In This Issue
From the State Librarian
Spotlight On Dover Free Library
CCV and VTLIB Job Hunt Helpers Partnership
Library Snapshot Day
Round Up: Unusual Collections
Teen Tech Week
From
Youth Services Consultant

Sharon Colvin

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From the State Librarian
MartaReidVTStateLibrarian
 
I love a good road trip, and I am drawn to reading accounts of writers who explore the byways and towns of America for one reason or another. So when I opened the March issue of The Atlantic magazine I turned first to the article "How America is Putting Itself Back Together," by James Fallows. Fallows and his wife Deborah spent three years travelling around the country (by small plane) visiting towns and small cities for a deep look in places where local citizens are taking active and creative measures to build vital communities, addressing such local problems as declining downtowns, increased refugee populations, rising crime rates, troubled schools, and a sense of hopelessness.
 
Too often libraries are left out of discussions that focus on grand ideas that include local and regional planning, community revitalization, and economic development, so I was greatly heartened when I reached the last page of the article to find a prominent sidebar on "The Library Card."
 
 
   
Over seventy people attended the Dover Free Library Internet Coffee Bar grand opening on January 30, and the popular spot has taken a chic new name. Full article 
The Community College of Vermont and the Vermont Department of Libraries have partnered to deliver Job Hunt Helper services provided by CCV student interns at six Vermont libraries.
Full article
Library Snapshot Day 2016

What happens in a single day in Vermont Libraries?

According to the American Library Association,
"Library Snapshot Day
provides a way for libraries  of all types across a state,
region, system or community
to show what happens in a single day in their libraries."

Libraries may choose one day during the week of
April 10-16, 2016 to participate.

The Vermont Library Association offers a complete guide for libraries and supporters
to participate in Library Snapshot Day 2016. 
  

The overview addresses questions such as, h
ow does Snapshot Day work? and how does it help compile data about Vermont libraries? 

The site also offers many ways library supporters can be involved and the information can be used to the benefit of libraries. Join the fun!
Round-up: Unusual Collections

What unusual items are available
for check-out at Vermont libraries?

 



Celebrate Teen Tech Week March 6-12, 2016

with the theme Create It at Your Library

"Teen Tech Week is a national initiative sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association and is aimed at teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that teens are competent and ethical users of technologies, especially those that are offered through libraries such as DVDs, databases, audiobooks, and videogames. Teen Tech Week encourages teens to use libraries' nonprint resources for education and recreation, and to recognize that librarians are qualified, trusted professionals in the field of information technology."

The official site "has everything you need to plan TTW activities in your community. Demonstrate the value your library gives to the community by offering teens a space to extend learning beyond the classroom where they can explore, create and share content."

ONLY COMPLETE ARTICLES BEYOND THIS POINT
Marty
From the Vermont State Librarian
 
I love a good road trip, and I am drawn to reading accounts of writers who explore the byways and towns of America for one reason or another. So when I opened the March issue of The Atlantic magazine I turned first to the article "How America is Putting Itself Back Together," by James Fallows. Fallows and his wife Deborah spent three years travelling around the country (by small plane) visiting towns and small cities for a deep look in places where local citizens are taking active and creative measures to build vital communities, addressing such local problems as declining downtowns, increased refugee populations, rising crime rates, troubled schools, and a sense of hopelessness.

Looking at towns as diverse as Sioux Falls (SD), Columbus (OH), Bend (OR), Duluth (MN), Fresno (CA) and our own Burlington (VT), Fallows identifies "eleven signs a city will succeed" which include: public-private partnerships, the presence of a community college, understanding the local "civic story," and having "big plans." His article takes a look back at the Gilded Age of the past century and the sweeping changes that followed, and makes the case that we are now moving out of a Second Gilded Age. It makes for fascinating reading and I highly recommend the article, but during my reading I couldn't help but think about the role that public libraries can play in addressing local societal challenges and how they must be an active part of local innovation and problem-solving.

Too often libraries are left out of discussions that focus on grand ideas that include local and regional planning, community revitalization, and economic development, so I was greatly heartened when I reached the last page of the article to find a prominent sidebar on "The Library Card." It turns out that the Fallows team, as part of their travels and visits to towns across America, included stops at local libraries. They were struck by how libraries have "metamorphosed [from book repositories] into bustling civic centers," citing such services as public computers and WiFi, library maker-spaces, programs for early literacy and reading-readiness, English-language conversation classes, yoga sessions, and community spaces made available during times of crisis (think Ferguson, MO and NJ following Hurricane Sandy.) In every example they write about - from the Seattle Public Library and the Columbus Metropolitan Library to the "tiny" Winters, California library, they praise libraries for the wide range of services they provide in the areas of technology, education, and community-building.

Not surprising to we who are familiar with what is happening in libraries, know that these kinds of programs happen every day in Vermont's public libraries, including those in some in our smallest communities. We must do a much better job of getting that message out to our fellow Vermonters - and making sure that libraries are included in big picture planning for the future of our towns. Because you are taking time to read this column, I know you care about libraries. I hope you will take it upon yourself to spread the word - libraries have changed! Libraries transform lives and our librarians and library trustees want to be part of the action when it comes to building the future of our communities.
 
Marty Reid 


doverSpotlight On Dover Free Library
Over seventy people attended the Dover Free Public Library Internet Coffee Bar grand opening on January 30. Director John Flores says the library is "a happening place, and the coffee bar is the buzz of the town." Since the opening, the coffee bar was renamed Caf� Biblioteca de East Dover.

The C
af� is a prime example of how libraries are engaging with their communities. Dover Free Library is situated in a fairly remote area between East and West Dover, and Caf� Biblioteca enhances the library as a cultural center. The concept had been percolating since 2003. The goal was not just for patrons to check out more materials but for them to have a place to visit and connect with each other.

Bringing the project to fruition over the course of a decade included many factors that acknowledged the competing desires of preserving tradition and implementing innovation. When the concept was sufficiently defined, it was incorporated in an update to the library's strategic long-term plan. Subsequently, funding was included in the town budget, which voters approved at town meeting. Additional donations have come from interested parties. Physical renovation included removing old sinks and cabinets, rearranging an entry way, and remodeling with a sleek preparation area, a new floor, and adding the coffee bar seating area, which provides charging and electrical outlets.

As the concept turned into reality, practical considerations included deciding limits on where food and drink can be enjoyed, preventing hot drink accidents, and educating patrons on appropriate disposal methods by distinguishing what is trash from what can be recycled or composted. The library sells tee shirts (pictured) and handcrafted mugs with the library name, but food and beverages cannot be sold. The Caf� is run purely by donations of coffee, tea, delectable edibles, and money.

With fiber optic broadband, Dover Free Library is a hub for high speed access. Patrons bring their own laptops and tablets. According to Circulation Librarian Nancie McLean, patrons stay longer in the comfortable atmosphere, including parents who greet their children getting off the bus at the library, where they sit together at the coffee bar. Circulations have increased also.


The goal of creating a meaningful cultural meeting place has been achieved, and the library happily is facing its next round of challenges, such as providing patrons with the ability to send print jobs from their laptops to the library's copier.  

JHHCCV-VTLIB Collaboration

The Community College of Vermont and the Vermont Department of Libraries have partnered to deliver Job Hunt Helper services provided by CCV student interns at six Vermont libraries.

Between March 1 and May 31, the trained Job Hunt Helpers will be available for six hours per week at each of the libraries to offer patrons assistance with job searches, career exploration, and related tasks.

The Vermont Department of Libraries, with funding from the J.Warren and Lois McClure Foundation and the Institute for Museum and Library Services, will provide access to Learning Express Library for the duration of the project at participating libraries that do not already license this online career and education resource. See the Barre Montpelier Times Argus news article for more information.

Below each library is the name of each Job Hunt Helper and the hours they will be available for the duration of the project:

Aldrich Public Library, Barre
John Capitanelli: Mondays 12-3, Wednesdays 5-8

Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro
Ben Howe: Tuesdays 5-8, Thursdays 1-4

Goodrich Memorial Library, Newport
Holly Lillis: Mondays 3-5, Thursdays 10-12, Fridays 10-12

Rutland Free Library, Rutland
Darrell Hughes: Mondays 12-2, Thursdays 10-12, Fridays 10-12

St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, St. Johnsbury
Kim Payne, Mondays 10-1, Thursdays 4-7

Winooski Memorial Library, Winooski
Dodit Tshimbamba Buabua: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 2-4 

circsRound-up: Unusual Collections

What unusual items are available for check-out at Vermont libraries?

 
Seed loans aren't just for banks. Some libraries literally loan seeds, but how can seeds be loaned?

Answer:

"Windsor Public Library seed library gives library patrons access to free, non-genetically modified seeds, gardening tips, and seed saving information. With a library card, patrons can 'borrow' packets of seeds from the library. To return the seeds in the fall, the gardener lets a few of the plants go unharvested and collects the seeds from these plants, returning them to the library."

"The Hartland Seed Library is an initiative developed by the Hartland Public Library and local volunteers." Begun in 2015, the initiative included a successful Seed Launch Party and a series of educational workshops, support, pamphlets, and books.

Brandon Free Public Library likewise provides, in addition to seeds, "education about growing and saving seeds and organic gardening" with the hope that seed library patrons will return some seeds from their harvest to make the library self-sustaining.

Jericho Town Library provides a comforting caveat to its Seed Lending Library information: "Don't worry. We don't have fines if you don't return seeds."

Programs at all libraries include strong volunteer participation and donation support. 


 
St. Albans Free Library circulates several unusual and valuable items for one week, with the "hope that these non-traditional items provide you with an opportunity to learn and explore the realms outside of books."

♦ Orion 4.5" Reflector Telescope
♦Orion 8 x 42 Waterproof Binoculars
♦AmScope Stereo Microscope
♦MaxPort Reader
♦Home Energy Kit
♦ Omron Blood Pressure Monitor

 ♦Snowshoes, various sizes 
♦Noise-Cancelling Headphones-for in Library use only 
   
Crossett Library at Bennington College may take the blue ribbon for unusual circs. Jared Della Rocca, Technology Resources and Outreach Librarian, says the ever-broadening "strange reach" includes a full aromatherapy kit, which "spends much of the time at the front desk, as the student workers really like the various scents, but it has a barcode and can be checked out at any time." The other unusual item is a two-foot plastic owl. It circulates, but Della Rocca says "patrons have to find it wherever it may have migrated to in the stacks, as students randomly move it around the library. Sometimes it's staring down from the top of a stack; other times it's at the end of a random shelf. Once, it was lost for about two months before someone spotted it hiding behind a fern in a squirrely corner."

 

Historical site, museum, and state park passes provide additional unusual and cost-saving circulations for free admissions to library patrons state-wide. The Department of Libraries offers a purchasing program to libraries, which renews annually in May. Each library establishes its own  pass circulation policy and limits to the number of free admissions per visit.  
 
Quora, which bills itself as having "the best answer to any question," has some interesting responses to the question, "What are some unusual items circulated by libraries?" and may prompt ideas for items to add to collections. The responses illustrate the influence of Makerspaces and the potential need for kits and supplies related to Maker workshop offerings.