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The Rhode Island Foundation Offers Training

By Donna DiMichele | January 16, 2018

The Rhode Island Foundation, Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence (INE) is offering a full slate of programs in the coming months for nonprofit staff, volunteers, and board members. Programs range from grant writing to board service and from fund development to board peer learning meetings. Programs include:

The INE provides opportunities for nonprofits to strengthen organizational capacity through topic-focused workshops. INE workshops enable staff, board members, and volunteers representing Rhode Island nonprofit organizations to learn skills and techniques that will enable them to better achieve their mission.

A comprehensive list of the programs, and their intended audiences, is online.

Topics: Continuing Education, News & Information, Resources | Comments Off on The Rhode Island Foundation Offers Training

Owning Our Story: about the overdose epidemic

By Donna DiMichele | January 5, 2018

[Owning Our Story]

Come Be a Part of a Powerful Evening to Rewrite the End to Rhode Island’s Overdose Epidemic

Owning Our Story: About the Overdose Epidemic

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) and Creating Outreach About Addiction Support Together (COAAST) will be hosting a FREE, community event called Owning Our Story: About the Opioid Overdose Epidemic on Monday, January 15 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence . This special event will feature TED-style Talks, testimonials, and an adaptation of COAAST’s “Four Legs to Stand On.”

COAAST is a Rhode Island-based organization that is working to end the opioid overdose epidemic through arts-based educational performances and events. The organization specializes in drama therapy, which is the use of drama and theatre processes to achieve therapeutic goals. More information is available at coaast.org.

Speakers include:

Libraries are hubs of community engagement and sources of trusted information. Please share information about this event with your community.

View the Owning Our Story Facebook event at bit.ly/OOS-RI, or call 401-598-6061 for more information.

The event is open to the public.  Appropriate for ages 13+

Libraries are hubs of community engagement and sources of trusted information. Please share information about this event with your community.

Topics: News & Information | Comments Off on Owning Our Story: about the overdose epidemic

Prepare Your Library for Winter Weather

By Donna DiMichele | January 2, 2018

Prepare Your Library for Extreme Cold and Severe Winter Weather

Library facilities are subject to the same risks as homes during prolonged periods of extreme cold, especially if the library building will be closed for more than 24 hours. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) gives specific recommendations to prepare yourself and your home. Many of these recommendations will apply to library facilities. Visit Ready.gov page on Snowstorms and Extreme Cold  for a comprehensive list of action steps.

The following are some highlights tailored for library facilities.

Review the Staff Communications Plan

Precautions for Your Facility

During Snowstorms and Extreme Cold

Cold Related Illness: Hypothermia, Frostbite

Frostbite is a serious condition that’s caused by exposure to extremely cold temperatures. If you observe any of the following in staff or patrons, seek medical care for them. Elderly and homeless people are especially susceptible.

Hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature, is a dangerous condition that can occur when a person is exposed to extremely cold temperatures.  Hypothermia is caused by prolonged exposures to very cold temperatures. When exposed to cold temperatures, your body begins to lose heat faster than it’s produced. Lengthy exposures will eventually use up your body’s stored energy, which leads to lower body temperature. Warnings signs of hypothermia include:

Carbon Monoxide

Caution: Each year, an average of 430 Americans die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, and there are more than 20,000 visits to the emergency room with more than 4,000 hospitalizations. Carbon monoxide-related deaths are highest during colder months. These deaths are likely due to increased use of gas-powered furnaces and alternative heating, and power sources used inappropriately indoors during power outages. Read more about carbon monoxide poisoning on Medline Plus.

Topics: Preservation, Resources | Comments Off on Prepare Your Library for Winter Weather

RARI Kick-Off January 27

By Donna DiMichele | January 2, 2018

The Hate U Give

Reading Across Rhode Island (RARI), Rhode Island’s One Book, One State community read program kicks off its 16th year on January 27th. The 2018 RARI selection is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

The Office of Library and Information is a proud to sponsor Reading Across Rhode Island.

Speakers and Performers will offer engaging introductions to the book’s themes:

This is a ticketed event $15.00 Register and purchase tickets.  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2018-reading-across-rhode-island-kick-off-tickets-41285686600

The Hate U Give is a brave, thought-provoking, conversation-enabling novel about what prejudice looks like in the 21st century. Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she was born and raised and her private high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend.

Author Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was having an article about her in Right On! Magazine. She holds a BFA in creative writing and can still rap if needed. The Hate U Give is her first novel.

Questions? Contact Kate Lentz at kate@ribook.org. Further reading lists, book discussion guides, the author’s website, audio interviews and other supplementary materials may be found on the Center for the Book website.

Topics: Events, Literacy | Comments Off on RARI Kick-Off January 27

Senator Reed introduces IMLS reauthorization bill

By admin | December 22, 2017

On December 21, Rhode Island’s own Senator Jack Reed and a bipartisan group of senators introduced the bill to reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act.  The bill renews and builds on the $231 million committed to museum and library programs administered by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Support for libraries is a long standing tradition for Rhode Island senators: in 1996, Senator Claiborne Pell was instrumental in crafting the first Museum and Library Services Act.

In 2017, the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS) received $1,070,238 from IMLS under the Library and Services and Technology Act Grants to States Program.  In the past 10 years, OLIS has received over $10 million dollars in federal funding to support library services and programs in Rhode Island.

Thank you Senator Reed, and your colleagues in Maine (Senator Susan Collins), Mississippi (Senator Thad Cochran), New York (Senator Kirsten Gillibrand) and Alaska (Senator Lisa Murkowski).

Topics: IMLS, News & Information | Comments Off on Senator Reed introduces IMLS reauthorization bill

Library Freedom Institute

By Donna DiMichele | December 19, 2017

The Library Freedom Institute (LFI) is a privacy-focused training for librarians to teach them the skills necessary to thrive as Privacy Advocates: from installing privacy software to influencing public policy.  The Program is offered by the Library Freedom Project (LFP).

Building on the success of the LFP’s shorter courses, participants will learn how to:

Library Freedom Institute is a six-month program for a select group of librarians made possible by generous support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Participants will spend 5 hours per week on a combination of readings, webinars, exercises, class discussion, and assignments. LFI is a free online course with one in-person requirement, which will take place on a weekend in New York City.

To be eligible to participate, applicants must complete an application and supply permission from a supervisor. There is no cost to this program; including the weekend in NYC. LFI is primarily seeking public librarians, but welcomes applications from all librarians who do outreach in their communities.

Learn more about the program and the application process online.

Topics: 21st Century Skills in Libraries, Digital Literacy, IMLS, News & Information, Technology | Comments Off on Library Freedom Institute

Public libraries: apply for Revisiting the Founding Era funding

By Donna DiMichele | December 15, 2017

Public libraries are invited to apply for Revisiting the Founding Era, a nationwide project that will use historical documents to spark public conversations about the Founding Era’s enduring ideas and themes and how they continue to influence our lives today.

Revisiting the Founding Era is a project of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in collaboration with the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Constitution Center. The project is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Up to 100 U.S. public libraries will be selected to host programs related to the American Revolution and the early years of the nation.
Participating libraries will receive:

Libraries, working in collaboration with scholars, local experts and others, will be asked to implement at least three public programs for adult and teen audiences. Topics may include the rights of citizens versus the rights of government; who is “we the people?”; and decision-making and taking action.

Read the full project guidelines and apply online by January 31, 2018. Public libraries serving rural or underserved communities are especially encouraged to apply.

Revisiting the Founding Era will be administered by ALA’s Public Programs Office.

About the American Library Association

About the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

About the National Constitution Center

About the National Endowment for the Humanities

Topics: ALA, Grants | Comments Off on Public libraries: apply for Revisiting the Founding Era funding

Call for Applications for IMLS Grants

By Donna DiMichele | December 14, 2017

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting applications for the second cycle of the FY 2018 National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L) and Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (LB21). This is the final opportunity to apply for the FY 2018 NLG-L and LB21 grant programs.

The NLG-L program invests in projects that address challenges faced by the library and archive fields and generate results such as new tools, research findings, or models that can be widely used. The LB21 program supports professional development and training projects for libraries and archives.

Applicants have through February 1, 2018, to submit their two-page preliminary proposals.

From the preliminary proposals received by the February 1 deadline, IMLS will select applicants and invite them to submit full proposals by June 8, 2018.

See the grant program pages for more information about the types of activities that can be funded through NLG-L or LB21.

Webinars

Informational webinar recordings will be made available on the IMLS website. For information about how to access the webinar recordings, see the IMLS webinar webpage, which includes information about system compatibility.

IMLS staff members listed on the NLG-L and LB21 webpages are available by phone and email to answer general questions related to the programs.

Topics: Grants, IMLS | Comments Off on Call for Applications for IMLS Grants

WWI Centennial: Doughboy Roadshow

By Donna DiMichele | December 13, 2017

As part of Rhode Island’s efforts to mark the centennial of America’s participation in World War I (1917 – 1919), the Rhode Island World War One (RIWW1CC) will be hosting “Doughboy Roadshow,” an event similar to a combined “Antiques Roadshow” and “Genealogy Roadshow.”

The intent of the “Antiques Roadshow” element of the event is to introduce members of the public to experienced appraisers and subject matter experts who can help them correctly identify and appraise their World War I related militaria (excluding firearms), artifacts, documents, etc. The public will be asked to bring their World War I related items (excluding firearms) for identification and a free informal (non-binding) appraisal.

The intent of the “Genealogy Roadshow” element of the event is to introduce members of the public to experienced genealogists and archivists who can help them with their research into the World War I veterans in their family tree.

Personnel from the Connecticut State Library will be supporting the photographing and scanning of historically relevant items. The Aldrich House is a property of the RI Historical Society. Directions

Contact Matthew McCoy at  for further details.

Matthew Baldwin McCoy
Commissioner & State Coordinator
Rhode Island World War One Centennial Commission
C: (401) 447-0984

Topics: Events, News & Information, Preservation | Comments Off on WWI Centennial: Doughboy Roadshow

Post Graduate Certificate in Youth Experience

By admin | December 6, 2017

The following opportunity from the University of Maryland may be of interest to school or youth services librarians:

Graduate Certificate of Professional Studies in Youth Experience: Application Window Open and Information Sessions

Applications for the second cohort of students in the Graduate Certificate of Professional Studies in Youth Experience (YX) offered by the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland is now open. This innovative, online post-masters certificate gives youth service librarians and school librarians the skills they need to integrate the latest research on learning, technology, community partnerships, and design thinking into their practice with youth ages 0-18. Limited scholarships, generously supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, are available on a competitive basis. To learn more about the certificate program, watch this short video available at youTube or visit the University of Maryland College of Information Studies Youth Experience website.

Additionally, the YX faculty will host online information sessions on December 11th, 2017 at 8 pm EST and January 16th, 2018 at 7pm EST. The information sessions will describe the courses in this certificate and how they will enhance librarians’ skills to incorporate design thinking, participatory design, and connected learning into their programs and services. We will also be providing details on the application process at this time. The sessions will be recorded and the link made available after. If you are interested, please complete the following form to either attend the session or to receive the recording: https://go.umd.edu/YXinterest.

Questions? E-mail the UMD College of Information Studies.

Topics: News & Information | Comments Off on Post Graduate Certificate in Youth Experience


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