Category Archives: Public Libraries

Public Libraries Section & related news and events.

The Importance of Libraries in Genealogical Research

In honor of National Library Week, Archives.com has put together a white paper and visual graphic about libraries’ importance to our communities and to genealogists, and some of the difficulties they have been facing during the economic downturn.

You can see their white paper and infographic here: http://www.archives.com/blog/industry-news/national-library-week-2011.html.

You may join the cause and share this post on library websites, blogs and Facebook/Twitter (shortened URL for tweets that we’ve been using: http://bit.ly/hLfkZL)! If you’d like, you can even embed the visual graphic onto your site using the code provided in our blog post.

Happy National Library Week 2011!

Jesse Willoughby
Archives.com

National Library Week – Spread the Word


Vermont Library Association, Vermont School Library Association and Vermont Department of Libraries have partnered to create a state-wide advertising campaign during National Library Week which will kick off this Sunday April 10. Three ads will appear in all the regional papers this week.  Television commercials will run on WPTZ during the Today Show, WCAX during the 6-7 am news hour, will be available to all public access channels in Vermont and are posted on the VLA YouTube Channel.

Please help spread the word about the campaign and the great services you have to offer.

  • Contact your local public access channel and ask them to make sure run the Vermont libraries PSAs that are available through the public access consortium.

**Note: The article by Chris Bohjalian will appear in the Burlington Free Press and on his blog Sunday morning. The link to his blog article will go live Sunday morning.

Thank you for your help in getting the word out.

Marti Fiske, President, Vermont Library Association

Better World Book Offering Grants for Libraries

$75,000 in Funding Available for Library Literacy Programming
Better World Books is excited to introduce the LEAP Grants (Literacy and Education in Action Program) for Libraries. Applicants will propose a compelling literacy project in their community. It is understood that the needs and opportunities of the communities that libraries serve vary widely and are eager to review a variety of applications.

Read more→

Town Meeting Survey for Public Library Directors

It’s that time of year again! The Department of Libraries is asking that you report results from your 2011 Town Meeting(s).  Below you will find a link to an online survey with questions about your budget and the results of Town Meeting. Please complete the survey and submit it online no later than April 1, 2011.

This year you will find new questions related to library fees and charges. I have heard from some library directors about new pressures to find additional revenue sources (e.g. fees for overdues, out-of-town borrower cards – and even library programs.) I want to have an account of any new or increased fees that took effect in Vermont libraries during 2010.

If your town has not yet held a vote for the next budget year, please fill out the relevant questions, and leave the rest of the survey blank – but please DO submit a survey.

More than ever before, this data is critical for us to show the true picture of library funding in Vermont.

Here’s the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DOLtownmeetingsurvey2011

We Need You! Get Involved with Snap Shot Day!

Vermont Library Association, Vermont School Library Association and Vermont Department of Libraries have joined forces to create a multi-media advertising campaign for Vermont’s libraries. The campaign includes television commercials and newspaper ads to be released during National Library Week (April 10-16) and state-wide Snap Shot Day during March and April.

We are ready to launch Snap Shot Day statewide and WE NEED YOU!  ALL types of libraries are encouraged to participate. Snap Shot Day is a great way for you to show your clients and your funders exactly what happens at your library during a day.

Read more→

The Amelia Bloomer Project

Joy Worland, the director of the Joslin Memorial Library in Waitsfield, highly recommends The Amelia Bloomer Project, a project of the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association. Founded in 2002, its mission is to select and recommend quality feminist books for ages birth to eighteen. The committee of seven public, school and academic librarians from all over the country recently met at the ALA Midwinter Conference to create this year’s list.

Joy has been following this project since she first heard of it when working on her MLS, so  was thrilled to get to participate this year, spending hours with smart, opinionated, passionate committee members evaluating over 100 books to create this year’s list of 68 books.

The list is a diverse compilation including a picture book about a girl sherpa, a graphic novel about a girl fencer with the potential to save the world, a zine of advice for teen girls, and many more works of fiction and non-fiction exploring and celebrating the stories of resilient and inspiring girls and women.

For more about the project and the complete 2011 list, go to http://ameliabloomer.wordpress.com/

VLA Public Libraries Calendar Project

DEADLINE EXTENDED!

We invite your participation in creating a full-color wall calendar that celebrates, educates about, and fund raises for our Vermont public libraries.

A home-grown venture, the 2012 VLA Public Libraries Calendar Project arose from the desire to spread the word about all that our vibrant libraries have to offer. Our Calendar Project team includes Marti Fiske, Vermont Library Association (vermontlibraries.org) president and head librarian of Williston’s Dorothy Alling Memorial Library; Marcy Kass, award-winning Williston graphic designer (marcykassdesign.com) and library trustee at the DAML; and Andy Duback, Williston-based, award-winning photographer (andyduback.com). The calendar will be printed in Vermont as well.

Each month will showcase a different library, hopefully one from each county in Vermont. Along with a spacious and inviting calendar, each month will feature:

For more information and submit the survey online (by 1/24/11 1/26/11) please go to http://marcykassdesign.com/vlacalendarproject/index.html