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 From the State Librarian
Libraries Change Lives: Celebrating National Library Week 2011
[Note: This article appeared in newspapers around the state for National Library Week]
If ever there was a time when we needed to set aside a week to celebrate our nation's libraries, National Library Week 2011 (April 10-16) is it. All across the nation libraries are being hit hard with budget cuts at the local, state and federal levels and the result has been loss of staff, reductions in book budgets and hours of operation and an alarming number of closings. This comes at the same time when the demand for library service has increased. If you have a library card from one of Vermont's 183 public libraries, you join 350,000 other Vermont individuals and families who are able to borrow books and DVDs, gain access to online subscription content, download audio books, and read library e-books.
In FY2010 Vermont public libraries reported 3.7 million visits, and while the library "brand" is still the book, we saw the greatest increases in the use of library technology. Visitors logged on to public library computers over 18,000 times each week to connect with the Internet, including job-seekers, distance learners, global communicators and citizens needing access to e-government services. In the 21st century librarians are as apt to discuss search engines and broadband connectivity as we are to talk about Bill Bryson or Mark Twain. If you've visited a library lately you know that the role of our public libraries has greatly expanded over the past decade. Libraries are still the place where children are first introduced to books and reading and where parents learn the importance of reading aloud. They are still the place for readers to browse the stacks and discover new authors and whet their appetites for life-long learning. They are still the place where local residents attend cultural programs and engage in book discussions. And they are still the place where citizens are free to explore a wide diversity of ideas and viewpoints without anyone looking over their shoulders. But libraries are not standing still - nor are they being replaced by Google or Amazon. Changes in our local communities are reflected in the kinds of services that libraries now offer, and studies show that libraries are especially important for our friends and neighbors most directly affected by the economic downturn. [See: "Perceptions of Libraries 2010" www.oclc.org/reports/].
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It's a Boy!
Congratulations to Renee Ancel, Executive Assistant to the State Librarian, and her husband Aaron on the birth of their son Mattia Diaz Ancel who arrived on March 28, 2011. Mattia weighed in at 6 lbs., 13 oz. and joins big brother Ryan. |
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American Library Association Issues 2010 State of America's Libraries Report
On April 12, with a press release headlined "Recession drives more Americans to libraries in search of employment resources; but funding lags demand," the American Library Association (ALA) issued its report on the current status of America's academic, school and public libraries. The report shows that while library use has increased, especially by job-seekers and others affected by the economic downturn, library funding has taken a big hit. To read the press release and the full report, go to: http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries/index.cfm |
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The National Digital Newspaper Program
Deborah Thomas, Program Coordinator for the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDDP) at the Library of Congress, visited UVM's Bailey/Howe Library on April 21 to give a presentation about the on-going effort to digitize historically significant U.S. newspapers and make them freely available to the public via the Chronicling America: Historic American newspapers website at: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/.
In 2010 the University of Vermont was awarded an NDNP grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project. The UVM Libraries, the Vermont Department of Libraries, the Ilsley Public Library of Middlebury, and the Vermont Historical Society are partners in this grant project to digitize up to 100,000 pages of Vermont newspapers published between 1936 and 1922.
Thomas gave a detailed tour of the "Chronicling America" website which offers a rich selection of scanned newspapers and a fascinating picture of the social, political, and economic history of the United States on a daily basis. The database will be of interest to librarians, teachers, scholars and researchers, students, genealogists and the casual reader. Even the advertising is significant! Vermont is the first New England state to participate in the digitization project.
Staff from the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project, including Project Director Birdie MacLennan and Project Librarian Tom McMurdo, talked about the Vermont project and announced the first Vermont newspaper content selected for digitization. For more information, contact Tom McMurdo at: [email protected]. |
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Application Deadine for New England Library Leadership Symposium
The New England Library Association has announced that the 2011 New England Library Leadership Symposium (NELLS) for mentoring and developing new leaders for state and regional associations will take place August 8-12, 2011 at the Rolling Ridge Conference & Retreat Center in North Andover, MA.
The Symposium offers intense training for library professionals, paraprofessionals, trustees and Friends in mid-career (3-15 years experience in public, special, academic, and school libraries). The NELLS brochure and application are available at http://nela.camp9.org/nells, and include a point system for applicants. The application deadline is May 17, 2011. Past graduates of the Leadership Symposium have been major assets to the Vermont library community: Amy Grasmick, Gizelle Guyette, Helen Linda, Mary Danko, Emily Zervas, Toni Eubanks, and Deborah Gadwah-Lambert.
NELLS will include five days of discussion, readings, peer work and mentoring to produce new library leaders across New England. There is a nominal cost of $400/person, which the Vermont Library Association helps to pay. According to the NELLS website, the curriculum includes leadership style. interpersonal communication, presentation skills, managing differences, risk taking, the library within the community, using power and influence, understanding libraries as organizational systems, transforming libraries, the leader as a catalyst for change, the leader's role as coach and mentor, and achieving individual potential. Attendees develop an action plan for their future commitments. For more information contact Amy Howlett at: [email protected]. |
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Department of Libraries Prepares "Day for Library Friends"
Vermont librarians and representatives from local "Friends of the Library" groups will meet on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at the Aldrich Public Library in Barre to talk about fund raising, bylaws, gifts, building membership, and starting Friends groups. DOL encourages Friends to line up the carpool now, and plan for a full day of making friends, having fun and learning from each other. Register for this free day at http://evanced.info/vtdol/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
DOL Library Consultant Amy Howlett is organizing the day's events and could use some help. If you'd like to help plan this event, meet Amy at the Midstate Library Service Center in Berlin at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 2. If you can't make the meeting but know what you need in a Day for Friends, send her an email at: [email protected].
Check out the Vermont Friends links at http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/trustees, particularly the link at http://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/vermontfol2010.pdf which lists a contact from 2010 for each Friends of the Library in Vermont. Send updates to the listings to Amy Howlett. |
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Arrangement and Description: An Introduction to Archival Processing
 
Friday, May 20, 2011, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Vermont History Center, 60 Washington Street, Barre, Vermont
Registration opens at 8:30 am
Cost: $70 for members of the New England Archivests (NEA) or Vermont Historical Society (VHS) Member, $85 Non-Members
Instructor: Bruce P. Stark, Retired Assistant State Archivist, Connecticut State Library
Registration Deadline: Friday, May, 6, 2011 Maximum Enrollment: 25
Is your organization wondering what to do with those boxes of letters and diaries? Considering cataloging its archival collections on a computer? Organization and description are key to any successful archival program and the foundation upon which all other archival work is based. Before a collection is cataloged with a computer program it must be processed. For the first time in at least a decade, the Vermont Historical Society is bringing to Vermont the New England Archivists' well-regarded workshop on arrangement and description.
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New Interlibrary Loan Task Force Formed
State Librarian Martha Reid has appointed a group of Vermont academic and public librarians to a new Interlibrary Loan Task Force. The Task Force will look at the current state of interlibrary loan costs and delivery service in Vermont, will research models used in other states and will issue a report with recommendations to the Department of Libraries by the end of 2011. The Task Force will focus on the feasibiity and costs of a statewide courier service to enhance interlibrary loan. The Task Force, co-chaired by Mara Siegel (Department of Libraries) and Emily Alling (Marlboro College) will hold its first meeting on May 6. In addition to the co-chairs, Task Force members include: Amy Grasmick (Kimball Public Library, Randolph), Kristen Hindes (St. Michael's College), Sandy Duling (Castleton State College), Chris Kirby (Ilsley Public Library, Middlebury), Karen Lane (Aldrich Public Library, Barre), Rubi Simon (Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester), Rhonda Murphy (Royalton Memorial Library), and Becky Jensen (Peacham Library). |
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Brownell and Essex Free Libraries: Cooperation for Quarter Century Plus
Back in 1983 when Penny Pillsbury became the Northwest Regional Librarian at the Department of Libraries, one of her favorite libraries to visit was the lively Essex Free  Library and its even livelier director Susan Overfield. Pillsbury became director of the Brownell Library in Essex Junction in 1986 and together the two Essex/Essex Junction librarians have seen their libraries grow and change in ways that were unforeseeable two and a half decades ago. Both had spaces that were too small. Essex Free had no photocopier. Brownell did not have a water fountain. "Sue threatened to suspend a copier from the ceiling of the little white library that is now the Essex Public Works Department. At my second meeting of the Brownell Library trustees, I begged for a water fountain, and there followed an anonymous donation," says Pillsbury. The two have worked together and with their Chittenden County colleagues to further library service to citizens.
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Rockingham Library Weathers the Storm
 | | Damaged items from the local history collection after they had been removed from the room. |
Early on December 13, 2010 the janitor at Rockingham Free Public Library in Bellows Falls arrived at the library to find the ceiling of the local history room leaking water onto the collection of books. Emily Zervas, the library's Reference and Historical Collections Librarian got a call at home and rushed to work, arriving at the same time as Library Director Celina Houlne. Together they worked to move all of the books from the wet room, focusing first on the irreplaceable items and removing all ruined replaceable items from the building. Once the materials were out of harm's way, Houlne searched for the source of the water in the building. There had been heavy rain over the weekend and roofers found no structural issues, but plumbers eventually determined that a water pipe on the third floor had been compromised by corrosion or freezing and that was the source of the problem. Houlne contacted ServPro, a fire and water cleanup firm, who came to remove the wet building materials and begin the de-humidification process.
 | | The Local History Room after the collection was removed. |
With Houlne juggling the building issues, Zervas was able to focus on the wet collection. Luckily, she had attended the Emergency Response and Recovery of Wet Materials workshop for Vermont Emergency Team for Cultural Institutions just months before. At the workshop, a group of Vermont librarians, museum workers and historical society members did training and hands-on exercises for dealing with a variety of wet collection items. She had learned who to call in this kind of emergency and what services were offered by area vendors and had grabbed her workshop notes that morning. The notes were incredibly helpful. At the workshop Zervas had learned that the biological response to an emergency leaves humans with about 20% decision-making capacity and having notes and practice to rely on are the keys to responding appropriately. First, she called the New England Document Conservation Center's Emergency Line and was referred to Munters (now Polygon), a humidity control and emergency salvage firm who were able to quickly dispatch two workers in a refrigerated truck. While they were en route, Zervas was able to blot the wettest items and create a spreadsheet inventory of everything being sent for treatment. The workers arrived and boxed up 389 volumes of the local history collection to be taken to a vacuum freeze drying facility in Illinois.
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Fairfield Community Makes the Move to a New Library
Joel Lehman, St.Alban's Messenger
| | Photo by Barry Fauteux, courtesy St. Albans Messenger |
"Many hands make light work. There is a saying: "If you give a child a book ...You give the child the world." Well, in Fairfield, if you give a child a book, they will move a library. That is just what the students of the Fairfield Center School did on a beautiful spring day. On the afternoon of Thursday, March 31, the students of FCS made a book brigade and helped to move books from the old site of the Bent Northrop Memorial Library to their newly built library nearby. The students happily moved books, some even reading every title they held or counting them as they were passed along. After the excitement of putting books on the new shelves, some of the students even got a sneak preview of the building."
Congratulations to Community Librarian Kristen Hughes and her staff and library trustees!
For more information about the Bent Northrop Memorial Library, see:
http://bentnorthrop.org/ |
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DCF Book Award News
2011-2012 List Announced
The Dorothy Canfield Fisher (DCF) Award is Vermont's statewide child-selected book award for grades 4-8. At a recent all-day meeting filled with lively discussion and passionate opinions, the DCF Committee selected a new masterlist of thirty books for the 2011-12 school year. The list is posted on the DCF website: www.dcfaward.org and the Department of Libraries' (DOL) website: http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/cbec/dcf. The DOL website also includes a checklist that students can use to keep track of the books as they read them.
DCF Materials available
To help teachers and librarians plan and run their DCF programs, DOL and the DCF committee create and distribute many support materials. (1) DCF Bookmarks listing the 30 books nominated for 2011-12 will be available at the DCF Conference on April 29, the Dynamic Landscapes Conference on May 19, the Vermont Library Association Conference on May 24 and at the DCF ceremony. A bookmark template is available on the DOL website at: http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/cbec/dcf, (2)A DCF Booklet of reviews and discussion questions for each book will also be available at those conferences and then on the DOL website, (3) Librarians and teachers may request spine labels, stickers, and posters by contacting April Kelley at: [email protected]. All of these materials are free of charge, thanks to the Friends of DCF. |
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Green Mountain Book Award News
The Green Mountain Book Award (GMBA) committee has selected 15 great books for teen readers (grades 9-12) for the new masterlist for the 2011-12 school year. Votes for this year's nominees are due on Friday, May 6. The masterlist of titles and voting and tally forms are on the DOL website at: http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/gmba.
There is one position open on the GMBA committee for the upcoming year. This is a great opportunity for someone who loves to read books written for teens and who would enjoy meeting with others who share a passion for bringing books and teens together. Interested persons should apply by sending: (1)a letter of interest, (2)a resume, and (3) two reviews of young adult books of their choice, one positive and one negative, to: Grace Greene ([email protected]) by June 1, 2011. |
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One World, Many Stories Summer Reading Program
As the snow finally melts away and the days get warmer and longer, public librarians' thoughts naturally turn to their summer reading program! Vermont belongs to the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP), a national group that each year selects a theme and slogans for the summer and creates accompanying materials for distribution to libraries. This year the theme focuses on multiculturalism and travel: "One World, Many Stories" for children and "You are Here" for teens. In March, 85 librarians attended DOL's summer reading workshops which focused on programs, books, and displays for children and teens. There were excellent presenters at both workshops (Northfield and Rockingham); handouts are posted at: http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/srp/childrenteen. |
"You Are Here" Teen Video Challenge Winner Announced 
Fifteen year old Andrew Rainville, a sophomore at Mt. Abraham Union High School, is the winner of the Vermont/Collaborative Library Summer Program (CSLP) "You Are Here" teen video challenge. The Teen Video Challenge is a national competition for teens to get involved with reading and their local library's summer reading program using the CSLP slogan "You are Here." Twenty states participated in the Challenge for this inaugural year and each selected one winning video to be named an official CSLP "You Are Here" Teen Video Challenge winner for 2011. The winners were announced on April 8 during the CSLP Annual Meeting held in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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TV Series Now Included in Movie Licensing
The Department of Libraries has signed a new 2011-2012 contract with Movie Licensing USA for public libraries and will be sending agreement forms out to libraries later this spring for a June 1, 2011 start date. The public performance license is free to all public libraries that submit an agreement form. 
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Assistive Technology is Focus Tech Fair for the Visually Impaired
Assistive devices, both high-tech and low, were the draw at the Tech Fair in Rutland sponsored by the Vermont Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired. The fair is an annual event providing an opportunity for Vermonters who are blind or visually impaired to learn about new technology and to try out the devices before making a purchase. This year Teresa Faust, Head of the Department of Libraries' Special Services Unit, was one of the exhibitors, demonstrating the new digital book players from the National Library Service for the Blind & Physically Handicapped and displaying audio-described movies and large print books. The most spectacular devices on display at the fair were optical scanner readers that can read a document out loud after it has been optically scanned. Much simpler devices were also demonstrated to be a boon to those dealing with loss of sight, including a small adhesive plastic bump or puff paint that can be used to indicate what button to push or how much to turn a dial. Next year's tech fair will be in St. Johnsbury. For more information, contact Teresa Faust at: [email protected]. |
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National Library Week on Across the Fence
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New in the Library Science Collection
Booth, Char. Reflective Teaching, Effective Learning: Instructional Literacy for Library Educators. American Library Association, 2011.
Crawford, Walt. Open Access: What You Need to Know Now. American Library Association, 2011.
Driggers, Preston F. Managing Library Volunteers. American Library Association, 2011.
Hakala-Ausperk, Catherine. Be a Great Boss: One Year to Success. American Library Association, 2011.
How to Stay Afloat in the Academic Library Job Pool. American Library Association, 2011.
Intner, Carol F. Homework Help from the Library: In Person and Online. American Library Association, 2011.
Lee, Marta K. Mentoring in the Library: Building for the Future. American Library Association, 2011.
The Frugal Librarian: Thriving in Tough Economic Times. American Library Association, 2011.
Trotta, Marcia. Staff Development on a Shoestring: A How-to-do-it Manual for Librarians. Neal-Schuman Publishers Inc., 2011. |
What are Vermont business people reading this month? A quick look around the state shows plenty of variety!
 Linda Markin, CFO of Concept2, Morrisville: "In the past month I have read Disgrace and Pope Joan and I am now halfway through The Wolf in the Parlor: The Eternal Connection Between Humans and Dogs by Jon Franklin. I'm loving the history and science in it, but most of all the insights into the bond between humans and dogs. I was fortunate to have been raised with dogs and they have been a part of my life ever since. Understanding how they sense my moods from joy to despair only makes me appreciate them more. I am never happier than when I am with them. No vacation away from home without them is quite complete."
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ONLY COMPLETE ARTICLES BEYOND THIS POINT
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From the Vermont State Librarian
Libraries Change Lives: Celebrating National Library Week 2011
[Note: This article appeared in newspapers around the state for National Library Week]
If ever there was a time when we needed to set aside a week to celebrate our nation's libraries, National Library Week 2011 (April 10-16) is it. All across the nation libraries are being hit hard with budget cuts at the local, state and federal levels and the result has been loss of staff, reductions in book budgets and hours of operation and an alarming number of closings. This comes at the same time when the demand for library service has increased. If you have a library card from one of Vermont's 183 public libraries, you join 350,000 other Vermont individuals and families who are able to borrow books and DVDs, gain access to online subscription content, download audio books, and read library e-books.
In FY2010 Vermont public libraries reported 3.7 million visits, and while the library "brand" is still the book, we saw the greatest increases in the use of library technology. Visitors logged on to public library computers over 18,000 times each week to connect with the Internet, including job-seekers, distance learners, global communicators and citizens needing access to e-government services. In the 21st century librarians are as apt to discuss search engines and broadband connectivity as we are to talk about Bill Bryson or Mark Twain. If you've visited a library lately you know that the role of our public libraries has greatly expanded over the past decade. Libraries are still the place where children are first introduced to books and reading and where parents learn the importance of reading aloud. They are still the place for readers to browse the stacks and discover new authors and whet their appetites for life-long learning. They are still the place where local residents attend cultural programs and engage in book discussions. And they are still the place where citizens are free to explore a wide diversity of ideas and viewpoints without anyone looking over their shoulders. But libraries are not standing still - nor are they being replaced by Google or Amazon. Changes in our local communities are reflected in the kinds of services that libraries now offer, and studies show that libraries are especially important for our friends and neighbors most directly affected by the economic downturn. [See: "Perceptions of Libraries 2010" www.oclc.org/reports/]
You may have heard the slogan that "libraries change lives." I have worked in libraries long enough to have seen this happen over and over again and I believe that libraries have a role in helping our communities with some of our most pressing needs: early childhood literacy and readiness for school, assistance for new Americans who need language and computer training, reversing the high rate of youth entering our prison system, providing reliable health information for families and seniors, and helping the unemployed to find jobs and businesses to thrive.
Our school and college libraries play a central role in the life of students and teachers, providing a wide range of services and instructional programs that foster reading, intellectual curiosity and the love of learning, scholarly pursuit, career exploration and job skills, and digital literacy. Community leaders should look to their local library and develop new and innovative ways to collaborate and provide services to citizens. At the state level, we are working to bring high-speed broadband to libraries and to develop statewide library services that reach every citizen. Governor Shumlin noted in his inaugural address that we need to "support creative approaches that may be outside the four walls of our classrooms" and "break down the silos into a seamless system that allows each individual learner to integrate the array of programs that inspire lifeling learning." Vermont's libraries play an important role in this dynamic approach to creating an educated and informed population.
This year the Vermont Department of Libraries, the Vermont Library Association, and the Vermont School Library Association have partnered on a marketing campaign to raise awareness of what our libraries offer. For more information about this campaign and to see photos of what's happening in Vermont libraries, see: www.vermontlibraries.org/mylibrary.
Martha Reid Back to top |
Arrangement and Description: An Introduction to Archival Processing Friday, May 20, 2011, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Vermont History Center, 60 Washington Street, Barre, Vermont
Registration opens at 8:30 am
Cost: $70 for members of the New England Archivests (NEA) or Vermont Historical Society (VHS) Member, $85 Non-Members
Instructor: Bruce P. Stark, Retired Assistant State Archivist, Connecticut State Library
Registration Deadline: Friday, May, 6, 2011 Maximum Enrollment: 25
Is your organization wondering what to do with those boxes of letters and diaries? Considering cataloging its archival collections on a computer? Organization and description are key to any successful archival program and the foundation upon which all other archival work is based. Before a collection is cataloged with a computer program it must be processed. For the first time in at least a decade, the Vermont Historical Society is bringing to Vermont the New England Archivists' well-regarded workshop on arrangement and description.
This intermediate-level full day workshop will focus on day-to-day decisions in arranging and describing archival and manuscript collections that have minimal order. It includes discussion of finding aid design, elements of finding aids, guidelines for establishing series and subseries, basic conservation practices, handling problem materials, restrictions, sensitive subject matter, and guidelines for appraisal and weeding. Registrants are encouraged to bring processing questions and all participants will receive a copy of A Guide for Processing Manuscript Collections, written by the instructor.
Bruce Stark has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Connecticut and has been an archivist for more than thirty years. He has been in charge of processing programs at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscripts Library, the University of Connecticut, and Connecticut State Library and given presentations and conducted numerous workshops on manuscript processing. He retired as Assistant State Archivist on July 1, 2009. For more information and to register: http://www.newenglandarchivists.org/workshops/workshops.html#IntroProc |
Brownell and Essex Free Libraries: Cooperation for Quarter Century Plus Back in 1983 when Penny Pillsbury became the Northwest Regional Librarian at the Department of Libraries, one of her favorite libraries to visit was the lively Essex Free Library and its even livelier director Susan Overfield. Pillsbury became director of the Brownell Library in Essex Junction in 1986 and together the two Essex/Essex Junction librarians have seen their libraries grow and change in ways that were unforeseeable two and a half decades ago. Both had spaces that were too small. Essex Free had no photocopier. Brownell did not have a water fountain. "Sue threatened to suspend a copier from the ceiling of the little white library that is now the Essex Public Works Department. At my second meeting of the Brownell Library trustees, I begged for a water fountain, and there followed an anonymous donation," says Pillsbury. The two have worked together and with their Chittenden County colleagues to further library service to citizens.
The "Home Card" system was adopted in November 1991 after Sue came up with the idea of developing a reciprocal borrowing program in Chittenden County which utilizes library cards issued to residents at their own "home" community library. In 2011 this system allows patrons of 18 public libraries in the region to have access to over half a million items. Today online and networked library catalogs allow these patrons to save time by locating materials online and borrowing them directly from the owning library.
These two librarians cooperate in other ways as well. Brownell is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday Nights until 9 p.m. Essex Free stays open until 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Each summer Brownell and Essex Free library host different themed summer reading programs for children and youth. Many kids read avidly for the rewards from both places. They also cooperate on collection development. "I keep my eye on the Brownell online catalog." says Overfield, "If they buy a non-fiction title, then I don't, unless it is wildly popular. It makes for unique collections." In 2011 Essex Free subscribes to the Vermont Online Library (VOL) databases for the taxpayers of both Essex and Essex Junction. Brownell patrons can access VOL at Essex Free via a link on the Brownell website.
In a state with so many small libraries (more public libraries per capita than any other state) and where some communities have more than one library, Penny and Susan offer a great model of community-wide cooperation and shared services. |
Rockingham Library Weathers the Storm Early on December 13, 2010 the janitor at Rockingham Free Public Library in Bellows Falls arrived at the library to find the ceiling of the local history room leaking water onto the collection of books. Emily Zervas, the library's Reference and Historical Collections Librarian got a call at home and rushed to work, arriving at the same time as Library Director Celina Houlne. Together they worked to move all of the books from the wet room, focusing first on the irreplaceable items and removing all ruined replaceable items from the building.. Once the materials were out of harm's way, Houlne searched for the source of the water in the building. There had been heavy rain over the weekend and roofers found no structural issues, but plumbers eventually determined that a water pipe on the third floor had been compromised by corrosion or freezing and that was the source of the problem. Houlne contacted ServPro, a fire and water cleanup firm, who came to remove the wet building materials and begin the de-humidification process.
With Houlne juggling the building issues, Zervas was able to focus on the wet collection. Luckily, she had attended the Emergency Response and Recovery of Wet Materials workshop for Vermont Emergency Team for Cultural Institutions just months before. At the workshop, a group of Vermont librarians, museum workers and historical society members did training and hands-on exercises for dealing with a variety of wet collection items. She had learned who to call in this kind of emergency and what services were offered by area vendors and had grabbed her workshop notes that morning. The notes were incredibly helpful. At the workshop Zervas had learned that the biological response to an emergency leaves humans with about 20% decision-making capacity and having notes and practice to rely on are the keys to responding appropriately. First, she called the New England Document Conservation Center's Emergency Line and was referred to Munters (now Polygon), a humidity control and emergency salvage firm who were able to quickly dispatch two workers in a refrigerated truck. While they were en route, Zervas was able to blot the wettest items and create a spreadsheet inventory of everything being sent for treatment. The workers arrived and boxed up 389 volumes of the local history collection to be taken to a vacuum freeze drying facility in Illinois.
Wendy O'Connell, Rockingham's Public Services Librarian, quickly wrote a press release to further the news that was already spreading: the library had a water disaster and things were under control. The PR summarized the damage and described the action being taken to care for the collections and building. The team also made sure to educate other library staff members about the vacuum freeze-drying process so they could field questions from patrons and the media. The library had lots of news coverage which resulted in a tidal wave of supportive phone calls from all parts of the community.
In the months since the disaster, the Rockingham staff has been able to reflect on the incident. In many ways they were lucky: they still had power in the building, the temperature was low enough that mold growth was not a huge factor, and the incident was contained to the book collection instead of archives or photographs. The (now) dry books have been returned to the library and the vast majority of the books are in good condition and ready to be used again, though many have a water stain or slightly cockled pages. Other materials will be treated by a book conservator to repair the water damage. Rockingham plans to do another press release for community media with updates on the progress with the building and collection and, to satisfy the widespread interest of local residents, they plan to host a panel presentation that will cover the steps taken to treat the collection.
This incident highlights the importance of knowing one's collection, knowing local insurance coverage and knowing who to call in an emergency. Rockingham did not have a full disaster plan at the time but benefited greatly from having close at hand the telephone numbers for plumbers, roofers and emergency collection specialists. They also benefited from training and hands-on practice. Zervas encourages all Vermont librarians with rare or irreplaceable collections to educate themselves about what is in their collection, how it is insured and to consider making at least a basic disaster plan.
Special thanks to Emily Zervas for writing this article.
For further reading and resources:
New England Document Conservation Center's Disaster Assistance Resources, including a free disaster plan template and their 24/7 emergency help line: http://www.nedcc.org/disaster/disaster.php
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why by Amanda Ripley. A great non-fiction book which explains the importance of preparation and practice in dealing with catastrophic situations.
The Vermont Emergency Response Team for Cultural Institutions, and the Vermont Alliance for Response: http://www.heritagepreservation.org/afr/Vermont/index.html |
One World, Many Stories Summer Reading Program
As the snow finally melts away and the days get warmer and longer, public librarians' thoughts naturally turn to their summer reading program! Vermont belongs to the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP), a national group that each year selects a theme and slogans for the summer and creates accompanying materials for distribution to libraries. This year the theme focuses on multiculturalism and travel: "One World, Many Stories" for children and "You are Here" for teens. In March, 85 librarians attended DOL's summer reading workshops which focused on programs, books, and displays for children and teens. There were excellent presenters at both workshops (Northfield and Rockingham); handouts are posted at: http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/srp/childrenteen. Presenters at the workshops inclided librarians Pam Tallmadge (Burnham Memorial Library, Colchester), Victoria Tibbits (Westford Public Library), Beth Reynolds (Norwich Public Library), Gail LaVaude (Bradford Public Library), Jane Napier (Kellogg Hubbard Library, Montpelier), Becky Manahan (St. Albans Free Library), Anne Hawley (Deborah Rawson Memorial Library, Jericho), Liza Comiskey (Highgate Public Library), Sam Maskell (Rockingham Free Public Library, Bellows Falls), Cheryl Cox (Springfield Town Library) and Chris Poggi and Linda Donigan (Bennington Free Library). In addition, Myra Holmes-Peffer, Volunteer Coordinator for Heifer International in Vermont, provided information about about how libraries can incorporate a humanitarian focus into their program this summer. For more resources for the summer, including an early literacy manual to use with preschoolers, downloadable signing videos, and information on copyright, public librarians are urged to visit the website of the Collaborative Summer Reading Program at: www.cslpreads.org.
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"You Are Here" Teen Video Challenge Winner Announced
Fifteen year old Andrew Rainville, a sophomore at Mt. Abraham Union High School, is the winner of the Vermont/Collaborative Library Summer Program (CSLP) "You Are Here" teen video challenge. The Teen Video Challenge is a national competition for teens to get involved with reading and their local library's summer reading program using the CSLP slogan "You are Here." Twenty states participated in the Challenge for this inaugural year and each selected one winning video to be named an official CSLP "You Are Here" Teen Video Challenge winner for 2011. The winners were announced on April 8 during the CSLP Annual Meeting held in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A regular at the Lincoln Library, Andrew is a teen advisor to the Board of Trustees and attends the meetings regularly. Librarian Debi Gray says he is an invaluable volunteer, doing such things as updating the library website and making posters. Andrew became interested in making videos about a year ago when working on a Vermont History Day project. He interned at Middlebury Community Television last summer and has made several videos since, both for himself and for school projects. He is hoping to major in a related field in college.
Andrew will receive a prize of $250, and the Lincoln Library, as his sponsoring library, will receive $100.
To view this year's winning videos, visit the CSLP website at: www.cslpreads.org. These winning videos may be used by teens and public libraries nationwide to promote summer reading. Andrew's video is also available on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X75jYbg7Nw&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
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TV Series Now Included in Movie Licensing
The Department of Libraries has signed a new 2011-2012 contract with Movie Licensing USA for public libraries and will be sending agreement forms out to libraries later this spring for a June 1, 2011 start date. The public performance license is free to all public libraries that submit an agreement form.
THE ADDAMS FAMILY
THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR
ALL IN THE FAMILY
BEWITCHED
CHARLIE'S ANGELS
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
DISNEY'S KIM POSSIBLE
THE DREW CAREY SHOW
ER
THE FLINTSTONES
FLIPPER
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR
FRIENDS
GILLIGAN'S ISLAND
GILMORE GIRLS
GREEN ACRES
LEAVE IT TO BEAVER
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE
MISTER ED
THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY
THE WEST WING
WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY
30 ROCK
Libraries may have to search a bit to locate DVDs that include all season episodes and online bookstores like Barnes & Noble or Amazon are good resource. If you have questions about your library's license or about the use of the public performance license, contact Amy Howlett at: [email protected].
A reminder to public libraries: The Department of Libraries will be collecting in July statistics for use of the Movie Licensing USA public performance license over the past year. To see the statistics form, go to: http://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/Statistic_Movie_Form2010.pdf.
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What are Vermont business people reading this month? A quick look around the state shows plenty of variety!
Linda Markin, CFO of Concept2, Morrisville: "In the past month I have read Disgrace
and Pope Joan and I am now half way through The Wolf in the Parlor: The Eternal Connection Between Humans and Dogs by Jon Franklin. I'm loving the history and science in it, but most of all the insights into the bond between humans and dogs. I was fortunate to have been raised with dogs and they have been a part of my life ever since. Understanding how they sense my moods from joy to despair only makes me appreciate them more. I am never happier than when I am with them. No vacation away from home without them is quite complete."
 Kim Bank, co-owner of Gallery North Star, Grafton, has finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. "Since I'm from the South, I love books set there. The main characters are complex and interesting. It's about the relationships between blacks and whites, and a very compassionate take on the sixties when some people treated their staff as servants. This is a terrific book for book groups."
 Thomas W. Huebner, President/CEO of the Rutland Regional Medical Center is reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, a biography of Louis Zamperini, who survived an Army Air Force bomber crash in the Pacific during World War II. The subtitle mentions survival, resilience, and redemption-key concepts of the story.
 Lee Youngman at the Knitting Studio in Montpelier: "Last Night at Twisted River by John Irving delivers everything I want in a John Irving book: quirky, memorable characters, well-developed history lessons about fast disappearing New England Traditions, and a good story too. The opening scenes of the book plunged right into the heart of the story. The middle of the book lagged a little, but the end packed a punch and left me wishing for more."
Ken Dufort, Vice President of Product Development at NewsBank, Inc. in Chester: "I've been noodling my way through Life and Writings of Amelia Bloomer by D.C. Bloomer. My daughter was doing a research project for school on her and other suffragists. I've been having fun reading a bit and then searching our company's "America's Historical Newspapers" collection of digitized newspapers and reading actual news articles connected with her, as well as articles about "bloomers" and the hubbub they created when first introduced. I even found articles from Brattleboro! Lots of fun."
Chris Graff, Vice President of Communications, National Life Group, Montpelier, VT, is reading The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War in the Age of Terror by Garrett M. Graff. "The Threat Matrix covers the history of the FBI, warts and all, with an emphasis on how the bureau has changed since 9/11. Kirkus Reviews describes it as an "action-filled, richly detailed portrait" of the FBI. The book, by a native Vermonter, reads like a thriller but raises serious questions about the loss of individual rights."
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Borrow a Flip Video Camera The Vermont Public Library Foundation has purchased a Flip Video Ultra camcorder that is available for Vermont public libraries to borrow. The Department of Libraries will handle the loan of this equipment and we encourage public libraries to borrow this equipment to practice using Flip video technology, for staff development activities, training, marketing and PR, programming, etc. DOL has posted a loan policy on the DOL website: http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/cbec/flipcameraloan
For more information about borrowing the Flip camera, call 802.828.3261 Back to top |
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