In this months News and Updates:

Sarah and Rob on the Road

Sarah Sogigian (MLS) and Rob Favini (MBLC) are planning their 2023 road trips! They’ve had a blast on these road trips, visiting our member libraries and learning more about their work during the pandemic. They are booking their calendars for more visits; let them know if you’d like them to stop by. They would love to hear and to see all that you are doing to support your communities.

They will work with you to find a mutually appropriate date and time and will adhere to all safety guidelines. They are also available for virtual visits!

Contact:
Sarah Sogigian – sarah@masslibsystem.org
Rob Favini – Robert.favini@state.ma.us

Spring 2023 Training Offerings

MLS Consultants are preparing to launch their Spring 2023 workshops.  We hope that you will be able to attend some of them.  Click on the dates/times below to go to the registration page.

Weeding the Print Collection: Learn how to confidently curate your print collection to best serve your community. This workshop will explore the history of weeding in our profession and how well weeded collections benefit patrons and staff. We’ll examine professional standards and tools to help you plan and conduct your weeding project with confidence and clarity. This class is recommended for library staff new to weeding practices, reluctant weeders, and experienced weeders who would like to get excited about weeding again. Learners will strategize how to address common barriers to weeding. Learners will select the appropriate professional standards to use in their weeding project. Learners will apply professional standards to draft a weeding plan.

ChatGPT and Generative AI: Implications for Libraries and Education: Since its debut in late 2022, much has been written about ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that generates text answers to user prompts, from limericks and recipes to lesson plans and essays. Microsoft has since integrated ChatGPT into Bing and Google has responded with the development of Bard, promising to change how users search the web in the coming months and years. In this session we’ll discuss how generative AI technology works, legal and ethical concerns surrounding its development and application, and how library staff might leverage generative AI technologies in information literacy instruction, reference, and other library work. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with one another to brainstorm potential uses and limitations of using ChatGPT and other generative AI applications in libraries and education. After attending this session, participants will be able to describe at least one use and one limitation of ChatGPT and generative AI as an educational technology and give at least two examples of legal or ethical concerns surrounding the use of ChatGPT or generative AI in education.

Why So Rude? Incivility in the Workplace: Conflict between library staff happens to varying degrees. Incivility is not always identified as an issue, due to its ambiguous nature and may be written off as minor or as personality conflicts. However, incivility can be a sign of escalating tension between staff members and create low work morale. Holding all staff accountable for their actions with each other, along with identifying ways to model respectful behavior and mitigate conflicts, can help libraries create better interpersonal communication among staff and a more positive and productive library.

Effective Strategies to Improve Teamwork: Would you like to improve teamwork at your library? Are you looking for tools to increase collaboration, cooperation, and connectedness with your teams? Join us for this workshop to explore activities that you can use to reinvigorate your team projects and staff meetings. We will discuss strategies that you can use to strengthen teamwork; discover shared values; encourage a spirit of camaraderie; and even enjoy teamwork while successfully accomplishing your goals and projects.

Touchpoints in Libraries (coming soon): Based on the research of physician T. Berry Brazelton, the Touchpoints in Libraries program is designed for all professionals working in any library setting who want to deepen their engagement with families. This training builds an understanding of a child’s developmental process from birth to 6 years. Participants develop skills for connecting with families through culturally-responsive, strengths-based interactions.

To see all of our learning opportunities, please visit our events calendar.

Language Learning Grant

The Massachusetts Library System recently launched a new Language Learning Grant program.

Staff at MLS member libraries are now eligible to apply for reimbursement of up to $500 for each approved language course they take.

Program details, including eligibility and contact information, can be found on our Language Learning Grant LibGuide page.

For a high-level overview of the Language Learning Grant program, please see our Step-By-Step Guide to the program.

The Language Learning Grant program supports Initiative 1 Goal 3, Initiative 2 Goal 2, and Initiative 3 Goal 1 of the MLS Strategic Plan.

We hope that the Language Learning Grant program helps you reach your language learning goals.

MLS Professional Collection

Did you know that MLS members can borrow books from the MLS professional collection?  We have a variety of professional titles on topics that may be of interest to library workers in all types of libraries.  This month, we would like to highlight a few recent intellectual freedom titles from our collection:

Check out our LibGuide on how you can borrow materials from the MLS professional collection.

If you would like additional information about intellectual freedom, please see our Intellectual Freedom Guide for Massachusetts Libraries and the recordings from the webinar series on intellectual freedom topics that we have been offering with the American Library Association.

Delivery

It’s that time again! Delivery Survey Week March 13-17

MLS is collecting delivery statistics from all member libraries who receive delivery. Information on how delivery is used help us determine how to allocate funding during our planning and budgeting process. This survey will be used to capture delivery statistics, including bins put into delivery, bins delivered and items put into delivery.

For Delivery Survey information click here

If you have any questions email delivery@masslibsystem.org

Informational Session with Ingram Representatives

In August 2022, Ingram Content Groups announced some changes to the shipping policy for libraries, including instituting a minimum of 15 units before shipping. This, coupled with some other concerns initiated by conversations with our purchasing partner MHEC and posted on state listservs, prompted MLS and MHEC to co-host a Q and A session with Ingram representatives, so that our members could connect directly with the company to share their concerns.

On January 19th MLS and MHEC held an information session with Ingram representatives regarding delivery and shipping issues our libraries have experienced since last August.

86 members participated in asking a number of great questions. Ingram answered most of them and offered to connect individually with attendees for specific assistance.

There were a variety of questions ranging from the timing of getting orders in, to receiving them timely, to missing books and being charged for them, to issues with the binding of the books.

MLS members appreciated this opportunity, and we plan to host another opportunity with Ingram later in 2023. For additional support from Ingram, please contact Rob Scott rob.scott@ingramcontent.com

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