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Vermont Library Association hosts tour of four Addison County libraries on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

Addison County Library Tour

Last spring’s VLA library tour in the Northeast Kingdom was so much fun that we are doing it again, this time in Addison County (mostly). Here are the details:
Friday, Sept. 30, 2022
Lunch in Vergennes
We also plan to follow up with a librarian happy hour afterwards at a nearby brewery for those who want to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow librarians for a bit longer.
While you are welcome to show up no matter what, it would be helpful to get a gauge of how many people we might be planning to have along for the tour. If you plan to attend, please send an email to director@craftsburypubliclibrary.org. And if you don’t plan to attend, and haven’t RSVPed, but decide at the last minute that you can’t bear to miss the fun, we will still be happy to have you! There is no cost for this tour, and library staff, trustees, and volunteers are welcome to attend.
Susan O’Connell
Vermont Library Association Small Logo

VLA Professional Development Grant Applications Open

The Vermont Library Association’s Scholarship and Awards Committee is accepting applications for the fall round of their professional development grant. Up to $250 is available to attend a workshop, a conference, or a continuing education course.  The deadline for applications is Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, with the awardee notified by September 1. (Please note the deadline has been changed to August 14.)

To be eligible, applicants must:

  • Be an active VLA member;
  • Live in Vermont and/or work in a Vermont library; and
  • Not have received a scholarship from VLA in the past two years.

For complete details and to apply, visit the VLA Professional Development Grant web page.

If you have additional questions, contact one of the Scholarship and Awards Committee co-chairs:
Pamela Cartier at clic@vermontlaw.edu

Mary Danko at mdanko@burlingtonvt.gov

VLA Annual Meeting 2022

VLA Annual meeting 10-11 am - Wednesday June 2

Dear VLA Members:

The Vermont Library Association Annual Meeting will be held from 10 – 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, on Zoom.
You can register at this link.

For those unable to attend, you can request an absentee ballot by clicking this link.

Here is the agenda:

  • Call to Order
  • Approval of Minutes from 2021 Annual Meeting
  • Budget Report
  • Election of Board Members
  • Reports from Working Groups, Roundtables, etc.
  • Proposed changes to membership structure
  • Remarks from the State Librarian Cathy Delneo
  • Remarks from VLA President-Elect Kelly McCagg

Best,
Mike Roy
President, Vermont Library Association

2022 Vermont Library Association Conference

posted which repeats the details of the confrence and has an image of the main guy who is handling the unconference

Better Together!

This year, VLA is again doing things a little differently. On the heels of a very successful 2021 virtual conference, we’ll be hosting a participant-driven conference on June 1, 2022, at Castleton University. The theme is Better Together, which embodies two defining principles for the day: the chance for us to see each other in person after a long time apart, and the idea that sharing our knowledge helps us all improve ourselves and our libraries.

Register now, or read more.

The Intellectual Freedom Committee Rapid Response Team

Dear Vermont Library Worker,

The Vermont Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) would like you to know we’ve got your back.

We are as concerned as you are about the censorship and challenges of books, particularly school library books, in many other parts of the country. Books which talk about complex social issues such as racism and bigotry, or which simply portray LGBTQIA+ characters and stories, are being aggressively targeted by so-called “family friendly” protestors who are trying to have these books removed from libraries, often through legislative means.

VLA IFC believes the best defense is a good offense, and we want to help libraries in Vermont prepare for the conversations and challenges which may be coming. Here are three things that libraries can do now to prepare.

  1. Be ready in advance of challenges or censorship action. Make sure your library has a collection development policy to support your library’s collection, and procedures for dealing with people’s requests for book removals. This procedure should be available to any staff who may be interacting with the public, and it should be readily available to a staff member dealing with such an interaction.  The American Library Association”s Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit for Public, School, & Academic Libraries has good information for creating or amending such a document.
  2. Prepare to report challenges or censorship actions. The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom (ALA OIF) provides confidential support to anyone addressing a challenge to materials, programming, policy, or services. Their challenge report form allows you to report censorship and request assistance with the challenge.  Alternatively, you can send email to oif@ala.org or call 312-280-4221 / 1-800-545-2433 x4226 to request assistance.

    In addition, please notify VLA IFC of any challenges, using our Report a Challenge form. We keep statistics on challenges in Vermont.

  3. Contact the VLA IFC. We have a rapid response team who can help you manage situations and people.  Email ifc@vermontlibraries.org and we will connect you with resources and strategies to help you with whatever you’re dealing with.

We’re all in this together. Forewarned is forearmed. We’re here if and when you need us.

VLA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee

Randal Smathers, chair
Lynn Eisenbrary
Laura Fetterolf
Virgil Fuller
Bryn Hoffman
Almy Landauer
Trina Magi
Dena Marger
Amy McMullen
Susan Meyer
Rachel Muse
Jessamyn West

Last update October 10, 2023

Vermont Library Association Statement on Critical Race Theory

The Vermont Library Association (VLA) ​stands firmly against any legislation that restricts or impedes any education on Racism, “Divisive” Concepts, Racial Injustice, Black American History, and Diversity Education in libraries and educational institutions. This includes any books, resources, curriculum, or programming that libraries provide. Furthermore, we believe that it is imperative to call attention to portions of our history that have been previously omitted, misrepresented, distorted or misstated.

VLA is committed to upholding intellectual freedom in all of our libraries: Public Libraries, School Libraries, Special Libraries, and Academic Libraries. People must be able to access information without censorship and without fear that their intellectual inquiries are illegal. It is only through the vigorous upholding of freedoms of speech and inquiry that we can truly be a democratic nation that strives not only to understand its history, but to learn and become better from it.

Libraries and librarians have had a long history of upholding all forms of intellectual freedom. The current attacks and efforts to use legislation to suppress it are alarming, and are reaching unprecedented numbers throughout our country. Critical thinking and civil discourse for all points of view must be protected and encouraged in a democracy. Any attack on these tenets is an affront to the rights of all people and is intended to work against the values of equity, diversity and inclusion for which all libraries strive for.

VLA is committed to supporting our librarians and the communities they serve. We pledge to defend, assist, and stand with our members if and when they are challenged. Furthermore, we pledge to continue to educate our communities on the importance of holding sacred the freedoms that the United States of America was built on, not only as an inalienable right, but as foundational to our democracy and our efforts to be an example of a true, thriving democracy throughout the world.

The Vermont Library Association is in agreement with, and stands firmly with, the American Library Association’s Statement on Censorship of Information Addressing Racial Injustice, Black American History, and Diversity Education of August 18, 2021.

The Vermont Library Association is in agreement with, and stands firmly with, the American Library Association’s Statement on Book Censorship of November 29, 2021.

Additional resources on Critical Race Theory

PDF of this statement formatted as a press release.

VLAC21 Award Winners

Every year at the annual conference, the Vermont Library Association presents five awards for outstanding service to and support of the state’s libraries. This year, we did something a little different.  Rather than ask people to nominate for our usual awards, we invited them to name their own awards. The results were entertaining and heartfelt.

The winners were announced during the conference, “Emerging Energized,” held online May 25, 26, 27, and June 1 and 2.  You can watch the awards ceremony recording here.

And the winners are…Read more

VLA Covid-19 Vaccination Statement

A letter sent to Governor Phil Scott from the VLA Executive Board.

To the Honorable Phil Scott, Governor of Vermont:

Secretary Smith indicated at the press conference on February 2nd that Vermont is “open to discussions about what comes next” with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. In this spirit, the Executive Committee of the Vermont Library Association asks the State of Vermont to prioritize library workers alongside other front-line workers.Read more

VLA Statement Condemning Increased Violence and Racism Towards Black Americans and People of Color

The Executive Board of the Vermont Library Association (VLA) stands in solidarity with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) and in endorsement of the Executive Board of the American Library Association’s (ALA) June 1 statement in condemning violence and racism toward black people and all people of color.

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/ala-executive-board-stands-bcala/

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis, MN police officers is the most recent in a long line of events in the United States reminding us that racism is not a thing of the past.  The Executive Board of VLA urges our members to use your spheres of influence to respond to these events in your communities, to continue to advocate for all people regardless of race, to uphold fairness and justice in your policies and in your day to day operations and to continue to stand firm against “acts of prejudice and threats of violence”.

Sincerely,

Amy Olsen, President
Kevin Unrath,  President Elect
Cindy Weber, Past President
Marie Schmukal, Secretary
Susan Smolinsky, Treasurer

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