Thank you to our ULC members for your submissions to our 2021 Innovations Initiative. The submission site is officially closed! Based on the tremendous Innovations received, we know that you have been tirelessly serving your communities and raising the bar for 21st-century librarianship. All 2021 entries are now viewable online at our website. 

Once the submissions are reviewed by the judges, ULC will contact library directors to inform them that their library has been selected as either a Top Innovator or Honorable Mention. Only libraries that have been selected as a winner will be contacted. 

Please note that if your library is selected as a 2021 Top Innovator, we will ask you to submit a short video featuring a staff member and/or patron explaining the impact of the Innovation on your library community. This short video will be showcased during the 2021 Innovations Celebration.

Please reach out to ULC Director of Community Engagement Colleen Morsli at cmorsli@urbanlibraries.org if you have questions about the selection process.

Earlier this week, U.S. President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law which includes $2.75 billion for the Digital Equity Act and creates two programs to be funded for five years. One program would be managed by state governments with funding allocated by an equitable formula. The other program would be managed by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration as a competitive grant program. Libraries may be eligible for both forms of funding. Stay tuned to ULC communications for regular updates and please review the latest resources on ULC’s American Rescue Plan Act web page.

This Thursday, November 18, we invite ULC CEOs to attend the final session of a dynamic three-part Speaker Series focused on ways to manage personal and professional stress. During this presentation and discussion — Create the Life Infrastructure and Balance You Need — Dr. Selhub will explain that individuals need outlets of relief or an infrastructure that will help support us through life’s stress and adversity, including healthy nutrition, exercise, social support, humor, meditation and spirituality. Dr. Selhub will provide ULC CEOs with guidelines for assessing and strengthening one’s infrastructure, especially focusing on nutrition, movement and relaxation skills.

About Dr. Selhub: Dr. Selhub is an internationally recognized expert on resiliency and stress reduction. She specializes in helping individuals and organizations improve health, well-being, productivity and outcomes by creating a culture of resilience. Her energizing presentations merge science with spirit and mind with body. A board-certified physician, Dr. Selhub taught for 20 years as an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

November 18 | 4-5 p.m. ET

December 14 | 2-3 p.m. ET

December 15 | Noon-1 p.m. ET

ULC’s Communications Manager will help our team implement communications and outreach efforts with internal and external stakeholders. The communications manager will work closely with ULC’s senior leadership team to raise the profile of how public libraries are addressing critical issues in local communities. Click here to apply >.

ULC’s National Program Manager will help collaborate on initiatives across ULC’s strategic focus areas to help public libraries lead education, strengthen digital equity and build healthy, sustainable communities through innovation. Click here to apply >.

Please contact ULC's Interim Director of Communications Paul Negron at pnegron@urbanlibraries.org.