Don’t Miss It: Big Talk From Small Libraries, a Free 1-Day Online Conference

Big Talk From Small Libraries 2013 is a free one-day online conference you won’t want to miss!

Thursday February 28, 2013
8:45am – 5pm CST (attend one or all of the webinar sessions)
register here

This is aimed at librarians from small libraries; the smaller the better. Each of the speakers will be from a small library or directly works with small libraries.

Schedule:

8:45 – 9am
Welcome to the Conference & Introductions

9 – 9:50am
I’m Gonna Make You Famous: Raising Awareness and Building Community on a Three-Inch Screen
The Schultz-Holmes Memorial Library in Blissfield, Michigan produces the Blissfield Reads series of videos for its Facebook page.  The first video, Blissfield Reads “The Raven,” doubled the number of people who liked the library’s Facebook page in 48 hours, doubling the number of people who get library updates from Facebook.  The videos have become a local topic of conversation, which makes the library a topic of conversation.  The program will focus on a step-by-step demonstration of the planning, recording, editing and marketing process for these videos which can cost little or nothing but time to produce.

10 – 10:50am
A Community Working Together
The Hopkins District Library in the past year has gone from a fading building with old books and shushing librarians to a place full of life through working with our community, technology, media and a little bit of creativity. Any size library can do it!  We will talk about pairing with schools, clubs, organizations, businesses, and how to secure funding to make this work.

11 – 11:50am
Using Social Media in a Small Library

Noon – 12:50pm
Lightning Round Presentations. 10 minutes each in the following order:
• Reaching New Readers Through Writing
• Manor Ink: Library-based, Youth-led News: Manor Ink is a library-based, youth-led newspaper, in print and online at manorink.com. It was founded in the Livingston Manor Free Library (serving an upstate New York district of 3,483) in February of 2012. Manor Ink was born to provide teens with employment skills while giving the community a local news source. A core group of 15 young people ages 9 to 19 meet weekly in the library with dedicated adult mentors. In an era when local newspapers and small libraries are struggling, Manor Ink has brought vitality to both and an expression of hope to a careworn community.
• Yoga @ The Library
• Kitchen Creations at the Library
• A Destination Library on a Dime

1 – 1:50pm
Oldies Night @ the Library
Oldies Night @ the Library is different from most programs libraries do.  It’s easy, it’s inexpensive, and it’s fun.  It’ll attract people who don’t otherwise visit your library.  It’s popular music of the not-so-distant past, which stirs up nostalgia and memories of high school years by taking you back to the days of Top 40 radio.  You’ll need an oldies music junkie, some oldies recordings, a bit of stereo equipment, and a room.  I’ll show you how we’ve combined those to create 3 hours of cheap, trashy rock ‘n’ roll once a month.  You can, too!

2 – 2:50pm
Circulating Electronics: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
Since 2008, the Pine River Library has offered a variety of electronics to their patrons. Circulating laptops, eReaders, mp3 players, and more can be good, bad, and even downright ugly. But offering patrons the chance to learn about emerging technologies is priceless. From setting up a new program at your library, to augmenting an existing program, Karen and Elizabeth will share their best-practice tips for circulating electronics.

3 – 3:50pm
Programming on a Shoestring Budget
The South Sioux City Public Library provides around 1,500 programs a year with a programming budget of $3,000.00. How are we able to do it? We rely on donations, volunteers, and we have a staff that is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our  patrons.  In the past three years program participation has increased from 2000 participants to 9000 participants.  We will discuss the types of programs offered, recruiting volunteers, and how to receive donations or grants.

4 – 4:50pm
Small Information Campaign Gets Big Numbers at the Polls
In November of 2012 the Broadview Public Library District (IL) had a bond measure on the Ballot for $4.1 million to renovate and expand their current library.  Despite having a community which was hit hard with the economic downturn the Library measure passed with an overwhelming 81% support.  Both the Library Director Melissa Gardner and Library Trustee Katrina Arnold will speak giving two different perspectives on the various components of our informational campaign that lead us to this success.  We did it with a few dedicated people and feel that others can do it too.  Among other things we will share: Panning and the role it played, what publicity was put out, our door-to-door campaign, success and thanking the public, and next steps in the process and where we are now.

This conference is organized and hosted by Michael Sauers, Laura Johnson, and Christa Burns of the Nebraska Library Commission and is co-sponsored by the Association for Small & Rural Libraries.

References:
• Big Talk From Small Libraries website
• Big Talk From Small Libraries Facebook page
Photo source: previous building used by the Mill Pond Public Library in Kingston, WI

Apply for These 2 Grants & Awards

1. Libraries are invited to apply for the $3,000 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant, which will be awarded to a single library for the best public awareness campaign incorporating the 2012 National Library Week theme, “You belong @ your library®”.  National Library Week is April 8-14, 2012.

Application form: http://www.ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek/nlwgrant.cfm
Application deadline: October 7, 2011.

The grant is sponsored by Scholastic Library Publishing, a division of Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and is administered by the Public Awareness Committee of the American Library Association (ALA).

2. The EBSCO Excellence in Small and/or Rural Public Library Service Award provides recognition and a $1,000 honorarium to a public library serving a population of 10,000 or less that “demonstrates excellence of service to its community as exemplified by an overall service program or a special program of significant accomplishment.”

Nomination form: http://www.pla.org/ala/mgrps/divs/pla/awards/apply/index.cfm
Registration deadline: December 1, 2011

The award honors a public library for all or any of the following:

• Uniqueness of service of program
• Impact of program or service on community
• How the service or program will affect the future of the library and its community

The Small but Powerful Guide to Winning Big Support for Your Rural Library

A newly-updated version of  The Small but Powerful Guide to Winning Big Support for Your Rural Library is now available online and as a free PDF download.

… this new revision features strategies for advocating for and promoting library services to rural communities, tips for utilizing technology in advocacy efforts, and examples of essential marketing and promotion tools.

Table of contents:

• Steps to success
• Go where the people are
• Win friends and influence decision-makers
• Speak successfully
• Make the most of media in all of its forms
• Build powerful partnerships
• Tools for success
• Sample message sheet
• Technology as an advocacy tool
• Technology & advocacy: Data you can use
• Resources

Published by the ALA Committee on Rural, Native and Tribal Libraries of All Kinds, the Association for Rural & Small Libraries and the ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services.

Best Small Library in America 2011

Here’s some inspiration for you — though Naturita has a population of only 665, this Colorado community’s library earned Library Journal’s 2011 Best Small Library in America Award.

Providing programs, applying for grants, and partnerships with local schools are just a few of the reasons this small library is a success:

Naturita had few nonathletic after-school or summer activities for the young, most of whom attend the local elementary school. Now more than a third of the students are active in library programs. Parents who have to drive to jobs in maintenance and housekeeping in Telluride depend on the library to provide programs and safe supervision for kids until they get home.
In response, NCL offers four days of after-school programming every week. Programs include homework help, monthly teen nights, and a new Children’s Learning Garden tended by kids.
In partnership with the Uncompahgre Board of Co­operative Services, NCL delivers weekly summer programs for preschool kids to second graders to build cognition, language, and social/emotional skills.

NCL’s seven public computers clock 200 uses a week; a recent grant from the Colorado State Library will add a dozen laptops to the array. Library staff help people conduct online searches for jobs and benefits like unemployment, since many have neither transportation nor home computers to get access to such services from offices in faraway Denver.

NCL has partnered with University Centers of the San Miguel—a nonprofit that provides access to secondary education—to offer library videoconferencing for a variety of classes. The goal is to increase access to higher education for the population. As of the 2000 census, the number of Naturita residents with bachelor’s degrees was 12, or three percent of adults 25 and older. This compares with 33 percent in the rest of Colorado.

Read the full article at Labor of Love: Best Small Library in America 2011, and visit the library’s Facebook page.

To nominate a library for the 2012 award, go to Best Small Library in America Award Nomination Guidelines (application deadline: November 2, 2011).

This annual award, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was created in 2005 to encourage and showcase the exemplary work of libraries serving populations under 25,000. The winning library receives a $15,000 cash prize from the Gates Foundation, conference costs for two library representatives to attend the 2012 Public Library Association (PLA) meeting in Philadelphia, a gala reception at PLA, and more. Starting with the 2011 award year, the two finalist libraries will each receive a $5000 cash award, conference costs for two library representatives to attend the 2012 PLA meeting and award celebration.

Apply Now for Rural Wisconsin Schools, Libraries & Communities Award

Nominations are open for the 2011 Standing Up for Rural Wisconsin Schools, Libraries, and Communities Award.

DPI is seeking nominations of “partnerships between and among schools, libraries, and communities that have resulted in programs or projects which demonstrate the great potential and spirit of rural Wisconsin.”

Nomination form: http://www.dpi.wi.gov/rural/doc/standupnomination2011.doc
The nomination form can be filled out online and submitted to rebecca.hannah@dpi.wi.gov
Nomination deadline: January 21, 2011

Take a look at previous award winners here.

Excellence in Small and/or Rural Public Library Service Award

The EBSCO Excellence in Small and/or Rural Public Library Service Award provides recognition and a $1,000 honorarium to a public library serving a population of 10,000 or less that demonstrates excellence of service to its community as exemplified by an overall service program or a special program of significant accomplishment.

The award honors a public library for all or any of the following:

• Uniqueness of service of program
• Impact of program or service on community
• How the service or program will affect the future of the library and its community

Online application form
Deadline: December 1, 2010

$15,000 award for best small library in America

The $15,000 award for best small library in America will be given to the public library that most profoundly demonstrates outstanding service to populations of 25,000 or less.

The winning library will receive a $15,000 cash award, a feature story in the February 1, 2010, Library Journal, membership and conference costs for two library representatives to attend the Public Library Association Biannual Conference in 2010 in Portland, OR, and a gala reception at the conference.

Two finalist libraries will also be awarded with membership and conference costs for two library representatives to attend the PLA conference and the gala reception in 2010, and they will be given special mention in Library Journal.

Deadline: postmarked on or before November 2, 2009

Nomination guidelines and details are at Library Journal http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA606273.html

Read about the 2008 winner, Chelsea District Library in Michigan.

For directors of rural & small libraries

Association for Rural & Small Libraries

You can help the Association for Rural & Small Libraries help you by taking 15 minutes to fill out their Rural/Small Town Libraries & Community Connections survey.

Your survey responses will be used to design and promote training resources that aid small and rural library directors and in cultivating relationships with key players in their communities.

This project is being undertaken on behalf of the Public Library Association and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries.

[via Twitter in a tweet from Jenny Levine, aka The Shifted Librarian]