This Week at ULC
Newsletter | June 23, 2021
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ULC WELCOMES NEW BOARD OFFICERS AND MEMBERS |
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Pictured: DCPL Executive Director Richard Reyes-Gavilan and ULC President and CEO Susan Benton addressing attendees during ULC’s Annual Member Business Meeting. |
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Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for our virtual Annual Member Business Meeting. During the June 17 meeting, members heard a ‘State of the ULC Union’ from outgoing ULC Executive Board Chair Richard Reyes-Gavilan and recognized the outstanding contributions of retiring board members Vickery Bowles, Janet Hutchinson, John Laney and Mary Okoye.
Newly named ULC Executive Board officers, who will serve one-year terms, include:
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Dr. Mary J. Wardell-Ghirarduzzi (President, San Francisco Public Library Commission; Vice President, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, University of the Pacific) as Chair
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Karl Dean (Former Mayor, Nashville) as Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect
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J. Brandon Neal (Trustee, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library; Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Legal Officer for Novant Health) as Secretary/Treasurer
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Richard Reyes-Gavilan (Executive Director, DC Public Library) as Immediate Past Chair
The ULC Executive Board also welcomed five new members who will be serving two-year terms:
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Dr. Michele Bria (CEO, Journey House; Trustee, Milwaukee Public Library)
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Joey Crawford (Senior Media Consultant, Cox Media Group and CMG Health Marketing; Board Director, Broward Public Library Foundation)
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Dr. Patrick Dowd (COO, Allegheny County Health Department; Board Chair, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh)
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Pilar Martinez (CEO, Edmonton Public Library)
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Meghann Silverthorn (Trustee, Douglas County Libraries)
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ULC LIBRARIES CELEBRATING PRIDE |
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Happy Pride Month! Libraries provide safe spaces, initiate important conversations and reach out to people from all backgrounds to help create a more diverse, understanding and welcoming world.
ULC will be collecting images and stories all month long to create and share a "Community Wall." If you have photos showcasing your events/programming and would like to be included, please be sure to send them to media@urbanlibraries.org.
Below are just a few of the ways our member libraries are celebrating and honoring LGBTQ+ individuals:
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St. Louis Public Library
St. Louis Public Library is celebrating Pride month by giving out SLPL Pride buttons to staff and customers. Learn More >
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Prince George's County Memorial Library System
PGCMLS is hosting Up and Out with PGCMLS: Georgia McCandlish of Fruit Camp Tattoo, a virtual discussion about queer spaces and art. Learn More >
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Springfield City Library
Springfield City Library is celebrating Pride Month by creating chalk art and messages of love for Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ community. Learn More >
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Richland Library
Richland Library curated a list of young adult Pride books that have bisexual and pansexual main characters. Learn More >
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AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT RESOURCES |
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ULC continues to follow the developments around the American Rescue Plan Act and potential funding opportunities for ULC member libraries and the communities we serve.
ECF Application Filing Window Opens June 29
The FCC and USAC will open the first Emergency Connectivity Fund Program application filing window on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at noon ET, which will fund equipment and services for the upcoming 2021-22 school year. The first application filing window will be open for 45 days, during which applicants will be able to submit requests for funding for purchases to be made between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. Learn More.
IMLS Announces $15 Million Available in ARPA Grants
The Institute of Museum and Library Services recently announced a new funding opportunity for libraries that will provide direct support to address community needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proposals to this grant program may continue, enhance or expand existing programs and services, or launch new programs to address emergent needs and unexpected hardships. Applications for pandemic response funding are due June 28, 2021, with award announcements anticipated in October 2021. Learn more.
Upcoming ARPA Webinars
Below are two upcoming webinars related to ARPA:
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Partnering to Provide Access to COVID-19 Vaccines
New York Public Library
NYPL has partnered with the NYC Test & Trace Corps to bring mobile and walk-in COVID-19 vaccination sites to local library branches in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island. Dr. Ted Long, Executive Director of the NYC Test & Trace Corps championed that their partnership "[tore] down barriers [to bring] the free Pfizer vaccine to local branches.” More than 40,000 New Yorkers have already been fully vaccinated through the mobile vaccination program.
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Pictured (left to right): U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, Library Director Jo Giudice, House Representative Colin Allred (TX-32) and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. |
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Connecting with U.S. Leaders on Workforce Development
Dallas Public Library
U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, House Representative Colin Allred (TX-32) and Mayor Eric Johnson visited Dallas Public Library earlier this month. Library Director Jo Giudice provided a tour of the Central Library, including seeing staff processing the 1,300 laptops that are circulating and viewing the Broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence. The library was able to share the success of its Spanish-language GED program and English-language initiatives, and highlight the huge increase in GED students utilizing online classes and workforce reentry programs.
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Book Walk Continues the Conversation on Race
Free Library of Philadelphia
Following the racial justice movements last summer, Lisa Browne of Colorful Stories wrote a short story that developed into a book walk at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Lovett Library park. The library will host an event on Saturday, June 26, celebrating the book walk which will include a special walk-through and discussion led by Browne.
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Pictured: Select members of the Library’s LGBTQ+ Services Committee, February 2020. |
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'We're Here for Everyone' Is a Guiding Principle
Pima County Public Library
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Discover how PCPL’s LGBTQ+ Services Committee ensures representation and equitable access through collection development and book displays, curated book lists, events and partnerships in our latest ULC blog post, written by PCPL’s Community Relations Manager Holly Schaffer. |
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Beyond Branches: NNPL Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot Program
Newport News Public Library
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NNPL developed a new Mobile Wi-Fi program, created in response to the coronavirus pandemic as city facilities, including all library branches, were closed. Staff traveled via cars to designated locations and times throughout the city with two Wi-Fi hotspots. At each location, the two hotspots were available for at least two hours which allowed up to 30 simultaneous connections.
The library provided more than 21 hours of service each week over three months to 180 connected devices, easing the stress of being disconnected until libraries were able to reopen.
Click here to learn more about this groundbreaking work, which earned Newport News Public Library an Honorable Mention distinction for the 2020 ULC Innovations Initiative.
Click here to review all 260 submissions to the 2020 Innovations Initiative.
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REVISIT ULC'S DIGITAL ACCESS WEBINAR |
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Adopting a People-First Approach to Digital Access and Equity
Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, Salt Lake City Public Library
During a ULC webinar on June 16, we heard how Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library and Salt Lake City Public Library are using innovative, data-driven approaches to rethink services and increase access and accessibility for technology online and offline.
Team members from Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library shared how they have used peer benchmarking and a people-first approach to expand their institutional understanding and drive action to better meet local accessibility needs.
Salt Lake City Public Library’s staff shared how the Digital Navigators service model has successfully helped reduce barriers to accessing technology related to language, transportation and time by focusing on the unique and holistic needs of community members as individuals.
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NEW ON ULC'S MEMBER KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE |
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Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
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ULC Communications and Marketing Leaders
Member Group Conference Call
July 14 | Noon-1 p.m. ET
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ULC Education Leaders
Member Group Conference Call
July 27 | 2-3 p.m. ET
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Going Forward from the Pandemic: Libraries as Entrepreneurial Hubs
Panel Discussion
June 24 | On Demand
ULC’s Senior Program Manager Betsey Suchanic leads a session highlighting why libraries must bridge the physical and digital divides and think beyond in-person programming in order to serve underrepresented entrepreneurs in the COVID-19 era. Suchanic is joined by Baltimore County Public Library’s Julie Brophy and Wesley Wilson, Kansas City Public Library’s Hadiza Sa-Aadu and Toronto Public Library’s Diana Lee.
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Building Equity Through Science,Technology
Panel Discussion
June 24 | 2:15-3:15 p.m. CT
ULC’s Senior Advisor Liz McChesney leads a session that examines the ways in which designing with the community can strengthen our equity goals and drive more inclusive outcomes and deepen understanding of how to develop STEM partnerships that harness the reach and strength of both organizations to drive change and strengthen service. McChesney is joined by Durham County Library’s Gracey Gordon and Brett Nicholas from Du Page Children’s Museum.
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Association for Library Service to Children, National Summer Learning Association
What will summer look like? ULC Senior Advisor Elizabeth McChesney co-authored an article with National Summer Learning Association founder Dr. Matthew Boulay on Summer Learning loss and COVID-19 learning gaps.
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