Hopkinton Public Library unites community in library planning

Steve Hanulec
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Published:  12 March 2024
Hopkinton Public Library unites community in library planning

At Hopkinton Public Library in Iowa, community engagement is thriving. And the secret to this success is including community members in in the planning, from beginning to end. From an annual haunted house to community bake-offs, the library incorporates locals for ideation and program planning, so they feel invested and want to participate.

Full-time Library Director Kim Albright and her part-time Assistant Director, Michelle Bovee, run the entire show, so this kind of engagement is vital. They plan and implement all programs, handle day-to-day activities of running the library, manage social media, and oversee other communications. (I’m tired just thinking... Read more

Free March webinars for library staff

Compiled by the Maine State Library
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Published:  29 February 2024
Free March webinars for library staff

What's at the top of your learning list? We encourage you to focus an hour or two during the month of March on your learning need. Tackling those skills or knowledge gaps with one of these free webinars is a great way to make learning a priority. These training opportunities were compiled and shared by the Maine State Library. This month's list includes two online conferences and nearly 60 different webinars on 21 different topic areas.

View and subscribe to the Maine State Library Continuing Education (CE) Calendar at: https://maine-msl.libguides.com/CECAL  

Do you have a free program that you... Read more

Align library services with community aspirations

Dr. Audrey Barbakoff
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Published:  27 February 2024
Align library services with community aspirations

The most successful library services are often those that help the community meet its aspirations while also honoring the unique purpose of the library. But balancing the community’s goals and the library’s scope is not always an easy task.

When I teach library workers how to co-create services with their communities, these are the questions I hear most often. What if the community’s goals are much different than what we traditionally think of as a library issue? (And of course, they often are.) What if they have nothing to do with books, reading, or even education? How do we support... Read more

Together we heal

WebJunction
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Published:  20 February 2024
Together we heal

Like many small-town libraries, Jarrell Community Library is an important place for connection. And through a recent Libraries for Heath grant, the library is offering new kinds of connections—to peer mental health specialists and an array of resources to help reimagine mental health and wellness in their community.

We spoke with library director Susan Gregurek and mental health peer support specialist Mary Johnson to learn how Jarrell Community Library is reimagining health and wellness in their community with the support of the Libraries for Health initiative.

Webinar series: 12 months to better library data

Research Institute for Public Libraries (RIPL)
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Published:  14 February 2024
Webinar series: 12 months to better library data

The Research Institute for Public Libraries (RIPL) is a national initiative to provide training about data and evaluation to public library workers. While RIPL typically provides in-person trainings, this March it will launch a free, monthly, yearlong webinar series, 12 Months to Better Library Data. This series is intended for public library workers interested in gaining knowledge and skills for data-informed decision-making, program improvement, planning, and advocacy; as well as in learning how to use data to serve their community even better tomorrow than they are today. Anyone else interested in public library data and evaluation is also welcome to... Read more


 

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