In This Issue

President's Corner ~ 2025 Annual Conference Registration is Open ~ 2025 Spring Membership Drive & Raffle ~ Announcing the SLRI Rosen Award ~ Alumni to be Honored at the GSLIS Annual Gathering ~ New Benefits for Members ~ Reading Across Rhode Island with Hanif Abdurraqib ~ News from the Rhode Island Library Community

Greetings All,

This is my last President’s Corner, as I will be handing the official RILA gavel to Ben Hanley, incoming RILA President, at our Annual Business meeting at URI on May 21. It has truly been a privilege to serve as your RILA President for the last two years and I look forward to supporting Ben as he transitions into his new role. RILA members will also have a hand in selecting new RILA Board members when the ballot goes live on April 21.

As I write this final letter, the last hearing for the Freedom to Read Act (S0238/H5726) has concluded. Now comes the fun part…waiting to learn if the bill will make it out of the committees. Advocacy requires lots of patience and persistence. Luckily, we library folks are equipped with these superpowers. I do have one final ask: We can all play a part in this by contacting our state senators and representatives to ask them to “please prioritize passing the Freedom to Read Bill S 0238 / H 5726 this year." If enough legislators make this bill one of their top 3 priorities, the bill will get enough votes to make it out of committee.  

It is not an exaggeration to say that we are in very challenging times. Every voice counts.

Before signing off, I would like to thank our fantastic board, hardworking committee members, and allies in our wonderful library community. We have done some good work over the last few years (from organizational restructuring to growing our advocacy reach and the forthcoming New England Intellectual Freedom Helpline) and there is much more to come. We could not have achieved any of this without the support of RILA members. Thank YOU. See you at the conference next month!

Warmly,

Beatrice Pulliam, RILA President

president@rilibraries.org

2025 Spring Membership

Drive & Raffle

If any current RILA member gets a new person to sign up for a RILA membership between now and May 21, 2025, you will both be entered into a raffle for prizes. The more you refer, the more chances you get!

New members must fill out the "I was referred by" section on the membership application. The Drive will run until May 21, the first day of the RILA Conference. As always, RILA members receive a discounted rate to the annual conference.

Joint memberships with NELA (New England Library Association) are available for only $20 ($15 a year for students and retirees) when you join RILA!

For all membership benefits, including discounts to local bookstores, see our Membership page. Best of luck!

Announcing the SLRI

Rosen Award

We are excited to announce a new partnership with Rosen Publishing and our school library colleagues in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The Southern New England Rosen School Librarian of the Month Award is a new award that recognizes RI certified SLRI members who have developed a powerful lesson, program or collaboration that empowers student learning and showcases what is happening in school libraries across our state. Three times per year (March, June and December), SLRI will solicit nominations from our members for librarians* who deserve to be honored for their commitment to service. Nominations are now open. Complete this form to nominate yourself or another librarian.

*Rosen Award nominees must be a RI certified Library Media Specialists and SLRI Member in good standing.

Alumni to be Honored at the GSLIS Annual Gathering

The Graduate School of Library and Information Studies is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s awards for Library of the Year and Alumni of the Year. The Library of the Year for 2025 is the Island Free Library in New Shoreham, Rhode Island. Each year, GSLIS honors two alumni: one who graduated 10 or more years ago and another recent alumnus who graduated within the last 5-10 years. Our Alumna of the Year for 2025 is Dr. Mary Moen and our Recent Alumna of the Year for 2025 is Wendy Gustavel. These awards will be presented at the GSLIS Annual Gathering, to be held April 23, 2025 at the URI Welcome Center in Kingston, RI.

New Member Benefits for RILA Members

• RILA Members will receive a 10% discount on all "Reading with Robin" and "Cardigan Connection" ticketed events! Please visit this page for details (Member login required) 
• Show your card and save! RILA members receive discounts at Inkfish Books, Island Books, Archive Book + Snackery, Paper Nautilus Books, and Books on the Square. Use this link to see discounts (Member login required to view & print your Membership card, or save to your phone)

Reading Across Rhode Island with Hanif Abdurraqib

Get in the RARI spirit with Overdueing It: The Rhode Island Library Podcast! On a recent episode, host Emily Goodman sat down with Hanif Abdurraqib, author of There's Always This Year, our 2025 RARI selection. They get into the book, as well as gush about their dogs and declare Columbus, OH, and Providence, RI, unofficial sister cities. Catch the conversation anywhere you get podcasts or on our website.

Read and Feed RI

In March, West Warwick Public Library signed an MOU with Feed RI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that receives donations of food products to distribute to Rhode Island’s in-need residents. This new partnership is the pilot for the "Read and Feed" program, which Feed RI created after discussions with West Warwick Library staff, with the goal of rolling out the program to other libraries in the state.

At the end of March, the library took delivery of its first donation of food items from Feed RI which will now be used to help stock the Community Needs Pantry, which was established in 2022 through a LORI ARPA grant. This new partnership will help to ensure an ongoing and predictable supply of high-quality foodstuffs for individuals and families in West Warwick. The library has also been supported in addressing food needs by Dave’s Fresh Marketplace, Centreville Bank, Farm Fresh RI, and by donations from patrons.

The local community has many barriers to accessing healthful food options. In all of West Warwick, there is a single neighborhood grocery store and a plethora of “dollar stores”, three of which are within a five-minute walk from the library. For the past decade, the Youth Services department has been partnering with the West Warwick Public Schools, and last summer served over 1,400 free lunches to local children and teens. The library is also one of 13 libraries nationwide participating in the IMLS-funded Ready NOW: Supporting Youth and Families During Crisis initiative, with a focus on issues of food insecurity and healthy food choices.