Together we will explore popular children's books and other media as opportunities to notice, critically read, and disrupt dominant narratives with kids around race, gender, ethnicity, LGBTQ identity, immigrant identity, and other marginalized identities.

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What makes a teen program a hit and what makes a program a "flop"? Join fellow young adult librarians to share your most impactful programs and discuss why some programs just don't seem to meet our goals or engage our teens. Please be prepared to share a recent program that was a success, as well as a program that "flopped" so we can collectively think about how to rework it into a "fav."

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Whether preparing to apply for a grant, write a long-range plan, or plan a new library program, assessing the community's needs is an essential step in ensuring that whatever project you are developing is meaningful for the community you serve. Join us in an exploration of the various tools and techniques that are available to learn about your community. This will be a hands-on session.

This is a repeat session of the workshop held on 12/3.

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Virtual reality systems allow for fully immersive experiences, and evidence suggests that we can leverage that immersion to build empathy. VR users can feel like they are in another place and have become another person, and experience developers are considering the applications this can have for empathy building and social justice. Learn more about the evidence behind using virtual reality for empathy, and try out some empathy-based experiences for yourself. This session will also include a tour of Bryant University's Data Visualization Lab, which opened on April 1, 2019 with a grant of equipment from HP as part of the Educause-HP Campus of the Future Initiative, and houses virtual, augmented and mixed reality equipment.

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It’s time to vote for a Rhode Island Mock Newbery winner and honor books! Please read all the titles from the third reading list and come prepared to defend your top picks before we vote using the balloting procedures of the real Newbery committee. The third discussion list will be available on December 10 at http://www.olis.ri.gov/youth/newbery/index.php.

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At this interactive, design thinking workshop, library staff will have the chance to develop ideas for Census 2020 outreach and learn more about Census outreach materials that will be available for free across RI.

Libraries may use these workshops to develop proposals for the RI 2020 Census Outreach grants, a statewide, collaborative funding opportunity providing $1,000 - $25,000 grants through the RI Foundation to support outreach and educational events for the 2020 Census. The grant application deadline is January 31, 2020. Whether you intend to apply for funding or not, this workshop will help you develop actionable plans to provide Census 2020 outreach in your community to help help ensure that we get a complete and accurate count for RI.

Register to attend.

At this interactive, design thinking workshop, library staff will have the chance to develop ideas for Census 2020 outreach and learn more about Census outreach materials that will be available for free across RI.

Libraries may use these workshops to develop proposals for the RI 2020 Census Outreach grants, a statewide, collaborative funding opportunity providing $1,000 - $25,000 grants through the RI Foundation to support outreach and educational events for the 2020 Census. The grant application deadline is January 31, 2020. Whether you intend to apply for funding or not, this workshop will help you develop actionable plans to provide Census 2020 outreach in your community to help help ensure that we get a complete and accurate count for RI.

Register to attend.

Learn about available resources for discovering and contacting performers for your Summer Reading Program. We'll discuss how to book performers and arrange block booking/group rates among neighboring libraries. 90 minutes will be reserved for participants to recommend and discuss performers and arrange potential block booking opportunities.

Snow date: January 30, 2020

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Do you know about the tools developed to support small businesses in RI? Come view a demonstration of the resources available in the RI Business Portal, including an exploration of the RI Business Data Hub. Kristen Cordeiro and Jessica Cigna from the Secretary of State's office will teach you what you need to know to support small business owners at your library.

Register to attend.