RILA Logo 2012-01
In This Issue
Teens and the Library
Digital Literacy
Occupy Movement
2012 reading Across Rhode Island
Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Question Block
News From the Field
Rhode Island
Library Association


The Rhode Island Library Association is a professional association of Librarians, Library Staff, Trustees, and library supporters whose purpose is to promote the profession of librarianship and to improve the visibility, accessibility, responsiveness and effectiveness of library and information
services throughout  
Rhode Island.
 
Contact us at:
PO Box 6765
Providence, RI 02940
 
or rilibraries.org

 
Greetings!

Happy New Year, Rhode Island library friends! Let's hope 2012 is a good year for libraries.

January is "Renew your RILA membership" month. Your humble state library association relies on membership dues to function as an advocate for libraries and librarians in Rhode Island, so please renew today. A RILA membership gets you a subscription to the RILA Bulletin, access to the RILA listserv, a discount to the RILA conference, voting rights and more. You can renew via mail or online, and all forms and rate information can be found at rilibraries.org/membership.  
 

Speaking of library advocacy, we hope to see a representative from your library at the state house for Library Legislative Awareness Day on February 28. Library advocates will gather on the rotunda from 3-5 p.m. to provide our legislators with evidence of the vital roles libraries of all types play in the lives of Rhode Islanders.

As we return to work today after observing the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, we recall Dr. King's words: "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." We all know that libraries are one of the cornerstones of a good education, and that acquiring an education should be a lifelong process. Let's make 2012 the year we share that message with every Rhode Islander.

Andria Tieman & Corrie MacDonald
RILA Communications Committee Co-Chairs


Teens and the Library--There's an App for That!
By Brandi Kenyon
Youth and Teen Services Librarian, South Kingstown Public

There's an App for that! It's true for just about everything. But what do you do when there isn't an App for that? If you are the New York Public Library, you create one! In 2007, NYPL surveyed and held focus groups with teens and tweens, hoping to find insight into how these groups use the internet and library for their homework and research needs. Some of the things they discovered were surprising, some not so much. Students tended to start their research with Google and Wikipedia rather than the library website or databases. Due to slow connection speeds or lack of home internet access, many used their mobile phones (including Blackberries, as well as IPhones and Androids) to access websites. Finally, they disliked having to type in library card numbers to access library resources. Regardless of the validity of the information they found, students claimed it was easier to just use Google than the library.

 

Armed with this information, NYPL applied for grant money from the IMLS to create online applications that would integrate library resources with the social websites and apps that students were already using. The result: HomeworkNYC.org 

 

HomeworkNYC.org provides students, teachers and parents a place to access links, handouts and online assistance for homework needs and more. The main "SuperApp", which is a combination of the three smaller apps Searchit!, Dial-A-Teacher, and Attendit!, is downloadable for free for use with Facebook, iGoogle, and mobile devices.

Searchit! is the main research part of the app. Students given a familiar way to start their research by typing their subject into a simple, Google-like search box. However, the returned results are limited to Wikipedia and websites ending in .org, .gov and .edu; as well as results from the news, images and from library's Gale databases.  

 

Students can also choose to activate YoLink for their search results. YoLink allows sharing of search results to Facebook, Twitter, GoogleDocs, and EasyBib; as well as gives expanded search results highlighting where the search term was used in the article.  A "behind the scenes" teacher and librarian access allows editing of an "also try" list to help students effectively narrow their searches. These features can be used to help students become better researchers, providing them with more accurate search result methods and information.

 

The Dial-A-Teacher part of the app is a partnership between the library and a city run tutoring center that provides one-on-one homework help. Monday-Thursday from 3:30-6:30 p.m. students can either call the center or use app to access the chat service Meebo to connect with teacher in the New York City area. The connection through the app uses an interactive whiteboard for chatting, sharing documents, or doing math problems.

 

Finally, the app includes Attendit!, a function that lets the student search for programs happening at any of the NYPL branches by linking to the library's event database and then easily share information about the events with other friends. By making it easier to find out what is going on at the library, the library becomes a destination for social activities and not just a place for homework and research.

 

While the HomeworkNYC.org website and Apps were several years in the making, the work was well worth the results, creating new ways to help keep the library relevant to teenagers in a technology-driven world.  

Digital Literacy @ the Cranston Public Library
By Kieran Ayton
Reference Librarian, Cranston Public Library
In Fall 2011, the Cranston Public Library collaborated with Broadband Rhode Island on a 4 week Digital Literacy Pilot Program.  Broadband RI is part of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and funded by a federal grant through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.  The Cranston Public Library was one of four community organizations that participated in this 4 week pilot program designed to teach Internet Basics. The other community organizations were the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC)/Center for the New Economy, the Providence Community Library (PCL), and the Providence Housing Authority (PHA).  The anticipated outcomes for the classes were that  participants would be comfortable using a web browser, doing Internet searches, and writing and managing email.  

The Broadband RI Digital Literacy Pilot Program was spearheaded by Pablo Sandoval, Broadband Community Development Manager.  The Digital Literacy classes taught at the Cranston Public Library were scheduled and coordinated by Ed Garcia, the Library's Technology Coordinator.  Instructors were Lisa Zawadzki and Kieran Ayton, Cranston Reference Librarians.

Student feedback for the classes was generally positive and those that attended showed a marked improvement in their ability to use Google to search the Internet and use email.  While the 4 part program was a success, it was discovered that about half the students needed very basic training on how to use a computer, before the Internet was even mentioned.  Based on this, future classes will be revised to include beginning computer skills, such as left and right clicking on the mouse and using the task bar.  The Cranston Public Library will be hosting 2 more 4 part Dgital Literacy Classes this spring.
 
Lisa, Ed, and Kieran would like to give a special thanks to Sandy Oliviera, Circulation Librarian at the Fox Point Branch of the Providence Community Library, for generously assisting with the classes taught at the Cranston Public Library during Fall 2011 and helping to make them a success!
Solidarity with the Occupy Movement: How the Occupy Libraries Have Proven to Us that Libraries are Not Dead
By Kasia Piasecka
Reference Assistant at Newport Public Library
As a recent library school graduate and a librarian, I have been excited about the Occupy movement because I see in it many of the things that drew me to librarianship: a sense of community and a concern for others.

An integral and unique aspect of the Occupy libraries is their foundation. The mission of the Occupy libraries has the potential to make our libraries stronger by encouraging every employee and volunteer to be an active and engaged participant in shaping their library. More importantly, the libraries are proof that people see libraries as a vital part of a community and and as an invaluable resource in and of itself. While I was a GSLIS student at the University of RI, I began to interact with the librarians at the Occupy Library in Boston, otherwise known as the Audre Lord to Howard Zinn Library, and I formed an informal guild of URI GSLIS students who assisted the library indirectly and directly. Reflections by URI and Simmons GSLIS students about their individual experiences are below.


Bryce
My name is Bryce Kieren Healy. I'm 28 years old, originally from Florida. I'm currently a GSLIS student at Simmons College.

I've been loosely involved with the Boston Radical Reference Collective for the past year now. There's a fair amount of collaboration between Rad Ref & PLG. I got involved in the Audre Lorde - Howard Zinn Library  (A-Z Library)  through Rad Ref. They called a general meeting shortly after the establishment of the Occupy Wall Street Library, with the intent of doing the same for Occupy Boston. Separately, around this time, John Ford arrived at Dewey Square and set up shop. So it became an initiative spearheaded by all three parties. My personal impetus to become involved was largely due to my political orientation. I would have become involved with Occupy Boston in any case, but the library has definitely given me a venue to do so in a focused manner.

I'm uncertain what my involvement with the A-to-Z Library means to my education. It's definitely allowed me the chance to put some of my intellectual training into action vis-�-vis library sciences & what-have-you. But it's almost as though it's running parallel to my education. I find the overall tone of the Simmons curriculum to be, if not corporatist in nature, definitely from the managerial perspective. The ideological perspective is that, if you're becoming involved with librarianship, your ultimate aim is to be a library director, & the pedagogical approach seems to reflect that to a large extent. However, there are many students (myself included) who have absolutely no desire to be a library director; I'd much rather be on the ground, working directly with people. So, in a sense, the A-to-Z Library has echoed that desire. I think that the lessons I'm learning there will certainly be reflected in my future approach regardless of where I end up working. I wouldn't have necessarily have thought that my perspective on libraries and librarianship could have been more radicalized prior to my involvement, but I've been wrong before (& will be in the future, assuredly.)

As regards the meaning of it all to me, as a librarian, I think that that's rather difficult to isolate & define. I feel that it's impossible to separate what it means to me as a librarian from what it means to me as a person (in the holistic sense.) It reaffirms my belief in the importance of libraries and I suppose that in the end, I'm just happy that I can be involved in this. The Occupy movement isn't perfect by any means, but at the same time, I have to take my hat off to the people involved in this. It's important what they're doing, & it's important that we, as librarians, support their efforts.

"Megan"
I have been in absolute awe of the impact that the library at Occupy Boston seems to have on the community that is there.  And that's what it is, a community.  I have learned throughout my studies is how vital libraries are to communities; how they can be the lifeline of a town, that people come to depend on them and the services they offer.  From what I can tell, those down at Occupy Boston have come to depend on the library and have a deep respect for what it stands for and the librarians who volunteer to staff it.  Despite what your opinions are on the Occupies, I would hope that as librarians, we can all see that these are communities that need serving, just like a public library.  These are communities with people who have questions, requests, and are sometimes just looking for a quiet place to sit and think for a few moments.  I feel really proud to be part of a profession where there are people who rush to offer this service, especially on a volunteer basis.

"Elizabeth"
As news about the breakdown of Occupy Wall Street bumped across my Twitter feed this morning, I started thinking about the importance of books in the development of political identity, and a political culture.  I've mentioned several times that my decision to become a public librarian generated from my political beliefs- including a belief in agency and community, which is also key to the Occupy movements.  And I first became politicized, as I imagine many have, through books.  Putting aside the medium (which has dominated our profession lately), the focus is on the message: the role of books in conveying thought, and preserving the history of activism through text as a resource for the continued movement (in whatever way that manifests).  Unfortunately, the result of this is that books and libraries are also one of the first targets in suppression of action and movement for social change. Preparing for a job interview recently, I thumbed through Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed; Freire was jailed for his work in teaching Brazilian peasants and laborers to read.  I don't think we can equate situations of oppression and suppression, but we can look at their repeated instance as an indicator of the power of access, information, literacy, and by extension, libraries and librarians in the progression towards social justice and equality.  So as Occupy folk build and plan their future actions to continue to bring attention to disparity and injustice, the return and the rebuilding of the library is one tool to tie them into a long history of protest of the same.

Anna
Being involved with an Occupy library is invigorating.  We have to work hard to convince first-time A-Z Library patrons that they can check out a book without a library card, a return date, or even giving us their names.  They are surprised and delighted that they are trusted to return the books eventually-- in some ways, I feel like we are making big strides to overcome people's suspicion of "shushing" libraries. When we were camped in Dewey, readers would often return their borrowed books with a whole crateload of new books they wanted to donate for others to enjoy.  The reference questions range from the very activist-specific to the very general.  Yes, we still get the most popular of all questions, "Where is the bathroom?"!  In Dewey Square, people used the library to discuss action and philosophy, to find comfort in the rare quiet or strike up a debate with a stranger.  We really did become a "third place" in that respect.

Now that we're mobile, we have had to become a lot more creative in reaching and serving our community.  One of our first post-eviction actions was to stand outside the Boston Public Library in Copley Square with a list of recommended books patrons could find inside.  We commit to supporting the use of local libraries to ensure that more people can access the books and information already available in their own communities.
2012 Reading Across Rhode Island -
Let the Journey Begin!

Reading Across Rhode Island, a program of the RI Center for the Book, is kicking off its 10th year! The 2012 RARI title is Caleb's Crossing by Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks. The novel brings the reader to the 17th century territories of the Wampanoag band and Puritan settlers on the island now known as Martha's Vineyard.

 

Bethia Mayfield yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. At twelve, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative, secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the band's strongest spiritual guide. Learn more 

 

Throughout the 2012 winter and spring, events scheduled statewide will focus on Caleb's Crossing as a work of fiction and on the historical background of the story. Check the RI Center for the Book website for updates to the schedule.

 

Start your RARI journey at the kick-off event on Sunday, January 22, a panel discussion featuring author Geraldine Brooks, URI Harrington School of Communication & Media Chief Dr. Renee Hobbs, and Brown University Professor Dr. William Simmons. Doug Riggs, Providence Journal Books editor, will moderate. Living Literature, a collective of Rhode Island based artists and educators, will present a scenes from Caleb's Crossing.

 

The event is scheduled from 2 - 4 p.m. at Newman Congregational Church in Rumford, RI. Admission is $15 for RI CfB members and $25 for non-members. A hardcover copy of Caleb's Crossing and light refreshments are included fee. Annual membership in RI CfB is included in the non-member ticket price. Seating is limited and payment must be made prior to the event. Please be sure to include the name of each person in your party so that seats may be reserved in their names.

 

Pay online using the RI Council for the Humanities website. Complete the form and indicate your purchase is for "RICfB Kick-Off Event" in the notes section.

 

To pay by mail, please send your check, made out to Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, to:

RI Center for the Book

c/o Rhode Island Council for the Humanities

131 Washington Street, Suite 210

Providence, RI 02903

 

Join the RI Center for the Book's RARI in celebrating a decade of community reading with Caleb's Crossing!


The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
By Julie Holden
Reference and Media Librarian, Pawtucket Public Library

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure in Orlando.  Officially opened in June of 2010, the WWHP is a movie lovers' dream come true.  The attention to detail is extraordinary. 

                 

Upon entering, you are greeted by a life-size Hogwarts Express train, and the village of Hogsmeade.  Quaint shops line each side of the cobblestone street, and a Butterbeer cart stands ready to serve the cream soda drink in a commemorative mug.  Crooked chimneys top each building along with "snow" and "icicles" which dangle from the eaves.  Shop windows display chocolate frogs and screaming Mandrakes.  Visitors can purchase the authentic sweets that appear in the books at Honeydukes, as well as toys at Zonko's Shop, and souvenirs at the Owl Post and Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods.   And is that Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom?

 

 

Ollivander's Wand Shop is the location of the special live-action ceremony of "the wand choosing its wizard."  We waited in a long line for the performance, as Ollivander's is a tiny shop and only 20-25 people at a time are allowed entry to witness the performance.  One child from the crowd is chosen (my niece was the lucky one) and as Ollivander hands over several wands to try out, magical and mischievous things begin to happen.  When at last the correct wand is handed over, a spotlight appears, music swells, and the wind blows - it is an exact re-enactment of Harry's wand-choosing in the first movie.

                 

There are three rides in the Wizarding World: a family-friendly roller coaster, two intertwining steel roller coasters, and the Forbidden Journey, which is a virtual reality, robotic-arm ride that is intense and awe-inspiring.  The Forbidden Journey is located inside a replica of the main school building at Hogwarts.  Riders fly around the Castle, participate in a Quidditch match, and get sprayed with spider venom.

                 

If you decide to visit be prepared for long lines and heavy crowds.  I never read all the books in the series, but I did see all the movies, and the attention to detail of Hogwarts/Hogsmeade is unbelievable.  If you are ever in Orlando, and are even a casual fan of the Harry Potter series, it is worth the price of admission to experience this theme park.

 

Question Block
Why Did You Become A Librarian?

--I get asked this a lot, especially with all the buzz about e-books and so many libraries closing. While I am technically still a student, I graduate shortly and currently work in three different libraries. I love them all! This is a career change for me, and the most concise answer I have is because I love books and I love to read, so this gives me an opportunity to share that love with others that feel the same way. It's important to foster a love of reading in children, and to help to continue that growth through teenage and young adult years to ensure we still have patrons in the future. It's sort of like book club, every day, when interacting about patrons with what they are reading now, any recommendations I have for them, and more often than not, they have recommendations for me too!

 

--I became a librarian because I believe in literacy. What can you really do well in life if you cannot read and understand what you read? How can you survive? For me, reading is the vehicle for everything I do or hope to do. I understand that an individual, or a group, has to be literate in order to move forward. My life's work is my passion. I have always felt this way and always will. I see it as my contribution to my family, my community, and to the world. I agree 100% with Karl Marx who said that your work should be a reflection of yourself.  

 

--At first I thought I wanted to be an English teacher.  A few months of substitute teaching showed me the folly of that! Then I tried to think of what master's degree I could get that would involve my love of reading with a love of sharing books.  News Flash! Be a librarian. I got my MLS, and I am so very glad about it! It's been a long and satisfying career!  

   

--I always liked the library... the public library was a safe place for me as a kid. I would spend hours there every day since it was right down the street from where I lived. I especially liked my elementary school library because the librarian's office was behind a wall of glass and she used to let the 6th graders go in her office and listen to records on the record player! I remember using the big green Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature in high school. I didn't like the library as much then. In college it was fascinating though... all that literature! I used to hang out in the "P's" and marvel at all the old books. But it wasn't until much later in life that I even thought of becoming a librarian. It was when I started bringing my kids to story time and attending the fabulous programming available that I realized what a treasure the public library was and that I wanted to be a part of it!       

 

--My sisters and I played "library" when we were kids. There are still some date due slips in the old children's books we had.  With a bachelor's degree in German, two small children and two part-time jobs I decided I needed a change. I took an aptitude test which suggested a career in Math, which proves those test are wrong, but the counselor suggested library school and I never looked back!  

 

--I lost my job after a tax cut in Massachusetts in 1980. Teaching was all I ever wanted to do. The Union loaned me a copy of 'What Color Is Your Parachute". We moved into an apartment in Fall River with our preschooler because we could no longer afford our house.

The Children's librarians in Fall River let me card snags and change date stamps. Mostly, they quietly understood. When a position opened I applied and was accepted.

At that point I had access to all the professional literature that opened the door on a world I'd been part of, but had underestimated. A loan made it possible to go to URI. I worked in libraries both public and academic--And I've been so happy with the turn life took! Even when chemical sensitivity and then a virus made it necessary to take a medical retirement, I've worked on behalf of libraries through the Friends.
 

Public access to information--priceless!!       

News From the Field

Providence Community Library

The non-profit group who runs the Providence Community Library system has finally reached an agreement with the Providence Public Library for the city to buy seven of the library branches for $5 million.

 

"After months of working closely with the PPL and the PCL, we've forged an agreement that will enable us to keep all of Providence's neighborhood libraries open, once and for all," said Mayor Taveras. "Today's announcement is a big victory for the thousands of children and adults who use and rely on their neighborhood libraries every day. I thank Judge Pfeiffer for his assistance in mediating this agreement, and I commend the PPL and PCL for working with my administration to find a solution to the challenges that have threatened the future of Providence's neighborhood library branches for far too long."      

Find the full story at The City of Providence website

In less dramatic news, PCL also recently hired Andria Tieman as Adult Services Librarian for the Rochambeau Library.  Andria had been working part-time at Warwick Public Library and Bryant University as well as filling in at Coventry Public.  "It's kind of strange to only go to one job," Tieman said, "But more than that, it's really exciting and I couldn't be happier."

Cranston 
David Macksam is retiring as Director of Cranston Public Library after 16 years in the positio.

David has worked in public libraries for 42 years, working in Maryland, Arkansas, and Ohio before coming to Rhode Island. He was RILA's ALA Chapter Councilor for seven years and has also served as organization's president.

"What has been great about being in Rhode Island has been working with the outstanding Cranston Public Library Staff, the strong advocacy role of RILA, the network strength of Ocean State Libraries and having Senator Jack Reed as a library champion. I will miss the many close relationships I have developed in the wonderful RI library community," he said.

Providence College 
Congratulations to Hailie Posey on her promotion to Digital Publishing Services Coordinator.  "Digital publishing is a newly developing area in academic libraries and I am thrilled to start my professional career in this important and evolving area."

Warwick
Ellen O'Brien has been promoted to the Coordinator of Children's Services position at the Warwick Public Library. Ellen began working in Warwick as a shelver in 1992, and became a children's librarian upon completing library school in 2002. The vacancy created by her ascension has been filled by Pam Miech, who has worked part time at the library for the past 17 years. Ellen reports that she is excited to take the helm of the children's department and explore new ways to serve the community.

Pam Miech and Ellen O'Brien
Two Warwick children's librarians promoted
 

URI 
 The Carothers Library at URI in Kingston is sponsoring a series of Search Savvy Seminars for the Spring semester.  Amanda Izenstark will be the presenter for all sessions.

●       RefWorks - 2/10, 1:00-3:00p.m.
●       Library & Online Research Tips & Tricks - 3/2, 1:00-3:00p.m.
●       Google Like a Librarian - 4/13, 1:00-3:00p.m.

Sessions are free and open to the RI library community.

 

   

 

As part of April's National Financial Literacy Awareness Month,
ALA and the Federal Reserve of Chicago have created Money Smart Week.
Money Smart Week takes place the week of April 21-28th.

 

This year RILA has joined Money Smart Week, and is looking to have several locations throughout the state host financial education workshops. If your library is intersted in hosting a financial workshop or seminar please contact Julie A Decesare at [email protected] or Chris Goldstein at cgoldstein@woonsocketlibrary.org and we will be happy to contact you with a list of presenters and their topics.  If your library is already hosting a financial seminar during Money Smart Week, please let us know so that we may add you to our list of locations and help advertise your program. News about upcoming Money Smart Week programs will be listed on the RILA Website and Facebook.
 

 

 

   

There is currently a petition at whitehouse.gov that we urge all librarians to sign.  It's a petition to Ensure that every child in America has access to an effective school library program.
"Every child in America deserves access to an effective school library program. We ask that the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provide dedicated funding to help support effective school library programs. Such action will ensure more students have access to the resources and tools that constitute a 21st century learning environment. Reductions in school library programs are creating an 'access gap' between schools in wealthier communities versus those where there are high levels of poverty. All students should have an equal opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to learn, to participate, and to compete in today's world."

  

To sign, you need to create an account, and click a button.    

  

Student ALA

On November 28, 2011, RILA partnered with URI's Student ALA to bring students a technology panel aimed to teach them the ways in which librarians use today's latest technologies in their daily work routines. Speakers included Jenifer Bond (Library Assistant Director at Bryant University), Amanda Izenstark (Reference and Instructional Design Librarian at URI), Patricia Schultz (Technical Services Librarian at Bryant University), Mark Caprio (Digital Services and Cataloging Librarian at Providence College) and Kieran Ayton (Reference Librarian at Cranston Public Library). Several students learned how to use invaluable resources such as Jing, JoinMe, working in the cloud, YouTube video tutorials and digital projects that enable students and patrons to conduct more extensive research than ever before. Overall, the technology panel was a fantastic and much appreciated success!  

 

 

OLIS

OLIS's statewide disaster planning and response project, "Protecting the Past - RI," is under new management! Project Manager Theresa Woodmansee was hired by Preserve RI, a project partner, to plan and implement regional programs and training. Ms. Woodmansee brings expertise in planning, project coordination and coalition building to the statewide partnership between cultural heritage organizations.

  

Schedules for regional coordinated statewide emergency preparedness (COSTEP) programs as well as hands-on training sessions will be posted soon on the OLIS website. At the regional COSTEP programs and training sessions library staff can mingle with representatives of other cultural heritage organizations, such as historical societies, municipal records offices, and museums, as the state builds a "Whole Community" approach to disaster preparedness and response.

  

Plan to participate in hands-on training sessions where you will learn how to prepare your library to reduce the risks from the impact of harsh weather or unforeseen disasters (think: burst pipe, collapsed roof, fire). In addition to learning how to create a customized disaster plan for your library with RI.dPlan, you can participate in workshops that will show you how to prevent or mitigate disasters, prepare for the most likely emergencies, respond quickly to minimize damage if disaster strikes, and recover effectively from disaster while continuing to provide services to your community.

  

Journey with OLIS as RI libraries journey into an era where we are part of a community prepared to respond and recover from natural and other disasters.

 

 

OLIS is on Facebook!

The Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS) is now on Facebook! The page is a new addition to OLIS' communication repertoire. The OLIS website and blogs, Rhodarian and Talking Books, will continue to provide OLIS news and information as well as information, ideas, and opportunities relevant to the library community. Visit the OLIS Facebook page and click on the "Like" button so you can get the feed on your own Facebook page.

  

 

Rhode Island Teen Book Award  

It's that time of year again!  Along with the change in calendars comes the time when the teens of Rhode Island get a chance to pick the book they think is the best one they have read from a list selected by teachers, public librarians, and school library media specialists.  That's right!  It is election time for the 2012 Rhode Island Teen Book Award.

 

Where can our teens vote?  Well, they can do it in their schools and local public libraries.  Interested schools and libraries find a basic sample ballot that can be adapted for use at the site on the Rhode Island Teen Book Award website at [http://www.yourlibrary.ws/ya_webpage/ritba/ritbaballot.htm] or [http://tinyurl.com/riteenbookaward].  Just copy and past the form into a word processing program and adapt it in whatever manner you need.  Ballots can be accepted by the participating schools and libraries.  Remember, teens are only eligible to if they have read at least three titles from the list of nominees.  Voting results should be emailed to meat [email protected].  Results should be submitted by February 28 at the latest.

 

If you have any questions about the voting process, the current list, or how the award program works, please free to contact me at work (333-2552  x128) or via email .  

Thanks,
Aaron Coutu

RITBA Chair

  

Events

Title: The Hopeful Workplace

Presenters: George Needham and Joan Frye Williams

Format: Webinar

Date: Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Start Time: 3PM Eastern

This webinar will last approximately one hour. Webinars are free of charge and registration is ONLY done on the day of the event on the WebEx server. No Passwords are required.  

For Tips and Registration Information, please go to http://infopeople.org/training/webcasts/tips.html  

For more information and to participate in the Tuesday, January 17, 2012 webinar, go to http://infopeople.org/training/hopeful-workplace  

There's a fair amount of doom and gloom out in library land, but futurist Joan Frye Williams and strategist George Needham are having none of it! These passionate library advocates believe that dealing with desperate economic times need not make us desperate.

In this upbeat webinar, George and Joan will explore how we can get out of the rat race that says "do more with less" and shift our focus to hope-engendering ways to "do different with less." They'll offer practical techniques for improving your own job satisfaction and moving your organization in a more positive direction.   

This one-hour webinar will be of interest to anyone in the library community who wants to see libraries move forward, including library staff, volunteers, friends, trustees, and commissioners.

 

 

The RILA Bulletin is produced by the RILA Communications Committee.  The RILA Communications Committee is responsible for publicizing and supporting Rhode Island Library Association activities using a variety of communication tools. Responsibilities including publishing the RILA Bulletin, managing social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and exploring other mediums as needed. The Communications Committee may cooperate with the publicity efforts of the Public Relations Committee to promote library services statewide.

Rhode Island Library Association members can contribute content to the RILA Bulletin by emailing the editors: [email protected]

 
Corrie MacDonald & Andria Tieman
RI Library Association