Looking back at VTLIB's 2019...
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Our Favorite Memories of 2019!
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In September 2019, VTLIB participated in the Vermont Fairy Tale Festival at Sherburne Memorial Library in Killington. Several Vermont librarians in costume staffed booths that provided crafts and other fun centered around the fairy tale of their choice. State Librarian Jason Broughton also had the unique privilege of being "king for a day!" As king, he met young festival attendees and knighted them for their good deeds. King Broughton was a sight we won't soon forget!
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Librarians from all over the country flocked to Burlington in September 2019 to attend the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) Conference! VTLIB consultant Joy Worland was on the planning committee for this event, and she also administered a VTLIB grant program that gave financial assistance for many Vermont librarians (all pictured here!) to attend the conference.
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While
Jason Broughton (pictured here with Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden) has been with VTLIB since 2017, he took on a brand new role in April 2019: State Librarian!
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In June 2019,
Lauren Wallace took on a full-time role with VTLIB as our Technical Services Librarian.
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Janette Shaffer joined VTLIB as our new Assistant State Librarian for Library Advancement in November 2019!
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New Programs, Partnerships, and Resources!
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In January 2019, we held our very first
"Tuesday Talk" in Montpelier with scholar Kathleen Kesson. Tuesday Talks were designed to address issues relevant to state employees, but these free talks are open to the general public, too! We held a grand total of eleven Tuesday Talks in 2019, on topics as diverse as Vermont woodland pest the Emerald Ash-Borer to pay equity for Vermont women. In May 2019, we began working with ORCA Media to record our Tuesday Talks, and recordings for May-November's talks are available here:
https://bit.ly/35TYDd3
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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. The DPLA has nearly thirty five million objects available from all over the United States that are fully searchable and freely available.
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Through a new partnership with
Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports
(
www.vermontadaptive.org
) that began with VTLIB staff attendance at the Vermont Adaptive Sports Charity Ride in June 2019, the ABLE Library's "ABLE Athletes" took to the lake for a sailing trip on September 21!
The ABLE Athletes are the ABLE Library's liaisons to Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports, which offers accessible (and often free) outdoor and sports programming for Vermonters with disabilities.
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In September 2019, VTLIB began a new partnership with the
Pride Center of VT by participating in the Burlington Pride Festival. Pride Center employees, as their drag personas Nikki Champagne & Emoji Nightmare, also joined VTLIB for a workshop on Drag Queen Storytelling in December.
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VTLIB had many fruitful collaborations with our neighbor the
Vermont Historical Society (VHS) in 2019! In addition to a grant-writing workshop for libraries co-taught by VTLIB, VHS, and VT State Archives staff, VTLIB and VHS also collaborated on a "Community Conversations" program centered around Dr. Paul Searls' book
Repeopling Vermont.
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This summer, VTLIB was pleased to partner with Vermont rock band
David & The Zookeepers on their "Across the Zoo-niverse" concert tour! The Zookeepers performed at sixteen libraries across the state, with all proceeds going back to the hosting library. One concert was held to benefit the ABLE Library, with visually-impaired musician Donna Thunders (of Donna Thunders and the Storm) participating in the event!
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- Ebsco LearningExpress: In 2019, this platform became FREE to access by all Vermont public, school, and academic libraries! LearningExpress is a deep and broad tool that has something for everyone, from prep for the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) exam, nursing and medical testing prep, job interview and resume writing, computer skills, SAT, LSAT, and GRE test prep, to interactive tools to help someone choose a career. It can help someone choose a pathway in life or provide the tools to get a better job. Visit http://bit.ly/VTLIBLearningExpress for more information!
- Native American Collection: VTLIB announced the creation of a Native American collection in the State Library in 2019. The collection, which is available through interlibrary loan, focuses on Abenaki and New England first nations, but also contains general interest books. A generous donor provided his personal library as the seed for this collection, including many short-run and hard-to-find materials. Within the collection there are many Vermont-produced Clan of the Hawk publications. To find these materials in VTLIB collections, simply search for Native American in the Department of Libraries’ collections. This collection is being actively developed, so new materials will be regularly added.
- Safety Code Books for Architects: The Vermont Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (https://www.aiavt.org/) partnered with VTLIB in 2019 to provide current building, fire, electric, plumbing, and safety code books to architects.This partnership means that freelance architects who may not be able to keep their personal code books up to date can access these titles through interlibrary loan through their local public library. AIA Vermont has agreed to update these titles as the latest codes become available in print. That means better buildings, safer systems, and less potential loss of property or life. If you are an architect and you would like to use these books, inquire about interlibrary loan at your local library.
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...and looking forward to VTLIB's 2020!
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The year 2020 is the centennial of suffrage for American women. VTLIB is working with the Vermont Suffrage Centennial Alliance, which will be sponsoring statewide commemorative events. This is an opportunity for libraries to promote relevant books, host themed programs, collaborate with schools, and celebrate Vermont suffragists. Check
https://vtsuffrage2020.org/
for information about the speakers’ bureau, book titles, events, historical background and contemporary context.
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State Librarian Appointed Co-Chair of Census Committee
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State Librarian Jason Broughton has been appointed as co-chair of the
Vermont 2020 Complete Count Committee
by Governor Phil Scott. This committee, which the state librarian will co-chair with Michael Moser of the Vermont State Data Center (
https://www.uvm.edu/crs/vtsdc
), will create and implement strategies to ensure a complete and an accurate census count in 2020. Of his appointment, Broughton says, "
I believe libraries will play a vital role in helping provide Vermonters with information about the census to ensure Vermont gets the most accurate count possible...I hope to ensure that we obtain our highest counts across areas that have been under reported or represented."
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...and much, much more! To stay updated with VTLIB in 2020, make sure you subscribe to our newsletter (you're reading it right now!) by clicking "Join Email List" at the very top of the page. Also, don't forget to follow us on social media; you'll find those links at the bottom of the page!
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News from CLIC, the Public Law Library
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Top Ten Legal Research Websites for Vermonters
Looking for free, reliable legal reference material? The trusted websites listed below are a great place to begin! And, if all else fails, the law librarians at the Community Legal Information Center (CLIC) can help you find what you seek*!
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10. Law Library of Congress
9. Findlaw for Legal Professionals
8. Federal Digital System (U.S. Government Information)
7. United States Congress
6. Vermont State Legislature
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5. Vermont Judiciary
4. Vermont Law Research Guide
3. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute
2. Google Scholar
1. Your Network of Law Librarians!
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On Friday, January 17, author Katie Henry will be participating in a virtual meet-up with Vermont teens! Henry is the author of 2019-2020 Green Mountain Book Award nominee
Heretics Anonymous
. The event will begin at 6:00pm, so gather your friends around a computer and have your questions ready! Access information for the meet-up will be posted on the GMBA website, so make sure to check here on the day of the event:
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Save-the-Dates: Summer Reading Workshops & Dorothy's List Conference
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2020 Summer Reading Workshops
- 2/11: VTLIB, Barre - 9:00am-3:30pm (snow date 2/18)
- 2/12: Bennington Free Library - 9:00am-3:30pm (snow date 2/21)
2020 Dorothy's List Conference
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National Library Legislative Day Contest
The Vermont Library Association and the Vermont School Library Association are offering an awesome opportunity to one lucky Vermont teen! The two organizations are partnering to bring one Vermont teen and an adult chaperone to
National Library Legislative Day
, an annual event held in Washington, D.C. to advocate for libraries. To enter, teens must simply answer the question, "What do Vermont's libraries mean to you?" in the format of their choice!
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Special Populations & ABLE Library
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#YouMightBeAbleistIf: the national disability community is using this trending hashtag campaign to raise awareness of ableism bias, and it is gathering worldwide steam. According to the
Center for Disability Rights
, ableism refers to: “a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities and often rests on the assumption that disabled people need to be ‘fixed’ in one form or the other.” The campaign organizers viewed this project as a learning opportunity that can bring awareness to the behaviors, words and actions from able-bodied peers that could be (mis)construed as prejudicial. Tiara Simmons Mercius, 36, helped to popularize the hashtag movement as both a platform for sharing narrative experience and as a tool for increasing empathic awareness for able-bodied people. Because ability-bias is built into most of our cultural and civic mechanisms, it can be challenging to identify colloquial language that may be considered dehumanizing. The sharing is pithy, heart-pulling and fearless. Some of the most shared tweets so far include: “You might be ableist if you are inspired when you see a disabled person just living their life,” “You might be ableist if you try to pass your family pet off as a service animal” and “You might be ableist if you call someone high functioning as a compliment. ” The viral campaign provides these examples of ableism to help people be more conscientious when engaging with the general public. For further reading on this emerging trend, please see this article from the
Huffington Post
:
http://bit.ly/36cChn3
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Continuing Education & Small/Rural Libraries
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Continuing Education Updates
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This year was an active one for VTLIB Continuing Education (CE), with more than
twice
as many workshops offered in this reporting period than in the previous one! VTLIB was excited to collaborate on many of these workshops with other organizations, including the Vermont Historical Society, UVM Extension, Pride Center of Vermont, Howard Center, Vermont Health Connect, Vermont 2-1-1, Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity, Vermont Assistive Technology Program, Northeast Organic Farming Association - VT, and more.
Over twenty Vermont librarians were certified through VTLIB’s Certificate of Public Librarianship program in 2019, and there are currently over seventy people actively pursuing certification. To support those unsure about enrolling or people working through the program slowly because of challenges of time, staffing, and travel, there will be more online offerings in the upcoming year, with the hope of making training accessible to more people.
To start off on that foot, there will be a Certificate of Public Librarianship Orientation webinar on January 10 from 10:30-11:30 AM. Orientation is required for anyone enrolled in the program who has not already taken it, and is open to anyone interested in learning more about the program. Virtual attendance will be available and the webinar will be archived. For registration and details about this webinar and all VTLIB CE workshops, see the VTLIB website (
https://libraries.vermont.gov/services/continuing_ed
), which is regularly updated as more workshops are scheduled. Another 2020 goal is more training for certified and degreed librarians, so stay tuned!
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Small & Rural Library Updates
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VTLIB will host a
Small & Rural Library Round Table
on January 22 from 1:00-3:00 PM in Barre. This will be an opportunity to discuss ideas and challenges that present uniquely in libraries that, like so many in Vermont, operate with very small staffs, budgets, and buildings. Share solutions with peers, workshop a program idea, talk about how community collaborations and outreach work in towns that have fewer resources than in cities. Virtual attendance is possible, but please do register even if attending virtually. Registration link is on the VTLIB website:
https://libraries.vermont.gov/services/continuing_ed
.
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Total number of interlibrary loan requests made in November 2019
: 4254
Books: 3640
Videos: 422
Audiobooks: 172
Articles: 13
Music CDs: 7
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Fun fact: Titles that began with “among” were popular in November!
- Among the Living (Raab)
- Among the Elephants (Douglas-Hamilton)
- Among the Mad (Winspear)
- Among Women Only (Pavese)
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Top 10 most requested book titles (with most requested at the top):
- Where the Crawdads Sing (Owens)
- Becoming (Obama)
- The Temptation of Forgiveness (Leon)
- Carnegie’s Maid (Benedict)
- The Hate U Give (Thomas)
- The Great Alone (Hannah)
- All The Light We Cannot See (Doerr)
- Holidays on Ice (Sedaris)
- Rebecca (Du Maurier)
- A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (Marra)
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Annual Public Library Survey
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We’d like to remind everyone that the submission period for the Annual Public Library Survey (aka the Annual Report) opened on Monday, Dec. 2. The survey is managed by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and consists of statistical questions covering circulation, programming, financials, services, and more. Each public library in the nation submits their data annually, and this data is ultimately used by state and federal agencies, policy makers, other libraries, and the public. The submission period runs until Friday, January 31, 2020, with a 2-week extension available by request. Each library has their own login information, which does not change from year-to-year. We’ve sent out a report reminder to the contact address we have for each library – if you did not get your report email, or if you have questions on any aspect of the report, please contact j
oshua.muse@vermont.gov
. You can read more about the report here -
https://libraries.vermont.gov/services/news/annualreport
.
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Marketing for Vermont Online Library (VOL)
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Did you know that Gale offers marketing help for VOL? First, visit
https://support.gale.com/vol
and start typing your library name - simply click it when it appears. Go to
Marketing Materials
to find printable bookmarks and flyers, web banners, and social media posts and images. You can also find widgets for your website at
Product Support
->
Widgets
. The majority of these resources are focused on a specific database or product, but VTLIB plans to put together some tools for marketing VOL as a whole in the coming year.
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Tools for Town Meeting
Town Meeting is fast approaching!
Library trustees and directors often ask Governance and Management Consultant Lara Keenan for tools and tips on preparing talking points for Town Meeting – which happens this year on Tuesday, March 3 (or the preceding Monday or Saturday – depending on each community).
Effective preparation for Town Meeting can take time, and so Lara suggests that trustees and directors start now, if they’ve not done so already, developing talking points and materials to use with taxpayers in the weeks leading up to Town Meeting - and during Town Meeting itself.
Here are a few resources to help library trustees, directors, and staff communicate the relative value of their library both to donors and to the communities that provide tax appropriations:
- Infographics are graphics that put information/data into visuals (or a series of pictures) in order to make it easy to understand. They can effectively share information using eye-catching and meaningful visuals (beyond graphs and charts). Googling “library infographic” results in several resources that library directors and trustees can use to create something effective and meaningful for their community. One resource example, Librarian Design Share, is created by librarians for librarians: http://bit.ly/LibDesign
- Library Value Calculator – Libraries can use this calculator to illustrate the monetary value of the community’s use of the library – and then use this value to calculate a Return on Investment (ROI) - http://bit.ly/LibValue
- Quotable Facts from the American Library Association (ALA) – Libraries play a critical role in the happiness of Americans, and communities that spend more on libraries, parks, and highways are shown to support the well-being of community members. For more facts about libraries, information on the sources of these facts, and ideas for facts to research and present about your own community, visit http://bit.ly/QuotableFacts
- How do libraries transform their community? For ideas on ways to explore this idea, visit http://bit.ly/LibTransComm
- To promote the public’s awareness of all that libraries do for their communities, ALA developed the “E’s of Libraries” Public Awareness campaign – which library boards and directors can use to help their communities understand the wide range of services libraries provide in a memorable, meaningful, and organized way: http://bit.ly/ALAEs
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From Our Neighbors at the Vermont Historical Society
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Saturday Museum Program: Snowflake Story
January 11, 1:00 to 2:00 pm
Vermont History Museum, Montpelier, VT
You are invited to come on out of the cold and enjoy the winter season with a reading from Jacqueline Briggs Martin’s
Snowflake Bentley
. Enjoy a cup of hot chocolate or coffee and treats. Afterwards, we invite you to stay for a craft activity. Most suitable for families with children under the age of 13. Story hour is free for members and included with the price of admission to the Vermont History Museum for the general public.
Third Thursday: Vermont’s Lucy Terry Prince
January 16, 12:00 pm
Vermont History Museum, Montpelier, VT
Of the millions of women stolen from Africa and sold into slavery in colonial America, only two are remembered as poets. One of these, Lucy Terry Prince, was celebrated by her white and black contemporaries as the “sable mother” of the American Republic. Her poetry challenges us to re-think how we tell the story of American literature and to re-think how we tell the story of Vermont. UVM Professor Mary Louise Kete examines her work and her place in American and Vermont history. Third Thursday programs are free & open to everyone.
Webinar: Choosing an Object to Go on Exhibit
January 22, 10:00 to 11:00 am
There are many factors that go into the decision to put an object on exhibition. This one-hour webinar will walk through the basic decision chain that leads to exhibiting an object from your collection and will include ample time for questions and participation from attendees. Free & open to everyone. Learn more and register for the webinar at
https://vermonthistory.org/lhs-tech-2020
Before Your Time Podcast: Princes and Free Men
It’s well-known that Vermont is one of the whitest states in the Union. And so the stories of African American Vermonters can sometimes get forgotten, no matter how important they have been to our state’s and our nation’s history. The latest episode of the Before Your Time podcast from VHS and the Vermont Humanities Council features a few of these lesser-known, but no less important, Vermont voices. Listen at
https://www.beforeyourtime.org/
.
Leahy Library Winter Break
The Vermont Historical Society’s Leahy Library will be closed for its winter work break from Monday, January 13, through Friday, January 31. We will reopen with our regular hours on Tuesday, February 4. We will not be responding to reference inquiries during this time so we can get some collections work done.
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