ALA Councilor’s Report, Monday, January 26th

The lecture I attended yesterday by Muhammad Yunus, banker to the poor, was excellent. He is a small, unassuming man who has done amazing things for poor women in countries where his Grameen Bank gives micro-loans to lift families out of poverty. He had a simple yet revolutionary idea to lend people money to begin small businesses without a time limit on repaying the loan. He now tells stories of illiterate poor people whose children are becoming doctors and businesss people. His talk was one of the most inspirational I have ever attended.

ALA has begun a page that “offers timely and valuable information to support libraries in the creation of arts and humanities programs in their communities.”You can find more information at ProgrammingLibrarian.org. At this time the focus in on Black History Month programming, and as time goes on ALA plans to post more information.

Children’s book awards were announced this morning. The Newbury Medal goes to The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and the Caldecott Award goes to The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes.

This afternoon I have a committee meeting and expect that council business will heat up this evening when we have our first council forum. I’ll post more tomorow.

Nancy Wilson

ALA Councilor's Report, Monday, January 26th

The lecture I attended yesterday by Muhammad Yunus, banker to the poor, was excellent. He is a small, unassuming man who has done amazing things for poor women in countries where his Grameen Bank gives micro-loans to lift families out of poverty. He had a simple yet revolutionary idea to lend people money to begin small businesses without a time limit on repaying the loan. He now tells stories of illiterate poor people whose children are becoming doctors and businesss people. His talk was one of the most inspirational I have ever attended.
ALA has begun a page that “offers timely and valuable information to support libraries in the creation of arts and humanities programs in their communities.”You can find more information at ProgrammingLibrarian.org. At this time the focus in on Black History Month programming, and as time goes on ALA plans to post more information.
Children’s book awards were announced this morning. The Newbury Medal goes to The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and the Caldecott Award goes to The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes.
This afternoon I have a committee meeting and expect that council business will heat up this evening when we have our first council forum. I’ll post more tomorow.
Nancy Wilson

2010 Vermont Library Conference

Dear VLA/VSLA Members:

We are very excited about this year’s Vermont Library Conference, May 12 and 13, 2009. Our co-chairs, Barbara Doyle-Wilch (VLA) and Sara Goldstein (VSLA), are putting together an incredibly creative and timely conference, “Speaking Up! Advocacy for Libraries.”

We do not have co-chairs from both organizations for the 2010 Vermont Library Conference, so the time has come to take a step back and revaluate our professional development needs. We feel the best way to accomplish this task is to form a committee comprised of a few members from each of our two organizations to research various options. This commitment would last approximately 6 weeks. Here is the proposed timeline:

* Email Judah Hamer or Susan Monmaney by January 31, 2009, to express an interest in serving on this committee
* Week 1: Work with fellow committee members to determine
o Meeting venue(s) (online, in person, conference calls)
o Number of necessary meetings
o Division of responsibilities
* Weeks 2-5: Research professional development options
* Week 6: Compile results of research
* Report committee recommendations to VLA/VSLA boards by March 15th

We look forward to volunteers joining this committee. It is a special opportunity to provide guidance and direction for the next wave of professional development opportunities for the Vermont library community.

Sincerely,

Judah Hamer
President, VLA

Susan Monmaney
President, VSLA

Vermont Library Conference – Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center – May 12 & 13, 2009

We have a fabulous program shaping up for this year’s conference, thanks to all of you! Please check the Vermont Library Conference website for information about some of this year’s featured speakers. We will be adding more information to the website about the program schedule and registration over the next few weeks!

Here’s what you can look forward to at this year’s Vermont Library Conference:

Keynote Speeches by:
Marshall Keys
Wayne Piper
Chris Bohjalian

Cooperative Village: A One-Woman Show about Advocacy for Libraries!

Programs by:
Keith Curry Lance
Jan Reynolds
Many, many more fabulous presenters from both VLA and VSLA!

An Advocacy Cocktail Reception on 5/12
Legislators, school boards, administrators, library boards, and trustees will be invited for a poster session, over wine and cheese!

Read more→

Vermont Library Conference – Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center – May 12 & 13, 2009

We have a fabulous program shaping up for this year’s conference, thanks to all of you! Please check the Vermont Library Conference website for information about some of this year’s featured speakers. We will be adding more information to the website about the program schedule and registration over the next few weeks!
Here’s what you can look forward to at this year’s Vermont Library Conference:
Keynote Speeches by:
Marshall Keys
Wayne Piper
Chris Bohjalian
Cooperative Village: A One-Woman Show about Advocacy for Libraries!
Programs by:
Keith Curry Lance
Jan Reynolds
Many, many more fabulous presenters from both VLA and VSLA!
An Advocacy Cocktail Reception on 5/12
Legislators, school boards, administrators, library boards, and trustees will be invited for a poster session, over wine and cheese!
Read more→

Leonard Marcus Lecture in Rhode Island

This seems like an interesting event for some adventurous children’s librarians to attend. And if not, the book sounds great:

In conjunction with the current exhibition Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay (description below), we invite you and your colleagues to this lecture Wednesday, January 21, 7pm:

Leonard Marcus Lecture

Noted writer, critic, and historian of children’s literature, Leonard Marcus, on his Minders of Make Believe: Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of American Children’s Literature (2008), the first-ever history of children’s book publishing from colonial times to Harry Potter; co-presented with the Providence Athenaeum. More about Mr. Marcus: http://www.leonardmarcus.com/.

Free and open to the public!

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Vermont Board of Libraries Meeting Notice

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Vermont Board of Libraries is: Tuesday, January 13, 10 am – noon at the Midstate Regional Library in Berlin. In case of bad weather, a snow date will be announced.

The meeting agenda and the minutes of the October 21, 2008 meeting will be posted at the DOL website today or early next week. The Board of Libraries page can be found at: http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/bol

Please contact me if you need more information.
_____________________________
Martha Reid
State Librarian
Vermont Department of Libraries
109 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05609-0601
Tel: (802) 828-3265
Fax: (802) 828-2199
martha.reid@mail.dol.state.vt.us

A New Film About Life In Vermont Released on DVD – SPECIAL OFFER for Libraries

A recent hit at the Vermont International Film Festival, “Slingbacks and Syrup” drew a larger audience than any other film in the festival! This endearing movie about the lives of the members of Vermont’s own House of LeMay is now available on DVD from RJD Productions.

Deep in Vermont lies the mythical town of Beaver Pond. “Slingbacks and Syrup” uses the documentary form to tell the true tale of a young man who meets The House of LeMay, a family of outrageous Vermont drag queens who forever change his life.. Through laughter and leadership the young man learns how the LeMays have stood tall in their heels and changed the world around them, and eventually the young man discovers that his world has been dramatically changed too. For more information or to view the films trailers visit www.slingbacksandsyrup.com

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WebWise Conference on Libraries and Museums in the Digital World

MLS and The Wolfsonian-Florida International University Announce Registration for 2009 WebWise Conference

Washington, DC-The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and The Wolfsonian-Florida International University (The Wolfsonian-FIU) announce open registration for the 2009 WebWise Conference on Libraries and Museums in the Digital World. The free conference takes place February 26-27, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with a pre-conference workshop on February 25. For information on the conference and related events, please go to:  http://webwise2009.fcla.edu.

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