Applications are due March 1st for a $250 Continuing Education Grant. Funds can be used to attend a conference, course or training. See: https://vermontlibraries.org/scholarship-committee/vla-continuing-education-grant/ to apply.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Ways to Take Action
Many people in our communities are wondering how they can remain active and hopeful through a long cold winter and also the current political climate. Here’s a short, curated list of simple ways to stay engaged.
- Five calls – “Turn your passive participation into active resistance.” scripts and suggestions for calling your government on the phone.
- Daily Action – a text a day with one thing you can do
- Don’t like phone calls? Here’s a simple how-to on how to follow through with those calls.
- Grab a Libraries Are For Everyone poster or graphic (free to use and share) and put it up in your library, especially if you have patrons who speak languages other than English
- Consider following the #vtpoli hashtag on Twitter to get a sense of the political issues facing our state
- Link to this clickable map to help people find their local elected representatives
- Make sure you’re signed up for the VTLIBRARIES mailing list (or others) and come say hello
VLA Statement on Clovis-Carver Public Library shooting
The VLA sends condolences and strength to those closely affected by the tragic violence at the Clovis-Carver Public Library in New Mexico, including the wounded, the families of the victims, library staff,the community, and our colleagues in the New Mexico Library Association.
Joy Worland, VLA President
October Is Information Literacy Month
The Vermont Consortium of Academic Libraries, Vermont School Library Association, and the Vermont Library Association believe that information literacy is crucial to Vermonters’ success from K-20, into the workplace and continuing throughout the lifespan. While librarians and libraries provide the foundation for teaching information literacy skills, offering quality information sources and collaborative spaces for all Vermonters, we do not work alone in valuing and building these skills…There is an urgent need for dialog among key stakeholders to raise awareness of the importance of information literacy as a lifelong skill, strengthen channels of communication to help students transition their skills from one setting to another, and to help Vermont’s students become information literate adults and citizens.
Vermont Librarians Statement on Information Literacy
Vermont Passport Program kicks off June 1st
The Passport to Vermont Libraries program kicks off June 1st. Here is the program page and here is the page for librarians including sample posters and press releases and a template to print out Passports if you need more. We have 115 libraries signed up, more than last year. Hope you enjoy the program!
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!
Passport to Vermont Libraries In Full Swing!!
VLA is proud to sponsor the Passport to Vermont Libraries program which will run from June 1 to September 1, 2015 at participating Vermont public & academic libraries.
Learn more about the Passport to Vermont Libraries Program
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:
- Create an aggregated career development resource list do be housed on the Vermont Library Association’s website.
- Develop a career assistance program that will be useful to librarians in all settings.
- 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 2015
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.
ALA Councilor’s Report
Hello from sunny Anaheim! I am happy to again be reporting from annual conference. At the first Council meeting we heard reports of task forces and committees. One report of particular interest was presented by the Digital Content & Libraries Working Group. This is the group that is working with ebook publishers. The group had an initial meeting with publishers in the spring and are now working to create business models and licensing agreements and to find ways to communicate the issues to the library community and the general public. ALA leaders have met with publishers twice more. They will continue to work to increase good access to e-resources.
I was lucky enough to score tickets for the first ever Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Award presentation. Nominees for the award included Anne Enright, Karen Russell, Russell Banks, James Gleik, Robert Massie, and Manning Marable. Anne Enright won for her new book The Forgotten Waltz and Robert Massie won for Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman. ALA hopes this award will become the adult Newbery.
At our second Council meeting we passed a resolution encouraging support for school librarians.
It has been a great pleasure representing Vermont at ALA conferences for the past six years.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Wilson