OLIS News & Updates

Summer Reading Mini Grant Request Forms are due Monday, March 17. Your library’s Summer Reading Program Contact and Director was previously sent the request form and instructions on February 20. Forms should include all youth and adult activities for your library.

Additional reminders:

• Request forms must be submitted as an Excel spreadsheet attachment. We are unable to accept Google Sheets or links to other online spreadsheet files.
• In lieu of a webinar this year, OLIS staff is offering open, drop-in style, office hours with grant staff to answer questions and provide guidance on filling out the grant application. There will be open office hours Thursday, March 6 at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, March 11 at 2:00 pm and Friday, March 14 at 10:00 am.

If you cannot attend one of those sessions, you may also book a time to meet with OLIS grant staff to discuss grant activities or review your request form ahead of the due date.

Final forms should be emailed to Emily and Danielle.

The Spring 2025 LORI Delivery Item Count will take place from Sunday, March 30 to Saturday, April 5, 2025. Participation is required for LORI member libraries. Please ensure that at least one staff member is responsible for collecting and submitting the data for your library, including outlets and other locations.

To facilitate the process, you can use a worksheet to keep a tally of the outgoing items (even if the number of outgoing items is zero). Regardless of the format, purpose or where it is going, if it is being transported out-going by the delivery service, count it. Please submit the collected data through the following form beginning April 6. Form closes Saturday, April 26.

OSL member libraries - count ALL outgoing items not checked out through Koha. (OLIS will capture Koha data). This includes anything out-going in your delivery bin to a Massachusetts library.

Other libraries, DOD (Delivery on Demand), Hub and Satellite locations - must participate in the count and record the number of outgoing items for their library. Please use the worksheet to record items. Hub libraries do not count the items for satellite libraries. Each library must count their own outgoing items.

The Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS) is revising and updating the Minimum Standards for Rhode Island Public Libraries, as charged by the Library Board of Rhode Island (LBRI). You can review this process on the OLIS website. In response to input received from the library community at several community meetings, an updated draft of the standards will be posted on March 10.

The draft standards will be presented to the LBRI for their review at the LBRI meeting on March 17. Following LBRI approval of the proposed standards, OLIS will work with the Department of Administration Division of Legal Services to bring the proposed standards through the state's Rulemaking Process to establish them as regulations.

Comparable statistics reports for FY24 are now available on OLIS' website. Reports cover library services, collections, facilities, operations, and finances. Excel and PDF files.

The reports contain raw data, presented as libraries have reported it. A few data elements for individual libraries have been corrected. If you have questions about the data, suggestions for publication, or have developed analyses you wish to share, please contact Kelly Metzger.

The Reading Across Rhode Island Programming and Education Committees have been hard at work putting together some programming opportunities for educators, librarians, and community members!

Tuesday, March 11 @ 7:00 pm

Join the RARI Programming Committee and Symposium Books at the Guild in Pawtucket for a Silent Book Club. Bring what you're currently reading (or listening to, with headphones!), grab a copy of There's Always This Year or one of the companion reads, and settle in for an hour of silent reading. For those who imbibe, we invite you to grab a pint of the current Pints for Purpose brew, $2 of which will go to the Center for the Book to support all of their incredible work.

Tuesday, March 18 @ 5:00 pm

Join Rhode Island Center for the Book, Rhode Island PBS and The Public's Radio, statewide educators and community partners for the There's Always This Year Evening for Educators and Book Discussion Leaders! This un-conference style meeting will invite participants to explore ways to teach and lead discussions on the book. Thinking about trying the Lego Serious Discussions? We'll have examples of the kits available to give you a hands-on trial before you lead it yourself!

Missed the webinar? Find the recording and resources on our Online Learning Center! You may also review our LibGuide for lots of the information about our programming year!

Voting for the 2025 RI Children's Book Award is March 3 - April 28. Beginning March 3, schools and libraries may submit their voting results using the online form. Find all necessary resources on out website.

The winner and 2026 nominees will be announced on the RICBA homepage, through the RICBA newsletter, and shared on the RIYAC, RILINK and SLRI listservs. If you would like to be notified when the winner and nominees are announced, please subscribe to the RICBA newsletter below.

The Northeast Summit on Climate Adaptation is planning a May 6 webinar focused on libraries as cooling centers. We are seeking panelists who can share ways in which they prepared their library to be a cooling center. This could encompass any type of preparation; some ideas include:

• planting trees to create shady areas in outdoor spaces
• developing policies to address changes in services/operations when actively serving as a cooling center
• purchasing supplies (what/why/how)
• planning for pets
• setting up separate spaces
• and more!

The group is hoping to get panelists representing a range of different library settings, from rural to urban. If you are interested in speaking about something your library has done in this area, please send me an email at Kelly.metzger@olis.ri.gov.

This is a grant opportunity from the Association for Rural & Small Libraries. Grant applications due March 10, 2025.

Over the past three years, the Manton Foundation has partnered with ARSL to invest approximately $1.4 million to strengthen small and rural libraries across New England. This funding has played a crucial role in supporting critical infrastructure and service improvements, ensuring these libraries remain vital community resources. In 2024 alone, nearly two-thirds of applicants received grants averaging $12,000 per project. These awards primarily funded capital improvements, such as ADA accessibility upgrades, heating and air conditioning improvements, and LED lighting conversions. Additional grants supported community-driven programs, including food security initiatives, garden projects, and sustainability-focused events.

The public library serves as a cornerstone of small-town life, providing access to education, social services, internet connectivity, and cultural enrichment. This grant program ensures that libraries in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont can continue to offer essential services while adapting to the evolving needs of their communities.

Through ongoing support from the Manton Foundation, this program will continue to enhance library facilities and services, ensuring resilient, thriving communities throughout New England.

Learn more

Available for FREE to library staff in March is a 20 minute Mental Health Short Course from the Homeless Training with Ryan Dowd. The session will cover:

• What research says about mental illness and violence
• How to identify high-risk situations—and what employees should do
• How to handle low-risk situations

More details:

• When: March 10-14
• Times: 8 AM - 4 PM hourly
• Length: 20 minutes

Register to attend

The next NLS Music Notes webinar will be held on Tuesday, March 25, at 7:00 p.m. eastern time via Zoom.

For this NLS Music Notes webinar, we will be joined by pianist, composer, and NLS Music Section patron Hwaen Ch’uqi. We will discuss Mr. Ch’uqi’s journey to becoming a professional musician, his use of braille music, and his own compositions and inspiration.

LORI Delivery & Resource Sharing Q&A

Thursday, March 20

10:00 am - 11:00 am

Access & Advocacy: Using Open Government Resources for Civic Engagement - In Person

Rhode Island State Library & Department of State

Monday, March 17

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Discovering Your Story: Genealogy Basics

RI Department of State

Wednesday, March 19

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

The First Amendment and Libraries: A Primer for Library Workers

RI Library Association, Intellectual Freedom Committee

Thursday, March 20

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Advancing Title II ADA Compliance through Inclusive Engagement and Collaboration [NICHE ACADEMY]

Wednesday, March 12

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Supporting Communities Impacted by Incarceration through Library Services [WEBJUNCTION]

Thursday, March 13

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Civic Literacy Starts at Home [NICHE ACADEMY]

Wednesday, March 19

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Developing a Mentorship and Community-building Program for Instruction Librarians [NICHE ACADEMY]

Wednesday, March 26

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Email: olis.webmaster@olis.ri.gov
Website: http://www.olis.ri.gov
Location: One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI 02908
Phone: 401-574-9300

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