Adult Services News
October 2023
Upcoming Adult Services Sessions
Stop the Violence: Libraries as Community Partners in Preventing Violent Extremism
Wednesday, November 1, 2:00pm
Virtual
Preventing acts of targeted violence and terrorism relies on a whole-of-society approach. Learn how libraries can be a part of ongoing prevention efforts. Register.
Reading, Power, and Freedom
Tuesday, September 26, 4:00pm
Across the country, book bans are barring access to the robust exchange of ideas in the classroom, library holdings, knowledge about our collective history, and the lessons of our complex American Story. Teachers, professors, and librarians face increasing restrictions, and our society faces diminishing opportunities to be fully informed, functional, and mutually respectful.
What are the fears driving these bans? What vibrant knowledge and broader freedoms do we all stand to lose? Join Mellon Foundation President Dr. Elizabeth Alexander for a conversation about the power of unfettered reading, and how we might mitigate efforts to undermine it throughout the United States.
For the conversation, Dr. Alexander connects with Emily Drabinski, president of the American Library Association and associate professor, Queens College and Tressie McMillan Cottom, professor, UNC Chapel Hill and columnist, New York Times.
PLA Super Searchers Program
PLA and Google know that library staff are trusted facilitators and guides in boosting these information literacy skills. With growing challenges rooted in misinformation, this role is only becoming more important. Building on a 2022 Super Searchers pilot with Public Libraries 2030 and Google, PLA is extending the brief and effective training to help equip more busy library staff with tools to help patrons search more efficiently and critically engage online information.
The Super Searchers training and toolkit provide resources for Google users to understand the context that surrounds what they find when searching the Web. Built on work developed by University of Washington researcher Mike Caulfield, this can be a useful resource for library workers as they perform their own duties and help patrons think critically about the information they consume.
Learn more about the toolkit from PLA and attend a Super Searchers webinar this fall.
Collaborating for Access: Libraries and Indie Publishers
Thursday, October 5, 2:00pm
What do librarians REALLY want from publishers, and how can smaller and independent publishers create a better ecosystem? In our sixth Collaborating for Access webinar, COSLA, DPLA, and ReadersFirst are partnering with the Independent Publisher Caucus, to bring together librarians and smaller and independent publishers to explore how they can work together to provide greater access for patrons.
Topics will include: Opportunities for independent publishers in the library market; licensing options that are most attractive to libraries; and ways that libraries and independent publishers can work together to mutual benefit. Register.
Upcoming Webinars from Niche Academy
Beyond Books: Adult Library Programs that Work!
Looking for program ideas to draw your adult patrons in the door of your library and keep them coming back for more? Topics will include something for everyone, with sections on Food & Drink, Arts & Crafts, Books & Writing, Technology & Media, Health & Wellness, Business & Finance, and Nature & Gardening.
Advocating Digital Citizenship in Libraries
Libraries are the hub of their communities, and often the hub of digital citizenship learning. Learn strategies, lessons, standards alignment and more to help you teach and advocate for digital citizenship in your library, and beyond.
Q & A 101: Interview Questions and Answers
You can reduce your anxiety by preparing for the interview; specifically, think about the questions you might be asked and formulate your answers ahead of time. Join Melissa Lockaby to hear some common interview questions and their answers - and get a better idea of what prospective employers are looking for in your responses.
Upcoming Webinars from Webjunction
Climate Justice
Learn how to think like a 21st century economist and how libraries can help lead the way to a just transition of our communities to strengthen community resilience and livability not just in the aftermath of climate change-driven disasters, but well before they ever happen.
Revitalizing Morale: Cultivating a Supportive Library Culture
Join a panel of researchers, library practitioners, and changemakers as they share experiences, research, and practical strategies to help foster a healthier, empowered library environment.
Building Community Relationships for Better Library Services
In this session, we will explore strategies for finding community partners and building relationships with them with the goal of truly working in collaboration with people they serve for small rural libraries up through large urban systems.
New England Library Association Annual Conference
#NELACON: Everyone Can Be a Hero
October 15-17
Springfield, MA
Join colleagues from around the region for a three day conference with featured speakers like Hannah B. Harvey, Jessamyn West, and Kelvin Watson. Registration is still open!
Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities
Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities.
To be eligible, a library must have a legal area population of 25,000 or less and be located at least five miles from an urbanized area, in keeping with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) definitions of small and rural libraries.
Participating libraries will first conduct community input-gathering sessions to assure that their work aligns with local needs. Libraries will be required to identify the primary audience they are hoping to reach (e.g., homebound seniors, children with autism, Deaf community members) and facilitate a community conversation with the impacted populations in order to guide the improvement of the library’s services. Grantees would then use the funds to create services or improve their facilities based on the needs identified by their audience.