SCRLC NEWS
January 29, 2021
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DIRECTOR'S CUP
Cheery Friday Greetings!
I hope this edition of the News finds you well.
There are two important advocacy issues that have come up. The first concerns school libraries and the second, library workers and COVID-19 vaccination.
School Libraries. From the NYLA Website: “Governor Cuomo is recommending a reduction to the funding used by school libraries to purchase new books and resources for our students through consolidation of library materials aid into a general pool of money. This would mean that the majority of New York’s school libraries, already struggling to create inviting collections of books with only $6.25 per student in library materials aid, would be left with no guaranteed funding.”
No matter what type of library you work in, please sign the NYLA petition to inform the Governor that our students still need school libraries to provide books and resources to them. NYLA will be providing a copy of the petition including a list of the signatories to the Legislature & the Governor. Regarding the link, the school libraries petition is on the second page; the overall 7.5% reduction petition is the first one—good to sign both!
Library Advocacy Day—February 26. There will be more details from NYLA coming soon. In the meantime, there are several advocacy resources to check out on their website. SCRLC is working with the three regional public library systems (Finger Lakes, Four County, and Southern Tier) to coordinate Zoom visits this year.
Library Workers and COVID-19 Vaccination. NYLA is coordinating efforts to ensure that all front-line library workers are eligible for the vaccine in Phase 1b. Some library workers are eligible in Phase 1b:
- P-12 school or school district faculty or staff (includes all teachers, substitute teachers, student teachers, school administrators, paraprofessional staff and support staff including bus drivers)
- Contractors working in a P-12 school or school district (including contracted bus drivers)
- In-person college instructors
This does not include public libraries and not all academic library workers who are interacting with students and faculty, nor those in other settings. My own take on this:
Of course, right now the vaccine is in short supply, but that will not be the case in the months ahead. If library workers can get inoculated and libraries can be more widely open, it could help get other people vaccinated as they become eligible.
Libraries of all types are still seen as trusted institutions. Registering for a vaccination can be complicated. Just like with navigating the Census, people may need help with finding the registration website(s)--either in-person or even talked through it on the phone. People without access or reliable phone reception may need to do this at their local library.
And…. somewhere between 70% and 90% of Americans must get the vaccine to achieve herd immunity. Libraries can also provide credible information, which may help those on the fence. Although there might be information on the library’s website and is currently available on local and state health department pages, CDC, etc., not everyone can access it online or has the literacy skills to understand the information. Libraries could have an important role in that regard.
Speaking of the pandemic, I watched Assemblywoman Anna Kelles’ town hall meeting on the COVID-19 vaccine this past Wednesday. She is the newly elected representative of the 125th district, replacing Barbara Lifton, who retired. One of the panelists had a chart behind him, which is also on Berkeley’s Great Good Science Center website. His list was titled Self-Care Questions and the GGSC's, Daily Quarantine Questions, but they're the same, helpful questions. It is a reminder that in this pandemic, we need to take good care of ourselves. Here are the six daily self-care/quarantine questions (there is wonderful information/insight about each one at the GGSC website):
What am I grateful for today?
Who am I checking on or connecting with today?
What expectations of normal am I letting go of today?
When and how am I getting outside today?
How am I moving my body today?
What beauty am I either creating, cultivating, or inviting in today?
.....some warming things to think about as we head into one of the coldest (but shortest) months of the year!
Yours in partnership,
Mary-Carol Lindbloom
Executive Director
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TAKE ACTION
"The term "illegal immigrants" can have negative impacts on our user community, and our users might incorrectly presume that the subject terminology in our library discovery systems that includes these terms is a deliberate choice made by library staff."
This survey is being conducted by the ACRL Value of Academic Libraries (VAL) Committee to gather information on how academic libraries have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impacts on services, resources, staff, and patrons. Information gathered through this survey will be analyzed to identify COVID responses by libraries and identify practices that may help libraries plan and respond to similar future situations. This survey has been reviewed and approved by ACRL. It takes about 15 minutes to complete, depending on your responses.
- Please respond by physical library building unless COVID protocols were applied uniformly across all libraries within a larger system. Please provide both the name of the larger organization and the specific unit (e.g. University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library and Eccles Health Sciences Library).
- Reporting of all data will be in aggregate. Individual institutions or individuals will not be identified without explicit prior permission.
- Recognizing that COVID responses may have changed or evolved since the start of the pandemic, please provide responses that document the entire timeline for the pandemic.
- We realize that response options and terminology vary greatly from institution to institution, please use your best judgment when reading and replying to the questions.
- Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey request.
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SCRLC COMMUNITY CALLS
NEW! BIPOC Community Call: Wednesday, February 10, 12:00-1:00pm
Meeting ID: 920 2647 1064
Or call in: 1-646-876-9923 | Passcode: 963485
Next Director's Call: Tuesday, February 23, 4:00pm
Or call in: 1-646-876-9923 | Passcode: SCRLC
Next All Member Call: Tuesday,February 2, 1:00pm
Or call in: 1-646-876-9923 | Passcode: SCRLC
Next Resource Sharing Call: Tuesday, February 9, 1:00pm
Or call in: 1-646-876-9923 | Passcode: SCRLC
Next SCHOAM (special collections, historical organizations, archives & museums) Call:
Wednesday, February 10, 2:00pm
Or call in: 1-646-876-9923 | Passcode: SCRLC
Is your library open or closed- any changes?
Let us know if your library is open or closed in on this Google Sheet a nd check the status of other organizations .
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CALLS FOR PROPOSALS
SUNYLA 2021: From Seeds to Services: Growing the New Academic Library
Virtual conference hosted by SUNY Delhi
June 16-18, 2021
Deadline for workshop and presentation proposals: February 26, 2021
NYLA 2021
November 3-6, 2021
Deadline: January 31, 2021
PILLARS Symposium
Virtual conference hosted by ESLN
July 7-9, 2021
Extended Deadline: Today, January 29, 2021
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OUR UPCOMING EVENTS
February 17, 11:30am
March 12, 10:00am
FROM SIBLING COUNCILS & OTHER PARTNERS
February 2, 2:00pm
February 4, 12:00pm
February 9, 1:00pm
February 10, 2:00pm
February 11, 3:00pm
February 12, 10:00am
February 16, 9:00am
February 16, 4:00pm
February 17, 2:00pm
February 18, 2:00pm
February 18, 4:00pm
February 19, 12:00pm
February 23, 11:00am
February 23, 3:00pm
March 3, 11:00am
March 3, 11:00am
March 4, 10:00am
March 4, 4:00pm
March 5, 10:00am
March 9, 9:00am
March 9, 2:00pm
March 11, 1:00pm
March 11, 3:00pm
March 12, 10:00am
March 15, 1:00pm
March 18, 2:00pm
March 18, 4:00pm
March 19, 9:30am
March 24, 3:00pm
March 25, 2:00pm
March 30, 10:00am
+If you are interested in attending the virtual Computers in Libraries Connect 2021 Conference on March 23-25 and would like $100 off the cost of your pass, please use the registration link and code below. There is no deadline, so you may use this discount through the event dates and you will be able to view the archives if you miss any live sessions.
Code: ESLNCIL21
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Send a request to jphilippe@scrlc.org for access to online classes in design, business, technology, photography, entrepreneurship, film and writing through Skillshare.
Certificates of completion are available.
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In addition to the weekly Tech-Talk newsletter, SCRLC members have access to the Tech-Talk Database, which offers an up-to-date, searchable library of technology and communication articles and videos. Look for the login information at the top of your weekly Tech-Talk newsletter or email jphilippe@scrlc.org. |
A free instructional design training program available through WebJunction to enable library workers to transfer their in-person teaching skills to the online environment. The 7 modules include: Orientation, Foundation, Diversity, Community, Content Creation, Course Management, & Capstone. D4L was developed in partnership among the South Central Regional Library Council, Syracuse University's School of Information Studies, and the Empire State Library Network. It was funded in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
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SCHOAM! - A New Newsletter
Special Collections, Historical Organizations, Archives & Museums
Do you work in Special Collections, a Historical Organization, Archives, or a Museum? Sign up for our new monthly newsletter for news, grant information, and ideas specific to you! We'll keep it as relevant and concise as possible. Sign up here and see our first issue (January 2021) here. |
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Elsie Gutchess Great Women of the USA Collection
The Elsie Gutchess Great Women of the USA Collection is now finished! Funded in part by a 2019 RBDB digitization grant, the project was led by Wells College Archivist Tiffany Raymond in collaboration with the Howland Stone Store Museum and the Opendore Research Library, where the materials are housed.
Elsie Gutchess was a women’s historian, interested specifically in the women of the United States and New York. Her research materials were compiled with the intention to write a column titled “Great Women of the USA”. Gutchess served as the village of Dryden’s historian before her death in April 2019, and a significant part of Gutchess’s research was about women in Dryden and Tompkins County.
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Census 2020 Library Exhibit
Two Hundred Years on the Erie Canal
Recognizing Women's Right to Vote in New York State
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Career Coaching
Whether you are actively looking for a job or just want to be prepared in uncertain times, SCRLC is offering confidential and objective resume and cover letter review, as well as interview coaching. Let us know what would help you feel prepared. Fill in the form and we will be in touch. |
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