ULC's new online Member Hub experience will help you — from library directors and CEOs to social workers and business librarians — be more engaged with what’s happening at libraries across North America and get to know better those who are leading this work. The new Member Hub experience has a familiar feel to a social media account in terms of how it looks and the communication features available. Continue to explore the new hub, and stay tuned for some pro-tips on how to maximize your experience!

Want to adjust the frequency of which you receive email messages from your Member Communities? ULC members have the option of getting Community messages in Real Time, as a Daily Digest, or to get No Emails and just monitoring messages through the hub directly.

To change your settings, navigate to your Profile by clicking your member icon in the top-right corner. Then, navigate to My Account and select "Community Notifications" from the dropdown menu. Here, you will see your current email preferences and the Member Communities listed.

Under "Discussion Email," members can select the rate at which they receive the messages from their Member Communities. Real Time will send the messages right when they are sent, while a Daily Digest will compile all messages from selected communities into 1 email each day. By selecting "Consolidated Weekly Digest" in the checkboxes, will receive just 1 email for all communities you select, together.

Note: If you select a Daily Digest email, your settings will automatically turn off your discussion email notifications. If you would like to receive both Real Time and a digest, make sure to toggle the "No" button above for "Automatically set community discussion emails to 'No Email.'"

For further assistance, email info@urbanlibraries.org.

We're thrilled to highlight a few ULC library leaders who have been recently recognized for contributions to their communities. Click the links or photos below to learn more about each honor.

Alan Harkness, Chattahoochee Valley Libraries

Congratulations to Alan Harkness, Library Director of Chattahoochee Valley Libraries, for being named the Georgia Library Director of the Year by the Georgia Public Library Service! Learn more.

Michael L. Thurmond, DeKalb County Public Library

Also honored by the GA Public Library Service was DeKalb Coun­ty Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer Michael L. Thur­mond, who received the 2023 Geor­gia Pub­lic Library Award for Geor­gia Pub­lic Library Cham­pi­on of the Year. Learn more.

Kelvin Watson, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District

In honor of Black History Month, the city of Las Vegas presented Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Executive Director Kelvin Watson with the African American Trailblazer Service Award in the category of Community Activism and Politics. Learn more.

ULC Libraries Celebrate Black History and Black Excellence — All Year Long

Tomorrow is February 1, which marks the first day of Black History Month. All across North America, public libraries are gearing up to recognize this special month. We asked ULC member library staff what their libraries are doing not only to celebrate Black History month, but how their libraries recognize Black excellence in their staffs and communities all year long. Here are some highlights:

Columbus Metropolitan Library: Amongst other thematic programming, most CML locations will offer a Black History Month Discovery Quest, an activity that enables customers aged 7 and older to learn about Black history and to connect them with books on the topic — including information about famous Black Ohioans!

Dallas Public Library: Besides robust Black history programming during the month of February, Dallas Public Library creates a regular Young Black Readers Newsletter where readers can learn about materials where they can see themselves represented — books about Black characters written by Black authors.

Palm Beach County Library System: At the Palm Beach County Library System, there will be over 60 activities for all ages to highlight Black History Month. Year-round, Library staff organize the African American Alliance as a permanent committee to ensure that our collections, services, activities, and staffing include Black voices. Accessible through the web catalog is Marley Dias' 1,000 Black Girl Books, which is a staff-led initiative that is about 4 years old.

Entrepreneurship Boot Camp Webinar Series

Track 1 Registration Deadline: February 8

Are you interested in developing your library's business and entrepreneurial services? With two separate tracks designed for library staff of differing levels of expertise, ULC’s new Entrepreneurship Boot Camp series provides resources for libraries to effectively support entrepreneurs.

Which track should I choose?

Track 1: Foundations of Entrepreneurship | February 15 and April 18, 2-3:30 p.m. ET

• Select Track One if you are new to working with local entrepreneurs and are looking to dive into this work. Participants in track one will understand the needs and desires of different people, a key skill when working to serve diverse audiences.
• The deadline to register for track one is Thursday, February 8, 2024. You must register for each of the two sessions in the track separately.

Track 2: Advanced Entrepreneurship in Libraries | March 21 and May 16, 2-3:30 p.m. ET

• Select Track Two if you already have experience working with local entrepreneurs or manage an established business services program. This track will combine peer learning, guest speakers and goal mapping to amplify and supercharge how your library works with local entrepreneurs.
• The deadline to register for track two is Thursday, March 14, 2024. You must register for each of the two sessions in the track separately.

Still not sure? View the recording of the ULC Entrepreneurship Boot Camp Information Session to get more details about each track.

Survey on Climate and Environmental Health in Libraries

STAR Net would like to invite you to complete a short survey to inform the design of the 2024 Climate Action Symposium: Exploring Collaborations with Libraries, Community-Based Organizations, and Public Health Agencies. 

The symposium is part of a project (Building Resilient Communities) funded by the National Science Foundation and led by the Space Science Institute and its STAR Library Network. Project partners include OCLC WebJunction, University of North Carolina Greensboro, and Interactive Learning Dynamics.

The focus of the survey is on public library STEM learning programs and activities related to climate change science, climate change's impacts on public health, and community sustainability and/or resiliency. The estimated time needed to complete this survey is 9 minutes. All information you provide will be completely confidential. Data will only be shared in aggregate through reports and papers – no personally identifiable information will be shared.

MetLib Learning Circle 2024 – Nominations by February 15

MetLib Learning Circle is a 12-month talent development program initiated by the IFLA Metropolitan Libraries Section. The learning circle is designed for 15-20 library leaders from libraries serving urban areas with populations of more than 400,000. Participation in the program enables participants to build international networks, access cutting-edge library innovations worldwide, understand urban planning dynamics, and receive mentorship from experienced and innovative library leaders.

The 2024 cohort is the second learning circle. The first cohort was organized in 2023 with 18 participants from 17 cities. The 2024 edition focuses on the role of libraries in urban transformation and civic engagement. The program explores various strategies for how libraries can enable social mixing, sustainable growth, learning, and innovation.

Learn more about program details, requirements and nominations at the link below.

Questions? Want to Submit a Story?

Contact ULC's Communications Manager Elise Calanni at ecalanni@urbanlibraries.org.