Passport to Vermont Libraries statewide winners!

  We have our statewide winners! Thank you to all who participated in this fun and exciting program. The Vermont Library Association hopes to sponsor this amazing program again next year. Stay tuned!And the winners are:

  • Adult- Emily Ahtunan, Kellogg Hubbard Library, Montpelier
  • YA- Ariana Cioffi, Springfield Town Library
  • Child- Torynce Hathaway, Castleton Free Library
  • Wild Card- Noah Jones, Whiting Library, Chester

The Passport to Vermont Libraries committee will be in touch with each of your librarians to arrange getting your prizes to you. Congratulations!

ACTION ALERT: Cuts to the Department of Libraries

Call Your Legislators Today!

Contact Your Legislators Today!

A full picture of the cuts is still emerging, but we know that the State Law Library is now slated for elimination. Additionally, it is clear that the cuts as prescribed will result in a loss of federal funding that is likely to continue beyond the FY 2016 budget cycle. As we fail to meet the matching requirements for federal funds, DOL will likely lose positions (20 out of 26 are funded in part by federal money) and will then be less equipped to meet matching requirements moving forward. The likely effect has been described as a “spiraling” or “cascading” loss of federal support.
The Vermont Library Association is deeply concerned about the magnitude of these cuts and their certain impacts on our libraries and the patrons we serve. We’ve written a press release from the Vermont Library Association sharing our concerns and itemizing many of the services that DOL provides in collaboration with libraries around the state.
Please contact members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees to share your concerns with them:
House Appropriations
Senate Appropriations
You may also share brief and timely requests and concerns with committee chairs and members by contacting the Sergeant at Arms at: (802) 828-2228 or sgtatarms@leg.state.vt.us.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Government Relations Committee Chair Selene Colburn at 802-233-1358. We will continue to update you as the situation develops in the coming days and weeks.
Thanks,
VLA Government Relations Committee

Congratulations to Ellen Kaye of Putney, VT!

The VLA Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the first MLIS scholarship has been awarded to Ellen Kaye of Putney, VT. Ellen has demonstrated great dedication to Vermont libraries and communities through both her pursuit of her MLIS from Simmons College and her work on The Commons newspaper in Windham County. Both her professional work and her school work garnered great praise and she has been described as “an excellent student and very dedicated to library services and the issues that face libraries” and “a great candidate for working in libraries” who has “great energy.” Congratulations, Ellen!

Join VLA's Council on Career Development

Cindy Weber invites any and all interested parties to join the VLA Council on Career Development. Based on Cindy’s ongoing Career Development Facilitator training through the American Library Association, the council’s purpose will be to brainstorm ways to utilize career development knowledge, theories, and resources to:

  1. Create an aggregated career development resource list do be housed on the Vermont Library Association’s website.
  2. Develop a career assistance program that will be useful to librarians in all settings.
  3. Provide career development training to those librarians seeking guidance on assisting their patronage and students.

“I foresee the council working with librarians, libraries, schools and universities, community agencies, and the Department of Libraries,” Cindy says. “I think we can all agree that libraries can be useful resources for career development, and this initiative has great potential!”

The first Council on Career Development meeting will be scheduled for the end of March. Look for details on the VTLIBRARIES listserv.

Time to Apply for the New England Library Leadership Symposium (NELLS) 2015

NELLS 2015NELA
August 3-7, 2015
Rolling Ridge Retreat & Conference Center
North Andover, Massachusetts
Facilitator: Maureen Sullivan, ALA Past President
The Vermont Library Association is seeking applicants for Participants (individuals with 3 to 15 years’ experience in libraries) and for Mentors (individuals with 15+ years’ experience in libraries) to represent Vermont.
For more information and to download an application to be a Participant click on this link http://nelib.org/advance-your-career/nells/
Applications are due by March 20.
Mentoring applicants should contact Karson Kiesinger, VLA’s NELA Representative at kkiesinger@nelib.org or 802-442-9051.