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In This Issue
President's Corner ~ RILA Conference Registration ~ A Conversation With AASL President Courtney Pentland ~ Remembering Dr. Donna Gilton ~ Library Advocacy Day at the State House ~ Spring Membership Drive ~ Support Fair eBook Pricing ~ Purdue Libraries Conference ~ GSLIS Awards ~ National Baseball Poetry Festival ~ NELLS Emerging Leaders ~ RILINK Conference ~ News from RI Libraries
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I did not plan to include a weather-related intro with every President’s Corner, but at the time of this writing, we have had another visit from Old Man Winter, an earthquake, and totality is imminent.
Speaking of things aligning, we have arrived at another National Libraries Week, and there is much to reflect upon right here in Little Rhody. On Wednesday, four of the six library bills in play this year are getting a hearing on Wednesday, April 10th, before the State Senate Committee on Education: Freedom to Read (S2281), EBooks (S2514), School Libraries (S2520), and State Library Law Modernization (S2742). The hearing starts at 4:00PM, and the proceedings tend to begin close to an hour after that, if you are able to show your support for these bills in person. If you are able to submit written support for any of these bills or encourage your library patrons to support these bills, that is also appreciated. You can submit written testimony by emailing the Committee’s Clerk at SLegislation@rilegislature.gov. Written testimony must be submitted prior to 3:00PM on Wednesday, April 10th, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. The hearing will also be televised on Capitol TV (Cox channels 15 and 61) and live streamed at https://capitoltvri.cablecast.tv.
Thursday is ALA’s #TakeActionforLibraries Day, and what better way to mark this occasion than joining us for our annual Library Advocacy Day in the State House Library at 3:00PM. We are hosting a press conference that will feature community leaders and legislators from the General Assembly who will introduce the legislation to protect the Freedom to Read. We cannot express how grateful we are to have such fantastic library champions in the legislature.
Inside the Bulletin: school libraries and a look at the career of one of our own are at the center of this issue, with a conversation with AASL President Courtney Pentland and a touching tribute to the late Dr. Donna Gilton, Professor Emerita at the URI School of Library and Information Science and a co-founder of Cornucopia of Rhode Island (CORI), A Library Community of Color. CORI is now a section of RILA. ALA passed a resolution honoring Dr. Gilton in January, and we plan to commemorate Dr. Gilton’s legacy at a later date. Registration for the annual May conference is also now open, and we are having a membership drive. We will see you at the conference at Providence Public Library on May 22nd and 23rd. Happy School Library Month!
Warmly,
Beatrice Pulliam, RILA President
president@rilibraries.org
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Building Relationships in the Library Ecosystem: A Conversation with AASL President Courtney Pentland
Submitted by Mary Moen, SLRI President, and Carol Byrne, SLRI Communications Chair
Librarians excel at fostering relationships. They may be school or academic librarians connecting with their students, or public librarians interacting with community members. This expertise is vital to build and maintain support for all types of libraries and will be highlighted in remarks by Courtney Pentland, AASL President and a keynote speaker at this year’s RILA Conference.
Building relationships is at the core of Pentland’s AASL presidency, and she seeks to offer insight as to how all types of libraries can build relationships. As a school librarian, she views school libraries as a gateway to community support for libraries. “Starting with school libraries, the more we can get students excited about using the library, the more they can be lifelong users of all types of libraries, which serve the same community and, together, form an ecosystem,” she says.
Managing this ecosystem is crucial in the challenging environment many libraries have experienced in recent years. “With all the difficulties we face, people don’t understand what we do, and the only way we are going to change that is build stronger relationships with stakeholders and communities, including other types of libraries,” she says. “These relationships can be between libraries and stakeholders, different library types, associations and their members, and associations and elected leaders.”
“If people are unclear about what we do, how can they support us? So we need to build those relationships,” she says.
Pentland is a high school librarian in Nebraska. She has also served as an elementary librarian and is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Nebraska-Omaha School Library program. She has been a Nebraska School Librarians Association board member at large, president, and chapter delegate to AASL and will deliver the conference keynote on Thursday, May 23rd.
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Behind the Scenes Memories of CORI Co-Founder Dr. Donna L. Gilton
Submitted by Ida D. McGhee, Co-founder of Cornucopia of Rhode Island, A Library Community of Color
I first met Dr. Donna Gilton over 20 years ago when I was a librarian at Hartford (Connecticut) Public Library, attending a conference at the New Haven, Connecticut Public Library. I believe the all-day conference was on diversity in our local libraries. Donna was in attendance with Dr. Michael Havener, the then Dean of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School Library and Information Studies program. The main speaker was Dr. Carla Hayden, the current Librarian of Congress, who at that time was the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. While working on her Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, not only did they room together, but Donna and Dr. Hayden became very close friends.
I saw Donna a few other times before relocating to Rhode Island at various library conferences. We were always cordial and she invariably had something humorous to share to make you laugh.
Upon retiring from HPL and moving to South County, near URI, I met with Dr. Havener to discuss the number of unrepresented students of color in the GSLIS program. I humored him by stating, “I guess they do not have any Black librarians in Rhode Island other than Dr. Gilton.” I asked him this question due to my attendance at a Rhode Island Library Association annual conference at Bryant University. I remember seeing only one librarian of color that spring day, Marlene Lopes, former special collections librarian at Rhode Island College, who became a member of CORI.
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Library Advocacy Day at the RI State House
Join library advocates on April 11th at 3:00PM in the State House Library for a press conference on bills introduced in the General Assembly protecting the Freedom to Read, featuring:
- Senator Mark McKenney (S2281, S2429)
- Representative David Morales (H7575)
- Representative Jennifer Stewart (H7386)
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2024 Spring Membership Drive & Raffle
The RILA Membership Committee is pleased to announce our Spring Membership Drive!
If a RILA member gets a new person to sign up for a RILA membership between now and May 22nd, 2024, you will BOTH be entered into a raffle for gift cards. 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 22nd, the first day of the RILA Conference. As always, RILA members receive a discounted rate to the annual conference.
Thank you!
The RILA Membership Committee: Julie Holden (Chair), Dhana Whiteing, Jacob Lotter, Michelle Steever
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Support Fair eBook Pricing for RI Libraries
RILA supports proposed legislation that requires reasonable pricing and terms for all licensed digital ebooks and audiobooks that are sold to libraries in Rhode Island.
- Contact your local state representative and tell them to support H7508.
- Contact your local state senator and tell them to support S2514.
Learn more about the issues and what you can do to help by clicking the button below.
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FREE Purdue Libraries Virtual Conference on April 16th
Purdue Libraries will be holding a free conference on Information Literacy (fake news, misinformation) via Zoom on April 16th. Our speakers will be presenting on research and information that will be of great interest for public libraries, who are our front line in the fight against misinformation.
The conference will be held on Tuesday, April 16th, from 9:00AM to 4:00PM. Admission is free for all, but registration is appreciated.
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2024 GSLIS Award Winners
The Graduate School of Library and Information Studies (GSLIS) 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 2024 is the Rhode Island State Archives in Providence, 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 to 10 years. Our Alumna of the Year for 2024 is Stephanie Mills, and our Recent Alumna of the Year for 2024 is Alyssa Taft. These awards will be presented at the GSLIS Annual Gathering, to be held May 3rd, from 6:00 - 10:00PM at the URI Alumni Center in Kingston, RI.
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National Baseball Poetry Festival
The National Baseball Poetry Festival celebrates the intersection of America's pastime and the power of words on May 3rd and 4th, 2024 in Worcester, MA.
The festival will feature poetry contests, open mic readings, youth readings, WooSox games, stadium tours, and fireworks. Tickets for baseball games are optional. Click below to learn more.
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NELLS Emerging Leaders Program Accepting Applications
The New England Library Association is accepting applications for its next New England Library Leadership Symposium (NELLS) Emerging Leaders cohort, scheduled to begin in person August 5th-7th at Southern New Hampshire State University.
The NELLS Emerging Leaders Program is designed to be an introduction to library leadership. It is most appropriate for early to mid-career library workers who have demonstrated potential to become leaders in the field or who aspire to hold leadership positions. A Master’s degree in Library Science is not required in order to participate.
Participants in this cohort will have access to speakers, mentors, supplemental readings, and other emerging leaders throughout the program, which will focus on developing and understanding leadership styles, discussing issues in library leadership, and building a leadership toolkit. All graduates will have the opportunity to stay connected with their cohort after the program has ended to continue to foster relationships and seek support from one another.
Applications must be submitted no later than June 1st, 2024.
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Save the Date: RILINK Summer Conference, July 24th
The RILINK Summer Conference: Resources, Strategies, and Connections, will be held on July 24th, from 8:00AM to 3:30PM at the Wast Bay Collaborative in Warren RI.
The keynote speaker will be Shannon McClintock Miller, international speaker and consultant, future Ready Librarians spokesperson, capstone author and remote learning librarian.
Registration will be free for RILINK members and $25 for nonmembers. Stay tuned for more registration information coming soon.
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News from the Rhode Island Library Community | |
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East Providence Public Library Welcomes New Youth Services Librarian Diana Carvalho
Diana earned her MLIS from Simmons University in 2012. A Youth Services Librarian by inclination, Diana made a brief jump over to administration as Library Director at Adams Public Library in Central Falls. She is happy to once again serve children and families in her new position as Youth Services Librarian at East Providence Public Library.
Diana loves crafts, Star Wars, and inclusivity of all kinds. When she was three years old, Diana told her mother that learning new things was her favorite thing to do and that hasn't changed. She is delighted to now be working to build community in East Providence where her three children are growing up!
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The Rhode Island Library Association
is a professional organization that serves its members through career development, education, advocacy, networking partnerships, and legislative action.
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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 include publishing the RILA Bulletin, managing social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, and exploring other media as needed.
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