About the COVID-19 Vaccine
Vaccines are the most important tool we have in slowing the spread of the virus, opening back up, and getting back to life. That said, it’s normal to have questions. The vaccines used in Vermont are proven to be safe and effective. They use technologies that have been many years in the making and included ten of thousands of participants in their clinical trials. Most importantly, these vaccines were all found to be 100% effective in preventing hospitalizations and death from COVID-19. And we are seeing this impact in Vermont, with dramatically lower hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 since vaccinating many of our highest-risk residents. The best vaccine you can get is the one you can get right now.
While some people have side effects after getting vaccinated, this means your body is working to build protection against the virus. The most common side effects include pain where you got the shot, headache, tiredness, fever, and chills—and these are temporary and usually mild.
It’s never been easier to get vaccinated with vaccine clinics conveniently located throughout Vermont, many that don’t require having an appointment ahead of time.
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Goodbye to VTLIB Consultant Lara Keenan |
Governance and Management Consultant Lara Keenan’s last day at VTLIB is Friday, June 4th. She is switching industries and pursuing a career working remotely in the IT industry – an industry she’s wanted to join for many years. While she is sad to leave the library world, Lara is thrilled to have found an opportunity that fits her skills and is excited to jump into this next stage of her professional development.
Lara thanks the VT library community for being such an amazing, kind, and supportive community to work with during her time in public libraries and here at VTLIB. Since VT is such a small community, and since Lara is not leaving this wonderful state, she is looking forward to running into many of you in the years ahead!
The VTLIB Leadership Team is making plans to move forward with this position, and they will let the library community know when the position is posted for re-hire. Meanwhile, if you have any governance and management questions, you are encouraged to reach out to VTLIB consultant Joy Worland (joy.worland@vermont.gov) or Assistant State Librarian for Library Advancement Janette Shaffer (janette.shaffer@vermont.gov).
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State Employee Make Music Day |
"Make Music Day" (https://www.makemusicday.org/) is an annual worldwide festival of music. Launched in 1982, it is celebrated in over 1,000 cities in 120 countries on June 21st.
It is a community event at least as much as it is a musical event: people coming together (safely) to celebrate the joy of music by making it themselves at any level, with instruments ranging from traditional instruments to homemade instruments made from recycled materials, to shaker eggs given out at the events.
The Vermont Department of Libraries will host an event on the State House Lawn Monday, June 21st, from 12:00-1:00pm. All state employees and their families are welcome. Bring the ukulele you learned during the pandemic, the viola you haven’t played since middle school, or the cowbell from your college rock band!
Or just show up and Department of Libraries staff will provide you with something to express your inner musician. Department of Libraries staff will also guide people in simple group musical activities accessible to all ages and musical abilities. This will be the joyful noise we all need as we emerge from a dark time! Please RSVP with an estimated number of attendees here: https://bit.ly/3yMHsZx
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State Parks Presentation for State Employees |
Did you miss our presentation in May with Forest, Parks, and Recreation? Not to worry! Here is a link to a recording of the presentation: https://youtu.be/2-zuQCeZxj4.
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A Care-Focused Partnership |
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This recent article from the Fostering Vermont Newsletter highlights collaborative efforts to support foster, kinship and adoptive parents.
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Over the past year, the Vermont Department of Libraries (VTLIB), Barre District Resource Coordinators Stephanie Reale and Jaime Blouin, and Sharon O’Neill, coordinator of the Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership (VTCWTP) at UVM, have worked to develop a special program in support of kinship, foster, and adoptive parents statewide. The three agencies developed initiatives to create a path to healing and stability through “Care Kits”! The Care Kits are a book collection targeting grief, loss, and trauma for different age groups; 0-5, 6-12, and 12-18.
Initiatives include offering statewide training for librarians, kinship, foster, and adoptive parents regarding grief, loss, and trauma. The goal is for caregivers and librarians to gain a sense of increased skill as a trauma-informed caregiver/librarian in addition to caregivers and children/youth in care accessing their local libraries on the topics of grief, loss, and trauma. The rollout for this project occurred in December 2020 with a training and introduction to librarians. In March 2021 Sharon kicked off a 3-Part virtual micro-series for foster parents focusing on the book collection for the Care Kits.
“I learned that libraries have a lot more to offer beyond books. It is also about the relationships between foster parents and our local libraries. This is a great shared educational relationship within all Vermont communities.” - Stephanie Reale
“We offered a presentation to about 24 librarians across the state with the focus on being trauma-informed. Attendees brainstormed ideas of how librarians could partner with foster parents and DCF. This was the start of a great collaboration!” - Jaime Blouin
“Using literature with children and youth who have experienced a trauma history is such a powerful tool to promote healing. Stories and characters often come to life for the reader and show how they can express emotions and handle challenges. The closeness of reading with someone you trust also helps heal attachment relationships” - Sharon O’Neill.
“The partnership with DCF and VTCWTP has given our departments an opportunity to use our respective strengths to have a direct impact on communities throughout Vermont. Public libraries are always searching for ways to increase services and improve access to resources for children and families.” -Jonathan Clark
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Vermont Librarians Engage with ARSL |
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Vermont librarians continue to be closely connected to the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL), the leading national organization for small and rural libraries. Vermont librarians are currently serving on the ARSL Board of Directors, and ARSL committees for Conference Planning, Continuing Education, Governance, and Scholarship. It is important to share Vermont perspectives at this level. Plans are in progress for Vermont librarians to lead national continuing education trainings through ARSL as well. |
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Total number of requests: 4723
- Books: 4303
- Videos: 303
- Audiobooks: 107
- Music CDs: 9
- Articles: 1
Top 5 requested DVDs:
- The Wire (all seasons)
- Silkwood
- The Karate Kid
- Touch of Evil
- Matilda
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Top 10 most requested book titles in April 2021 (with most requested titles at the top): |
- Little Fires Everywhere (Ng)
- The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness (Montgomery)
- The Vanishing Half (Bennett)
- Ask Again, Yes (Keane)
- Becoming (Obama)
- The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell (Dugoni)
- The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother (McBride)
- The Henna Artist (Joshi)
- Walking to Listen: 4,000 Miles Across America, One Story at a Time (Forsthoefel)
- Conversations with RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law (Rosen)
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Updates from the ABLE Library |
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If you, or someone you know, is blind or has a visual impairment, print disability, or has trouble holding books or turning pages, check out the ABLE Library (https://libraries.vermont.gov/able_library)—housed at the Vermont State Library. The ABLE Library connects patrons of all ages to the services of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled and offers a collection of large print and digital talking books featuring all genres, print braille picture books, as well as audio-described DVDs.
ABLE Book Club
The ABLE Library welcomes new members to its virtual book club. The book for the July 21, 2021 meeting (2:00-3:00pm) will be The Best of Me by David Sedaris (Sound recording book number: DB101146). Please contact the ABLE library to find out how to get a digital or large print copy of the book. Email lib.ablelibrary@vermont.gov or call (802) 636-0020 or (800) 479-1711.
Memorable Times Online: Dog Days of Summer
Memorable Times Online, the virtual memory cafe partnership between Central Vermont Council on Aging and the ABLE Library of the Vermont Department of Libraries, will be happening once again on Wednesday, July 7th. The program is designed to include and delight care partners living with memory loss. Registration is required to receive the link to this summer-themed event that will be held on ZOOM on Wednesday, July 7th, from 10:30 to 11:30 am. Contact Barb Asen at CVCOA for more information or to register: basen@cvcoa.org or 802-476-2681.
Services for Care and Rehab Facilities
The ABLE Library staff is also happy to work with care and rehab facilities to provide access for residents. To receive services, which are free to qualifying Vermonters, fill out and submit the Application for ABLE Library Services (https://libraries.vermont.gov/able_library/application). Don’t hesitate to contact the ABLE Library staff for help: lib.ablelibrary@vermont.gov or (802) 636-0020 or (800) 479-1711.
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Trustee Organizational Tools: The Yearly Trustee Calendar
One of the most important (yet often neglected) duties of Library Trustees involves “Succession Planning” – i.e. planning for the future governance of your library, no matter who is on the Trustee Board or who is the library director. For a brief 8-minute training on Succession Planning, see this video by former VTLIB Governance and Management Consultant Lara Keenan: https://youtu.be/-PtT2dmGe0E
One element of Succession Planning involves creating a yearly calendar for the Trustees that:
- Lists what topics the Trustees usually discuss each month of the year,
- Indicates when the Trustees need to start talking about certain items to make sure those items meet specific deadlines (the budget, for instance), and
- Shows when the Trustees can fit additional topics into their meeting schedule (ex: reviewing policies or engaging in strategic planning).
Having a detailed yearly calendar will help ensure that Trustees do not have to rely on institutional memory and can continue to move forward if a Trustee needs to resign due to health or other reasons. It also helps the Trustees decide when to tackle new initiatives, or what topics can be postponed to future meetings when unexpected urgent agenda items arise.
Ideas for how to create a yearly calendar:
- Brainstorm an initial list of to-do items for each month of the year - and assign one Trustee to the task of revising that list throughout the year.
- Go through a year’s worth of Trustee board meeting agendas and write down what was discussed each month. Revise as needed.
- Schedule a focused discussion during a Trustee Retreat to brainstorm and agree upon a calendar plan based on external deadlines, Trustee capacity, and board aspirations.
Whichever way the Trustees create their yearly calendar, it’s important to store the document in a place accessible to any current or future Trustee – for example, in a Trustee filing cabinet at the library, in Google Docs, or on the Trustees’ section of the library’s website.
You may have heard that Governance and Management Consultant Lara Keenan has left the VT Dept. of Libraries. While the Department works to hire a replacement, please feel free to reach out with questions to Joy Worland, Consultant for Continuing Education and Small and Rural Libraries: joy.worland@vermont.gov.
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2021 Vermont Certificate of Public Librarianship Graduates |
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At the annual Vermont Library Association Annual Conference in May the Department of Libraries awarded the Vermont Certificate of Public Librarianship to 29 people. Congratulations to all!
Susan Alancraig, John G. McCullough Free Library, North Bennington; Laura Badeau, Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield; Marita Bathe-Schine, Lawrence Memorial Library, Bristol; Karen Cawrse, Dover Free Library; Maggie Cleary, Morristown Centennial Library; Deborah Connolly, Jaquith Public Library, Marshfield; Georgia Edwards, Charlotte Public Library; Skye Ellicock, Sustainability Academy and CP Smith Elementary School; Laura Fetterolf, Ilsley Public Library, Middlebury; Rachel Funk, Morristown Centennial Library; Caroline Gutbier, Bennington Free Library; Katrina Hastings, John G. McCullough Free Library, North Bennington; Michelle Hope; Adriene Katz, St. Johnsbury Athenaeum; Mary Kearns, Castleton Free Library; Kelly Kendall, South Burlington Public Library; Mariah Lawrence, Tunbridge Public Library; Denise Letendre, Poultney Public Library; Karen McDonnell, Rutland Free Library; Marilyn McDowell, Pope Memorial Library, Danville; Wendy McIntosh, Lincoln Library; Erin Murphy, Fletcher Free Library; Stephen Niles, Dorset Village Library; Tracy Obremski, Springfield Town Library; Noreen Pelchat, Essex Free Library; Lauren Roppolo; Katrina Simpson, Deborah Rawson Memorial Library, Jericho; Lynn Stewart-Parker, Starksboro Public Library; Angela Yakovleff, Pettee Memorial Library, Wilmington.
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News from CLIC, the Community Legal Information Center |
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Legal self-help books are available for lending!
We have a newly refreshed collection of legal books (https://bit.ly/2RRWcWA) on everything from Bankruptcy, Divorce, Estate Planning, Neighbor Law, to Immigration & Citizenship and Veterans’ affairs, and you can borrow any of them for your patrons. To request a book just send an email to: clic@vermontlaw.edu and we’ll pop it in the mail to your library.
Westlaw and Fastcase
Reference Help
If you or your patrons need help navigating these databases or finding information about a legal topic, you can request a virtual reference appointment with a law librarian. Email clic@vermontlaw.edu, or call and leave a message on the Ask a Law Librarian line, 802-831-1313.
CLIC is housed and administered at the Vermont Law School library and funded through a grant from the Vermont Department of Libraries.
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From Our Neighbors at the Vermont Historical Society |
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Exhibits:
The Catamount in Vermont
The catamount has long been a symbol of Vermont. This new exhibit explores the history of the catamount through the lenses of art, science, and culture.
On view through May 2022
Lively & Local: Historical Societies in Vermont
This exhibit explores the work of local Historical Societies through images and stories curated by a select group of participants from around the state. These stories highlight the ways these essential community organizations approach and fulfill their missions.
Through October 2021
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