In this months News and Updates:
- Small Library Forum
- BiblioTemps
- MA Public Libraries Outdoors
- Staff Profiles
- Continuing Education Updates
We are pleased to announce that our FY23 Plan of Service and Budget, Minutes from our 2020 Annual Meeting, and our Slate of Board Candidates have all been approved!
Thanks to those who attended our Annual Meeting. If you were unable to attend, we’ve posted recordings of our event, including our keynote with Elsa Sjunneson, on our Resource Guide:
https://guides.masslibsystem.org/Annual2021
We also want to take a moment to thank you all for your support and partnership with MLS over the past year. We are proud of our work and are pleased to share our Annual Report.
Bill H.4120 An Act modernizing library access to electronic books and digital audiobooks
MLS was recently invited to share a written testimony in support of the Massachusetts Legislature’s bill H.4120, An Act modernizing library access to electronic books and digital audiobooks. We joined our MA library colleagues in advocating for this work on November 11, 2021. We’ll keep you posted on news from this process. Read our testimony here –
https://masslibsystem.org/wp-content/uploads/H4120testimony.pdf
The Massachusetts Small Libraries Forum was held November 16 and 17 online. Over 130 attendees from across the country enjoyed live and pre-recorded sessions on topics that would speak to small library staff. MBLC Project Manager & Grants Specialist Lyndsay Forbes and MLS Consultant Kristi Chadwick supported a strong and inspired working group of 2020 ARSL Conference attendees: Bev Bullock (Williamsburg), Nicole Daviau (Blandford), Jessie McKinney (Raynham), Jessica O’Connor (Falmouth), and Misha Storm (Northfield), to develop and moderate the fourth year of the Forum. The Forum was also generously supported by the Manton Foundation.
The first day was kicked off by opening words from MLS Executive Director Sarah Sogigian and MBLC Director James Lonergan, followed by a live session from ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities on leading vibrant community conversations in small communities. Attendees also heard about using limited space from MBLC’s Lauren Stara, and a panel of small library directors discussed how they create and sustain effective summer reading programs in their communities.
The second day started with an exciting panel of mystery authors from Sisters in Crime New England, all whom live in Massachusetts and have based some of their novels in small towns across the Commonwealth. The latest updates to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness were presented in a clear, understandable talk from Canton Library’s Matt Amory, and the final program from Blackstone Public Library’s Lisa Cheever dealt with “Being the Boss Burnout,” a reprise of her October Association of Rural and Small Libraries Annual Conference program in Nevada.
Both days provided virtual networking opportunities during the lunch hour for attendees to talk about the programs and other topics important to them, along with access to the pre-recorded sessions. All live presentations were recorded, and sessions will be archived on the Small Libraries Forum LibGuide: https://guides.masslibsystem.org/smalllibraries.
It has been a busy fall for hiring library workers. Since July 1st we have filled 33 requests for staffing ranging from paraprofessional to highly experienced librarians.
Do you know someone who is looking to increase or expand their experience in the library field? We currently have a variety of open positions. Library workers and students can submit their resume at any time to join our candidate pool and to be the first to learn about new positions.
Open Positions https://www.bibliotemps.com/jobs/:
- Medical Librarian, Boston
- Circulation Assistant, Boston
- Cataloger– Portuguese, Dartmouth
- Cataloger – Arabic, Cambridge
- Outreach Librarian, Cambridge
Interested in using BiblioTemps to fill an opening in your library? Contact Amanda Fauver for more information – amanda@masslibsystem.org or 508-357-2121 ext. 309
We are very excited to share success stories about how Massachusetts public libraries utilized the outdoors during the pandemic, plan to use the outdoors during community recovery, and what may help libraries more effectively utilize the outdoors.
Learn more about how these libraries are using the outdoors!
Have you dreamed about composing music with a Grammy awardee? Join us for our workshop with Mike Block to Spark Innovation with Creativity!
Save the date: January 25th at 1 PM
Did you miss these original offerings?
Get to know what’s available for teens from Mass DMH
Originally part of the 2021 Teen Summit conference this interview with Kelly English, Deputy Commissioner, Child, Youth, & Family Services, Mass Department of Mental Health (DMH) shares resources for Teens in Massachusetts. Interviewed by Shelley Quezada, Consultant to the Unserved
(15-minute video).
Self-Care and Librarianship: Using the Science of Wellbeing so We Can Thrive in Difficult Times
Library staff tirelessly continue to support their communities and individuals, and those efforts have been particularly challenging since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, library staff face particular difficulties when it comes to balancing the needs of library patrons with taking care of themselves. This presentation takes a multidisciplinary approach, applying lessons from social work and psychology, to understanding sources of compassion fatigue and how to move from burn-out to thriving.
Presented by:
Lydia Ogden, Assistant Professor, Simmons School of Social Work
Rachel Williams, Assistant Professor, Simmons University School of Library and Information Science
