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In This Issue
President's Corner~ NELA & Mentorship ~News from the RI Library Community
Upcoming Opportunities ~ Newsletter Changes - Give us Feedback!
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Hello everyone!
Thank you for taking our RILA Strategic Planning Survey. We had a wonderful response rate, with 325 completed surveys and 493 responses total. One of the questions we asked in the survey was “What would you like to see RILA do for you in the next five years?” A wealth of ideas were given and the RILA Board hopes to implement as many of the suggestions as possible.
One topic that showed up was mentoring. Here is an example: “I would like RILA to provide services that can help me to transition from library school into the profession with a strong understanding of what matters for libraries in Rhode Island.” Another was “Set up a mentoring network for young librarians.”
One mentoring program which RILA currently participates in is the
New England Library Leadership Symposium (NELLS)
. The purpose of NELLS is to mentor and develop leaders in all of the nearby state and regional library associations. This month I had the opportunity to interview a NELLS mentor, Dorothy Swain, Director of the Greenville Public Library. Dorothy and I discussed her recent experience serving as a mentor for NELLS. The interview is below.
Do you have ideas for how RILA can provide mentorship opportunities? Please contact me at
president@rilibraries.org
with your thoughts!
All my best,
Kieran Ayton
RILA President
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Mentorship Interview with Dorothy Swain, Greenville Public Library Director
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By Kieran Ayton, RILA President
Dorothy attended the New England Library Leadership Symposium (NELLS) from August 14-18, 2017 in the Rolling Ridge Retreat Center in North Andover, MA. She was invited to serve as a mentor to help newer librarians learn leadership skills they could take back to their organizations.
I asked Dorothy what was most memorable about her NELLS experience. She said it was the family environment that developed between the mentors and attendees from the New England states. Living for an entire week in the Rolling Ridge Retreat Center allowed everyone to get to know one another in a variety of settings. Informal learning would occur over coffee in the morning. Group work would occur during classes throughout the day. After each group work session, the students and mentors at each table would switch so they would work with different people. And after classes, the mentors would discuss topics together. After work was done for the day there was a Trivia night, and a Barbecue night, all for the purpose of getting to know fellow attendees.
Dorothy worked closely with 2 librarians from Rhode Island. They were Allison Gregory, Youth Services Librarian, Cranston Public Library and Kim Usselman, Children's Services Coordinator, Cumberland Public Library. Both Allison and Kim had very positive experiences.
From Allison
: “I had a fantastic experience at NELLS getting to know the other participants and mentors from across New England. The discussions and readings along with the peaceful environment allowed me to reflect on my leadership goals and inspired me to create new opportunities at work.”
From Kim
: “NELLS was a great week to concentrate on my personal leadership skills, focus and get ideas on issues I was having and others in NELLS were having to problem solve together, and start some great relationships with librarians from across New England. I came out of the week feeling re-energized, inspired, and with some great new friendships - many of us went to the NELA Annual Conference in Burlington, Vermont to meet up again! I highly recommend to everyone to go to the next NELLS!!”
Dorothy also worked with librarians from other state library associations. Even after the NELLS program ended, she continues to mentor NELLS students online via a NELLS Facebook Group where students can send out a question and Dorothy and other NELLS mentors can share their answers.
I asked Dorothy what makes a successful leader. She believes you need to be a good listener and a good communicator. One of her favorite mottos comes from
Ronald Heifetz
. Think of many dancers in a ballroom. When you are on the dance floor, it is hard to see what is going on around you. Instead you need to get off the dance floor and go onto the balcony so you can see everyone below and observe from a wider perspective. Dorothy believes you should always step back and look at each situation from different angles. Strategies depend on the situation. Always listen. In a difficult situation repeat back to each individual what they tell you and then give your own point of view. When possible, use humor! Mixed with open communication, humor can help to put people at ease.
Dorothy’s experience as a NELLS mentor has inspired her to increase her mentorship of other librarians. She plans to return to NELLS in the future and encourages librarians to apply to the program.
She believes NELLS teaches individuals how to become leaders in their organizations, regardless of whether they are a director. NELLS also helps participants to make contacts. Dorothy recently attended the NELA conference and found that she knew many people because she had been a mentor at NELLS.
Dorothy encourages established librarians to become mentors and build relationships with others in the field. It is empowering to create connections outside of Rhode Island and develop support systems with people in other states. We all need to see outside visions. Looking back on her time at NELLS, Dorothy sees that the librarians she worked with have hope for the future. And she feels hope herself. A hope for the future of librarianship.
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Dorothy Swain, Director of the Greenville Public Library, Allison Gregory, Youth Services Librarian, Cranston Public Library and Kim Usselman, Children's Services Coordinator, Cumberland Public Library enjoy their time at the New England Library Leadership Symposium (NELLS)
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News From the RI Library Community
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CORI Hosts Annual Fall Mini-Conference
Cornucopia of Rhode Island: A Library Community of Color (CORI) hosted A Source of Peace: Libraries & Immigration – The Real News!
The afternoon event was held for the first time at the Rhode Island State House.
Valerie Karno, director of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Studies updated the attendees on the program’s diversity plans.
Assane Wade, a former youth volunteer at the Auburn Branch of the Cranston Public Library inspired everyone with his background and how the library played a major role in his growing up to become a man and as well as shaped his career. Assane stated that “One can only gain positive influences from libraries and librarians.” He ended by stating how important it is have libraries in your neighborhood.
The keynote speaker for the event was Christopher Bourret, program coordinator for the Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative at Providence Public Library. Mr. Bourret shared the extensive background of RIFLI and how libraries/librarians would benefit from working with RIFLI and local immigrants. Attendees were able to chat with Rhode Island immigrants and learn some of their amazing stories.
Dean Watts, director of Rising Sun Jiu-Jitsu, motivated everyone with his powerful words. He invoked the audience to be proud of their culture and to motivate and instruct others to do their best.
CORI is very grateful for the support that Rhode Island has extended the organization. This year’s mini-conference was co-sponsored by the Rhode Island Coalition of Library Advocates, COLA.
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Christopher Bourret, Keynote Speaker
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Rising Sun Jiu-Jitsu demonstrates
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JWU Librarian Highlights Open Education Resources
Reference librarian Kelly Faulkner (along with JWU Faculty member TC Rogers) presented
Making the Shift to OER an Approachable Process
at the fall 2017 conference of the New England Faculty Development Consortium (NEFDC).
Faulkner also represents Johnson & Wales University on the steering committee of the Rhode Island Open Textbook Initiative, and is launching a JWU faculty learning community on teaching with open education resources.
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Tiverton Librarian Retiring After 30 Years of Service
Tiverton Public Library would like to announce the retirement of Children's Librarian Janet (Kosinski) Linhares in December 2017. Janet has worked at the Tiverton Libraries for 30 years. During that time she has worked tirelessly to expand services and collections for the area children. She was directly involved in the development of the award winning design for the children's area of new library. She has touched the lives of many thousands of children, families and caregivers during her long career.
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Barrington Public Library Renovation & Director Changes
Barrington Public Library is also proud to share the news of our completed renovation to the children’s room, administrative/staff offices, and community meeting spaces. This includes improved projection, sound, acoustics, seating, and stage restoration to the newly named Salem Family Auditorium. “A New Chapter: Upstairs” project was designed by Tappe Architects and includes an original glass and light installation entitled Tidewater, by acclaimed glass artist Michele Gutlove.
Barrington Public Library says goodbye to our outgoing director Deborah Barchi, library director of 18 years and wishes her the best in retirement. During her time at Barrington Public Library she was involved with Library TV, served two terms as president of Ocean State Libraries Steering Committee and oversaw two renovations at BPL. She has plans to travel and continue learning new hobbies in her retirement.
Barrington Public Library welcomes our new library director, Kris Chin. Kris is no stranger to RI libraries. She was director of the Libraries of Foster for nine years before moving on to the directorship of the Medfield Public Library in Massachusetts. While she truly enjoyed working in Medfield, the call to Barrington was too hard to resist, so she accepted the Director’s position in the early fall. She is looking forward to working with the staff to continue the good work that has been done and to move the library forward in new and exciting ways.
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Upcoming Development Opportunities
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AtoZ Databases from A to Z
Learn about how you can use AtoZ Databases to better support small business and workforce development, along with other community reference needs in your library. Familiarize yourself with the product and discover new features at a hands-on workshop with AtoZ.
Three workshops are available; click to register:
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Building Bridges in a Divisive Climate: Diversity in Libraries, Archives, and Museums
Diversity comes in many dimensions such as age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status. The University of Rhode Island Libraries invite you to come explore current issues and challenges in diversity, equity, and inclusion in libraries, archives, and museums with our diverse panel in order to further advance civic values in our society and profession.
Click here to Register for the November 20th Workshop at 12:00pm
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Conferences, Proposals & Meetups
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Stipends Available for Public Library Health Workshop
Public library workers are invited to
apply for a $500 stipend to attend
"Stand Up for Health: Health and Wellness Services for Your Community," a preconference workshop held at the Public Library Association (PLA) 2018 Conference in Philadelphia.
The
preconference workshop
is part of Promoting Healthy Communities, a new nationwide initiative from PLA and National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) that will increase public library workers’ knowledge and skills related to consumer health services.
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Newsletter Changes: Your Opinion
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We're working on ways to make the newsletter a great resource to connect all those who have an interest in Rhode Island Libraries. What do you think? Do you have some suggestions?
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The Rhode Island Library Association
is a professional association of Librarians, Library Staff, Trustees, and library supporters whose purpose is to promote the profession of librarianship and to improve the visibility, accessibility, responsiveness and effectiveness of library and information service throughout Rhode Island.
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The RILA Bulletin is produced by the RILA Communications Committee. The RILA Communications Committee is responsible for publicizing and supporting Rhode Island Library Association activities using a variety of communication tools. Responsibilities including publishing the RILA Bulletin, managing social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and exploring other mediums as needed. The Communications Committee may cooperate with the publicity efforts of the Public Relations Committee to promote library services statewide.
Rhode Island Library Association members can contribute content to the RILA Bulletin by emailing the editors: communications@rilibraries.org
Rachael and David
Rhode Island Library Association
Thanks for reading to the end of the Newsletter.
You did it!
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