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.

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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.

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What can my library do to help get out the count for the 2020 Census? Why should I care about the census anyway? Didn't I already fill out the census in 2018? Can I fill out someone's census form for them? Where can I go to get more information? Are there materials that I can pass out to patrons in my library to promote the census? We all have questions about the 2020 Census- library staff and general public alike. This one-hour webinar will look at the big picture of the 2020 Census and the specific ways that the census will intersect with Rhode Island libraries. It will address the most frequently asked questions you, your library colleagues and the communities you serve may have about the census. If you cannot join live, this webinar will be recorded and made available share to help prepare all RI library staff for the 2020 Census!

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Join the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Book Club to discuss So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo with other interested members of the RI library community. Racism is a difficult subject to talk about. How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law take umbrage when you asked to touch her hair–and how do you make it right? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend? In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to “model minorities” in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.

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Share a viewing of the film The Public and join in a facilitated discussion of the film, homelessness and librarian ethics. When homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the cold, the community watches as a librarian unites with the homeless.

Trailer for The Public

Snow Date: February 26

Planning library programs for adults is an exciting but often unpredictable business! Join fellow adult services librarians for our annual sharing session to discuss your greatest hits and discuss what magic ingredients seem to go into your favorite, best-attended and most well-received programs. Acknowledging that we can learn as much from our failures as our successes, you are also encouraged to share a programming "flop" with the group so that we can use the collective wisdom of the group to imagine how that program might be reworked into a hit! This session will also include an overview of the new OLIS Library Presenter Directory.

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Libraries programs can provide Veterans with opportunities to share the stories of their service, and in doing so help build understanding, address the trauma of war, and add to the historical record. Jane Granatino from the Barrington Public Library and Kate Kulpa, Fall River Public Library will share about the veterans' writing program they have been hosting for the past year - how they set up the program, how it operates, and what impact it has had on participants. You will also hear about the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress, an oral history collection of veteran's stories that libraries have unique opportunities to support. Following the presentations, we will have a discussion about veterans' services in libraries, and look at additional resources to support veterans in RI.

Register to attend.