Vermont Library Trustee Association Conference

Hello-

A reminder that the Vermont Library Association Annual Trustee Conference is scheduled for November 8th at the Rutland Free Library. The agenda for the day will be an address from our new State Librarian, Martha Reid, presentation by Gail Weymouth, Chair of the VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, and a special presentation by library consultant Lawrence Webster. Lawrence, as some of you may know, is an independent public library consultant specializing in communications, public relations, Friends, board development and strategic planning. Lawrenceâ€™s presentation will provide trustees and librarians with practical advice on securing strong community and financial support for their libraries. Advice especially critical in these tough economic times.

Please remember that this is the one annual event that VLA sponsors for public library trustees and we encourage as many trustees and library staff to attend.

If you have any questions, please contact me. Thank you

Michael Roche
Northeast Regional Library
23 Tilton Road
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
748-3428
Michael.roche@mail.dol.state.vt.us

NELA Plans Non-perishable Food Drive in Manchester, NH

NELA Executive Board and NELA Conference Committee 2008 are planning a non-perishable food drive to benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank in Manchester, but we canâ€™t do it without your help.

While you are preparing to pack for the Annual Conference, please consider setting aside some room in your suitcase for one or two non-perishable food items.

Library Journal Design Institute East – Going Green

Library Journal Design Institute East – Going Green is Co-sponsored by the Connecticut State Library and Connecticut Library Consortium

The fourth Library Journal Design Institute moves to Connecticut for a one-day think tank on green design. We will bring together leading architects, designers, librarians, and vendors to hone in on the challenges and solutions we face in making libraries sustainable. As previous Green Design institutes have shown, there is much more to sustainability than making our libraries green. With every Green Design Institute, we’ve taken a leap forward in knowledge and understanding, but there is so much more we can learn from these experts and each other. Join us for a day-long series of green-themed presentations, panels, and breakout sessions, and learn the latest developments, options, costs and strategies being adopted.

We’ll also reprise one of the most successful features of the day: hands-on breakout sessions with architects. Each librarian attendee will have a chance to have their design challenge be the focus of one of the six architect-led breakout sessions. The design challenges do not have to focus solely on going green, but the breakout session will incorporate green solutions into the design.

Limited to 100 attendees, the seminar is for those considering a new building project or renovation, in the fundraising or pre-bond stage, or in the early building process.

Vermont Library Conference Call for Help!

The 2009 Vermont Library Conference Needs Your Help!

Volunteers are needed to support work on the May, 2009 Vermont Library Conference. Conference proposals are coming in, and we are lining up some great speakers and exciting events for May 12 & 13, 2009. Our keynote, Marshall Keys, is ecstatic to speak to the librarians of Vermont about library advocacy â€“ a topic more important now than ever. It is our hope that the Vermont Library Conference is a meaningful, worthwhile, professional experience for all of Vermontâ€™s librarians, library staff, boards, school boards, teachers, and administrators. We hope to broaden our scope and invite all the people who make our jobs a reality.

However, in order to put on a fantastic conference, we need your help. We are operating with a much smaller conference planning committee than in years past, and have identified areas in which we need your support. If you are interested in any of the jobs listed below, please contact me as soon as possible. You will be given all the information you need to fill these jobs â€“ please donâ€™t feel like you canâ€™t volunteer for lack of experience. We will make sure you have all the support you need to do the job.

Going to NELA? Chapter leaders want to hear from you!

College & University Librarians, ACRL-NEC wants to hear from you!

Let us know how your professional association can work for you. Â What are we doing that works and what could we do better?

Vice President Barbara Kenney and I will be holding informal focus groups at the NELA (New England Library Association) Annual Conference in Manchester, NH on October 19, 20, and 21. We’re especially interested in hearing from folks in northern New England. A few minutes of your time during one of these sessions is all that’s needed. Please join us.

NELA is looking for conference bloggers

NELA is looking for novice and experienced bloggers to help out at the NELA Conference on October 19-21.

Once again, Plymouth Rocket, Inc. – http://www.plymouthrocket.com/ – is pleased to sponsor the conference blog and free Internet access for the bloggers.

“Taking Charge of Changeâ€, the 2008 Annual NELA Conference, will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH.

For more information, visit the NELA Web site at www.nelib.org.

Workshop: Marketing for Libraries

Marketing for Libraries
Thursday December 4, 2008
9:30 am â€“ noon
Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston

Participants will learn the basic steps of creating a marketing plan using information from â€œCrash Course in Marketing for Librariesâ€ by Susan Webreck Alman and the Certified Public Library Administration marketing course taught by Wayne Piper. Guest speaker Elizabeth Bluemle, co-owner of the Flying Pig Book Store, will share book store tips for merchandising and marketing outside and within the building. Bring along examples of your successful library marketing experiences to share with the group.

It is highly recommended that participants purchase and review â€œCrash Course in Marketing for Librariesâ€ by Susan Webreck Alman before attending the workshop. ($30, ISBN-10: 1591584302, ISBN-13: 978-1591584308) This book outlines a marketing plan in less than 58 pages, with several appendices of real-life examples.

Contact Marti Fiske for information and to register, marti@williston.lib.vt.us or 802-878-4918. This workshop is sponsored by the Public Libraries Section of the Vermont Library Association.

VT Library Confidentiality Act Panel

Vermont Law Review Symposium
EXAMINING OUR PRIORITIES: BALANCING NATIONAL SECURITY WITH OTHER FUNDAMENTAL VALUES
AT THE JONATHAN B CHASE COMMUNITY CENTER, VT LAW SCHOOL

OCTOBER 17, 2008

This symposium,sponsored by the Vermont Law Review, features keynote speaker Louis Fisher, constitutional law scholar with the Library of Congress and an expert in national security issues who is often called upon to testify before Congress. His newest book, 9/11 and the Constitution,Â was released in August. Expert panels will discuss a variety of topics including immigration, environmental law, protecting library records, and the right to dissent

8:30 OPENING REMARKS by Geoffrey Shields

8: 45 – Vermont Library Patron’s Confidentiality Act
Gail Weymouth, Chairwoman of the VT Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee
Jane Woldow, Vermont Law School Librarian
Retta Dunlop, Executive Director of Vermonters for Better EducationRead more→

NELA Conference — Plan to Attend

Donâ€™t Miss Out on Discount Rates for NELA 2008!Â

NELA is accepting Early Registration for “Taking Charge of Changeâ€, the 2008 Annual NELA Conference being held from October 19 to 21, 2008 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH.

If your registration is postmarked by October 10, you can receive a 25-30%!

Here are a few of the highlights:

Adult Programming Showcase
Drop-In Resume Review
Easy Web Fixes
â€œGraphicâ€ Nonfiction
Help! The Teen Librarian Has Left the Building
Hot Topics in Technical Services
Leading by Example: Toward More Sustainable Communities
My College Freshman Is Your High School Senior
Sophisticated Picture Books
The Vanishing Male: Guy Stuff That Lures and Hooks
Special Guest Authors: Simon Winchester, Cynthia Lord, and Michael Palmer
Special Guest Storytellers: Eshu and Motoko and Raouf Mama

JoinÂ your colleaguesÂ for all this plus award winners, discussion leaders, gamers, social hours, luncheons, exhibits, exhibits, and more exhibits!

MaintainIT Project webinars: laptops, training, and gaming!

Three Fee-Free Library Webinars from MaintainIT: Laptops, Training and Gaming.

Join us for these free webinars. Attend these sessions from your library, no travel needed!

The MaintainIT Project, (www.maintainitproject.org), interviews hundreds of librarians about how they maintain, support, and sustain their public computers. We publish all of these experiences, successes, and challenges in guides called Cookbooks, so librarians can learn from the experiences of others who’ve done it before them. The best part? Everything we do is FREE, and everything is on www.maintainitproject.org. We also produce free webinars every month!