VLA and ACLU to Hold Banned Books Week Read-out – Spread the Word

Dear friends,

In celebration of the First Amendment during Banned Books Week, the VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee and the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont will present “An Evening Without. . .Giving Voice to the Silenced,” Thursday, Sept. 30.

The free event will feature writers from around Vermont as they read from works by those whose writing has been challenged, censored, or banned.

Featured readers are Jerry Carbone (director of the Brooks Memorial Library), Jon Clinch, Joni Cole, Castle Freeman, Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, Karen Hesse, and Suzanne Kingsbury, reading from works by Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, George Orwell, Katherine Paterson, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, and Kurt Vonnegut.

Read more→

Love My Library Contest

Laura Lippman has created a why-I-love-my-library essay contest. The winning writer gets a visit from Lippman to his or her favorite library. The essay needs to be under 1000 words, sent as an email to Lippman, deadline September 30. Full details at http://www.lauralippman.com, along with a plug for her newest, I’d Know You Anywhere. Lippman writes, “I am who I am today because of libraries. Perhaps you have a similar story to tell. If so, I really want to hear it.”

Shirley Olofson Award: looking for funds to help pay for your trip to ALA Annual 2011?

Are you looking for funds to help pay for your trip to ALA Annual 2011 in New Orleans?

Apply by Tuesday, December 14, 2010 for the NMRT Shirley Olofson Memorial Award and you may receive a $1000 check to help defray the cost of attendance!

Applicants must:

  1. Be a member of ALA and NMRT
  2. Be active in the library profession
  3. Show promise for activity in the area of professional development
  4. Have valid financial need
  5. Have attended no more than five ALA annual conferences

To apply, please visit:

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/nmrt/oversightgroups/comm/
awolofson/Shirley_Olofson_Award.cfm

Best Small Library in America Award

If your library service area is under 25,000, consider applying for the Library Journal Best Small Library in America award. Entries must be postmarked November 5, 2010. The award is sponsored by LJ and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Prize: $15,000 cash award, a feature story in the February 1, 2011, Library Journal, membership and conference costs for two library representatives to attend the Public Library Association Biannual Conference in 2012 in Philadelphia, PA.

Full information:  http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA606273.html

Join Saint Michael’s College Library for NISO Webinars

Saint Michael’s College Library invites Vermont librarians and library staff to join us for the NISO webinars on performance metrics and measures.

Location: Saint Michael’s College

Dates: Part One – September 8, 1:00-2:30 pm
Part Two – September 15, 1:00-2:30 pm

Cost: Free

To register: Email Laura Crain at Saint Michael’s (lcrain@smcvt.edu) with your name, institution, and an email address.

We will contact you to confirm the location of the webinar on the Saint Michael’s campus

Specify whether you will be attending Part One, Part Two, or both

Primarily these webinars will appeal to folks working in academic libraries.

Read more→

Join Saint Michael's College Library for NISO Webinars

Saint Michael’s College Library invites Vermont librarians and library staff to join us for the NISO webinars on performance metrics and measures.
Location: Saint Michael’s College
Dates: Part One – September 8, 1:00-2:30 pm
Part Two – September 15, 1:00-2:30 pm
Cost: Free
To register: Email Laura Crain at Saint Michael’s (lcrain@smcvt.edu) with your name, institution, and an email address.
We will contact you to confirm the location of the webinar on the Saint Michael’s campus
Specify whether you will be attending Part One, Part Two, or both
Primarily these webinars will appeal to folks working in academic libraries.
Read more→

ALCTS web course: Fundamentals of Acquisitions Starting in September

The Fundamentals of Acquisitions (September 6 – October 1, 2010) web course focuses on the basics of library acquisitions:

  • goals and methods of acquiring monographs and serials
  • financial management of library collections budgets
  • relationships among acquisitions librarians, library booksellers, subscription agents, and publishers

Description: This course provides a broad overview of the operations involved in acquiring materials after the selection decision is made.

In FOA, we distinguish between collection development, which involves the selection of materials for the library; and acquisitions, which orders, receives, and pays for those materials. In many libraries, selecting and acquiring materials may be done in the same department-in the smallest libraries perhaps even by the same person. In larger
libraries, selection may be done by a collection development department and/or designated subject specialists, while a separate department acquires the selected materials. Acquisitions, in essence, is the business side of bringing materials into the library or licensing access to library resources.

Instructors: Morag Boyd and Kate Kasimor

For additional details and registration information see:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/confevents/upcoming/webcourse/foa/ol_templ.cfm

Circle of Learning Scholarships – Deadline Approaching

The deadline is rapidly approaching for individuals to apply for scholarships for online MLIS courses they plan to take during Spring 2011 at the San Jose School of Library and Information Science.  Prospective students who plan to apply for admission to the School’s MLIS program for the Spring 2011 semester are eligible for Circle of Learning scholarships, as well as current students.

The deadline to apply for Circle of Learning scholarships that can be used during the Spring 2011 semester is September 3, 2010.

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A Day for Friends

We have just received word that the Day for Friends has been canceled. Friends are instead invited to attend The Vermont Library Trustee Association Annual Conference on Saturday,November 6, at Vermont Technical College in Randolph. This year’s keynote speaker is Sally Gardner Reed, Director of the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF). Registration information will be available soon.