Focus on Indiana Libraries: Vol 74 No. 15

Focus on Indiana Libraries

Aug. 4, 2020| Vol. 74 No. 15

President's Column

My family spent a getaway in a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN, this past month. We drove down in two cars and my husband and daughter arrived first, about fifteen minutes before I did with my sons. Since I had the code to get into the cabin, they were waiting on the property, both enjoying the weather and checking their phones.

My daughter, who had already climbed the stairs to the balcony, started to quietly call to my husband and after not getting his attention, she sent him a text message that said, “bear.” He looked up in time to see a bear sauntering down the drive to their car. The bear was not interested in my husband, but did try to get in all the locked doors of the car.

While there, I was reminded of the book Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. In this classic children’s book, a little girl is picking blueberries on a hillside with her mother at the same a bear cub is foraging blueberries for winter with her mother. Read More

COUNT ME IN! Virtual Youth Services Conference - VIRTUAL

NOW VIRTUAL Mon-Wed, Aug. 17-19

Indiana Library Federation's 2020 Youth Services Conference is now VIRTUAL and will be held on afternoons, Mon. - Wed., Aug. 17-19. The virtual conference allows us to reach more people, offer additional opportunities to engage safely, and allow for a single participant to receive as many as 18 LEUs (with TLEUs) of quality content. The Virtual Conference offers both live and on-demand sessions, with recordings available for 6 weeks.

Registration (1-3) OR Group Registration

Were you registered for the in-person conference? Check your email or contact the office for conversion to virtual.

NEW REGISTRATION RATES

Member @ $115 / Non-member @ $175

SPECIAL Institutional Member Group Discount:

$400 for up to 5 staff of Institutional Member / $550 for up to 5 staff of Non-Institutional Member

$800 for up to 10 staff of Inst Member / $1,100 for up to 10 staff of Non-Institutional Member

photo credit: Reece T. Williams

ILF YS2020 features Leah Johnson, author of You Should See Me in a Crown. Ms. Johnson will share both a keynote and interview about "writing black joy."

Register today! Peace Learning Center will lead interactive sessions on conflict management. Check out the updated program for sessions on literacy in the home, childhood grief, creating an efficient and effective team, teens in the library, dyslexia, virtual programming and more! We have tech experts from Butler University and IDOE to help improve virtual programming.

The ILF Youth Services Conference has a reputation for fun, interactive conference experience. Plan to turn on your camera, turn up your mic, and get ready for YS Virtual: Count Me IN! And yes, our YS exhibitors and sponsors provided cool prizes for the brain breaks.

Great Things Are Happening in Indiana Libraries

Butler Team Preserves, Improves Access to Artifacts through 3D Digital Replicas

Butler University is home to more than 100 artifacts and fine art pieces, including several three-dimensional works such as sculptures, jewelry, and clothing. Read More

Regionally Speaking: Radio Broadcast

Listen as Lake County Public Library Director Ingrid Norris and Crown Point Community Library director Julie Wendorf talk about the latest measures in how libraries are dealing with so many service changes due to the coronavirus pandemic. Listen Now

Library Snapshot Day

We've heard of all the great things Indiana libraries are doing to serve their schools and communities. Now it is time to share some of those great things by posting a photo or infographic about what YOUR library is doing. On Monday, August 10 post your photo/infographic to Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, tag @ilfonline and use the hashtag #INLibrarySnapshotDay.

Community-wide Discussion about Black Voices in Collections

The ILF Ad Hoc Committee on Racial Justice and Inclusion held its first two meetings in July to begin identifying concrete ways ILF can improve internally and to help libraries be authentically inclusive. The Committee reached consensus on committee culture that prioritizes civility, seeking to understand, and recognizing that our views may change as we go through the journey together.

One of the objectives for the committee is to help develop tools and resources, especially related to the call to action from the Board message to Indiana libraries. To that end, we understand many book lists with Black authors and diverse authors have been circulated recently. If you have limited resources, how do you select from the list?

We invite members of the Indiana library community (membership not required) to participate in a virtual session on Wed, Aug. 12, 1pm-2:30pmET/Noon-1:30CT. Register here to join the conversation to help the committee understand not only the challenges, but also the best practice strategies for auditing the collection, making selections, and finding ways to increase circulation of diverse narratives.

Understanding our own Implicit Bias

As we prioritize authentically inclusive practices, we seek to understand our own implicit biases and implement strategies to interrupt these biases. Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. ILF's training partner Peace Learning Center shared a number of resources on a training session attended by 80 individuals on 7/30.

Check out these resources:

Kirwin Institute for Study of Race and Ethinicity at The Ohio State University
Harvard Implicit Association Test
Look Different, bias cleanse
Tackling Implicit Bias from Teaching Tolerance

Pandemic-related Resources and Tools

School Reopening Plans:

Students need books and libraries

There is NO easy answer for plans to return to K-12 schools or colleges. Reopening plans range from in-person, hybrid, phased, and all virtual. We sincerely appreciate that administrators are balancing increased demands with limited resources in a constantly changing environment. Safety, equity, and internet access issues are top priority for all.

ILF surveyed its school librarian members, finding that over 65% of their K-12 schools were planning to return in person, while just over 17% were planning virtual and 15% were planning hybrid in-person/virtual. Most school libraries have implemented strategies including spacing seating, reducing "study lounge" features, creating one-way traffic flow, and implementing quarantine periods for safe book and materials circulation.

In our July survey of school librarians, their top worries included:

health risk to self, family, students or fellow faculty
equity issues for students
uncertainty and changing plans
lack of library access for students
concerns for the home lives of students

They identified some silver linings:

increased consultation and co-teaching with faculty
expanded e-Resources and "virtual library" options
strengthened collaboration with public library for digital cards, ebooks, audiobooks
opportunity to "see" their students at home with family

For library access, plans varied widely, from nearly normal visits and browsing, to holds and delivery/pickup, to a rolling cart to the classroom; from limited students in the library to the library being used for other purposes. We were shocked to learn that a few schools have planned to allow NO checkouts or circulation, and that many virtual students are not provided library access and support.

ILF is very concerned that some schools are limiting access to books and to libraries unnecessarily. CHILDREN NEED ACCESS TO BOOKS for basic literacy, non-screen time, and social-emotional learning. Libraries around the world are safely circulating books and materials. Given the emerging research about how long the virus may be detectable, ILF updated its Guidance for Reopening School Libraries Safely (8/4).

What YOU can do: Support your school library and librarian by

1) Advocating for students that they deserve continued access to the library and to books, and

2) Collaborating on shared collection, eResources, book delivery, food distribution days, shared virtual programming.

Other ILF Resources related to Pandemic

ILF continues to provide leadership and support through the pandemic. Members have access to regular online meetings and special resources. We provide all:

Expanding ONLINE Learning for you

Weigh in on ILF's Policy Priorities

We heard you! We have moved our ONLINE LEARNING sessions into a single collection on our website. Choose from sessions in categories:

Public Services
Public Libraries
Management
Intellectual Freedom
Marketing
General

Members may use their login and password to access over 30 sessions, many with additional resources. Forgot your login or password? Got a great idea for a session? Contact us.

Indiana Library Federation invites ALL who care about libraries to weigh in on our policy priorities for 2021. The ILF Advocacy Committee is actively preparing for the 2021 session of the Indiana General Assembly. Given that we know some of the financial impacts on tax-generated revenues, the Committee is asking ILF members and stakeholders to respond to specific priority considerations. We want to build on our 2020 success in securing the future for libraries, despite the funding and policy challenges.

The survey takes about 15-20 minutes and asks you whether you support specific policies and how you prioritize them, as not all can be top priority. Take policy survey now.

Member-Only Access To Tools and Resources

For any of the opportunities below, please contact us if you need assistance logging in.

Volunteer Opportunities in ILF

Have you thought about volunteering to serve on a committee in ILF? Volunteer here. Megan Zanto, member engagement manager, will contact you to explore possible matches within the organization. Current open positions include Youth Services, Technical Services, Advocacy and Intellectual Freedom Committees--especially looking for trustees, academics, and managers. It is not too early to be considering a leader term that begins in 2021.

Answering questions about your Public Library Budget

Questions about your public library budget? ILF's Budget Tactical Team offers Expert Office Hours on 8/7, 8/14, 8/21. If you have a question that is very specific to your library, you may consider emailing ILF staff or the Budget Team leaders. The ILF Expert Office Hours are available to institutional or personal members. Members must RSVP to receive the link to join the Expert Office Hours session. Members also have access to these PL Budgeting resources.

Special Updates from Bose Public Affairs

Bose Public Affairs provides weekly updates with inside information about COVID-related issues and resources. Visit the Advocacy News page, login with your password and scroll down. You may find issue from 7/23.

Member News

Promotions

Austin Stroud was named Director of the Monon Town & Township Public Library.
Portia Kaprun will become the new director at the Delphi Public Library in August.

Retirements

Kelly Currie will retire in August as director of the Delphi Public Library. Portia Kaprun will become the new director.
Jo Minnick has retired as director of the Monon Town & Township Public Library.

Deaths

Daina Maria Bohr, passed away July 17. A long-time librarian in the Reference and Government Services Division of the Indiana State Library, she was a frequent contributor to the Government Information Minute column.

Have some member news you would like to include in an upcoming Focus on Indiana Libraries? Email Tisa with your news!

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