ULC Member News
Newsletter | July 3, 2024
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ULC Office Closed July 4 and 5 | |
Wishing all of ULC's U.S. members a safe and happy Fourth of July! The ULC office will be closed Thursday, July 4 and Friday, July 5 in celebration of the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Any emails received during this time will be returned on Monday, July 8. | |
SUBMIT NOW to ULC's Innovations Initiative | |
The 2024 Innovations Initiative application cycle from the Urban Libraries Council is NOW OPEN! Submit your entries now to share your library’s out-of-the-box thinking and successful programs that have revolutionized the library field. We can’t wait to see your submissions. The deadline for submissions is Monday, August 9, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Honorees will not only receive a physical award and be featured in ULC-led media opportunities, but the Top Innovators in each category will receive one complimentary registration to the 2024 ULC Annual Leadership Forum, taking place in Philadelphia, PA, from October 23 to 25.
For further information and to aid your submissions, view the 2024 Innovations FAQs and explore the 2024 Innovation Categories Brochure. Approved submissions will be posted live to the ULC website within one week of their submission.
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2024 Innovations Initiative Office Hours
Tuesday, July 16, 2024 | 2:00 p.m. ET
Need any additional assistance with your Innovations applications? ULC is hosting an Innovations Office Hour on Tuesday, July 16 at 2:00 p.m. ULC will provide an overview of the application process, take questions from attendees about their submissions, and provide any technical assistance needed.
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ULC President & CEO on WIOA Reauthorization | |
WIOA Reauthorization Must Recognize Libraries’ Workforce Development Potential
Brooks Rainwater for The Well News
"To unlock public libraries’ full potential for jobseekers, the Senate reauthorization bill, which is expected to be marked up this summer by the Senate HELP Committee, should include the library one-stop workforce development center provision and support libraries’ role in supporting career pathways and career education. This is especially important as public libraries seek to reach target communities, including opportunity youth."
From rural towns to urban centers, libraries are stepping up in creative ways to serve as opportunity ladders. In this new op-ed for The Well News by Urban Libraries Council President and CEO Brooks Rainwater, hear why the U.S. Senate must recognize libraries as indispensable partners in a reauthorized Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
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Deadline Approaching: Library Insights Survey | |
In case you missed it: the annual 2024 Library Insights Survey (LIS) is now open for Urban Libraries Council members—and the deadline is quickly approaching! This survey is an invaluable tool that seeks comprehensive information from member libraries on various aspects, including budgets, staffing, operations, visitors, and programs.
This year, it's even more critical that we get as many ULC members to share their data as possible. We want to know insights surrounding questions like whether members are close to matching pre-pandemic highs in visits to the library. The survey covers some big questions that impact all our work, and survey data will be compiled and featured in the ULC Library Data Hive, an exclusive collection of interactive dashboards, charts and maps just for ULC members.
You can preview the data collection topics at this link, and review full details about the survey on the ULC website.
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ULC at ALA 2024: "Bringing Civility Back to Life" | |
"Can people disagree on important topics and still be civil to one another?"
That was the question posed to attendees at the outset of “Bridgebuilding: Fostering Community Engagement, Dialogue, and Interactions in Libraries,” a July 1 session at the 2024 ALA Conference in San Diego. The panel featured ULC's own Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity Shamichael Hallman, who has heard from libraries and patrons that people are open to tough conversations. “People in communities want to talk to each other,” he said. “This has been a constant theme.”
Hallman also stressed that bridgebuilding doesn’t have to center on political divisions; libraries can bridge ages or generations, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic groups or zip codes. “[So long as] it brings together a group of people who might not otherwise have the opportunity,” he said. Read the full feature below.
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New Small Business and Nonprofit Workspace
Toledo Lucas County Public Library
Last week, the Toledo Lucas County Public Library opened its brand new Small Business and Nonprofit Workspace. Although the library has long offered assistance to people who are looking for answers to their new business questions, the new workspace consolidates those resources in one place and expands the hours that help is available. READ MORE.
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LevelUP Program Concludes Inaugural Year
Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library celebrated the culmination of the first year of its LevelUP program, designed to help Black women build wealth and advance professionally in career fields where they have typically had low representation. The first-year graduates who, after taking 50 hours of classes, are already participating in new jobs and opportunities. READ MORE.
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Assisting Renters Facing Eviction with New Partnership
Richmond Public Library
The Richmond Public Library and Virginia Poverty Law Center are launching a new partnership to help renters who may be facing eviction. The partnership will provide guided assistance using VPLC’s new Eviction Defense Center. The library says patrons often ask librarians for help understanding their options when facing eviction, and this program is reportedly aimed at expanding patrons’ accessibility to justice services. READ MORE.
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Boosting Quality Reading at Juvenile Detention Facilities
Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library recently received a $21,500 grant designed to increase access to age-appropriate reading materials for incarcerated children and teens. The “If You Seed It, They Will Read It” project will provide the Shawnee County Juvenile Detention Center with new materials that are appropriate for the reading level and interests of youths. Librarians Alex Henault and Scarlett Fisher-Herreman (pictured) identified the need and applied for the grant. READ MORE.
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New Publication | "Community Engagement Matters" | |
Community Engagement Matters: Learnings from the Barbershop Books Pilot for Libraries
New Publication from ULC
With the support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Urban Libraries Council partnered with the nonprofit Barbershop Books, Inc. to pilot an early literacy-focused family and community engagement model throughout 2023 and 2024. A brand-new report from ULC highlights lessons learned from the pilot and each library's best practices for community engagement.
ULC and Barbershop Books supported a small cohort of four library systems—Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Cleveland Public Library, Columbus Metropolitan Library and Shreve Memorial Library—as they sought to develop barbershop-based reading spaces and increase reading opportunities for boys of color in their local communities. Each library partner identified and recruited 10 local barbershops, set up and maintained a bookshelf of children’s literature in each shop, and partnered with the barbershops to host community events.
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St. Charles City-County Library
"July is Disability Pride Month, a time to honor the history, achievements, experiences, and voices of the disability community. Check out these stories featuring disabled protagonists and activists, available at your library."
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Harris County Public Library
"LIBRARY FOR ALL: free to be you, free to read, access to all 📚🌈❤️ We showed out at #PRIDE Houston! Once again, our library marched as #BannedBooks with handmade book covers of titles, that have been contested for their LGBTQ content. "
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Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library
"Things we’ve found in returned library books. Bookmarks, tickets, cards and more!"
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Nashville Public Library
"More than 2,200 customers joined Monday’s opening to get their first look at the new Donelson branch, checking out more than 2,100 books and materials."
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