This Week at ULC | April 6, 2022

This Week at ULC

Newsletter | April 6, 2022

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION

Black Maternity Matters

Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

CHPL’s Black Events and Exhibits Committee partnered with Cradle Cincinnati to launch a virtual discussion series, Black Maternity Matters, in 2021. Since its pilot, the program has provided in-depth support to community members, providing books on pregnancy, infant care and board books, nursing bras and more.

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ULC RECEIVES FOOD SECURITY GRANT

ULC received a one-year planning grant from the Walmart Foundation to research the strategic role of public libraries in addressing food insecurities in rural and urban communities. With the support of the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL), ULC will survey members from both organizations on their current food security activities and the unique food issues in rural and urban settings. The survey and other grant activities will allow ULC to share with the field at-large opportunities for public libraries to serve a greater role in assisting black and brown families with attaining nutritious food.

ULC LIBRARIES CELEBRATE NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK

April 3-9 is National Library Week in the U.S. — a time for celebrating the unique and essential role of libraries in communities across the nation. This year's theme is "Connect With Your Library." Click here to check out National Library Week messaging tools, and events.

Here are just a few highlights of the many ways ULC libraries are getting creative to celebrate National Library Week with their local residents:

Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library (Fla.) was celebrated in the Tampa Bay Times with a feature written by Director of Library Services Andrew Breidenbaugh, mentioning the library's extensive history dating back to 1912, Borrow by Mail program, computer skills training and community building opportunities.
Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach (Fla.) shared six ways patrons could utilize their library during National Library Week — this includes creating a podcast with high quality equipment, visiting their media digitization section and so much more!
Allen County Public Library (Ind.) is turning to their community for help during this special week and asking for submissions to the ACPL Coloring Book: Volume 2!
Frisco Public Library (Texas) has provided a booklist featuring all things libraries and librarians.
Columbus Metropolitan Library (Ohio) started a checkout challenge where CML customers are encouraged to visit a library location and check out a combined 100,000 items over the course of the week!
Santa Clara County Library District (Calif.) honored National Library Worker Day by creating a video that shows some of the reasons why we all are appreciative of library workers and all that they do.

How is your library celebrating National Library Week? Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #NationalLibraryWeek.

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NEW ON THE ULC BLOG

Community Partnerships Fuel Relationship with Housing Authority in Kansas City

Kansas City Public Library

Discover how Kansas City Public Library built a strong relationship with families in public housing during the pandemic thanks to their community partnerships through the Book Rich Environments program. KCPL’s Outreach Librarian Elizabeth Giles penned our latest ULC blog post highlighting the library’s strong connections with Housing Authority of Kansas City caseworkers and featuring the opportunities to grow pilot programs into sustainable services.

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MEMBER NEWS ROUNDUP

Named IFLA PressReader Marketing Award Winner

Chattanooga Public Library

Chattanooga Public Library was recently named a third place winner of the 2022 IFLA PressReader International Marketing Award for their awareness campaign, “Here We Grow!” The well-executed campaign emphasizes the importance of communicating the wide range of services a modern public library offers.

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Virginia Beach Welcomes New Director Kimberly Bray Knight

Virginia Beach Public Library

Congratulations to Kimberly Bray Knight for being appointed as Virginia Beach Public Library's new library director. Knight previously served as the deputy director for the Alexandria Library in Alexandria, Va. “She is a proven leader who understands the importance of the City of Virginia Beach Public Library maintaining its mission of providing access to quality resources, engaging programs and welcoming spaces for our diverse community," said City Manager Patrick Duhaney.

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Pictured (left to right): St. Louis County Library Director & CEO Kristen Sorth, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page, St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones, St. Louis Public Library CEO Waller McGuire

Launching a Shared Catalog in St. Louis

St. Louis County Library, St. Louis Public Library

St. Louis County Library and St. Louis Public Library recently launched a shared integrated library system (ILS), which now provides library cardholders with access to nearly 5 million items. To celebrate the merger, the libraries unveiled new library cards sponsored by the St. Louis Cardinals at a recent media event.

Kristen Sorth, Director & CEO of St. Louis County Library said, “The continued regional collaboration between two fantastic library districts is getting stronger through a shared collection of library materials. Working closely together to address and remove barriers to library resources is important for the region and an excellent example of regional collaboration.”

“SLPL is continuously looking for ways to better serve our customers,” said Waller McGuire, Chief Executive Officer at SLPL. “This new partnership with St. Louis County Library is just another step toward providing our cardholders with more access and resources, opening up more doors and expanding more possibilities.”