Are you looking for data-driven ways for your library to serve your community better? At the
Research Institute for Public Libraries (RIPL) you will be learning to do just that. Join 100 public library staff from across the country to learn about cutting edge, research-based methods to assess your community, create effective programs, and more in an intensive, three-day national institute offered by the Colorado State Library and the Colorado Library Consortium. Launched in 2015, the RIPL meets a distinct need for staff in rural, suburban, and urban public libraries to develop practical evaluation skills.
Topics covered at the Institute will include:
• assessing the needs of your community;
• designing outcome-based evaluation of programs and services;
• techniques for tracking public library data and using these data for planning, management, and demonstrating the library’s worth;
• using data and stories to document the impact of your library.
The Arizona State Library is offering two scholarships for public library staff to attend RIPL. Please email
Jaime Ball to receive an application. The deadline to apply is
January 31, 2018 at 5PM MST.
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Each year, Library Development coordinates a
Summer Library Institute
providing professional development, training and networking opportunities for non-MLS public library staff serving mostly small and rural libraries throughout Arizona.
During the five-day Institute, highly regarded library professionals provide learning experiences and training on a variety of topics designed to increase participants' job skills and knowledge.
Summer Library Institute coursework addresses Library Practitioner Core Competencies that may be applied toward
Library Practitioner Certification
. The Competencies encompass the knowledge and skill sets required for competent performance as a library director or manager of a small or rural public library.
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January Library Services Continuing Education Events
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January 8, 9-10 AM, Online
January 11, 9 AM-12 PM,Buckeye Public Library-Coyote Branch
January 12, 1-2 PM, Online
January 16, 1-4 PM, Prescott Valley Public Library
January 17, 9 AM-3 PM, Copper Queen Library
January 18, 9 AM-3 PM, Safford-Graham County Library
January 23, 9 AM-4 PM, Mesa Public Library-Main Branch
January 25, 9 AM-4 PM, Glendale-Foothills Branch Library
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January 9, 2018-February 5, 2018
January 23, 2018-February 19, 2018
January 30, 2018-March 12, 2018
February 6, 2018-March 5, 2018
February 6, 2018-March 5, 2018
February 13, 2018-March 12, 2018
Library Development has purchased a selection of registrations for online courses offered by the California State Library's Infopeople. These courses are available to Arizona library staff on a first-come, first-served basis. You will be expected to complete your course and fill out a short evaluation form before enrolling in another.
To learn more about any of these courses, visit the
Infopeople website. Before registering, you will need to email
Dale Savage, to receive a coupon code. Please use your work email and include your name, email and phone number, and your library's name, library type, address and phone number and the course you wish to enroll in.
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January 10, 1-2 PM
January 30, 1-2 PM
February 6, 1-2 PM
Due to low usage, the Arizona State Library no longer provides access to the Skillsoft/Skillport courses offered through Webjunction. However, the State Library has opted to provide general support to helps sponsor Webjunction's popular free webinars. These webinars will continue to be highlighted in the Library Services newsletter. Webjunction also provides a conglomerated monthly
list of free online training
for library staff.
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The Arizona State Library has opened an application for a competitive sub-grant to receive funds for the purpose of starting a hotspot lending program.
A hotspot is an area where users can access the Internet using wi-fi from a small device with a cell phone data plan. In areas with limited Internet availability or lack of affordable home Internet, mobile hotspot lending can provide people with free, 24/7 access to the Internet, allowing people to meet their information needs in new ways.
Wi-Fi hotspot lending allows libraries to support a variety of programming which can include :
* Closing the homework gap by offering home Internet service for families with school-aged children
* Allowing patrons to participate in online courses such as GED classes
* Offering access to online telehealth services for the homebound and elderly
* Supporting workforce development and job skills trainings
Selected public library applicants will receive $3,000.00 towards the purchase of wi-fi hotspot devices and data service. The application is due by 5:00pm on January 26, 2018. Contact
Nicole Umayam, technology outreach specialist,
with any questions.
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Jaime Ball, Library Development Administrator for the Arizona State Library, will present workshops and webinars about applying for Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA) grants. She will give an overview of the application process, and offer some tips for writing an acceptable application. During the face-to-face workshops in
Tucson ,
Buckeye and
Prescott Valley , participants will actually begin the grant application process.
The workshop will include:
- an overview of LSTA grants in Arizona;
- what's new in 2018;
- planning your grant project;
- outputs, outcomes and other findings; and
- completing the LSTA grant application.
For more information on the LSTA Grant Guidelines, contact
Jaime Ball.
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Native American Library Services Basic Grants are one-year grants of $6,000 to $10,000, which can include $3,000 in eligible education and assessment activities or travel. The grants are available to federally recognized Native American tribes and Native Alaskan villages and are designed to support existing operations and maintain core services of tribal and Native village libraries.
Grants may be used to buy library materials, fund salaries and training, provide Internet connectivity and computers, or develop public and private partnerships with other agencies and community-based organizations, among other things.
Libraries may request up to $3,000 for staff to attend library courses or training workshops; attend or present at conferences related to library services; or hire consultants for onsite professional library assessments. For those who have applied in past years, please note that there is no separate Education/Assessment option in the application.
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Public libraries are invited to apply for
Revisiting the Founding Era
, a nationwide project that will use historical documents to spark public conversations about the Founding Era’s enduring ideas and themes and how they continue to influence our lives today.
Revisiting the Founding Era is a project of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in collaboration with American Library Association (ALA) and the National Constitution Center. The project is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Up to 100 U.S. public libraries will be selected to host programs related to the American Revolution and the early years of the nation. Participating libraries will receive:
- 10 copies of a 100-page reader containing selected documents from the lauded Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in U.S. history
- $1,000 to help implement discussion groups and other public programs
- Training, resources and support
Libraries, working in collaboration with scholars, local experts and others, will be asked to implement at least three public programs for adult and teen audiences. Topics may include the rights of citizens versus the rights of government; who is “we the people?”; and decision-making and taking action.
Revisiting the Founding Era will be administered by ALA’s Public Programs Office.
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Are you a small or rural library? Do you need a short term project completed in graphic design, marketing or technology? Do you wish you could utilize volunteers but feel it just wouldn’t work in your community?
Watch these short video clips for inspiration and examples of how to use highly skilled volunteers in your small or rural library.
In this 2 minute video, Brownwood Texas Library Director, Becky Isbell, shares her successful experience in posting a need for a
skilled graphic design volunteer
on VolunteerMatch. (Brownwood has a population of 19,288.) Using the "Virtual" volunteer search, Becky found someone all the way in Pennsylvania, who not only designed her logo, but additional collateral materials for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten project. They've never met, but, Mission Accomplished! for both the library and the volunteer.
In this 4 & 1/2 minute video, Johnson City Texas Library Director, Maggie Goodman, shares her successful experience in posting a need for
IT volunteers
on VolunteerMatch. (Johnson City has a population of 1,656 and the library's service area encompasses about 5,000 people). These skilled volunteers found Maggie's need through a special volunteer recruitment relationship between LinkedIn and VolunteerMatch. They are volunteering on a regular basis, and just agreed to help set up the Library's new Maker Space!
If you would like to learn how to experience your own success in engaging highly-skilled volunteers, contact
Donna Throckmorton
for more information.
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The migration of the
Reading Arizona eBook collection to Baker & Taylor’s Axis360 platform is nearly complete. The collection will now contain a mix of eBooks and eAudiobooks, all accessible online via a browser or by using the Axis360 app. New Arizona-themed titles will be added regularly, but the collection will be expanded to include more popular fiction in addition to the University Press and scholarly themed titles it included in the past.
Because of the migration, some of the ways libraries and patrons interact with Reading Arizona will change. Here’s what you need to know:
- It’s important to remove any old Reading Arizona MARC records you have in your ILS. The old URLs do not work, and many of the titles have changed.
- Some digitized books were incompatible with the new platform, and access to those titles will now be through the Arizona Historical Books and Periodicals collection on the Arizona Memory Project.
- New content added to Reading Arizona after the migration will be one copy/one user for checkout. Content previously on Reading Arizona will retain their simultaneous access, and will always be available for checkout.
- Patrons will need to create an account to check out material on Reading Arizona.
- Reading Arizona will no longer provide MARC Records, but if your library uses Axis360, B&T can integrate Reading Arizona titles into your existing collection at no charge.
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The new
LearningExpress
platform will include changes in all LearningExpress products: LearningExpress Library™, PrepSTEP™, and LearningExpress Job & Career Accelerator™. The new interface allows users to:
- Access content with fewer clicks and without the carousel
- Easily read on all devices with responsive design
- View all available resources on the home page
- Take advantage of improved speed and performance, even on low bandwidths
The new look and changes in functionality will release in January 2018.
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Happy New Year from Library Services
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Janet Fisher & the Arizona Talking Book Library Team
Mala Muralidharan, E-rate Branch
Jaime Ball & the Library Development Team
Laura Stone & the State of Arizona Research Library Team
Holly Henley, State Librarian
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Library Services is part of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State. The branches of Library Services include Library Development, the State of Arizona Research Library, the Arizona Talking Book Library, and E-Rate. Library Services programs and activities are supported in part with federal funds from the
Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Holly Henley
State Librarian and Director of Library Services
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