OLIS News & Updates

September 2024

Attention, directors! The FY2025 Resource Sharing Library of Rhode Island (LORI) Certification is still open and closes Sunday, September 15, 2024 for academic, public and special libraries. School libraries have an extended deadline of Monday, September 30, 2024 to complete the certification. Rhode Island libraries are required to certify compliance with the Library of Rhode Island Standards and Regulations annually to gain or maintain membership within this resource sharing network. Only certified members are eligible to participate in statewide delivery and other resource sharing activities such as FirstSearch and the ILL Clearinghouse. Support materials, including the recording of the July training session, are available on the Resource Sharing LORI Certification Guide.

The FY2025 RI Public Library Annual Survey (PLAS) is now open! The survey will close September 15, 2024. Public libraries are required to submit the PLAS in order to qualify for state library grant-in-aid. For more information, visit Public Library Annual Survey.

Field Service Visits to Libraries

OLIS staff will be conducting field service visits to public library directors from the end of the summer through fall. 2024 field service visits will in late summer and early fall with a focus on community outreach and partnerships, public library minimum standards, and buildings and facilities. Learn more and see who your OLIS liason is on our website.

Mock Caldecott 2025

It's time to start taking a closer look at 2024 picture books. Participating in the Mock Caldecott is an opportunity to sharpen selection skills and learn about the award process for the Caldecott Medal. If you are interested in participating but have not yet had the opportunity to read any of the books on the discussion list, we still encourage you to join us. During the discussion, a document camera will be used to review the illustrations together, so there is no need to worry if you have not had a chance to preview the materials beforehand.

Young Adult Roundtable Fall Meeting

Library staff serving teens are invited to this in-person session for networking and reflection. The day's activities will include sharing outcomes of the 2024 Summer Reading Program and digging into the Transforming Teen Services for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (TS4EDI). We will also have an opportunity to see and learn more about the Jamestown Library's recent renovation. Lunch will not be provided, so please make arrangements to bring your own or purchase locally.

School Librarians as Media Literacy Leaders

School Librarians are invited to join an online course designed just for you to bring media literacy education to Rhode Island students. Participants will be trained to teach core library standards and habits of critical thinking about all media messages using a student-centered, curriculum-driven, inquiry-based pedagogical approach for media decoding. Participants will also increase their own media literacy skills and discuss ways school librarians can expand media literacy education in RI.

The course will be delivered through three synchronous sessions and four asynchronous modules. The total time to complete the course is approximately 16 hours. The course will be facilitated by Wendy Gustavel, school librarian at Rocky Hill Country Day School, who has been trained by Project Look Sharp, the well respected organization behind the course. She will provide feedback and coaching for each participant as they create of their own media decoding activity that they deliver to students during the course.

For all the latest news and updates, visit the OLIS Website

New Personal Care Attendant Registry

There is a new registry available through the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services to connect service providers and people in need of care. Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) help older adults or individuals with disabilities with daily living activities like mail sorting, meals, grooming, or transportation.

Adapt and Fortify Your Library Against Extreme Weather

OLIS invites you to register for and attend Adapt and Fortify Your Library against Extreme Weather on Tuesday, September 24, from 2:30 to 4:00pm. This virtual event is brought to you by the Northeast Summit on Climate Adaptation, a group of state library agencies from Maine to Maryland, including OLIS.

New BARD Download Limits

NLS patrons will be allowed to download no more than 250 books and magazines from BARD in any rolling thirty-day period.

This includes both audio and braille titles. It does not matter which platform or combination of platforms are used to download the books and magazines. You may download no more than 250 books and magazines in any rolling thirty-day period regardless of the format or the BARD interface used.

Amazon's Alexa and BARD

The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), is in the final stages of beta testing plans to make audiobooks and magazines available through Amazon Alexa smart speakers in mid-late summer 2025. Stay tuned for the official launch of this service!

That All May eRead, September 30

The topic for the next That All May eRead online program on September 30, will be on using your eReader to read commercial braille books on your mobile phone. The program will begin at 7 p.m. with a brief demonstration. The rest of the hour will be spent answering patron questions about Zoomax or HumanWare Braille eReaders.