Adult Services News

Various OLIS staff will be attending the RILA conference at Providence Public Library on May 22 & 23. Say hello in the halls or visit our vendor booth in the exhibit hall. We'd love to see you!

2024 RILA Conference theme is Connecting Communities. Gather with your colleagues across the state to discuss existing projects and future ideas for engaging your community and building strong connections.

Both days will be packed with exciting sessions, exhibitor booths, and networking opportunities. On Wednesday, hear from keynote speaker and local author, Raul the Third, congratulate this year's RILA Award winners and attend the RILA Business meeting. Thursday will offer many sessions focused on school and youth libraries, with keynote speaker and AASL president, Courtney Pentland. Stay after hours on Thursday for the School Librarians of Rhode Island Awards.

Libraries are encouraged to sign up to become community partners in this year's event which will be held on Tuesday, September 17th.

As a Community Partner you agree to:

1. Be nonpartisan. We can only work with groups who do not represent a party or candidate.

2. Be inclusive. Anyone who requests a registration form should receive one, regardless of party, beliefs, or other factors.

3. Be aware of your state's voter registration laws. This includes any training requirements and deadlines for returning completed voter registration forms.

4. Be non-transactional. You cannot give items of value 'in exchange' for a voter registration, or restrict incentives to only those who register.

5. Have fun! National Voter Registration Day is a national holiday!

Partners can receive free stickers and posters, customized resources, and assistance in planning their celebration of the holiday.

This special conference from Library 2.0 explores the nuanced experience of libraries serving patrons experiencing homelessness.

"There are many challenges for our vulnerable patrons. What can we do to help strengthen these patrons, knowing that this requires being emotionally vulnerable ourselves? How do we find the emotional strength and courage to be open and authentic? What can librarians provide? We can try to build strength with our homeless community members by recognizing and having compassion for their vulnerabilities as well as our own. From this we may foster empathy, and cultivate a greater sense of belonging within our libraries.

For this conference, we invite you to embrace vulnerability, share stories of helping vulnerable patrons, express how you have been vulnerable and needed support, and what it means to take risks and step outside of your comfort zone."

The State of Rhode Island is preparing to receive over 100 million dollars to improve broadband infrastructure and ensure all Rhode Islanders have the wiring needed for high speed internet. This is one of the streams of funding coming to RI through the federal government's Digital Equity Act.

In order to ensure funding goes where it needs to go to achieve this goal, ConnectRI is working on developing an accurate map based on the existing FCC map and input from RI residents. They will need your help!

At the end of the month, ConnectRI will open its challenge portal where organizations, like libraries, can assist the public in reporting inaccuracies with the FCC and if they experience issues with their internet speed, installation and more. The ConnectRI team will provide a recorded webinar to walk people through the process step by step.

Learn more about the program and watch for updates from ConnectRI.

Tuesday, June 25, 11:00 am

Virtual

Hear about programs servicing seniors in Rhode Island from the Office Healthy Aging, including a demonstration on their statewide initiative with Get Set Up, the social network platform aimed at helping those over 55 learn new skills, connect with others and unlock new life experiences.

Register

Library 2.0 held their second free mini-conference online geared towards AI and Libraries this year. Couldn't make it? View the recordings online now. A link is also provided for the first mini-conference held earlier this year.

A full-day, free genealogy conference on May 18th will be hosted by the Rhode Island Genealogical Society. Three recognized genealogy speakers, Drew Bartley, Michael Leclerc, CG, and Jenifer Kahn Bakkala, will present on this year's theme, "Writing and Publishing Family History." Attendees of all levels of experience will delight in the opportunity to spend the day with other genealogists, amateur and professionals.

View more details and register on the conference website.

Registration is now open for the inaugural Generative AI in Libraries (GAIL) Conference. This year's theme is Prompt or Perish: Navigating Generative AI in Libraries. GAIL is a free virtual conference aimed specifically at librarians that seeks to explore the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in libraries. It is also an opportunity for librarians to share their experiences with generative AI technologies and their applications in the library setting.

Scheduled to take place June 11, 12, and 13, 2024, from 1:00-4:00 pm EDT each day, GAIL aims to promote a deeper understanding of how generative AI can revolutionize library services like instruction, research support, collection management, access services, outreach and collaboration, while also addressing the challenges and ethical considerations this new technology brings to libraries. View more details and register on the conference website.

When given the appropriate knowledge and skills, we are all capable of making informed, effective, and safe choices when facing customer conflict and violence. As part of that approach, join Suzanne Powell to discuss how we can create a shift in how we view and respond to these situations to enhance our safety and reduce employee stress.

Learn more

Asking for help at university libraries can be intimidating for many students; this presentation will highlight the uniquely supportive role of Personal Librarians to address this and provide undergraduates with welcoming points of connection. Princeton's Personal Librarian Program launched in 2017 after a similar program at Yale inspired library staff to bring this outreach model to their campus. Building on Yale’s model, librarians at Princeton found original ways to tailor the program to respond to the needs of their students and library colleagues. Join Audrey Welber as she talks through the details of implementation, discusses pitfalls encountered along the way, and shared strategies that led to enthusiastic program participation by Princeton’s undergraduates.

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Just about everyone carries a TV station in their pocket or purse. It’s their smartphone and the perfect tool to create training videos that support learning with engaging content. In this webinar, award-winning author Jonathan Halls will share tips from his latest book on how to structure training videos to support learning, film content with your smartphone that looks professional, and edit video using techniques from professionals to look awesome.

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The opioid crisis continues to rage unabated in our communities and worsened in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public libraries have a critical opportunity to support the information needs of patrons dealing with and impacted by substance misuse. Related programming and services are deeply connected to addressing health equity, and they help libraries link community members to critical information that can improve their lives and the lives of loved ones. WebJunction has released the “Opioid Crisis Support Kit for Public Libraries” to help library staff assess their strengths and capacity, identify key local partners with whom to collaborate or coordinate, and plan and implement programming and services that contribute to addressing the opioid crisis. Join this webinar to learn how libraries have found success and purpose with the Support Kit and gain insights to empower your community toward healthier outcomes.

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Libraries are in a unique position to offer resources and referrals to those experiencing domestic and sexual violence and stalking. In this webinar, learn how to identify the signs of domestic/sexual violence and stalking, what/when/how to say something to a survivor, and how to provide resources to someone who does not disclose abuse.

Presented by URI GSLIS alum, Miranda Dube.

Learn more

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)’s Public Impact Projects encourage you to think critically about the humanities programming your organization currently offers and to assess your organization’s relationship to your community and surrounding neighborhoods. You will develop or implement strategies to strengthen the interpretive goals of your organization and ensure your public programing meets audience needs. Funded projects may focus on evaluating current interpretive programing, collections, and other available resources to identify new story opportunities or interpretive methods. Additionally, you may choose to propose the implementation of new programs you have already developed. Another option is to request support for professional development opportunities that will assist your staff and volunteers in expanding their skills as interpreters of humanities grounded material. You may also combine one or more of these approaches to create a strategy that meets the needs of your organization and audience.

Learn more, see past winners, and apply at neh.gov.