1) More Opportunities for “Building Effective Boards”
2) Other County Meetings on Tap
3) Reporting Back from ARSL Conference
4) Teen Read Week October 18-24
5) Meetings / Events This Week
1) More Opportunities for “Building Effective Boards”
Since July, several county library associations have chosen the program “Building Effective Boards” as the topic for their county meetings. And more county groups have this scheduled in the weeks ahead. This description from NWILS website:
“…Examine 5 characteristics that make up effective boards. These are boards that:
· Understand their authority
· Establish sound meeting practices
· Commit to trustee education
· Adapt to change / adopt new technologies
· Enjoy healthy, respectful relationships
This workshop explores these important attributes of board behavior, with plenty of examples and opportunity for discussion…”
Catch “Building Effective Boards” at...
· Denison Public Library Board October 8
· Primghar Public Library October 27 (O’Brien County Library Association meeting)
· Sibley Public Library November16 (Osceola County Library Association meeting)
These are all evening programs, although start time varies slightly. Check with the host library or NWILS office for further info. These will be loaded into the c.e. catalog this week, so online registration will be available soon...
2) Other County Meetings on Tap
It’s that time of year, yeah? County meetings in full swing! And each year, more county groups are organizing their fall meetings around a continuing education class. The county groups below have chosen topics from among the listing of staff / board training classes on NWILS website. Here’s what’s on tap in other counties in the coming weeks:
· “Using Wii Games @ Your Library” @ Cleghorn Public Library October 12 (Cherokee County Library Association)
· “Getting to Know EBSCO” @ Sac City Public Library October 28 (Sac County Library Association)
· “Keeping Current in Libraryland” @ Laurens Public Library October 29 (Pocahontas Library Association)
Again, start times vary, so check with the host library or NWILS office for further info...online registration will be available soon.
3) Reporting Back From ARSL Conference
Several Northwest Iowa librarians were fortunate to attend the national ARSL Conference (Association for Rural and Small Libraries) last month in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. As if the Great Smoky National Park wasn’t great enough, I heard about some pretty great sessions, too!
Valerie Haverhals from Hawarden Public Library won a grant to attend the Gatlinburg conference; the grant was awarded by the Iowa Small Library Association, a subdivision of ILA. Valerie’s impressions of the conference follows:
“...Children’s services, Web 2.0, talking Tennessean, training
your staff in fifteen minutes or less, networking with other librarians, eating great food, and visiting one of the most beautiful places in the country are just a few of the highlights that float through my mind as I reflect on the ARSL Conference. I was privileged to receive a grant/ scholarship from the Iowa Small Library Association.
The conference theme was “Keeping Your Head While Serving the Community.” We all wear so many hats in a small library. This conference helped me put some things in perspective.
One session that I particularly liked dealt with staff training in small 15-minute bites. The Brentwood Public Library (TN) has developed training modules that last only five –fifteen minutes. They might deal with blogging, wikis, the circ system. A staff member can work on one of these while he has a few minutes of free time. All of the training is on the web and free for any library to use.
Networking was ongoing at this conference. You might sit with someone from California, Arizona, Tennessee or Kansas. You became friends before you knew it because of the common bond of libraries...the size of the library did not matter—we were equally joined by the desire to serve our patrons at the highest level we can.
There is so much more to tell, so if you see me at ILA, ask me about the ARSL Conference. I plan to attend next year in Denver! This conference was so worth my time and energy. My only regret is that I did not see a “baar”—(that is Tennessean for bear). However, I did see a shark and you can find him on my Facebook page!
Again, a sincere “thank you “ to ISLA for the scholarship and this fantastic opportunity!...”
Read more from conference-goers in the September issue of the Iowa Small Libraries newsletter online. More stories will follow along in EYE-OPENER, too. Thanks to Valerie for sharing her experience!
4) Teen Read Week October 18-24
Obviously, there’s more to October promotions than Halloween! Teen Read Week is coming up quick: October 18-24. Sponsored annually by the Young Adult Library Services Association (a division of ALA) this year’s theme is “Read Beyond Reality @ Your Library.” Tons of programming ideas and promo materials at the YALSA website.
When planning programming for any age group, a few well-placed calls or emails to colleagues at nearby libraries is a neat way to collaborate on these programs. Share the wealth of your plans, speakers, and publicity for national celebration weeks like this—and National Library Week, Teen Tech Week, Children’s Book Week—the list goes on. Just a collaborative thought.
Of course, any great programming ideas are even better when shared. Please blog about your ideas on NWILS Bulletin Board Blog!
5) Meetings / Events This Week
Thursday evening, October 8, Denison Public Library is hosting “Building Effective Boards.” It starts with a light supper at 5:30PM, with the program running from 6:00—7:30PM. Other Crawford county and neighboring county trustees are most welcome.
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