It's hard to believe that it is November already. The days have grown shorter and the hurried hustle and bustle of the holidays are almost upon us. However, let's not forget to take a moment to be thankful. Thankful for family and friends, shelter and food; but also for the privilege of having such vibrant and active local libraries.

Fall brought many exciting library-related events to our calendars and this issue recaps many of them! For one recent happening, RILA, OLIS, and COLA sponsored a successful joint event on the "new normal" in libraries. Attendees were given the chance to ponder current trends in the library world and learn how to integrate innovative services into their own library. Be sure to check out news of this event - and others - below.

Speaking of events, don't forget to save the date for the upcoming RILA Annual Conference. We hope you can join us Wednesday, May 27th, and Thursday, May 28th at Salve Regina University. If you have a program or poster session you'd like to present, proposals are being accepted through January 9th. Now could be your chance to share your ideas and expertise with others in our library community. Click here for all the details. 

So much of what we do in this state couldn't be done without the hard work of so many of you. So, in the spirit of the season, thank you!

Watch for more library news and updates from RILA in early 2015.   

The Coalition of Library Advocates, the RI Library Association and the Office of Library and Information Services presented "Exploring the New Normal: Trends in Library Services" at the Cranston Public Library on November 13.  The forum was designed to shine a spotlight on emerging library trends by showcasing innovative projects and initiatives at libraries across the state.  

What thought or vision do the words "learning lounge", "connected learning", and "Minecraft" spark for you? These concepts are just a few that were thrown out to the audience of librarians, library staff, trustees, and friends. Unless you have been vacationing on a remote desert island for the last five years, you are witness to public libraries working hard on a multitude of special projects, programs, and initiatives which implicitly re-envision their role in the larger community.

Long gone are libraries which solely boast their book collections. "Now is the time to start collaborating with your community school, arts organization, and local business", warned Providence Public Library's director, Jack Martin. He strongly encouraged library staff to reach out to the greater community to bring in talent, instruction, and innovation. "If you don't know how to do something, get someone who does!" he told the audience. Seemingly simple, the results are empowering and overpowering. Imagine watching a child's face light up with joy while they learn Tinkercad from a FabNewport teen intern in the Newport Public Library's new makerspace -- that is the kind of progress RI libraries need to be making. Welcoming their communities into spaces that have been re-designed to make room for connected learning, play, technology instruction, and most of all, pure fun is "the new normal" for libraries.

A few key quotes from the evening summed up the philosophy many libraries are adopting in regard to technology: 

"Make every [patron's] visit a destination visit"

"Staff interactions are KEY"

"libraries should be kitchens"

"gaming is like storytime -- it's an opportunity to play socially in the same physical location."

"think big, execute small"

Check out what the Teen Tech Squad are doing at PPL

Download a PDF of the Aspen Institute's "Rising to the Challenge" report.

Links to all the presentations will be released by OLIS, COLA, and RILA very soon.  

Walker Mettling and friends Photo Credit Providence Phoenix

Have you ever gone for a hike in the woods, only to wander through a clearing and come across little mythical humanoid creatures (maybe they're pixies or elves or faeries) conferring about things beyond the scope of mortal, adult understanding? If you're lucky, you get a glimpse of these beings before they give you annoyed looks and disappear back into their sylvan kingdom. But if you've never had the experience of stumbling into an otherworldly confab, you can witness the next closest thing by sitting in on any of the Providence Comics Consortium workshops that cycle through the Providence Community Libraries.

The Providence Comics Consortium (or PCC) was started by Walker Mettling about four years ago. Speaking of the early days of PCC, Mr. Mettling, who is the physical embodiment of Dr. Strange, Calvin, and Krazy Kat, says, "We started by trying to trick kids into literacy. But we always knew we wanted them to make their own books."

Children and teenagers who participate in PCC workshops don't just learn about the creative processes of brainstorming, drawing, character development, and storytelling. They also focus on the completion of a major work-what they call the "Showcase." These Showcases are a collection of character descriptions (sort of like baseball cards for heroes and baddies), short original comics, and even other comics that the kids collaborate on remotely with professional artists. Interspersed through these Showcases are also gags that take the form of ads for things like a mysterious delectable called "Fruit Rash."

What's incredible about these Showcases isn't just that the kids produce and assemble them themselves; it's also that these Showcases get catalogued and that they live in libraries. There are now eighteen of these works, and you can check them out from PCL branches as you would any masterpiece or anticipated bestseller.

But back to Mr. Mettling-one cannot help but to be impressed by his excellent teaching. Immediately, it's obvious that his concerns aren't just who and what he teaches. For him, it's also about how he teaches and why he does so that way. For example, Mr. Mettling often has his workshoppers do writing and drawing exercises that feature timers and dice. These tools introduce a piquant mix of constraint, chance, and serendipity into the creative process.

"Sometimes, I don't want to give them too much time to think," Mr. Mettling explains. He says he wants kids to think divergently because, so often, at school, they are taught to tests and compelled to converge on but one answer. Mr. Mettling further goes on to say how a teen had once told him that in middle school the most popular clubs deal with sports. "But this is the first imagination club I've seen," the kid said.

So if you'd like to see what an Imagination Club can produce, simply visit your nearest PCL branch and borrow a Providence Comics Consortium Showcase. Or if you'd like to see these pixies and imps at work, you can find them at the Fox Point Library on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00-6:00PM this November and December. Don't worry: they won't give you funny looks and disappear if they see you in their midst. Instead, they'll probably give you a pencil and some graph paper and get you to draw Abraham Lincoln crossed with Frankenstein's monster and a refrigerator. 

RILA

Call for Presentation Proposals for the 2015 Rhode Island Library Association Annual Conference.

When?   

Wednesday May 27 & Thursday May 28, 2015

Where?  

Salve Regina University, Newport, RI

What?    

We are looking for traditional presentations, poster presentations and NEW this year - lightning round presentations.

How?     

Click this link to submit your presentation proposal. 

Why?     

Share your fantastic ideas, successes, programs, and projects!  Build up your resume!  Network with other colleagues and experts in the field!  Enjoy Newport in May!

Questions?  

Email the RILA Conference Committee rilaconference@gmail.com or one of the Co-Chairs, Laura Kohl: lkohl@bryant.edu  or Mackenzie Dunn: mdunn2@bryant.edu   

Money Smart Week

"Help Your Patrons Become Money Smart!"
Money Smart Week 2015 is April 18-25. The Rhode Island Library Association is looking for libraries interested in providing financial literacy programs during Money Smart Week.  For more information and details, please contact RILA Members-at-Large, Chris Wallace-Goldstein (cgoldstein@woonsocketibrary.org) or Julie DeCesare (jdecesa1@providence.edu).  

RI Center For The Book

Keynote Speaker:   Helen Osborne, http://www.healthliteracy.com 

Date:  Thursday, December 4, 2014, (snow date is December 5)

Location:  University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester

Time:   9:30 AM - 2:15 PM

Register here. 

Agenda:

Continental Breakfast (9 - 9:30)

Health Literacy: What It Is, Why It Matters,How You Can Help (9:30-11)

Conversation with Librarians about Health Literacy (11:15 - 12:15) with Irena Bond, Margo Coletti, Anne Conner, and Nancy Goodwin

Lunch (12:15 to 1:00) and book signing with Helen Osborne (author of Health Literacy from A-Z)