Diane Mayr | March 7, 2012 | 0 Comments

The READS-TO-GO Facebook page has been redesigned for the timeline profile.  Please utilize the page to post kit needs and availability, weigh in on discussable titles, ask questions about book group management, etc.  The RTG blog remains the place to go to find lists of titles, reproducible discussion questions, etc.  –Diane

Facebook, READS-TO-GO

Amy Graves | March 3, 2012 | 0 Comments

The NHLA Library Use Value Calculator shows, on average, how much an individual or family would need to pay out-of-pocket if they purchased their books, movies, and other library services in stores.  This nifty tool has been kicking around our website for years, but thanks to a recent suggestion, it has now been updated to include ebooks.  The average taxpayer contribution figure has also been updated, based on the most recent NH Public Library Annual Report.  We hope you find this tool useful.  You can easily access it under the “Resources” tab in the top navigation bar.

Resources, Statistics, Value Calculator

Lori Fisher | February 24, 2012 | 0 Comments

**SAVE THE DATE!**

The New Hampshire Library Association will offer a day-long Digital Summit and spring membership meeting on Friday June 1^st at Hooksett Public Library.  With many more questions than answers about digital media and how libraries can respond effectively, this summit hopes to provide the latest information on digital content as it relates to libraries and new ideas about how to integrate digital media into your library resources and services.

Panels and speakers include:

• Speaker from ALA highlighting the latest news from publishers and vendors of digital media
• Cheryl Abdullah, director of the Dover Town Library (MA) – a finalist for Library Journal’s 2012 Best Small Library in America (“Small” in national standards is under 10,000 population; Dover has a population of 6,000)

• Breakout sessions at lunch including OverDrive Advantage subscribers; eReader lending; NHDB leadership discussion; staff training ideas; and “I don’t want to talk about digital anything at lunch”
• Panel discussion: How to Justify Digital Content in your Budget
• Panel discussion: Beyond Downloadable Books

The membership meeting is extremely important this spring.  We plan to officially add two sections (YALS and IT), re-ratify our membership dues per our by-laws, and adopt a few by-laws revisions due to changes that have occurred since the last revision in 2006.

The cost to attend the day is FREE if you are an NHLA member and bring your own lunch.  There will be a $10 fee for lunch, payable upon registration, if you so choose.  Anyone with dietary restrictions should plan to bring their own lunch.  If you are not a member of NHLA and wish to attend, you can become a member when registering.  REGISTRATION FOR THIS SUMMIT IS REQUIRED EVEN IF ONLY ATTENDING THE MEMBERSHIP MEETING.  This is to ensure we have a quorum of NHLA members.

Registration forms will go out on March 30^th, with a deadline of May 18^th.  Mark your calendars for an information –packed day with your colleagues!

Conferences, Continuing Education, Membership, Professional Development

Lori Fisher | February 22, 2012 | 0 Comments

Please join us for the kick-off webinar of the Libraries for Sustainability Webinar Series 2012 : Feb 28, 2012  2:00-3:00 (EST) – Call to Action and Collaboration!

ALA’s Task Force On the Environment (TFOE) has been engaged in environmental issues for over 20 years and done some tremendous work but has suffered from a lack of participation and lost momentum in recent years. Join us, and Maria A. Jankowska (UCLA Research Librarian and Editor of Electronic Green Journal), most recent TFOE chair, to understand what TFOE has accomplished, including pitfalls and successes – plus recommendations for next steps. Should this group be revitalized and/or is a change in direction indicated? What are some options for remaining engaged at the local and national levels? Where are opportunities for collaboration and action around broader sustainability issues?

Hopeful outcomes: Informal meeting at ALA 2012 in June to work on forming a new group; planning for sustainability-related presentations at ALA 2013! – Sign up now!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGxWaVlSYS10amQ3aF9qVmxEbzdjM1E6MQ#gid=0

Time permitting, please review Maria’s recent article, Going beyond Environmental Programs and Green Practices at the American Library Association (escholarship.org/uc/uclalib_egj), which provides a helpful timeline of TFOE’s history and associated activities.

Webinar series facilitators: Madeleine Charney (UMass Amherst Libraries), Beth Filar Williams (UNC Greenboro), and Bonnie Smith (University of Florida Libraries).

Stay tuned for more webinars:

April 24, 2012, 2:00-3:00 (EST) – Exploring Sustainability Practices in Libraries June 12, 2012, 2:00-3:00 (EST) – Preparing for ALA Annual Informal Meeting August 28, 2012 2:00-3:00 (EST) – Action Plan Follow Up & Discussion

Questions? Contact Madeleine Charney at mcharney@library.umass.edu or Beth FilarWilliams at greeningyourlibrary@gmail.com

ALA, Continuing Education, Professional Development

Lori Fisher | February 22, 2012 | 0 Comments

The spring READS roundtables, on the topic of continuing education, will occur at the following dates/locations:

Friday 3/30 at Rye Public Library

Friday 4/6 at Boscawen Public Library

Monday 4/9 at Weeks Library, Lancaster

How do librarians keep their skills current in the 21^st century on a limited budget? Please consider attending one of these roundtables to discuss your continuing education concerns and/or to suggest free or cost-effective ways that you continue your own professional development.

The cost to attend the roundtables is $5 for a READS member, $10 for a non-member.  For more information and a registration form, please visit www.nhlibrarians.org/reads/ to download the registration form and obtain additional information. Registration deadline is March 23^rd.

Continuing Education, Professional Development

Steve Butzel | January 28, 2012 | 0 Comments

Greetings from your ALA Councilor,

My trip to Dallas for ALA Midwinter was a busy one as usual. Here are some of the issues which I feel you should know about. If you’d like more information about these issues or other ALA topics, please do not hesitate to contact me. The more I get to know ALA, the more I am impressed, so I would enjoy speaking with you about your concerns.

Resolutions Passed

There were two significant resolutions passed by the ALA Council. The first was a Resolution on Publishers and Practices Which Discriminate Against Library Users. It stated that ALA opposes any discriminatory policies of publishers and distributors that adversely impact access to content by library users; and that the Working Group on Digital Content in Libraries be directed to review the situation and recommend appropriate action and/or appropriate parties who should be informed of this resolution.

While this resolution might sound like a no-brainer, there was some debate both in Council forum and on the floor. Some were concerned that the resolution, if too strongly worded, might offend the publishers with whom ALA is scheduled to meet next week. In the end, the Council stuck with the original, forceful language and the resolution passed.

The second was a resolution condemning the restriction of access to materials in Arizona schools following state legislation that led to the elimination of a Mexican American studies program in the Tucson Unified School District. While it took some time to sift through the numerous layers of the controversy and identify the real culprits, the resolution passed. For more info, contact me or visit any number of websites including www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=3157, saveethnicstudies.org, nyti.ms/yd6mfp, huff.to/xm4AHq.

ALA Fighting For Libraries, Librarians and Library Patrons

Elsewhere in the Association, a great deal is happening. As I referred to above, leaders of ALA will be meeting with top executives from Macmillan, Simon & Schuster (S&S), and Penguin publishing houses, (which all do not allow libraries to circulate their ebooks,) on January 30^th,January 31^st and February 2^nd to voice the concerns of the Association. For more info, read this article from LJ, bit.ly/zr9qS8. In addition, the Working Group on Digital Content and Libraries (connect.ala.org/node/159669) will be meeting frequently throughout the year to study the issues and develop advocacy strategies.

The entire organization is also working hard to raise awareness of the White House Petition on School Libraries, wh.gov/Wgd, which asks that the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provide dedicated funding to help support effective school library programs. 25,000 signatures are needed by February 4, 2012, in order for this petition to reach the desk of the President. We are more than halfway there, but time is running out!

A few other advocacy initiatives/resources to be aware of are:

1. The updated “The Small but Powerful Guide to Winning Big Support for Your Rural Library,” www.ala.org/offices/olos/toolkits/rural,
2. “Keeping Public Libraries Public: A Checklist for Communities Considering Privatization of Public Libraries.” www.ala.org/tools/outsourcing.
3. Advocating in a Tough Economy Toolkit, www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/advocacyuniversity/toolkit.

A whole host of additional advocacy tools can be found on ALA’s Advocacy University website, www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/advocacyuniversity/.

I could go on, but I’ll stop for now. Please let me know if you’d like me to come speak with your library co-op about ALA. I’d be happy to try and do so.

Respectfully,

Steve Butzel, NH Chapter Councilor on the ALA Council
skbutzel@cityofportsmouth.com

ALA

Steve Butzel | December 29, 2011 | 0 Comments

As many of you may remember, NHLA and the NH State Library sponsored the first ever Small Libraries Summit back in April of 2010, and it was such a success, we’ve decided to sponsor it again for 2012. Even better, we are planning on expanding it so more librarians can come.

Specifically, we’re planning on holding a Summit meeting on Monday, April 2nd for librarians working in communities of 1,500 or fewer residents. Then, we plan to hold a second Summit meeting on Monday, April 16th for librarians working in communities between 1,500 and 3,000 residents. In both cases, we hope to be able to host about 70 librarians at the Local Government Center in Concord, NH.

More details will be announced in the future, but the Small Libraries Summit Committee would like you to save those dates in case you might want to attend.

If you have questions about the upcoming Summits, please send them to me.

Many thanks,
Steve Butzel, skbutzel@cityofportsmouth.com

Lori Fisher | December 13, 2011 | 0 Comments

• Review NHLA Constitution and By-Laws and proposed changes/updates to be voted on by entire NHLA membership
• Hold Small Libraries Summit in spring 2012
• Plan/organize Annual Conference for spring 2013
• Continue to improve communications with membership
• Continue to fund continuing education workshops offered through the State Library
• Expand and promote the Specialists Network project
• Continue annual NHLA Board member visit to each NH Public Library Cooperative to solicit feedback about needs and to provide information about NHLA

Questions about these goals can be directed to 2012 NHLA President, Lori Fisher, at bfldirector@comcast.net.

Lori Fisher | December 8, 2011 | 0 Comments

Please click on the link below to access a pdf version of Michael York’s report to the NH House Finance Committee, submitted on 11/30/11.  This report was created in response to a NH legislative request to examine the possibility of reallocating federal funding away from the ILL van service to other unspecified areas.

State Librarian report to NH House 11 30 2011

ILL Van Service, IMLS, LSTA, NH State Library, NH State Library, Reports

Judy Haskell | November 18, 2011 | 0 Comments

The New Hampshire Library Association was proud to honor Annie Donahue, Library Director of UNH-Manchester, as the 2011 recipient of the Ann Geisel Award of Merit at the NHLA Fall Business Meeting on November 4th.

Annie is also an Assistant Professor at UNHM, having taught history courses, plus research and reference skills to students for the past 15 years. She earned a BA in Humanities from UNH, an MLS from Southern Connecticut State College, and an ALM with a concentration in Celtic Studies from Harvard University. Annie is currently pursuing a doctorate in education from Plymouth State University.

Annie has been actively involved with NHLA since 1991, serving as President in 2007 and Spring Conference Committee Chairperson from 2008-2011.

Several librarians and co-workers shared words of praise:

“Annie validated the organization for all types of libraries in New Hampshire, engaging academic librarians, public librarians and school librarians to be part of one organization and to serve that organization together.”

“Annie, always prepared and organized, taught me that serving the NH library community is an important part of being a librarian. Working with Annie taught me that we have a lot to share with not only our patrons and students, but our peers as well…Annie may not know it, but she has served as a mentor to me. Thank you, Annie for helping me become a better librarian.”

“Annie has helped to create a work environment that is warm and inviting, while maintaining impeccable professionalism. I am truly honored and grateful to have her as my Director.”

The Ann Geisel Award of Merit is given to an individual, group or organizations that has made significant contributions to the New Hampshire Library Community.