mutt Strut," which was a literary fashion show for dogs that happened last September. This unusual (and very successful) idea wasn't Ed's but a couple of other staff, Edilberta Trejo and Angela DiVeglia, and he said the next time they run it, it will be even bigger. "We're going to take the spirit of the Mutt Strut and turn it into a full-on block party!" Ed said, his eyes bugging like a whipped up pug's.

Another project that Ed and his staff have recently had to work together closely on is the Minecraft server, which is a networked computer set-up that allows young PCL members from all nine libraries to play the popular Mojang game with one another. (On the server and in the world of Minecraft, they can also do things like burn down the digital replica of the Knight Memorial Library, but rest assured, gentle librarian readers, on its ashes that noble palace has been rebuilt!) What's more, this past November, a young Rochambeau library patron, Catherine Brunzos, emerged as champion in an international Minecraft competition called "The Minecraft Hunger Games." But, even when confronted with all this digital success, Ed waxes demure in saying, "At the library, everything we've learned about video games, we've learned from kids. It's from having an interest in them."

During our conversation, I asked Ed if there's anything that he does that isn't library work that nevertheless affects his library work. "Well, I'm a big gardener," Ed said. "I need to pick my raspberries!" He told me his greens are full bore, and his tomatoes and beans are coming in. His squash are so big and profuse they might even start competing on the Minecraft server. As Ed continued to describe his veggies, and as he spoke about his work in community gardens, the connections between his gardening and library work became clear. He really can't help but to be a nurturing manager, even when he's away from his branches. "I don't grow flowers, but I'd love to," Ed said. "I'd grow dahlias and bring them in."

The Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition is a 501 c (3) non-profit organization that seeks to bring together stakeholders to collaborate on educational activities that increase financial capability and generate financial well-being for all who live and work in Rhode Island.  

Founded in 2004 and currently one of 51 state Coalitions affiliated with the national Jump$tart network, Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition is led by a dedicated, all-volunteer Board. The organization partners with Rhode Island educators, schools, organizations, businesses, elected officials, families, and other stakeholders to improve the financial capability of the state's residents, particularly children and teens, young adults, and under-served populations.

The primary goal of Rhode Island Jump$tart is to improve personal financial knowledge and skills so that individuals can be empowered to employ responsible personal financial practices that lead to their own lifelong financial security, as well as increased prosperity for the state as a whole. Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition envisions a state in which young people are informed and become increasingly responsible for their personal economic well-being as they approach adulthood, and as they manage their finances and contribute to their communities as adult citizens.  

Rhode Island Jump$tart encourages educators, business and civic leaders, family members, government officials, and other stakeholders to be actively engaged and work together to provide youth and adults, with the information and skills they need to confidently navigate today's dynamic personal financial marketplace. Important financial topics include spending and saving; budgeting; credit and loans; financial investments; insurance and managing risk; entrepreneurship; and identity protection.

The Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition carries out its mission by convening forums where partners and other stakeholders can network, exchange ideas, promote efforts and form alliances; sharing and promoting best practices in financial capability programs; creating, planning, executing and securing funds for valuable initiatives; promoting trusted programs, educational resources, and when possible, providing funds to target population program providers; and increasing awareness among policy-makers, civic leaders, and other people of influence about the need for and benefits of increased personal financial capability in Rhode Island and beyond.  

Rhode Island Jump$tart offers professional development programs for teachers in the area of economic and financial literacy, and also organizes student competitions such as the 2015 Rhode Island Personal Finance Challenge that was sponsored by Fidelity Investments. In addition, the organization regularly participates in community events such as Money Smart Week RI, and actively uses social media to keep the public informed about the valuable informational programs, resources and activities that are being offered across the state and region. The Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition was recently selected by the Rhode Island Foundation for the 2015 Best Practices Advocacy Award in recognition for the organization's successful role in advocating for the adoption of national personal finance standards for all Rhode Island K-12 students.  

The Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition looks forward to continuing this important work by developing new partnerships and advocating for the advancement of financial capability within the state, region, and country.