Update From State Librarian &
Commissioner of Libraries, Catherine Delneo
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Capital Projects Grants Update | |
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In late December we announced to the library community with great excitement that the Vermont Department of Libraries is poised to receive $10M in Congressionally Directed Funding (CDS) for Public Facilities Preservation Initiative Grants to be made available to our state’s small, rural public libraries.
The funds will provide resources to address repair and mitigation needs in these small, rural public libraries, those that also serve as community meeting spaces and public facilities, and with a focus on economically depressed areas.
We greatly appreciate the work of our Congressional Delegation and especially Senator Leahy’s support in securing these transformational funds for improvements to small, rural libraries in Vermont! We also appreciate the efforts by library leaders in Vermont to advocate for these funds.
The Congressionally Directed Spending funds will be administered by the Department of Libraries as grants to public libraries.
These funds are distinct from the $16.4M in Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund for States, Territories & Freely Associated States administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for which the State of Vermont has applied. The Capital Projects Funding is intended to address critical building improvements to ensure Vermonters have continued access to high-speed Internet to directly enable work, education, and health monitoring at their local public libraries.
The Department of Libraries plans to launch a competitive grant process in the coming month through which Vermont communities can access both sets of federal funding to support capital improvements to their local public library. Our goal is to support communities in successfully accessing the U.S. Treasury ARPA funds and Congressionally Directed Spending funds for which their public library is eligible. We are hopeful that public libraries will be able to apply for both grant opportunities through one grant application.
Upon finalizing the grant application materials and process, the Department of Libraries will host a series of webinars for library staff and trustees to guide them through the application process.
We anticipate opening the application as early as February 2023. We further anticipate grant awards will be made by spring 2023 so that projects can begin as early as summer 2023. Building projects must be fully completed by December 31, 2026.
We also extend congratulations to the Vermont libraries whose direct requests for CDS funds were approved:
- The Fletcher Free Library in Burlington will receive $500,000 for historic preservation work.
- The Kimball Public Library in Randolph will receive $200,000 for historic preservation work.
- The Worthen Library in South Hero will receive $57,000 to install a solar energy demonstration project for libraries.
Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have questions about the upcoming grant opportunities the Department of Libraries will administer, by contacting lib.contact@vermont.gov.
Catherine Delneo
State Librarian and Commissioner of Libraries
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ABLE Library & Inclusive Services | | |
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Join us for the ABLE Library book club! Our next meeting is on Wednesday, January 18, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm.
We will be talking about The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Book number: DB100981).
We meet online and by phone. Please call 802-636-0020 or 800-479-1711 or email us at Lib.AbleLibrary@vermont.gov to find out how to get a copy of the book and sign up.
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ABLE Library Statistics for November 2022
Total number of checkouts: 8702
Digital cartridge titles: 6727
Large print: 754
BARD app (audio or braille books downloaded by patrons): 1492
Top 5 Most Popular Books
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Miss Delightful: Mischief in Mayfair, Book Two by Grace Burrowes (DB109202)
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A Royal Murder by Verity Bright (DB109184)
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Five Pieces of Jade by John Dudley Ball (DB109074)
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This Healing Journey by Misty M. Beller (DB109052)
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The Secrets They Left Behind by Lissa Marie Redmond (DB109037)
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Memorable Times Café
Join the Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) and the ABLE Library for an in-person Memorable Times Café at the Vermont History Center in Barre on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm.
This month’s theme is “Snowbirds!” Let’s talk about the feathered friends that stay around for winter, and share where we have gone or would wish to go for a break from the cold.
This program is a relaxed social time for people living with mild to moderate memory loss and their care partners.
Please contact Barb Asen at CVCOA for more information or to register: basen@cvcoa.org or 802-476-2681.
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National Library Service’s Most-Downloaded Titles of 2022
Fiction Audio Titles
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Sleeping Bear: A Thriller by Connor Sullivan (DB108828)
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The Secrets They Left Behind: A Mystery by Lissa Marie Redmond (DB109037)
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The New Neighbor: A Novel by Karen Cleveland (DB109025)
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Silent Assassin: A Dan Morgan Thriller by Leo J. Maloney (DB108826)
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Poison Heart: A Novel of Suspense (A Claire Watkins Mystery) by Mary Logue (DB108192)
Nonfiction Audio Titles
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The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor – The Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown (DB108816)
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Rumble and Roar: Sound Around the World by Tina Brown (DB108822)
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The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey (DB108814)
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Too Much and Never Enough: How my Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump, Ph.D. (DB99251)
Fiction Braille Titles
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Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks (BRG04188)
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Apple in the Middle by Dawn Quigley (BR23474)
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Bewilderment: A Novel by Richard Powers (BR23985)
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A Puzzle in a Pear Tree (The Puzzle Lady Mysteries) by Parnell Hall (BRG03112)
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No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories by Lee Child (BR21908)
Nonfiction Braille Titles
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Halley’s Comet for Piano by Nancy Telfer (BRT37640)
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The Scott, Foresman Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised by General Henry M. Robert (BR10608)
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The Highlands for Piano by Christopher Norton (BRT37378)
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The 50 Best Oatmeal Cookies in the World: The Recipes that Won the Nationwide “Ah! Oatmeal Cookies” Contest by Honey Zisman (BRC00572)
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Glorious One-Pot Meals: A Revolutionary New Quick and Healthy Approach to Dutch-Oven Cooking by Elizabeth Yarnell (BRC01310)
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Noteworthy Finds from the Cataloging Desk
What’ll You Take For It?: Back to Barter by Annie Proulx
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VTLIB's cataloger Lauren Kelley shares new finds in Cataloging Spectacles. She’s been chipping away at cataloging the Department's historic book collection. During that process she runs into items that are too good not to share. | | |
Vermont Youth Book Award Updates | |
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Each year the amazing committee members for all three Vermont youth book awards take on the monumental task of reading all (or as close to it as possible) the books published in a single year for the targeted age group of their respective committees.
This knowledgeable group of Vermont librarians and teachers works tirelessly to apply their literary expertise in selecting noteworthy diverse books for children and teens.
The committees are currently reading books published in 2022 which will comprise the nominee lists for the 2023-2024 school-year. All three new lists will be announced live at the Vermont Library Association/Vermont School Library Association joint conference and shared out widely that same day! This one-day conference will be held on April 3, 2023, at the Doubletree by Hilton in South Burlington. Find event details https://www.vermontlibraries.org/vla-vsla-joint-conference-call-for-proposals
Each school-year, Vermont youth read the books from these lists and cast their vote for their favorites, determining the winners for each award.
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The Red Clover Book Award is Vermont’s children-choice picture book award created to honor excellence in children’s literature.
Vermont youth in grades K-4 read the 10 nominated books and vote for their favorite.
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The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award is Vermont’s children-choice middle-grade book award created to honor excellence in children's literature.
Vermont students in grades 4-8 read the 25 nominated books and vote for their favorite.
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The Green Mountain Book Award is Vermont’s teen-choice award created to honor excellence in young adult literature.
Vermont students in grades 9-12 read the 15 nominated books and vote for their favorite.
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Continuing Education & Small and Rural Libraries | |
Continuing Education Updates and Offerings | |
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The Department of Libraries’ subscription to Niche Academy gives all Vermont librarians, trustees, and volunteers access to online professional development with no fee for users.
Niche Academy content covers a wide range of topics, including customer service, HR, technology, and much more. Formats range from short videos to hour-long webinars to multi-webinar courses. All content is self-paced and available at any time.
Two recently added courses are Libraries and the Substance Abuse Crisis, and Survival Spanish for Library Staff.
The first is a recorded ALA workshop presented by Cindy Grove, director of the Rockport (MA) Public Library and author of the book, Libraries and the Substance Abuse Crisis: Supporting Your Community, published by ALA in 2020. The course covers how to deal with increasing needs and limited resources, and how to approach this topic through policy, materials, outreach, collaboration, programs, and services.
The Spanish class was created by Infopeople with the purpose of providing library staff with basic skills for communicating with Spanish-speaking patrons. The format encourages self-paced practice of words and phrases common to general communication and courtesy as well as some library-specific language.
To access these and other Niche Academy content, create a free account here.
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Association for Rural and Small Libraries Networking Opportunities | |
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The start of the new calendar year brings new and continuing networking opportunities from The Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).
The Solo-ish Happy Hour, co-hosted by Vermont librarian Bree Drapa, continues monthly. It now meets on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00pm.
This is an informal and informative time to spend with library staff from all over the country who work as solo librarians or at libraries with very small, often part-time staff. Free and open to all, the link to join is here.
Based in part on the success of that group, ARSL is developing additional networking and affinity groups. Categories for those as of now are directors, youth and teen services, adult services, and readers advisory.
The ARSL Professional Book Club will be back this winter, perhaps with suggested reading a bit shorter than an entire book this time, acknowledging that small and rural library staff don’t have a lot of spare time to devote to professional reading.
Specifics on the Book Club and the affinity groups will be on the ARSL website at https://www.arsl.org when they are finalized.
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Vermont Small and Rural Roundtable
Vermont’s very own Small and Rural Libraries Roundtable meets next on Thursday, March 16, 2023, from 1:00pm-2:30pm.
Please send topic suggestions to joy.worland@vermont.gov.
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November 2022 Interlibrary Loan Stats | |
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Total number of requests: 4602
- Books: 4222
- Videos: 275
- Audiobooks: 89
- Music CDs: 8
- Articles: 8
Top 4 requested audiobooks
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Dragonfly in Amber (Diana Gabaldon)
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Maisie Dobbs (Jacqueline Winspear)
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The Serpent’s Shadow (Rick Riordan)
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Physik (Angie Sage)
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Top 10 most requested book titles
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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Jamie Ford)
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The Most Costly Journey (ed. Marek Bennett, et al.)
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When All is Said (Anne Griffin)
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The Lincoln Highway (Amor Towles)
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Reading the Mountains of Home (John Elder)
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The Husbands (Chandler Baker)
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Mansfield Park (Jane Austen)
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The Keeper of Lost Things (Ruth Hogan)
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Cloud Cuckoo Land (Anthony Doerr)
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The Lioness (Chris Bohjalian)
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Top 5 most requested DVDs
- Roma
- Evita
- The Last Picture Show
- The Wedding Date
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Lost Missions
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Online Resource Use November 2022 | |
We’d like to share the November stats for online resources offered by the Department of Libraries.
Learning Express and Vermont Online Library are free to all libraries (public, school, or academic),
while Universal Class is only available to public libraries.
Important News
Gale’s ChiltonLibrary, available through Vermont Online Library, was recently updated. Chilton provides repair and maintenance guides for a wide range of cars and trucks. This update improves the interface and search and adds better videos, animations, and VIN searching. Read more at Gale’s page, https://blog.gale.com/chiltonlibrary-offering-enhanced-platform-and-new-tools/.
Universal Class has a new address, whether for registering or for logging in https://www.universalclass.com/vermontstate. The old address will continue to work for now, but please update any links you have on your site.
Learning Express
Learning Express provides training for workplace, academic, and job-hunting skills. It offers training for occupation exams, skills for school, exploration of careers, resume and interview help, and more.
Sessions: 76 | Registrations: 19
Tests: 50 | Tutorials: 0 | Computer Courses: 6 | eBooks: 14
Most Used Resources
- GED Test Flashcards
- Praxis Elementary Education Practice Exam
- CDL Test Prep & Endorsement Practice
- GED Reasoning Test
- Microsoft 365
- ParaPro Classroom Assistant Assessment Exam
Universal Class
Universal Class offers a wide range of online courses (from business to cooking, computers to social work) that are led by a real instructor, and that can be completed at your own pace.
New Registrations – 44 | New Courses Started – 198 | Login Sessions – 907
Lessons Viewed – 10,585 | Videos Watched – 7,140 | Student Submissions – 9,771
Most Active Classes
- American Government
- Genealogy
- Acrylic Painting
- Algebra
- Biology
- Cybersecurity
- Sociology
- Anatomy
- How to Run a Help Desk
- Twenty Women Who Changed America
- Interior Design
- Marine Biology
- Special Education
Vermont Online Library
Vermont Online Library covers everything from magazine and newspaper articles to DIY car repair and business help. Users can (with a bit of work) even read articles by issue from some popular magazines, such as The New York Times, Economist, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Highlights for Children, National Review, and Runner's World.
Sessions – 37,533 | Average Session Length – 10.64 minutes | Full Text Retrievals – 20,396
(Note about Sessions – This number is a bit misleading, as it counts multiple sessions when a user searches multiple databases at once)
Most Used Databases
- Academic OneFile
- Opposing Viewpoints
- General OneFile
- US History
- News
- Biography
- Virtual Reference Library
Chilton Library Retrievals – 43
Read more about Learning Express, Universal Class, or Vermont Online Library, or email Josh Muse (Joshua.Muse@vermont.gov) with any questions.
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Community Legal Information Center (CLIC) | |
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Vermont Laws Protecting Against Discrimination
Vermont has state laws that protect people against discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, place of birth, age, mental or physical disability, marital status, and crime victim status.
Anti-discrimination laws apply in the areas of housing, employment, public accommodation, and education.
CLIC’s libguide provides links to resources that explain what constitutes discrimination in a given context and provides contact information for agencies or entities, such as Vermont’s Human Rights Commission, the Civil Rights Unit of the Attorney General’s Office, the Vermont ACLU, and Vermont Legal Aid’s Housing Discrimination Law and Disability Law Projects, that help enforce an individual’s civil right to be free of discrimination in certain contexts.
If you or your patrons need more information on Vermont’s anti-discrimination laws, or any other legal issue, you can always “Ask a Law Librarian,” by calling (802) 831-1313 or emailing clic@vermontlaw.edu.
Informational Webinar for Public Librarians
Pamela Cartier, CLIC Coordinator, will present What is CLIC? Informational Webinar for Public Librarians, on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 from 1:00pm-2:00pm. Learn more and register on the VTLIB website Continuing Education page https://libraries.vermont.gov/services/continuing_ed
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News from our Neighbors at the
Vermont Historical Society
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2023 Winter Trivia Series | |
Trivia Series Championship Round
Feel like pitting your knowledge against the best of the best, or just watching them in action? For a small fee, you can sign up for Vermont Historical Society championship round - $10 for general public, $5 for society members.
Championship Round: February 1
Images: Courtesy Vermont Historical Society
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