In This Issue
President's Corner ~ RILA vs. Big Publishing ~ RILA Board Open Positions
Money Smart Week ~ RI Library Day ~ Mentorship ~ Sensory Story Time
News from the RI Library Community ~ News from the Sections
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All across Rhode Island, we are preparing and responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. Our public and school libraries are closed for at least a week and many college campuses have shut down. As information professionals, it is certainly difficult and extraordinary to be on the sidelines, unable to serve our patrons in the full way we are used to. On behalf of the RILA Executive Board, I hope you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy over the next few weeks!
As for our Annual Conference at the end of May, the Conference Committee is monitoring the situation, and we will provide updates as soon as a decision is made.
Julie Holden, RILA President
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RI Library Community Speaks Out Against Macmillan Embargo
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T
he Rhode Island Library Association has been working tirelessly over the last few months to raise the alarm and persuade local and national politicians to act to prevent ebook publishers, like Macmillan Publishers, from restricting library access to ebooks.
On Monday, February 3rd, RILA hosted a lively and productive
roundtable discussion
at East Providence Public Library
. Attendees included librarians, library stakeholders, patrons, and special guest U.S. House Representative David Cicilline. The purpose of the roundtable was to discuss recent changes in the ebook publishing industry and communicate to the Congressman how these changes are negatively affecting the library patrons in his district and across the country.
On Tuesday, March 3rd, RILA, the American Library Association (ALA), local neighborhood librarians, and Rhode Island library patrons gathered for a
press event
at Cranston Central Public Library to
speak up against Big Publishing
’s unfair, unconstitutional, and anti-competitive practices that limit libraries’ ability to provide residents, taxpayers, and library patrons with full access to new publications. Speakers included
RILA President and Cranston Assistant Library Director Julie Holden, Rhode Island State Senator Mark McKenney, ALA Senior Director of Public Policy Alan Inouye (pictured below), Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, and Cranston Public Library Director Ed Garcia.
We will keep you updated on developments as they unfold. In the meantime, you can help
oppose Macmillan’s embargo and amplify our message by signing ALA's petition at
eBooksForAll.org
.
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RILA Executive Board 2019-2021 Open Positions
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We are pleased to present the slate of officers for open positions on the 2019-2021 RILA Executive Board. Please note, this slate includes two new Executive Board positions, which were made official last year when the new RILA Bylaws were approved by the membership. These are a newly created Paraprofessional position and the RILA/NELA Liaison position (which was formerly a non-voting position).
This slate will be voted on by members via electronic ballot during the month of April, and the final slate will be announced at the RILA Conference Annual Business Meeting on May 28, 2020.
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Secretary: Celeste Dyer
Celeste earned her Master’s in Library Science in 1992, researching the hard way without Internet. She started working in libraries as a Circulation Desk Assistant at her hometown library, Coventry Public. Upon graduation, she worked in a shared position as the Children’s Librarian, cataloging and doing programs. Celeste started at the Cumberland Public Library in 1993 as a Reference/Children’s Librarian. Three years later, she became the full-time Adult Services/Reference Librarian. Because computers were just beginning to be important to libraries and they are fascinating, Celeste took on the job of Assistant Director/Technology Coordinator in 1997, learning as she went. Having received excellent mentoring from the Library Director at Cumberland, she was ready to take on that role in 2011. Celeste feels it is time to give back to the profession by serving as the RILA Board Secretary and serving on the new Mentorship Committee. Celeste spends some of her free time escaping from rooms, sewing costumes, and playing pub trivia.
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Member-at-Large: Bohyun Kim
Bohyun Kim is the Chief Technology Officer and an Associate Professor at the University of Rhode Island Libraries. She is the author of three books:
Moving Forward with Digital Disruption
(2020),
Understanding Gamification
(2015), and
Library Mobile Experience: Practices and User Expectations
(2013). Bohyun is the Past-President (2019-2020) of the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) and the founding editor of ACRL's
TechConnect Blog
. She currently serves on the advisory boards of the ALA Washington Office, San Jose State University School of Information, and Library Pipeline. She holds an MA in philosophy from Harvard University and an MSLIS from Simmons College.
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Paraprofessional Board Member: Kristin Amaral
Kristin has had the privilege of working at Rogers Free Library for 13 years. She’s worn many hats, including paging and working at the circulation desk, and she is now in charge of marketing and technology. She’s been a RILA member since 2015. In 2016, she received the great honor of being named RILA's Paraprofessional of the Year, an award for which she is incredibly grateful.
Kristin loves libraries for a variety of reasons - the first, obviously, being books! She enjoys the sense of community and helping people. Over the years, she has learned that the most important part of libraries is intellectual freedom. Working in public libraries is an honor and a privilege.
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RILA/NELA Liaison: Kelly Parlin
Kelly began her career volunteering at her home library in Lebanon, CT before becoming a library page at the Groton Public Library in 2015. As a library assistant at the Douglas Library of Hebron, CT the following year, she specialized in teen services and decided to focus on that area at URI, where she received her MLIS in 2017. Since graduating, Kelly has worked for Providence Community Library in Rhode Island and is currently the Rochambeau Library's Teen Librarian. Kelly recently participated in the New England Library Leadership Symposium (NELLS) and is looking forward to spearheading the creation of a teen space in her branch.
In addition to library work, Kelly is also an accomplished writer. She received her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2017 and has published several short stories and an LGBT young adult fantasy novel, called
The Sun and Moon beneath the Stars
, which came out in 2019. You can find more of her work under the pen name K. Parr.
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Money Smart Week Is April 4th - 11th
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This year, Money Smart Week is April 4th - 11th.
The Financial Literacy Roundtable (FLRT) has compiled a resource page to support financial education goals at libraries of all types.
Click below for more information.
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RI Library Day Is Saturday, April 25th
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RI Library Day is Saturday, April 25, 2020. On this day, all public libraries in Rhode Island will give fine amnesty to all overdue materials returned on that day
How is your library planning to celebrate? Let us know, so that it can be posted on the RILA website.
Click below to access the #RILibraryDay web page for potential programming ideas.
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Mentor the Whole Person - Not Just a Piece
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The RILA Mentorship Committee recently attended a workshop given by MENTOR Rhode Island, a non-profit organization that provides mentoring training and services across the state of Rhode Island. One of the meaningful takeaways for the committee members was the concept of mentoring the whole person, not just a piece of them. Our
MENTOR Rhode Island
trainer gave us an insightful analogy, which we would like to share with the RILA Community.
When we first meet a person, we make assumptions about who they are based on what we see. This is instinctive, and often we cannot help it. However, when you mentor another person, you have to look beyond what you can see with your eyes, to what is underneath the surface. One way to understand this is using the “Waterline of Visibility.” Think of the image of an iceberg, where only a small piece visibly shows above the surface of the water. But below the waterline, the massive bulk of the berg lies. Are humans any different? We all have many skills, passions, hopes, and dreams that lie below the surface of our skin. What we show to the outside world is only a small part of who we really are.
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Our MENTOR Rhode Island trainer encouraged us to see beyond the tip of the iceberg as we begin to mentor members of the RI library community. Being a good mentor doesn’t mean that you have to solve or fix another’s problem, it means listening with the intent to understand what the issues are - to see the whole person, and not just what is on the surface.
The RILA Mentorship Committee will be launching its first cohort of mentors and mentees this spring. If you would like to sign up for this program, there is still time. Click the button below or contact
mentor@rilibraries.org.
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RI Children's Sensory Story Time Support Group
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New Blog
Would you like to stay up-to-date on information for families with children and teens with special needs in your community? Then, look no more. The RI Children's Sensory Story Time Support Group has a NEW blog. Stay up-to-date about free community events, programs, and services by following our blog. Click the button below to learn more.
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Walkathon
Join our team for the Imagine Walkathon for The Autism Project in Johnston, RI on Sunday, April 26, 2020. To learn more, click the button below.
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News from the Rhode Island Library Community
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Providence Public Library's Special Collections Department Acquires YMCA Archives
Providence Public Library's Special Collections Department has acquired the organizational archives of the YMCA of Greater Providence. “The YMCA of Greater Providence is a significant organization in the history of Providence and Rhode Island, dating back to before our own establishment. PPL is incredibly proud to be entrusted with preserving these important historical community materials, and we look forward to sharing them for decades to come,” said Jack Martin, PPL Executive Director.
Founded in 1853, the Providence YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) is the second oldest YMCA in the country. Known for the deep community impact of its social services and programs, the Y's 167-year history provides an understanding of the community history of Rhode Island from the mid-19th century onward.
“The collection documents industrial growth and waves of immigration, neighborhood development, the impact of World Wars, and even the beginning of Roger Williams University,” says Kate Wells, Curator of Rhode Island Collections at PPL.
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Tiverton Union Public Library Celebrates 200th Anniversary
This year, the Union Public Library in Tiverton celebrates 200 years of bringing readers and the community together. This charming, little library offers a wide selection of children’s literature, a unique collection of art books, and a research room with an impressive compilation of local history and genealogy materials.
The Union Public Library Association (UPLA) will be celebrating with
events and exhibits
throughout the town of Tiverton all year long. Festivities began in February with a
Senate Resolution
in the RI General Assembly as well as a proclamation read at the Tiverton Town Council meeting. A bicentiennial timeline will be on display at the Tiverton Town Hall, and smaller exhibits will be displayed at the Tiverton Public Library through the month of March, highlighting events of the library, Tiverton, Rhode Island, the United States, and the world, including popular literature published during the period.
The celebration continues with a special Celebration Tea (currently postponed; date TBD). Walking tours of the Four Corners Area of Tiverton, where the library is located, and a Book, Bake, and Yard Sale will be held in the Summer. The UPLA also hopes to record and preserve the stories and memories of the library's many patrons and supporters throughout the year.
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Building Community, Sparking Creativity, Inspiring Readers - Little Free Library Pilot Project: Take a Book, Leave a Book
Bristol Warren Regional School District's Mt. Hope Teacher-Librarian Laura Cabral and STEM Department Chair Wayne Lima created a collaborative design project for the high school students to build a Little Free Library for Kickemuit Middle School Library and Mt. Hope High School Library.
Mt. Hope Teacher Ryan Garrity oversaw the engineering/design process, and Mt. Hope Teacher Joe Bartoshevich oversaw the construction and production. Maintenance staff delivered and installed the Little Free Libraries.
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Providence Community Library and Providence Career & Technical Academy Partner to Create Senior Seminar Classes
Back in December, Providence Community Library staff Kelly Parlin and Carla Rennick, both Youth Services Librarians from the Rochambeau and Fox Point branches, respectively, coordinated with Providence Career & Technical Academy’s Librarian Kim Yeaw to give presentations to senior seminar classes on research resources available through the public library system.
The collaboration resulted in over 200 new library cards created for students! The project was such a success there is already talk of repeating it this April for juniors, so they can be better prepared for their research papers as seniors.
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Coalition of Library Advocates (COLA)
COLA is the section of RILA where library supporters and library users can really make their voices heard.
Please consider adding the COLA section to your RILA membership and getting the word out to your Library Boards and Friends groups to join COLA.
COLA offers programs and annual cash awards to any Friends groups who introduce new and successful programs or services that enhance their library patrons' lives.
COLA is actively recruiting new members so we can expand our advocacy, education, and public awareness mission.
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School Librarians of Rhode Island (SLRI)
The next meeting of SLRI will be Tuesday, June 2nd, 4:14 - 5:15PM at Wickford on the Water in North Kingstown.
SLRI provides leadership and support for school library media professionals and support staff in the development, promotion, improvement, and evaluation of school library media, computer, and instructional technology programs in all Rhode Island schools.
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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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