In This Issue
From the State Librarian
Michael Roche Retirement Reception
Spotlight On Hartness Library
VELI-STEM Press Conference
Interlibrary Loan Courier Delivery Pilot
Cartooning Scholarship for Teens
A Wealth of Health Information
Vermont Interactive Author Talks
From
Youth Services Consultant

Sharon Colvin

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Featured Article
Vermont Library Directory
Lists Your Library
 
The Vermont
Department of Libraries
Vermont Library Directory
lists all of the libraries in Vermont, including public, school, academic,
and special libraries.
One can find libraries easily,  any where and of any type.
 
The directory is newly redesigned and will be
 updated every month.

If you are a library director
or library trustee,
take a look at your listing.
Please let us know if the information is correct.

To request changes, please contact Tom McMurdo at [email protected].

Helpful Links
The editor wants to know...
Does your library circulate non-traditional
or unusual items?
Please email me your information by 2/19
 for a round-up story
in the next newsletter.

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From the State Librarian
MartaReidVTStateLibrarian
 
I've got the federal budget on my mind these days. Specifically, I am thinking about the budget for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and its "Grants to States" program which allocates Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding to all state library agencies, including ours.

This week IMLS issued a press release about their FY17 budget proposal, with a link to their detailed budget document. This budget shows a reduction in the "Grants to States" program, and a decrease in the Vermont allotment ($909,031) from what we have received in recent years. There is no telling what will happen in the time between now and when the final FY17 budget is passed by Congress, but it's safe to say that federal funding for libraries is not as robust as I (and my fellow state librarians) would like it to be.

How does our Department use LSTA funds? Full article 
VTLIB Staff News: 
Michael Roche Retirement Reception 
Please join us at an informal reception to honor Michael Roche on Monday, February 22, from 3:00-4:30 at the State Library at 109 State Street in Montpelier. Michael is retiring on February 19 after 30 years at the Department of Libraries.

Michael was the Regional Library Consultant for libraries in Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille, Orange, and Washington counties, and librarians in the areas he served say they are losing their best friend. He ran the Northeast Regional Library, serving the public as well as schools and libraries in St. Johnsbury, until it closed in 2009.

In matters large and small, Michael's knowledge and skills are as legendary as his character is extraordinary: expert in the federal E-rate program and Vermont FiberConnect; grant coordinator with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to bring computers and digital literacy to Vermont communities; promoter of the Association of Rural & Small Libraries Scholarships; pioneer of  Try Something New at the Vermont Library Trustee and Friends Annual Conference; patient educator at CE workshops; and advocate for Geek the Library.

In 2009, Michael was awarded the Sarah C. Hagar Award for outstanding service in or significant contribution to the field of librarianship in Vermont.

What's next for Michael Roche? More gardening, more pizza at Parker Pie in West Glover, and more trips to North Carolina and Honduras to visit family.

Please come wish him well on February 22.
RSVP to [email protected].  
 
Hartness Library     
 
Serving Community College of Vermont
and Vermont Technical College 
students and faculty wherever they are   

Contributed by Hartness Library Director Jane Kearns
and Assistant Director Eileen Gatti

Hartness Library is a unique collaboration serving students, faculty, and staff at the Community College of Vermont and Vermont Technical College both virtually and on the ground. The partnership and virtual services allow Hartness to look beyond arbitrary lines of location or format and offer top-notch resources and services to students whether they are on campus, online, or at a CCV center or a VTC Nursing site around the state.

Hartness Library, located on Vermont Tech's Randolph campus, houses the Library's physical collection and is the infrastructure behind the physical and virtual services, which include a growing Embedded Librarian program and live chat.

Thanks to Director Jane Kearns and Assistant Director Eileen Gatti for contributing this month's Spotlight On, a fascinating look at the challenges, misconceptions, rewards, and successes of a complex academic library in higher education.
Full article
VELI-STEM Press Conference  
Newly-created logos for VELI and VELI-STEM

The Vermont Early Literacy Initiative was launched in 2010 by the Vermont Department of Libraries and the Vermont Center for the Book. Over 70 public libraries have provided literacy
experiences to babies, toddlers, parents, and childcare providers. 

VELI is expanding into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
early literacy at 25 rural public libraries
with the receipt of a grant in 2015
from the Institute for Museum and Library Services,
and the VELI-STEM logo was rolled out
at the press conference to announce the grant. 

The Vermont Department of Libraries was awarded a National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in August 2015 to inaugurate the Vermont Early Literacy Initiative in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in partnership with the Vermont Center for the Book at 25 rural Vermont libraries for implementation with 3- to 7-year olds, parents, child care providers, and key community stakeholders.
 
To unveil the 3-year project to the public, a press conference, which was videotaped, was held with Governor Peter Shumlin.
Interlibrary Loan Delivery Pilot Launch
Sorting rack at one of the Green Mountain Messenger warehouses
 
January 25 marked the launch of an exciting new pilot project borne out of a partnership between the Green Mountain Library Consortium (GMLC) and the Department of Libraries.

Eighty public libraries and both of the Department's repositories have signed up to participate in a cooperative delivery service for interlibrary loan (ILL) materials. The contract with Green Mountain Messenger includes stops at libraries of all sizes in every region of Vermont.

Information about the pilot is available on the GLMC website, and if you would like to explore having ILL courier service after the pilot project is completed, contact [email protected].
 
Teens:
Win a scholarship for a one-week
workshop on cartooning!
June 20-24 or July 11-15, 2016
@ the Center for Cartoon Studies
White River Junction, Vermont

The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction has donated a full scholarship worth $900
to the Department of Libraries
for a Vermont teen to attend the one-week
 Create Comics workshop this summer.
Any Vermont student at least 16 years old by
June 1, 2016 is eligible.

Students interested in the scholarship should apply through their local school or public library.

 
Click HERE for more information
and an application!


A Wealth of Health Information 
Vemont-based Information about Medline, a video produced by the New England Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, is now available on the health portal page of the Department of Libraries website.

Department Regional Consultant Amy Howlett was an interview participant on the video, which is designed to show librarians about National Library of Medicine resources and offers a tutorial on using Medline Plus. The NNLM website includes Vermont State Information with a range of associations, information, libraries, resources, and statistics. 

NNLM collaborated with the Vermont Department of Libraries to create an information portal to increase access to health and wellness resources and information in Vermont. The portal is a one-stop resource for comprehensive aspects of health and wellness, both in Vermont and beyond. Health Information for the General Public includes Refugee Resources, and Medline Plus is available in English and Spanish, and health topics are available in multiple languages.  

Unlike an internet search on a health topic that might produce thousands of results, the Department's Health Information Online section provides authoritative, current, peer-reviewed professional information and research.
Young Writers Project and
Vermont Department of Libraries Launch
Vermont Interactive Author Talks Series

The Young Writers Project and the Vermont Department of Libraries have joined forces for a Vermont Interactive Author Talks series to engage young people in writing with the live guidance of Vermont authors while at local libraries via high definition video conferencing. S.S. Taylor launched the series on January 30. 


ONLY COMPLETE ARTICLES BEYOND THIS POINT
Marty
From the Vermont State Librarian
 
I've got the federal budget on my mind these days. Specifically, I am thinking about the budget for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and its "Grants to States" program which allocates Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding to all state library agencies, including ours. This week IMLS issued a press release about their FY17 budget proposal, with a link to their detailed budget document. This budget shows a reduction in the "Grants to States" program, and a decrease in the Vermont allotment ($909,031) from what we have received in recent years. There is no telling what will happen in the time between now and when the final FY17 budget is passed by Congress, but it's safe to say that federal funding for libraries is not as robust as I (and my fellow state librarians) would like it to be.

How does our Department use LSTA funds? Last month I submitted my final FY14 LSTA report to IMLS and I want to share with you how we spent our allotment, which was spent over two years. Like many state agencies in Vermont and across the nation, we use a significant portion of our federal funding for staff costs. Our biggest expenditures were for statewide resource sharing programs, supporting interlibrary loan activity between public, school, and academic libraries and enhancing citizen access to the library books and materials they need but which are not owned by their local libraries.

LSTA Allotment to Vermont, FY2014: $916,150
62% spent for Department staff salaries/benefits ($563,585). These staff costs are included in program expenditures listed below.
 
LSTA Expenditures, FY2014
$360,037              Resource Sharing / Vermont Automated Library System (VALS)
               (Includes Resource Sharing Grants awarded to public and academic libraries: $94,625)
$144,387              Building Capacity of Vermont Public Libraries
(Includes library consulting services, statewide motion picture public performance    licensing, children's book awards, and support for First Wednesdays cultural programs)
$122,939              Professional Development classes and training for public library employees
(Includes scholarship awards for public library employees to attend the Association of Rural and Small Libraries' national conference)
$114,072              Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped
                              (Includes purchase of library materials for four state institutions)
$ 94,752              Vermont Online Library/statewide database program
$ 33,169              Summer Reading Program
$ 27,740              Vermont Early Literacy Initiative (VELI)
$ 10,000              Grant to the Green Mountain Library Consortium for purchase of e-Books (Listen Up! Vermont)
$   9,054              Wide Area Network (linking 42 Vermon FiberConnect libraries)
 
We are now in our second year of the LSTA FY15 funding cycle and are reviewing our spending priorities for the coming year. Since we are at the start of our 2016 strategic planning process, we will take a close look at how we use our LSTA funds so that our spending aligns with new priorities and programs and addresses the changing needs of Vermont libraries and the citizens they serve.
 
I believe that federal support for the Institute of Museum and Library Services and our nation's libraries and museums is a good investment. In Vermont and beyond these institutions provide a wide range of services to citizens and students and support lifelong and out-of-school learning, personal enrichment, and open the doors for millions of Americans to better understand the world around them, improve their lives, and become informed and engaged participants in our democracy.
 
Marty Reid 

 
 VTCSpotlight On Hartness Library
L to R :   
Front Row: Rebecca Cochran (CCV Librarian), Loretta Santos (evening circulation), Susan Currier (Librarian) , April Shaw (VTC Williston Librarian),
Back Row: Candy Daniels (acquisitions), Julie Taylor (cataloging), Caitlin Edney (Librarian), Katherine Steward (circulation), Michael Braun-Hamilton (CCV Librarian), Jane Kearns (Director), Larraby Fellows (CCV Librarian),  and Eileen Gatti (Assistant Director CCV). Missing: Kim Hannon-Brobst (inter-library loan).
Since 2000, Hartness Library has served students, faculty, and staff at the Community College of Vermont and Vermont Technical College. The challenge right from the start was how to provide library materials and services to CCV students and Vermont Tech remote students who did not have access to the physical library on Vermont Tech's Randolph campus. Much has changed in the library world since 2000, and students now have virtual resources and services matching those available to students on campus.
 
Hartness Library, located on Vermont Tech's Randolph campus, houses the library's physical collection and is the infrastructure behind the physical and virtual services. A small satellite library on the Williston campus serves Williston students and VTC's remote/online students. All support staff are located on the Randolph campus, processing inter-library loans, remote student borrowing requests, acquisitions, circulation, 800 number phone service, and in-person help. Hartness CCV librarians focus on the Embedded Librarian program, providing live chat/text and email reference services to CCV students, and maintaining a website portal to library resources and services.

Students come to both colleges with a wide range of background experiences and varying levels of comfort with libraries and internet research, but they are happy to use virtual resources and services. For many who transfer from one college to the other, they already "know Hartness" and are confident in having figured out the library.

At the core of the virtual reference services is the Embedded Librarian Program, which is active and growing at both colleges. The Embedded Librarian maintains a "Class Librarian" discussion board forum in the Course Management System (Moodle). After reviewing the syllabus and course research assignment(s), librarians post information about relevant library resources, search tips, and instructions or videos to show students how to conduct library research. Students use this area of the course to post their research questions and get individualized help throughout the semester. The frequent interactions between students and librarian give students a better understanding of navigating Hartness Library, and in the end, result in more effective use of scholarly sources for their project.

Hartness librarians embrace the role of helping classroom faculty impart critical information literacy skills to students. While Vermont Tech librarians combine traditional face-to-face library instruction with the more personalized Embedded Librarian model, CCV librarians focus on creating learning objects--like videos and interactive tutorials--that can be used by classroom faculty as well as by Embedded Librarians at both colleges. 

It is an exciting time to be operating a virtual library. The availability of services and resources, such as the recently launched discovery system and the new subscription to a 175,000 eBook collection, means things are always evolving and changing. Recent studies and surveys have shown that students like to use both print and electronic resources, so providing access to the physical collection to both virtual and remote students and faculty also is important. Students can request physical books and media online from Hartness or any of the Vermont State Colleges Libraries using the shared catalog. The delivery system, which uses the postal system at no charge to students, allows remote students to request delivery to their home, campus, site, or center.
 
The largest misconception about the Hartness model is that it is completely virtual--without need for a physical library, collection, and support staff. Many students, faculty, and administrators never see the Hartness Library building, where the collection and support staff are housed, so they think it's an entirely dispersed and virtual model. Likewise, students and staff on the Vermont Tech campuses often think that the staff is only servicing the collection and students on that campus. All Hartness staff, regardless of where they are based--a CCV center, VTC Williston campus, or Randolph Center--perform some duties that are institution-specific and others that are for the library system serving both colleges.
 
Of course, there are challenges. Balancing the physical and online collection to meet the needs of all students and faculty is a tall order. As with any workforce that is dispersed and located at two culturally different institutions, communication is a challenge, but it is key to continued success. Meeting in person three times a year is one means to achieve communication success, as are other creative ways of staying connected in between, such as Google chat, email, phone, a quick visit, and joint projects across institutions.
 
Partnerships and virtual services allow looking beyond arbitrary lines of location or format, as well as the ability to continue offering quality resources and services in a tough budgetary environment. The experience of having librarians who work only online (CCV) and online and face-to-face (VTC) has enriched all groups, and differing perspectives are valuable for seeing things from students' points of view. Given the variance of programs at the two colleges, staff agree that the range of programs covered makes for a stimulating work environment and incredibly interesting experiences.  

velistemVELI-STEM Press Conference     
 
The Vermont Department of Libraries was awarded a National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in August 2015 to inaugurate the Vermont Early Literacy Initiative in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in partnership with the Vermont Center for the Book at 25 rural Vermont libraries for implementation with 3- to 7-year olds, parents, child care providers, and key community stakeholders.
 
Announcing the project to the public, Governor Peter Shumlin and representatives of all three congressional members spoke at a press conference at the State House on January 26, 2016. On hand speaking with State Librarian Martha Reid were Vermont Center for the Book Associate Director Wendy Martin and Montshire Museum Associate Director Greg DeFrancis.

Applauding librarians, L to R: Agency of Administration Secretary Justin Johnson, Governor Peter Shumlin, State Librarian Martha Reid, Board of Libraries member Jim Gish, Vermont Center for the Book Associate Director Wendy Martin.

The complete video is available, thanks to Orca Media (Onion River Community Access). 

The Bennington Banner also covered the story from the local angle, interviewing  Bennington Free Library Children's and Young Adult Librarian Linda Donigan.

The three-year VELI-STEM grant project, which commenced in November 2015, is a partnership of the Department of Libraries and the Vermont Center for the Book. Montshire Museum of Science will provide consultation while the project is underway. The National Leadership grant program is highly competitive and is designed to fund innovative grant projects that can serve as models for replication across the country.
 
The grant includes funding:
  • to train librarians in 25 Vermont public libraries about concepts and practices essential for young children, parents, and community childcare providers
  • to acquire books and training materials
  • to create an online STEM Clearinghouse of Resources
  • to travel to state and national conferences for networking and presentations
  • to cover project assessment
  • to replicate training for library personnel from 22 states
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (Leadership Grant LG-80-15-0012-15). The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for
the nation's 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. Its mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. Its grant making, policy development, and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive. To learn more, visit
www.imls.gov.


 ywpYoung Writers Project and
Vermont Department of Libraries Launch
Vermont Interactive Author Talks Series

The Young Writers Project and the Vermont Department of Libraries have joined forces for a new Vermont Interactive Author Talks series that will engage young people in writing with the live guidance of Vermont authors while at local libraries via high definition video conferencing. 
 
Each Interactive Author Talk will feature a short talk by an author that focuses on an aspect of the writing process, a writing exercise that participants can accomplish online or on paper, and discussion and questions from participants at all libraries. Following the live event, participants can post their writing on YWP's website for further comment and reflection by the author and YWP staff.
 
 
The inaugural session featured author Sarah Stewart Taylor at Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier on Saturday, January 30, 2016, linked live with Fletcher Free Library, Rockingham Free Public Library, Rutland Free Library, and St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. Nearly 50 young writers participated.

S.S. Taylor, a freelance journalist and writing teacher who resides in Hartland, is the author of the Sweeney St. George mysteries, the graphic novel Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean, and, with illustrator Katherine Roy, The Expeditioners series, which includes an online "base camp" called The Expedition Log. 
Future talks will be posted on the Young Writers Project and Vermont Department of Libraries websites.The series maximizes new technology at libraries to support reading, writing, and direct discussion between authors and young writers and fosters interaction of young people beyond the borders of their local communities.All programs are free, and while targeted for those in grades 4 to 12, everyone interested in writing is welcome.

Vermont Interactive Author Talks Series is made possible through the support of: