And Collecting C.E. Credits
The 2020 ARSL Conference is in the books, having concluded a week-long virtual event last Friday. This year marked the first ARSL Conference (Association for Rural & Small Libraries) conducted entirely online. Monday and Friday featured keynote speakers, every day offered multiple breakout sessions to choose from, and every day included a virtual exhibit hall.
Our agency offers a well-deserved thank you to the conference planners and speakers, with special recognition to the Iowa library staff who stepped in with presentations. Congratulations to:
- Becky Bilby @ Sioux Center = Using Technology to Make a Big Difference
- Erin Silva @ North Liberty = Changing the Behavior Game
- Chelsea Price @ Messervey = Pathways to Community Well-Being
- Madeline Jarvis @ Marion = All Ages Welcome: Recruiting & Retaining Younger Generations for Boards and Friends Groups
- Jennie Garner @ North Liberty = Focus on Rural & Small: Learn How to Get One of 600 $3,000.00 Grants From ALA
- Tyler Hahn @ Cherokee = E-Sports in the Library
If you attended last week’s conference, you might be asking how to grab ahold of c.e. credits for the sessions you saw. Continuing Education Consultant Samantha Bouwers has the answer: “If you attended the ARSL conference last week, or if you plan to watch the recorded sessions, then please take advantage of a consolidated form from the CE Team to record your hours. Just indicate which sessions you watched and let us know your key take-aways. We'll update your IALearns account with the hours earned (1 credit hour per session) You may earn a maximum of 15 hours for the conference and recorded sessions.”
Because there were multiple breakouts in each time slot, there were probably several that sounded good. You can circle back to the ones you missed because registered attendees will have access to conference session recordings until December 31, 2020. Please note that recordings are not yet available; that process will take time, so keep checking back on ARSL’s website for those details.
About ARSL
The Association for Rural & Small Libraries is a national network dedicated to the positive growth and development of libraries. ARSL believes in the value of rural and small libraries and strives to create resources and services that address national, state, and local priorities for libraries situated in rural communities.
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Online November 18th
For several years, Library Journal has sponsored an in-person Design Institute, a comprehensive workshop for library managers and trustees who are anticipating a new building project. Like so many other events touched by Coronavirus adjustments, this year LJ Design Institute is happening online—all day on November 18—and this year it’s entirely free.
The program itself is a re-imagining; here’s more from Library Journal’s website: “Whether you're looking to revamp your space as we continue to deal with COVID-19, or plan for future building / design projects, you'll find ideas, information, and inspiration--no matter your budget. This new and comprehensive virtual event will feature noted architects and vendors in library design who will address design trends, spotlight case studies, and answer questions from the field. Topics will include retooling physical space for staff and patron safety, innovating to address social and racial equity and inclusion, funding new and renovated buildings in a down economy, and more. Attendance is free to librarians, board members, and local officials.”
Throughout the day, there will be both live and pre-recorded sessions to choose from. There will be architect-led breakout sessions, featuring design challenges submitted by library staff. There’s also a Virtual Exhibit Hall planned, wherein you can sign-up for vendor chats to learn more about their products and services. LJ’s Virtual Design Institute 2020 will be available for on-demand viewing for three months following its live broadcast.
Even without a brick-and-mortar building on the horizon, this looks to be an interesting program to help re-think available library spaces for social distancing purposes. Register at the button below
2020 Theme: Be a Health Literacy Hero
October is designated as Health Literacy Month. And there could not be a more fitting year than a global pandemic year for libraries to promote and support health literacy.
This annual awareness-raising event began in 1999. Since then, health care organizations, community services, government agencies, colleges, and many others have hosted a wide range of Health Literacy Month events. Assisting in the cause is the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) and the American Library Association (ALA): these two agencies have partnered to create a free toolkit for raising awareness of how libraries support health literacy in their communities. This toolkit is part of the Libraries Transform campaign.
The theme for Health Literacy Month is “Be a Health Literacy Hero.” It’s about taking action and finding ways to improve health communication. Health Literacy Heroes are individuals, teams, or organizations who not only identify health literacy problems, but also act to solve them. And this year of all years, there’s no shortage of Health Heroes!
Library policies prevent staff from answering specific patron questions regarding medical conditions or treatment options. But staff can certainly guide library users to reliable, authoritative information, allowing patrons to make more educated health-related decisions. Visit the Health Literacy Month website for more. And look to the Libraries Transform Health Literacy Toolkit to use throughout October.
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