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Vermont Libraries with Online Local Digital Collections


Please let us know if you have any to add to this list!
Public libraries:
Rockingham Library, Bellows Falls    http://rockinghamlibrary.org/history/
Stowe Free Library, Stowe   http://stowe.advantage-preservation.com/
Bixby Library, Vergennes  http://bixbylibrary.org/digital-collections/
Universities & Colleges:
University of Vermont, Burlington, Center for Digital Initiatives  http://cdi.uvm.edu/
Castleton College, Castleton    https://www.castleton.edu/library/castleton-archives/
St. Michael’s College, Winooski   https://cdm15819.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/
Hartness Library, Randolph http://libguides.hartness.vsc.edu/vtc/archives/.
Harness Historical Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/hartnesslibrary/.
Other:
Vermont Historical Society, Barre http://digitalvermont.org/ and https://vermonthistory.org/virtual-vhs/photographs (This URL may change soon.)

Notes and Slides: People at the Center: User-Focused Librarianship


The notes and slides for the presentations from VLA’s College and Special Libraries’ one-day conference are all online. Thanks to all who participated!
Journey Mapping in the Durick Library
Presented by Beth Dietrich and Stacey Knight, Saint Michael’s College
Slides: Journey Mapping in the Durick Library
Full Project Report: User Experience in Durick Library:
Journey Mapping Student Experience
Mentoring the Mentors: A Pilot Project in Information Literacy
Presented by Daisy Benson and Scott Schaffer, University of Vermont
Slides: Mentoring the Mentors: A Pilot Project in Information Literacy
DIY Video Streaming at a Small Academic Institution
Presented by Amy Frazier, Middlebury College
Slides: DIY Video Streaming at a Small Academic Institution
Challenges & Rewards with an Institutional Repository: ScholarWorks @ UVM
Presented by Fred Pond and Chris Burns, University of Vermont
Slides: Challenges & Rewards with an Institutional Repository: ScholarWorks @ UVM
Supplemental Resources
How Can We Help You? Feedback to the Vermont Department of Libraries
Vincent M. Livoti, Statewide Consult for Special Populations and Director, ABLE Library
Slides: How Can We Help You? Feedback to the Vermont Department of Libraries
What Do Our Users Really Think? Effective Survey Design for Academic Libraries
Presented by Joshua Becker, Southern New Hampshire University
Slides: What Do Our Users Really Think? Effective Survey Design for Academic Libraries
Small-time UX: Doing User Research on Limited Time and Limited Budget
Presented by Sarah Sanfilippo, Southern Vermont College
Slides: Small-time UX: Doing User Research on Limited Time and Limited Budget
Let’s Meet at Your Place: Integrating Library Content Into a Student Portal
Presented by Daisy Benson, Gary Atwood, Dan DeSanto, and Graham Sherriff, University of Vermont
Slides: Let’s Meet at Your Place: Integrating Library Content Into a Student Portal

Millions of pages of Vermont newspapers freely searchable online

screenshot of hte landing page at newspapers.com
Vermont residents have access to a free searchable archive of millions of pages of Vermont newspapers thanks to a partnership between the Department of Libraries and Vermont State Records and Archives Administration (VSARA). Here are simple steps to get set up:

1. Sign up for a MyVermont.gov account at secure.vermont.gov/myvermont.
2. Log in and fill out your profile information including your contact information in the upper righthand corner. This is a necessary step in this process.
3. The “Featured Item” panel should show up once you’ve done this and it will have links for Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com

Let us know if you have any questions. Please share this with your patrons! Here is a four page PDF handout going through all the steps with screenshots. Read more→

The 2018 VLA Conference Has Come And Gone – See You At Next Year's Conference

image of conference presenter and large room full of librarians
Over 300 library lovers attended the 2018 Vermont Library Conference at Lake Morey Resort on May 18th.  Headliners Erica Freundenberger, Bill McKibben and Sue Halpern inspired us all.  The day was filled with 25 workshops created and presented by our very own Vermont librarians.  Lt. Governor David Zuckerman dropped by at the reception to chat one on one with us.

Librarians for Net Neutrality

image from wikimedia commons showing people in a dark room with lit phones saying SAVE THE INTERNET

Like librarians around the country, the Vermont Library Association is deeply concerned about the recent changes to the regulations regarding Net Neutrality.  Throughout the development and growth of the Internet equal access to information has been the accepted norm.  Net neutrality protects those making the content from censorship and provides users of the Internet with the freedom they need to easily access any and all information.  In particular, Vermont residents are uniquely vulnerable to the FCC’s relaxing of net neutrality rules.  As a rural state we all rely on the Internet to access content we might not otherwise be able to find and our small business community needs to be able to reach customers across the state and around the country.

Net Neutrality is the belief that the companies who provide our Internet access should not have the ability to force content creators to pay more based on the information they provide, or even possibility block content they don’t approve of.  Net Neutrality protects consumers from being charged more based on their Internet use, allows individuals to create their own content without fear they will have to pay to have other’s find it, and gives us all equal access to any content on the Internet.  Sadly, Net Neutrality is no longer in place.  However, Vermont librarians will continue to push for a reinstatement of these norms in order to protect our patrons.  We will continue to offer free access to the Internet at our libraries across the state.  A free and open Internet is so very valuable to our state so residents are able to learn, explore, build businesses, and participate in the world provided to us through the Internet.  As librarians will we everything we can to fight for all Vermonters.
– Angele Mott Nickerson – VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee

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