I am excited to announce that registration is now open for the BEST Conference (Broadband, E-rate, Sustainability and Technology) to be held on August 25 & 26, 2011 in beautiful Breckenridge Colorado. The registration form and a draft of the agenda can be found on the BEST website. Check back often as we continue to add details about the sessions and speakers!
Thanks to a Gates grant, registration, lodging, food and travel will be covered for one staff member per library (2 staff members may attend if your library serves a population of 100,000 or more). We will make the hotel reservations for you based on the registrations received. Continue reading ‘BEST Conference Registration Open!’
Published by
Michelle on
December 16, 2010 in
Children's Services, General, Public Libraries, School Libraries, Teen Services, conferences and programs.
Tags: Authors festival, ccira, conference, literacy, register.
On behalf of Dodie Ownes, registrar, Authors’ Festival
An exciting new event is being introduced this year in conjunction with the 2011 CCIRA Literacy Conference. The Authors’ Festival puts young people in grades 2-10 in direct contact with nationally known authors to talk about writing. The featured authors are Mike Thaler (Librarian from the Black Lagoon), Liz Scanlon (All the World), Alan Sitomer (Hip Hop High School), and local favorite Dom Testa (The Galahad series).
There will also be time for book signings, and registration for the Authors’ Festival includes a ticket for the Young Writers Award Luncheon featuring Colorado’s own Janet Stevens and her sister Susan Stevens Crummel, who will have you laughing with their hilarious take on what it’s like to be sisters.
Time and place: Marriott Denver Tech Center, Saturday February 5, 8am-1pm
Registration: Open to the public, $20 for each child participating or adult accompanying. There must be one adult for every four children attending. Space is limited to 150 participants.
Register Now (PDF)
Deadline is January 10, 2011
Published by
Michelle on
December 16, 2010 in
Continuing Education, General, Public Libraries, Special Libraries, advocacy and programs.
Tags: ABOS, ARSL, blog, conference, rural, scholarships, winners.
This was written by ARSL/ABOS conference scholarship winner Sandy Hackbarth (La Veta Public Library) about the State Library’s own Shelly Drumm!
“She started with a slide of a DU Business School ad: “The top 10 jobs of 2015 don’t exist today.” Then, over the next hour, Shelly Drumm gave me a glimpse of a future for public libraries, particularly small, remote public libraries, that I can actually believe in. This is a topic I’ve really been struggling with - I just haven’t been able to buy the idea that if La Veta’s library becomes the ‘center of the community’ then we will remain relevant to our citizens. And it’s pretty obvious that books and DVDs aren’t going to keep public libraries relevant much longer either. So I worried that I’d lost the faith – I figured that 10 years from now the most important function of La Veta’s library would be hosting Yoga classes for 80 year olds.
Shelly’s ARSL 2010 Conference presentation – 21st Century Librarianship – stretched my imagination, giving me a look at what’s already possible and a hint of where that might lead for my library. Continue reading ‘Shelly Drumm at ARSL/ABOS Conference’
Published by
Michelle on
December 1, 2010 in
Continuing Education, General, Public Libraries, Special Libraries, advocacy, conferences and programs.
Tags: ABOS, ARSL, blog, conference, rural, scholarships, winners.
We just received this blog post from Erica Rose, Head of Outreach Services at the newly renamed Clearview Library District (Windsor). She discuses not only the ARSL/ABOS conference, but also Clearview’s new Mobile branch.
Excerpted:
“I am passionate about Outreach work and the power that it holds for our libraries. My work in Outreach has led me to believe that Library Outreach is our most powerful PR and our best and most efficient means of serving the masses. So with all of my enthusiasm for this work continually bubbling up, it was so uplifting to attend a gathering of people who share this love and passion for Outreach work. I believe our success in Outreach work is dependent upon thinking outside of the box, looking for dynamic new approaches, and an unwavering ability to roll with the punches. It refreshed my spirit to sit next to individuals that share these quirky personality traits with me and to partake in conversations that focus on ways that we can push through barriers and boundaries. Continue reading ‘Even more from ARSL/ABOS Scholarship Winners’
Published by
Michelle on
November 18, 2010 in
Continuing Education, General, Public Libraries, Special Libraries, advocacy, conferences and programs.
Tags: ABOS, ARSL, blog, conference, rural, scholarships, winners.
We couldn’t resist posting these rave reviews of the ARSL/ABOS conference from Nan Davenport, Wetmore Community Library:
“I came home from the ARLS-ABOS conference so motivated and excited and full of ideas from the many brilliant minds that I had the privilege to mingle with for three days! Every class I went to was first rate. The only complaint I had was that they were too short! Shelly Drumm really opened my eyes to the huge impact technology has had and the vastly different way it is perceived by those who grew up with it and those of us who did not (I totally related to the monk being taught about the use of a book as opposed to the scroll!). Pat Wagner’s and Vanessa Uribe’s presentations on dealing with people and providing excellent customer service made a real impact on me. Excellent tools that can be used everywhere- home, work, and play! Karol Sacca is an amazing presenter! I could have listened to her all day! She must have been an absolutely remarkable teacher. I can’t wait get my hands on some of the fascinating young adult books she shared with us! I feel totally recharged and energized to touch my community more efficiently in the best job there is in the world – being a small town librarian! “
Published by
Michelle on
November 10, 2010 in
Continuing Education, General, Public Libraries, Special Libraries, advocacy, conferences and programs.
Tags: ABOS, ARSL, blog, conference, rural, Scholarship, winners.
In August, the Colorado State Library welcomed applications for $250 scholarships to attend “Magic in the Mile High City”: the joint Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) and Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services (ABOS) Conference in Denver, October 14-16. The scholarships were intended to cover the cost of registration for the 10 individuals chosen.
The winners were staff from the following libraries:
- Conejos County Library District
- Costilla County Public Library
- Delta County Libraries
- Lamar/Prowers County Bookmobile
- La Veta Regional Library District
- Park County Public Library
- Pine River Public Library District
- Red Feather Mountain Library District
- Wetmore Community Library
- Windsor-Severance Library District
One of the scholarship requirements was that each recipient write a brief blog about why their attendance at the ARSL-ABOS conference would significantly impact their library and community. The blog entry might also contain information about a great session they attended, a meaningful networking opportunity, or anything else the attendee may have taken home with them.
Some blog excerpts:
“Attending the ARSL/ABOS joint conference in Denver for the first time afforded a number of experiences, but the primary impression was that of opportunity: the opportunity to meet a number of peers from far-flung geographies… and to find that their problems and successes were at times the same as ours and in other instances uniquely different. It was the opportunity to debate nuts-and-bolts issues such as handling tourist library usage in smaller, recreation-oriented rural towns. And, it provided the opportunity to listen to, and sometimes meet, fine speakers and leaders in the library world including Colorado’s own Pat Wagner and Jamie LaRue. “ -Creed Kidd, Red Feather Lakes Community Library
“I learned there are many ways to do outreach in your library, from doing job resume assistance to having a pot-luck centered around a culture your community has not yet experienced! It all makes a difference to them and you. People don’t always know how to ask for help or admit they need it. If you have a caring staff that is trained to reach out and meet that needs of the community you serve, you are rich in friends and your community will be changed for the better. We are leaders even when we don’t realize it. We serve because we love what we do. The patrons aren’t the only ones who walk away with a smile when we help them meet their need(s). “ -Sheri Eirhart, Lamar/Prowers County Bookmobile
On behalf of Sonja Plummer-Morgan, Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library, Presque Isle, Maine:
The ALA Public Programs Office is pleased to announce three new traveling exhibits focusing on Jewish artists who have contributed to the culture of America and the world through their lives and work. Public, academic and special libraries, including museum libraries and Jewish community centers are invited to apply by January 24.
The exhibits were developed by Nextbook, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Jewish literature, culture and ideas, and the ALA Public Programs Office, with funding from Nextbook. The national exhibit tours have been made possible by grants from the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the David Berg Foundation and the Nash Family Foundation, with additional support from Tablet Magazine: A New Read on Jewish Life.
Libraries are invited to apply to host a traveling exhibition on one of three subjects: Continue reading ‘Traveling Exhibit of Interest to Rural & Small Libraries’
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