July 2019 Newsletter
Department News
Summer is for Libraries!
Passport to Vermont Libraries
Image of three Vermont library passports
It’s not too late to participate in the 2019 Passport to Vermont Libraries program! Throughout the summer this program encourages Vermonters and visitors from outside of Vermont to visit Vermont's unique, beautiful, and creative libraries. Participants get passports stamped, sometimes a small prize, and the chance to collect the most stamps and win a bigger prize at the end of the summer. Best of all, they get to see some architectural community treasures and meet interesting people who can share histories and stories unique to each library. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences on the Passport to Vermont Libraries Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/vermontpassport/) or Instagram account (@passporttovtlibraries) with photos or anecdotes. Don't forget to tag your posts with #vtpassport!

VTLIB has passports we can mail to your library for you to distribute to patrons and visitors. Contact Joy Worland, joy.worland@vermont.gov to request.
 
Full details about the program are available at https://vermontlibraries.org/passport , including an updated Excel spreadsheet and PDF of all of Vermont's public libraries. Let's come together to celebrate and enjoy our great public institutions this summer. See you at the library!
Across the Zoo-niverse!
Across the Zoo-niverse tour poster
For the second summer in a row Tammie Award “Best Vermont Rock Album” winner David Rosane & the Zookeepers is touring Vermont libraries to shine a light on their pivotal role in our communities and to raise funds for library programming and services. 

This year's tour title is “Across the Zoo-niverse,” paralleling the Summer Reading Program theme, “A Universe of Stories.” In all there will be 16 concerts between June and August covering all parts of the state, from East Fairfield to Bellows Falls and much in-between!

Whether you’re hosting or not, this is a fun way to support libraries, have some fun, and hear some music from a band that really “gets” libraries. "In addition to fundraising, we really want to draw attention to the often-overlooked role libraries play in our towns. Libraries aren't just a place for books. They are vital to liberty and equality. They're community centers, an open space for public events and life-long learning, a place to hang and socialize, a cool place for the lonely, the elderly and special populations,” stated Rosane.

VTLIB has promotional postcards for the tour. These are an easy way to promote via mail or by handing them out at the circ desk or around town. The artwork is terrific, too! Contact Joy Worland if you would like to receive postcards at joy.worland@vermont.gov .

For a full list of locations and libraries, visit the band's website www.davidandthezoo.com or Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/davidandthezoo/
VTLIB Live!
Friday Morning Live!
State Librarian Jason Broughton hosted an informal "Meet the New State Librarian" chat on Facebook Live on June 7. He spoke a bit about his history with libraries and some current VTLIB initiatives. He also answered questions from live stream viewers. To view the Facebook Live event, go here: https://bit.ly/2NrNDPt
Image of State Librarian Jason Broughton
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Ceremony
Image of artist Diana Dunn presenting at NVU Lyndon
Over 100 Vermont students and librarians convened in the Alexander Twilight Theater at Northern Vermont University - Lyndon on June 11 for the 2019 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Ceremony! Attendees were treated to a presentation by artist Diana Dunn, who creates the paintings awarded to each year's winning author, and a presentation by author of 2018-2019 Dorothy's List nominee CHESTER & GUS, Cammie McGovern. The event concluded with a book signing. Most of the ceremony was broadcast on Facebook Live in real time, and you can watch the recording here: https://bit.ly/2KzUDHu

See Diana's painting for Alan Gratz here: https://bit.ly/2FBupAy
For State Employees
Cover of Repeopling Vermont
VTLIB is proud to present another speaker for the state employee speaker series Tuesday Talks. This month the event will be on July 16 from noon through one at the Pavilion Auditorium. Recordings of Tuesday Talks will now be made available through a partnership with ORCA. The June talk about healing through the arts is available here: https://www.orcamedia.net/show/healing-through-arts

The topic for July’s speaker is “The Paradox of Development in Twentieth Century Vermont.” Paul Searls’s new book, Repeopling Vermont: The Paradox of Development in the Twentieth Century, examines many of the central tensions in Vermont’s history and culture over the last hundred years. In this noontime talk about the evolution of Vermont in the twentieth century, Searls will focus on the tension between efforts to preserve the natural landscape and the effect of those efforts on the human landscape, themes that still resonate and inspire passion in today’s Vermont.
 
Dr. Paul Searls is Professor of History at Northern Vermont University, where he specializes in Vermont history. He received his Ph.D. from New York University.
 
For more information, please see the event poster here: https://bit.ly/2ItSj2C Please feel free to share the poster and event information in your departments. For more information please contact April Shaw ( April.shaw@vermont.gov ).
 
Tuesday Talks is a speaker series presented by VTLIB during the lunch hour one Tuesday each month. The topic and speaker will change each month, but will always be relevant to events or trends in Vermont that affect State Employees. All Tuesday Talks are open to members of the public as well.
News from CLIC, the Public Law Library
Founded in 2015, CLIC is financed by an annual grant from VTLIB and operated by Vermont Law School (VLS) librarians and staff. CLIC offers free legal reference services to the general public.
 
As mentioned last month, Jane Woldow is the new director of the Julien & Virginia Cornell Library at VLS. Jane, along with CLIC Coordinator Kassie Tibbott, will maintain this section of the newsletter to share news, updates, projects, and the resources available at CLIC.
Connect with CLIC on Instagram @vtlaw_clic and read more about the walk-in reference services available at CLIC on their website: www.vermontlaw.edu/academics/library/CLIC
 
(Kassie will be launching a blog on August 1 – stay tuned!)

Reminder: CLIC will be closed from Monday, July 1 through Friday, July 5.
CLOVER Corner
Special Populations & ABLE Library
Vermont Adaptive Sports Charity Ride
Three VTLIB staff members represented VTLIB at the Vermont Adaptive Sports Charity Ride in Bridgewater Corners on June 22! This ride raises money for Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports, an organization that helps Vermonters with disabilities participate in activities such as cycling, skiing, boating, and more! Many ABLE Library users also participate in Vermont Adaptive programming, so we attended to support the folks in the race and spread the word about ABLE services.

For more information about Vermont Adaptive Sports, go here: https://www.vermontadaptive.org/

For more information about the ABLE Library, go here:
Jennifer Johnson & Vin Livoti staffed the VTLIB table in the morning!
Race participants enjoying some live music and good food.
State Librarian Jason Broughton staffed the VTLIB table in the afternoon!
Quick Links
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“Chronicling The LGBT Rights Movement Since The Stonewall Riots”

“Comcast’s Latest Accessibility Feature Lets Customers Change TV Channels With Their Eyes”                                                                           

“Kohl’s Rolls Out Clothing For Kids With Special Needs”                                                                         
Information & Access
Vermont Online Library Update
We have a quick update for the Vermont Online Library ( www.vtonlinelib.org ), the free Gale research database available to all Vermonters courtesy of VTLIB! Near the end of July, Gale will make changes to their database offerings. First off, they’ll be improving their user interface – you can see details at this link: https://www.gale.com/product-enhancements/preview

Secondly, they will be renaming many of their database products. We don’t know what the new names will be, but we’ll share the finalized names once that information is released. More information to come soon! Contact Josh Muse ( joshua.muse@vermont.gov ) with any questions.
Vermont Online Library logo
Vermont Joins the Digital Public Library of America!
Following a multi-year effort, Vermont libraries are now part of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA): https://dp.la/ . This is a major step forward for access to the fantastic digital collections in our state, including historic photographs, letters, and art. The DPLA has nearly thirty five million objects available from all over the United States that are fully searchable and freely available. 
 
The initial batch from Vermont contains over 57,000 images, including some real gems from Middlebury College, the University of Vermont, St. Michael's College, Norwich University (such as the photo above of a conversation on campus during "Rook Week" in 1974 by Homer E. Smith) and the Vermont Historical Society. These organizations, along with the Vermont Department of Libraries and the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration are partners in the Green Mountain Digital Archive (GMDA): https://bit.ly/2J8nmjK

The Department of Libraries provided seed money to Middlebury College Special Collections for the GMDA to feed into the DPLA. Middlebury's Rebekah Irwin, Director of Special Collections, and Patrick Wallace, Digital Projects & Archives Librarian, are the stars of this effort in pushing the project out to the DPLA. 
 
Some highlights from Vermont collections include  local and regional history like  photographs   capturing rural New England town life; Vermonters’  Civil War letters , and  broadsides  dating to the 18th century, alongside materials that are international in scope like Dr. Edgar Hyde’s  photographs  from his service as an Army Medical Corps officer during World War II. See them all at the GMDA: https://bit.ly/2J8nmjK
 
For more information about partners and collections at DPLA, please visit the Department of Libraries' page here: https://libraries.vermont.gov/GMDA
Youth Services
Save the Date: Vermont Fairy Tale Festival
Fairy standing in a stream
Mark your calendars! The Vermont Fairy Tale Festival, hosted by the Sherburne Memorial Library in Killington, is back! This year, it will be held on Saturday, September 21 from 10am-4pm - rain or shine!

The festival will have 10-12 fairy tale booths (each staffed by folks from several different Vermont public libraries) as well as vendors, live music, mermaids, Vikings, storytellers, costumed characters, scavenger hunts, games, and photo ops that include a castle, Viking ship, and 6 ft storybook. Coming in costume is strongly encouraged!

This event is free, but donations of canned goods will be accepted for the local food bank. For more information, visit the Vermont Fairy Tale Festival Facebook page here: https://bit.ly/2J6c0g8
Voting for the 2019-2020 Green Mountain Book Award is Open!
The ballot box is open! For the second year, voting for the Green Mountain Book Award (Vermont's teen-choice book award) will be open all year long. Here's how it works: read a book from the 2019-2020 GMBA nominee list, and then go here: https://bit.ly/2IQTRUJ

You'll be asked to rate the book on a scale from 1-10. Do this for as many of the fifteen nominees (hopefully all fifteen!) that you read! Next spring, the book with the highest score will be crowned the winner. For more information about the Green Mountain Book Award, visit: https://bit.ly/2LdUU2u

Follow GMBA on Instagram: @gmbavt
Continuing Education & Small/Rural Libraries
Image of a calendar
Continuing Education

CPL Program

July is the month for reviewing and updating Certificate of Public Librarianship (CPL) transcripts, so send Joy what you’ve taken since January (if you haven’t already) and feel free to contact her ( joy.worland@vermont.gov ) if you would like a midyear update on where you are on your CPL path. Joy will also be in touch with anyone who has registered since the winter orientation. There is a required orientation for new enrollees August 29 from 2-4pm in Barre. If possible, please try to come in-person as it’s a great way to meet other new participants and have a chance to discuss CE as a cohort. But, it’s a long drive for some so we will provide a way to attend virtually, too.

As always, check our website periodically to see if new things have been added to the CE schedule. It’s slowed down for the summer but we will be adding things for the fall as they get confirmed. https://libraries.vermont.gov/services/continuing_ed

Community Conversations

Join fellow Vermonters in your community to learn about how the state has handled questions of development and progress in the past, and how we might use those lessons to discuss a path forward to the future. The programs will open with Northern Vermont University professor Paul Searls, who will review themes and events featured in his newly-published book Repeopling Vermont: The Paradox of Development in the Twentieth Century .

Following Searls’ presentation, attendees will be invited to share their own perspectives on their communities. How can we use the lessons of history to frame our planning going forward? What is important to preserve, and when is it important to move forward? How can we balance different interests and create a Vermont that works for everyone?
Programs are free and open to everyone. Interested in attending one of these programs, or hosting your own community conversation (webinars will be available on how to facilitate these conversations in your community) ? Click this link for more information: https://bit.ly/2xeH9Iu
ARSL logo
Small & Rural Libraries

ASRL Conference

As of this writing, there are 71 days until the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) Conference in Burlington (Sept. 4-7). A few related questions/favors:

  • We will have a Vermont table at the opening reception. If anyone has suggestions for what to include or anything fun to donate, please let Joy know.
  • We are borrowing the Vermont Historical Society’s Vermont trivia game for the reception and would like to add some library-specific questions for this night. Please send ideas!
  • The conference committee could use a few VT library photos for the conference brochure. If you have a favorite, please send to Joy. They might not all get in but perhaps some will.
  • We need some people to help stuff conference bags the Tuesday afternoon before the conference, Sept. 3, at the Fletcher Free Library: a fairly easy and fun way to be involved if you happen to live close and have time! Let Joy know if you’re interested.
Governance & Management
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Resources for Trustees and Friends

Lara Keenan, Governance and Management Consultant, has three articles to share with you from her files. She regularly emails articles like these on the Trustees and Friends List Serv. If you’d like to be a part of this list serv, email Josh Muse at joshua.muse@vermont.gov and ask to be put on the Trustees and Friends list serv (and give him your name and the library to which you are connected).
 
  • Article #1: The Ethical Dozen for Friends of the Library - This short article from Library Hotline’s October 12, 2015 edition suggests 12 ethics statements for Friends to help guide their work, especially in relation to the work of the library staff and trustees. Ethics are a huge part of the library world, and this article brings to the forefront the importance of having an ethics statement for Friends groups. (Link on our website: https://bit.ly/2ZReipR)

  • Article #2: Fiduciary Duties for Trustees from the Utah State Library - This handout offers a quick and clear explanation of the three Fiduciary Duties of Library Trustees: Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience. These three duties have been established in VT through over 200 years of common law court cases. (Link on our website: https://bit.ly/2NeQ8UQ)

  • Article #3: Creating a Job Description for Your Library Director, a February 2019 article from United for Libraries – the Trustees and Friends section of the American Library Association. The article offers several great tips for creating a good library director job description, including:
  • The purpose of a good job description
  • Typical topic areas for a library director job description
  • Tips for formats to follow
(Link on our website: https://bit.ly/2X9Yim9 )
From Our Neighbors at the Vermont Historical Society
VHS News & Events
July 3 at the Museum
July 3, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Vermont History Museum, Montpelier
There’s a party at the Pavilion once again for Montpelier's annual Independence Day celebration! The Museum will be open with Free Admission and patriotic crafts all day. Find gift shop and book bargains on the porch until 5:00 pm.
 
Vermont History Trivia
July 13, 1:00 to 2:30 pm
Vermont History Museum, Montpelier, VT

Do you know about the unusual animal fossil discovered in Charlotte in 1849? What about how Vermont got its name? Put your knowledge to the test and learn some fascinating new history facts with an exciting afternoon of Vermont History Trivia!
 
This family-friendly event is open to individual players and teams, history buffs and novices alike! Refreshments and check in will begin at 1:00, and the competition will begin after players have formed teams and a brief introduction at 1:20. Trivia is free with the price of admission at the Vermont History Museum. Program repeats on Saturday, August 10. We look forward to seeing you there!
 
Local History Engagement Sessions

For over 60 years, VHS has been providing programs and services to Vermont’s local history, museum, and cultural community. In our most recent strategic planning process, updating and expanding those services was identified as one of the primary strategic areas. Join us at one of our Local History Engagement Sessions taking place over the summer and fall. We’ll come together to talk about the role local historical societies & museums play, common obstacles we face, and how we can work together to build a stronger history community statewide.
 
July 12, 10am-12pm, Jamaica Historical Foundation, Jamaica, VT
 
July 24, 9-11am, Vermont History Center, Barre, VT
 
August 2, 10am-12pm, Old Stone House Museum, Brownington, VT
 
August 23, 10am-12pm, Manchester Community Library, Manchester, VT
 
September 6, 10am-12pm, Saint Albans Museum, St. Albans, VT
 
September 28, 12-2pm, Waterbury Historical Society, Waterbury, VT
 
More information on the sessions, and an associated survey, are available here: