In This Issue
President's Corner ~ BCALA Library Advocacy Award ~ Fostering an Antiracist Library Culture ~ RILINK Re-imagined ~ Spotlight on SLRI ~ News from RI Libraries ~ News from the Sections
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Click the image below to watch this month's video President's Corner. |
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You can reach our new President and Vice President at:
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Ida D. McGhee, MLS Awarded BCALA Library Advocacy Award at NCAAL XI
Congratulations to Cornucopia of Rhode Island founder Ida D. McGhee, MLS who was awarded the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) Library Advocacy Award at the 11th National Conference of African American Librarians.
Ida has tirelessly dedicated her life’s work to advocating for Black and people of color in librarianship in southern New England through active membership in the Connecticut affiliate of BCALA and as a founder of the Cornucopia of Rhode Island, a library community of color.
She strives to network with a broader community to help make the library profession visible, with an emphasis on addressing the issue of bringing multi-culturalism to the forefront and encouraging people of color to consider librarianship as a profession.
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Fostering an Antiracist Library Culture - Scholarship Opportunity
The Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS) and the Rhode Island Library Association (RILA) are partnering to support professional development for individuals interested in advancing their understanding of systemic racism and developing practical skills to foster antiracist library environments.
OLIS and RILA will provide a limited number of scholarships for individuals to attend Library Journal’s Fostering an Antiracist Library Culture, a 3-week online course that will run virtually on Tuesdays from September 28 to October 12. Visit the Fostering an Antiracist Library Culture page to learn more about the course, see an outline of the schedule, and read about the presenters.
This opportunity is open to all library staff from any type of RI library and RI public library trustees. Each scholarship will cover the full cost of enrolling in the course. Click below to complete the application. Applications are due by August 20th at 4:00pm. OLIS and RILA will announce scholarship winners no later than August 27th.
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RILINK Re-imagined
The Rhode Island Library Information Network for Kids (RILINK) is moving from its self-hosted setup to a new consortium-based format hosted on the Follett servers in the Cloud, thanks to a Library of Rhode Island (LORI) Grant from the Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS). These grants are offered as subgrants of OLIS' Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant to support the overall purposes of LSTA and the priorities of OLIS' Five-Year Plan. Districts and independent schools will be able to make connections to single-sign-on (SSO) platforms, such as CLEVER, and learning management systems, such as Canvas. In conjunction with this grant, Follett is developing an interlibrary loan module that will allow Follett Destiny sites to participate in interlibrary loan across district and consortium boundaries.
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Due to their re-organization as an online consortium catalog, RILINK is also moving its shared eBook collection from Follett to OverDrive. The new collection, called RISOCKS, is available to students and teachers at districts and schools joining this OverDrive shared collection. The K-12 interface, called SORA, is available through device app stores or on the web. Any Rhode Island K-12 school library is eligible to join, with annual costs based on district/school enrollment. RISOCKS will have a greatly increased number of titles to meet student needs for special formats, accessibility, and multicultural materials. For more information, visit the RILINK website at https://guides.rilink.org/risocks/.
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Spotlight on: School Librarians of Rhode Island (SLRI)
Welcome to the RILA Bulletin Spotlight Series, where we feature the important work of a different RILA or RI library section, committee, roundtable, initiative, or organization in each issue.
This month, with the new school year right around the corner, we talked to Joan Eldredge-Mouradjian, President of SLRI. Joan is the School Library Media Specialist at Narragansett Pier School in Narragansett, RI.
What is the mission or purpose of SLRI?
Our mission is three-fold: to promote the improvement of instruction through opportunities that broaden the professional knowledge, understanding, and experience of our members; to provide leadership in defining, interpreting, and promoting effective library media programs to the community; and to serve as facilitator between the State Department of Education, Office of Library and Information Services, professional organizations, and the general public.
What made you personally interested in being involved with this organization?
I was really inspired to become an active member of SLRI by my friend Sarah Hunicke, who is a past president of the organization. Sarah is passionate about libraries. I was always a member of SLRI, but I think I took for granted all the work and advocacy the organization accomplishes on behalf of school librarians. Over the past years, some districts have cut librarian positions at all levels, reduced funding, and really minimized the importance of a school library staffed by a Library Media Specialist. I thought it was time to give back to my beloved profession and the organization that has supported libraries.
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News from the Rhode Island Library Community |
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Pascoag Pubic Library Celebrates 150 years!
Pascoag Public Library is 150 years old this year! Throughout the summer, fall, and winter of 2021, they hope to host several events open to the community: a summer birthday party in June for youth patrons (with cake!), an adult evening reception in mid fall, and a Family Tree Trimming gathering in December. The Library will have a series of posters (12 in all), telling its story, on display in the library. Folks are welcome to stop in and see a new one each month.
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Summer Highlights at Greenville Library
Greenville Library staff took programming outside -- way out!
Hitting the trail, the park, and the library lawn, Greenville staff collaborated with community groups and volunteers to connect with Smithfield patrons.
(Shown right, Children’s Librarian Babs Wells and Assistant Director Cassie Patterson show off the newly newly minted “Greenville Library Book Buggy.”)
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West Warwick Public Library Celebrates Pride with “Fun and Fabulous” Drag Storytime
A jam-packed Drag Storytime featuring local drag performers Ninny Nothin and Randi Xtra Xtra took place at 11 AM and 1 PM at West Warwick Public Library (WWPL) on June 26, 2021, to celebrate Pride and showcase the diversity of the community. Both events were full, with seventy parents, teens, and children attending each session.
Rashaa Al-Sasah, Head of Youth Services, and Emma Brelsford, Youth Services Librarian, organized and hosted the events. The two librarians worked with the drag artists to select age-appropriate materials to read during the program.
According to Al-Sasah, “The event went off without a hitch despite the pushback and protests of people who were opposed to the event taking place, with a majority of this [opposition] coming from outside of the West Warwick community.”
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News from the RILA Sections |
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Save the Date: Cornucopia of Rhode Island Annual Fall Mini Conference
Cornucopia of Rhode Island’s Annual Fall Mini-Conference will be held virtually on Thursday, November 4, 2021, from 2:00 to 4:00pm:
- 2:00pm - Panel Discussion: Building Strong Communities - How We Can Better Serve Families with Individuals with Special Needs
- 3:00pm - Peter Fay: Jamestown Mariners of Color: From Bondage to Boat Steerer
Join us as we empower Rhode Island communities through history and service. You don’t want to miss it!
Registration coming soon.
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A Look Back at The Coalition of Library Advocates, 1982-2021
As a RILA member, you may have read recently about the dissolution of the COLA section. Some of you may never have heard of the group, so we've put together a timeline of highlights from COLA's History. Click the button below to read more.
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The Rhode Island Library Association
is a professional organization that serves its members through career development, education, advocacy, networking partnerships, and legislative action.
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The RILA Bulletin is produced by the RILA Communications Committee. The RILA Communications Committee is responsible for publicizing and supporting Rhode Island Library Association activities using a variety of communication tools. Responsibilities include publishing the RILA Bulletin, managing social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, and exploring other media as needed.
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