Fall is a busy time for libraries! September brings Library Card Sign Up Month and Banned Books Week. October includes Star Wars Reads Day, Teen Read Week, and Information Literacy Awareness Month. It can be enough to overwhelm even the most seasoned librarian. 

However, just like students heading back to school for a new year, fall can also be a chance to try something new. Freshen up standard programs by adding new elements to existing, or start a brand new program at your library. Challenge yourself professionally by joining a new committee (RILA has lots to choose from!). If time or staffing is tight, take a small step and create a display or booklist that's new to your library. 

Just be sure to take a moment this fall to enjoy the crisp air and indulge in something with pumpkin spice as you find a way--big or small--to try something new in your library world.

Ahhh ... autumn is at our doorstep. The kids are back at school, and we are all taking time to plan and organize as we settle into our regular schedules. RILA is also doing the same, and as the Board works to try and focus on workshops and online tools for the membership to make use of, we would very much like to hear from you what you think RILA should be doing. So, if you have any ideas, we would definitely like to hear them so we can see what we can do about making them happen. To share your ideas, all you have to do is take a moment or two and put them in an email for me at [email protected]. We will make sure to make your thoughts and ideas a part of the conversation!

Along the same lines, we have a number of great committees and roundtables that allow you to participate more fully in the association. Each plays an important role in helping RILA serve the membership and the profession. Here is a list of what we have and the names and contact information of the chairs so you can contact them if you would like to join them:

( RILA Bulletin Submissions)
Andria Tieman (2015-2017), Providence College - 401-865-1252
Brandi Fong (2015-2017), South Kingstown Public Library - 401-789-1555 x105
[email protected]

Melissa Chiavaroli (2015-2017), Cumberland Public Library - 401-333-2552 x2
Erin Creighton (2015-2017), Thayer Public Library - 781-848-0405 x4430

Christine Wallace Goldstein (2015-2017), Woonsocket Harris Library - 401-769-9044
Lori DeCesare (2015-2017), Marian J. Mohr Memorial Library - 401-231-4980

Mary MacDonald (2014-2016), University of Rhode Island - 401-874-4635
Maura Keating (2014-2016), Bryant University - 401-232-6299

Carla Weiss (2015-2017), Retired
Jim Kinnie (2015-2017), University of Rhode Island - 401-874-9240

Eileen Dyer (2015-2017), Providence Community Libraries Eileen Socha (2015-2017), East Providence Public Library - 401-434-2719

( Membership Questions)
Kieran Ayton (2015-2017), Rhode Island College - 401-456-9604
Jenifer Bond   (2015-2017), Bryant University - 401-232-6000 x20419

Rachael Juskuv (2015-2017), Bryant University / North Scituate Library - 401-647-5133
Katy Dorchies (2015-2017), Cranston Public Library - 401-943-9080 x105

I am sure that all of the chairs would love to have more members helping them out on different tasks.

RILA is also currently looking for someone to serve in the role of COLA Liaison. The Coalition of Library Advocates is a library-related organization that brings together all sorts of people who have an interest in the success of libraries. COLA is also one of RILA's major partners, having worked together along with OLIS to present workshops for library staff, trustees, Friends, and other shareholders in recent years. It is important to have a member of the RILA Board to share information between the two organizations. If you are interested in serving in that role, feel free to contact me at 333-2552 x128 or [email protected]

With your help, RILA can be the organization we all want it to be.

Amanda Izenstark, an associate professor and Reference & Instructional Design Librarian at URI, is well on the way to turning herself into a verb. In fact, for 2015, the folks at the Oxford English Dictionary should take note and recognize the word "izenstark" and its definition: "to make something considerably more efficient and pleasant."

 

When I first reached out to Amanda and proposed to interview her at URI, she immediately izenstarked everything by suggesting she meet me at my own place of work. Then, instead of going back and forth, trying to find a time that would work best for us, she directed me toward her You-Can-Book-Me site, which made it easy to schedule a meeting. (For the curious, here's their url: https://youcanbook.me)

 

 

What is your background? How did you travel through time and space and get to librarianship?

I didn't grow up using libraries because my family didn't read much. They were always doing interesting things, but they were things that didn't involve reading. As a kid, I thought that reading was something you had to do in school-but that adults got themselves to a point where they didn't have to do it anymore. It was only later, when I was spending time with my stepmother, that I learned adults did read. She had a personal library and loved reading for fun and for her own education. She took me to libraries.

 

As far as finding librarianship goes, in college, I studied French, history, psychology, and social work, at one point dropping out to head from Chicago to the East Coast because I was interested in what some people I knew were doing at MIT. (They were doing work related to the early Internet.)

 

Around the same time, a friend of mine in the library program at the University of Illinois showed me a thesis he was working on, which was a massive bibliography. Right there, I said to him, "You don't have to write a paper for a thesis?! You can do this?! A bibliography is the coolest thing ever!" A few years later, a friend's family member (a librarian) recognized my other skills and interests in computing technology and encouraged me to become a librarian.

 

Although I thought about a degree in computer science, I chose library studies because I like helping people more than I like helping computers.

 

Since currency in all things technical and informational is so important to librarians, how do you keep current?

I find the best way of keeping current is going to conferences and chatting with people. I also rely on my feed reader-I use Feedly-and Twitter to stay on top of things that I'm interested in and that I want to read about. Some of the sources I follow are Ars Technica, the ACRL (and its various blogs), Fast Company (lots of business stuff), Google Operating System (an un-official blog about Google and all its changes), Karen Blakeman's blog, Swiss Army Librarian, and Jessamyn West's stuff.

 

If you'd like, I'd be happy to share my OPML file with you.

 

[Here, I didn't know what an "OPML file" is, but once I asked Amanda about it, I learned that she was classically izenstarking by offering to share with me her list of sources she follows on her feed. And I'm sure if you were to contact her, she'd be willing to share this file with you, too.]

 

You are a librarian who is often teaching undergraduate and graduate students, so what is your teaching philosophy? What are the "hows" and "whys" of your teaching practice?

My philosophy is that I want patrons and students to know they can teach themselves. I want to encourage them to think that way because things are changing all the time, and students need to know how to ride those waves of change, whether they be technological changes or information changes. So often, as was the case with me, you train for one major, but then you later find your training isn't enough and that you have to change. Especially in fields like library science, careers change, so I feel I have to help equip people to educationally fend for themselves.

 

But, perhaps related to all that, another part of my philosophy is that I want to encourage intellectual curiosity across disciplines. I've just proposed a general education course that is open to students across the disciplines, much as our current general education class is. I want the students that I'll teach to appreciate how their disciplines are similar and different and to get them to compare and contrast the tools they use. This class I've proposed is highly collaborative, and everyone, regardless of their major, will do research into the humanities, the social sciences, the biological sciences, and the technological sciences in order to gain perspectives different from their own.

 

 

What makes a good reference librarian? What are skills they should have?

Being personable and approachable. You cannot be buried in your phone. Of course, sometimes when you're at a reference desk, you're doing different things, but you need to be able to drop whatever you're doing in order to help someone. You have to be aware of what's going on around you.

 

It's also important to think about what it means to listen to questions in an academic environment. What I mean is that, oftentimes, it's not enough just to listen to the question that the student or faculty member has. You also have to get the context of the question because the context will help you to understand the question better, or maybe even to help the student get the question better.

 

Above all else, though, my advice is to be pleasant!

 

 

What would you like to do in a library that no one has ever done before?

Something I've thought about is accommodating people who don't just want to sit in the library. I'd like to make it so that people could work while standing or even lying down. (I once heard about a guy at MIT who mounted a monitor to a wall, installed a hammock, and then worked like that.)

 

Or have you ever seen those nurses who have laptops on moving carts? That might be something to have in a library because, sometimes, you want to get up and move around.

 

I also like the idea of having spaces where everything moves-and not just chairs and desks, but also walls and dividers. At URI, we have a couple of big white boards that have sound dampening material on their backs. It would be fun to have a lot of those kinds of dividers, and then people could wheel them around and customize their own working spaces. Sort of like making forts!

 

I'd also like to have portable digital projectors in the library so that any wall or surface could become a collaborative one. In fact, I've even seen interactive projectors that allow users to touch and manipulate what they're projecting-like a Smart Board. I think that's the kind of technology that could transform how libraries are used.

 

All in all, I'm interested in technology that accommodates different working styles and that fosters collaboration.

 

 

I hope you've appreciated, reading this interview, how much Amanda Izenstark embodies what it means to teach and learn in a library with great keenness and energy. And if you've never izenstarked, it's time to give it a try. If you'd like to contact Amanda for her OPML file, this is her address: [email protected]

When an individual passes a proctored assessment at an approved site, they receive a certificate stating that they successfully completed the exam. This provides a more tangible credential on a resume than simply claiming to have computer skills. They may also claim badges for their portfolio or LinkedIn profile certifying that they met the requirements to achieve proficiency in the courses offered. Badges and online portfolios are currently used more prevalently on the high school and college levels than for adult learners, but the concept has potential for job seekers and adults who need to prove they possess computer skills. There is no cost to complete the online assessments.

 

The Office of Library and Information Services, in partnership with the RI Family Literacy Initiative (RIFLI), Broadband RI, and the Adult Education Professional Development Center, have been conducting trainings for library staff to become certified as test proctors and get their library approved as a testing site. OLIS also has a limited number of site licenses available. Participating Rhode Island public libraries include Coventry, Cranston, West Warwick, Tiverton, East Providence, Narragansett, North Kingstown, and Pawtucket. There are also many non-profit organizations and government agencies participating in the project. OLIS is offering another proctor training on October 7 at the Cranston Public Library.  http://www.olis.ri.gov/services/ce/individual.php?code=nort1007

 

I attended a training in July with Larry Britt from the Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative. The process of becoming approved as a test site and as a proctor takes about half an hour after attending the two-hour training. Once your site is approved, additional staff members can be added as proctors after reviewing a short training video and passing a review quiz. Cranston Public Library was recently approved as a testing location, and we soon will begin offering the proctored exams in our C-Lab computer lab.

I'm currently working on administering the assessments to every staff member at the library, including part-timers and branch staff. Because the public relies so heavily on libraries and library staff for computer access and assistance, it's important that every staff member is able to use computers and the internet to perform basic tasks and assist the public. Northstar offers a great opportunity to assess our staff''s comfort using computers to perform basic tasks. Some staff members have expressed concern about possible repercussions if they don't pass a test, but the intent is purely to identify areas where further staff training is required in order to strengthen our customer service and better serve our patrons. 

 

This is an exciting new tool for libraries to assist computer learners and job seekers to gain new skills and quantify what they have learned to employers. It's also useful for determining staff's computer skills and assist them in improving their skills in problem areas so all staff members are comfortable assisting the many patrons who rely in the library for technology access and instruction. 

OLIS has a lineup of all new continuing education programs for the Fall and early Winter. See the full schedule and register online. Here are a few of the 22 programs that are coming up.

Privacy in libraries is hotter topic than ever; just scan library news and publications to see how much. Even if you got a taste of privacy tools at the RILA Conference, come to "A Privacy Workshop for Librarians, by The Library Freedom Project." This program includes speakers from the ACLU who will expand the conversation about library rights and responsibilities.

Ways to insure that library users with disabilities have their needs addressed and can find information are more readily understood when you have some guidelines. "After 25 Years with the Americans with Disabilities Act" offers a chance to see if your library measures up. And a special session on School Library Accessibility is on the schedule.

Youth Services programming includes an opportunity to learn how to enhance children's literature, Mock Newbery and YART sessions, and targeted grant writing. And you can register for the cosponsored "Teen Summit 2015: Connect the Dots" right from the OLIS registration page.

And as always, OLIS welcomes suggestions for future programs. Contact Donna DiMichele or any of the OLIS staff.

Featuring eight collections and nearly 5000

"The Library has been making a growing number of its collections digitally accessible over the past several years, but with the launch of ProvLibDigital.org, we are moving ahead on a key strategic goal to enhance our Digital Library, with a primary focus of creating access to our unique special collections, as well as content generated by the Library through innovative programming and special research fellowships. These resources will become an integral part of our users' library experience," said Library Executive Director Jack Martin.

RILA 

Financial Literacy Roundtable (FLRT) seeks members
The Financial Literacy Round Table (FLRT) was established in
May 2015 under the governance of the Rhode Island Library
Association.

Since Libraries of all types should and do participate in providing
programming and activities for all ages and all stages of life on
topics relating to financial education, awareness, and
empowerment, FLRT will identify areas of action and develop
strategies that librarians can use to raise awareness and facilitate
education in all areas of financial literacy: basic budgeting;
managing student debt; retirement planning; home purchasing;
saving money through couponing; and how to prevent identity
theft, workforce development skills, etc..  Therefore this
roundtable will contribute to the development of library practices,
programs, and statewide initiatives that effectively support these
needs.

Source: http://rilibraries.org/RILA-Roundtables
Current RILA members or those interested in joining RILA are
invited to join FLRT. 
Please contact Chris Wallace Goldstein (Woonsocket Harris
Library) [email protected]  or Lori DeCesare
[email protected] (Mohr Library, Johnston) if you are
interested. 

NAHSL

The North Atlantic Health Sciences Libraries, Inc., 

invites you to its annual meeting in Providence, RI, October 18-20.

 

Health Sciences Libraries: Anchored in Excellence  offers an outstanding slate of plenary speakers who will focus on the essential role of libraries and librarians in providing access to quality health information: