Trustees, Friends, & Foundations |
December 2023 | |
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Welcome to the Trustees, Friends, & Foundations Newsletter!
A monthly update on items relevant to those who work as or with Library Trustees, Friends, and Foundations.
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| From December 1, 2023
One of the questions I have been asked over the last few months is whether or not I’ll update my guide on how to fight book bans. I like to think that my weekly book censorship news roundups published here and in the Literary Activism newsletter are the updates. The reality is that three some years into this assault on the First Amendment Rights of all people and the insulting rhetoric around library workers, educators, and advocates for intellectual access, while the fight is still vital, change is only going to truly happen on a large scale through the legal system. It is important to keep showing up. It is important to keep pushing back. It is important to continue to advocate and organize and share information. But big, meaty, nationwide change is going to happen in courtrooms...
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| From December 13, 2023
Though often referred to as the most wonderful time of year, the holidays can be the exact opposite for those mourning the loss of family or friends.
El Progreso Memorial Library (EPML) in Uvalde, Texas, is one of an increasing number of libraries, with help from community partners, organizing programming about handling grief during the holiday season. EPML has been a center for grief recovery since May 25, 2022. The day before, the community faced the unimaginable tragedy of losing 21 community members—mostly young children—in the Robb Elementary School shooting. EMPL, in addition to providing regular library services, has evolved into a healing hub. Therapists and counselors use its meeting rooms to work with locals, and staffers have hosted various care programs for children and adults...
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Sign Up with the Virginia Library Association as an Advocate! |
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Click HERE and sign up for the VLA Advocacy Center Mailing List to make sure you're receiving Virginia action alerts and updates on policy issues related to the library field. This will help you keep abreast of legislation that could affect your local library and community.
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UNITED FOR LIBRARIES RESOURCES |
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Virginia library staff and stakeholders (folks like you!) have access to a whole host of resources from United for Libraries.
Click to get the CHEAT SHEET signed up and in.
| Already signed up? Click HERE to access everything through the ALA eLearning Platform! |
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Standards of Excellence for Library Friends & Foundations
Tuesday, January 9, 2024 -- 2:00p-3:00p
Is your Friends of the Library group and/or library Foundation following nonprofit best practices? Join Amy Coates Madsen, Vice President of Programs at the Maryland Nonprofits and the Director of the Standards for Excellence Institute, who will present on legal, ethical, and other standards for nonprofits. Learn about best practices, how to have a clear mission, board development, public engagement, and more |
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| Building Authentic Relationships with Underserved Communities |
You know your library could do more to connect with and respond to the systematically excluded communities you serve. But if you're starting with little or no existing connection, how do you build authentic, trust-based relationships? How do you go beyond transactional interactions and guessing at services to effective engagement and participation? This webinar will help you develop a plan for identifying, reaching, and building relationships with communities experiencing oppression
(Occurs 1.30.24 - 2p EST) |
Register Here
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Libraries Foster Social Connection: Responding to the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation |
Libraries can play a vital role in building social cohesion and promoting community resilience, especially in challenging times... This engaging session will explore ways to intentionally design for social connection in library services and programs, from passive to hosted. These innovative and practical strategies can deepen engagement with staff, trustees, local officials, volunteers, and community members of all ages and backgrounds...
(Occurs 1.4.24 - 3p) |
Register Here
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Dementia Friendly Library Challenge |
It is projected that, by 2025, over 190,000 Virginians will be living with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia and currently, over 300,000 Virginians age 45 or older report dealing with some subjective cognitive decline
Take up the Dementia Friendly Library Challenge to learn more about this disease and how you might best serve folks with dementia and those who care for them.
(Kickoff Webinar occurs
1.4.24 - 10p) |
Register Here
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Trustee, Friends, and Foundation members have access to the Library of Virginia's Niche Academy, a place for online learning.
Please note, if you register with a non-library issued e-mail address, someone from the Library of Virginia will follow up with you to confirm that you are affiliated with a Virginia library before you can access the content. |
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Click on the image to learn more about each title, and then use your local library to request them from the Library of Virginia.
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| Massanutten Regional Library - December 11, 2023
At Massanutten Regional Library (MRL), one of the principal ways we serve refugees and immigrants is through accepting I-94 forms, and/or foreign driver’s licenses as a photo ID for library registration purposes. Through communication with our partners, we know there is a shortage of housing within our community, and our circulation staff know to accept temporary addresses for these new arrivals... |
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| December 13, 2023
The Library of Virginia, in partnership with William & Mary Libraries, is accepting nominations for a new award honoring excellence in the field of children’s literature with a focus on Virginia. The 2024 Children’s Virginia Literary Award will recognize picture books and middle-grade works for reading levels up to age 12. Fiction or nonfiction books by authors with a connection to Virginia and books set in Virginia are eligible for the award, which includes a $2,500 monetary prize. For the 2024 award period, books must have been published during 2023. |
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"I have never read a book that I was not supposed to. My parents didn't place any restrictions on my reading, and I believe that the experience of not understanding something is just another kind of learning. If I believed that there were books that someone 'wasn't supposed to read,' I would be a fundamentally different person."
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Children's book author Kyle Lukoff, in "Eight Authors on How It Feels to Have Their Books Banned," Harper's Bazaar, September 11.
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This newsletter is brought to you by the Library Development & Networking Division of the Library of Virginia. Funding for this is provided through the Virginia General Assembly and the Institute for Museum and Library Studies (IMLS).
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