In This Issue

President's Corner ~ CORI: Thank You, Rhode Island & Save the Date ~ Rhode Island's Freedom to Read Bill Ceremonial Signing by Gov. McKee ~ News from the Rhode Island Library Community ~ Save the Date: RILA Annual Conference 2026

Happy summer to everyone! I hope you've all been surviving the heat and humidity and enjoying the beautiful days and nights. Soak up the sun as best you can! Summer tends to be a bit quiet for RILA, with new board members and committees, but we have a couple of announcements to share with you all.

Thank you to everyone who worked on the Freedom to Read bill from the very beginning to its passage on July 2! A ceremonial signing by Governor Dan McKee was held on August 12 at the

Rochambeau Library in Providence. Present at the ceremony were the bill sponsors, Freedom to Read Coalition members, librarians, and community members. Thank you especially to bill sponsors Representative David Morales and Senator Mark McKenney, Freedom to Read Coalition members, RILA's Legislative Action Committee, Director of the Community Libraries of Providence Cheryl Space for hosting the event, and many others who have championed this bill from its inception into law. I also appreciate the support from Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, Senate President Valarie Lawson, and Providence Mayor Brett Smiley who were in attendance.

In a bittersweet celebration, Cornucopia of Rhode Island (CORI) will be holding a Farewell Celebration on September 25 at the Rhode Island State Library at the RI State House in Providence. Register by September 18 to attend! Please read the article below about the celebration and further details. At RILA’s May Executive Board meeting, the Cornucopia of Rhode Island (CORI) Section was dissolved. CORI has served the library community of color since 2005. Thank you to the last president, Danielle Skeldon, for guiding CORI in its final year, as well as to all past presidents, board members, CORI members, and, especially, to the founding members of CORI back in 2005: Ida D. McGhee, Dr. Michael Havener, Dr. Donna Gilton, and Denise Dowdell.

As fall gets closer, please consider joining one of our many committees. Check out the RILA website for committee charges. Do any of the committees interest you? Does one of the RILA board roles spark something in you? Reach out anytime to president@rilibraries.org for more info, or reach out to a committee or board member. We’re serving the RILA community, and there’s always an opportunity to partake in something new!

Ben Hanley, RILA President

president@rilibraries.org

CORI: Thank You, Rhode Island & Save the Date

Upon retiring in 2003 from the Hartford Public Library in Connecticut and relocating to South County, Rhode Island, I met with Dr. Michael Havener, the then dean of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School Library and Information Studies program. I had known Dr. Havener from various library committee meetings throughout New England. We met 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 …” I asked him this question due to my attendance at the recent Rhode Island Library Association annual conference at Bryant University. I fondly remember seeing only one librarian of color that spring day, Marlene Lopes, now retired, special collections librarian at Rhode Island College, who became a member of CORI. 

I am not sure what Dr. Havener said to Dr. Donna Gilton, a former professor in the program, now deceased, but Donna always used to tell me, “He instructed me to meet with you.” I recollect saying to her, “as a seasoned educator and a pioneering voice in the library world and due to your immense expertise and passion for librarians, he selected the right professor to meet with me.” And not to mention her institutional and community knowledge. Our dear founding member Dr. Gilton, passed November 28, 2023.  

Please save the date and join CORI as we mix & mingle in an evening of celebration and remembrance on Thursday, September 25, 2025, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Rhode Island State Library, 82 Smith Street in Providence. You are welcome to bring a friend and colleague.

For additional information on CORI, see https://cornucopiaofri.blogspot.com/

Rhode Island's Freedom to Read Bill Ceremonial Signing by Gov. McKee

A ceremonial signing by Governor Dan McKee was held on August 12 at the Rochambeau Library in Providence. Present at the ceremony were the bill sponsors, Freedom to Read Coalition members, librarians, and community members. Please read on to see pictures from the momentous event!

Adult Summer Camp at Barrington Public Library

Adult Summer Camp is a smash hit at Barrington Public Library! Who says kids should have all the fun? For the second year, Barrington Public Library has held an Adult Summer Camp program that encourages adults to embrace their inner child as they participate in fun activities and workshops across two sessions. This year our campers decoupaged plant pots, sewed their own bucket hats, played indoor games including bocce, darts, and cornhole, needle felted mushrooms, belly danced, learned how to make summer rolls and more! Adult Summer Camp is a great way to learn new skills, get out of your comfort zone, and make new memories with like-minded individuals in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Campers earn badges for the completion of every activity as well as a special prize at the end of every session. If you want to learn about how to run your own Adult Summer Camp, contact Siobhan Egan at segan@barringtonlibrary.org

Cranston Public Library Hires Talia Botelho as the New Full-Time Youth Services Librarian

The Cranston Public Library is excited to welcome Talia Botelho as the new full-time Youth Services Librarian at the Central Library.

Talia recently earned her Master’s in Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University in May 2025. While pursuing her master’s degree, she gained valuable experience working part-time as a Youth Services Librarian at the East Providence Public Library. Talia also graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University with a BS in Developmental Psychology.

News from East Providence Public Library

Exciting Summer Learning

This summer has been extra special at the East Providence Public Library, thanks to generous funding from the RIDE Learn365RI grant, along with its Math Matters enhancement. These grants have allowed us to offer unique, hands-on educational experiences that we wouldn’t have otherwise had the means to provide.

At our Fuller Creative Learning Center, we’ve been hosting STEAM Weeks for kids ages 7 and up. These themed weeks, running Monday through Friday mornings, have explored interesting topics like Portuguese culture, technology and coding, cooking, writing and illustration, nature and art, and sewing and textiles. We’ve received wonderful feedback from both kids and parents. One young participant in our writing and illustration week said, “I loved doing this camp, because I love drawing and illustrating, and it was SO fun.”

Some standout moments from the STEAM Weeks include:

• Battlebots, where kids used coding skills to control robots in balloon-popping battles
• Pizza Day during Cooking Week, where students made and enjoyed their own unique pizza creations
• A Portuguese Feast to wrap up Culture Week, featuring desserts baked by the kids themselves

The Math Matters portion of the grant has supported engaging, educational math programs across all three of our library locations. Highlights include:

• Minecraft Makery, led by educators from the RI Computer Museum, where kids used basic 3D shapes and block coding to build custom Minecraft characters
• Playful Engineers, a hands-on, screen-free program with Jay Mankita, where entire families worked together to design Rube Goldberg machines while focusing on trying and failing, and perseverance in learning
• Math & Music Fusion, an unforgettable program led by jazz educator George Maurer, who traveled from Minneapolis to teach kids about music and math through familiar songs and interactive games, including a chance to play the theremin, an electronic instrument controlled by motion

It has been a joy and an honor to bring these fun, interactive, and educational programs, above and beyond what we could have provided with our regular budget, to our community. We’re excited to continue this momentum throughout August!



Welcome to Sandie Gauthier, East Providence Public Library’s New Teen Services Librarian!

East Providence Public Library is thrilled to welcome Sandie to the Library team as our new

Teen Services Librarian!

Sandie holds her MLIS from the University of Rhode Island and has served on the RILA

Executive Board as a Member-at-Large. Her professional background includes working as a Reference Librarian at the Cranston Public Library’s William Hall Branch and, most recently, as Head of Youth Services at the Seekonk Public Library in Massachusetts.

Now back in Rhode Island, Sandie is excited to serve her hometown community of East Providence. A proud lifelong Townie, she brings a wealth of experience, creativity, and enthusiasm to her work with East Providence teens.

Outside the library, Sandie is currently pursuing her Wildlife Rehabilitator Level 1 license in Rhode Island and enjoys far too many crafty hobbies to list here. Please join us in welcoming Sandie back to Rhode Island Libraries!

Rogers Free Library in Bristol Parade

Rogers Free Library celebrated the Freedom to Read by participating in the longest running 4th of July celebration in the country. The library team and tireless volunteers put together a magnificent float showcasing super-sized books and the stories they tell. Revelers spotted Moby Dick, Captain Ahab and Harry Potter’s lightning bolt scar. They cheered the library on with claps and chants like: Read more books!

Annual Conference 2026 - Save the Date!

The 2026 RILA Annual Conference will be on May 20-21, 2026 at URI's Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (CBLS).