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July 2025 | |
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Adult Services Notes |
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Recently Added LVA Training
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Protecting the Electronic Devices in Your Library
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The electronic devices in your library building should be near the top of your list for protection. Some of these items belong to the facility, some to the staff, and some to the patrons.
This includes smartphones, tablets, laptops, gaming consoles, laser and color printers, 3D printers, PCs, computer lab room equipment, |
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and training room equipment (such as flat-screen TVs and ceiling-mounted or desktop projectors). Don’t forget all of the accompanying equipment, like router devices, remotes, mice, keyboards, and specialized power supply cords—all of which can be tedious and sometimes expensive to replace. Some of these devices might belong to patrons or staff, with most belonging to the library; they all need protection from theft, vandalism, and cyber-sabotage.
This webinar will help library leaders and staff to take the tools and tips presented and work together to better protect the electronic devices in their facilities. |
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Niche Academy is open to all Virginia library staff members and library associates such as trustees and Friends board members. If you do not have a Niche Academy account, please use your library email address to sign up. If you do not have a library work email, you may register with a personal email, and we will contact you to confirm that you are affiliated with a Virginia library.
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News from Library Development
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Accel5 is now EBSCOLearning Accel
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We are very excited to announce that
Accel5 Business Library, one of our Find It Virginia learning resources, has been upgraded to a new user experience and name, EBSCOlearning Accel, as of May 15.
This change brings exciting improvements to the user experience and makes it even easier to access this unique business-focused library of book reviews, short videos, articles, and learning paths. |
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Here are some details:
What is EBSCOlearning Accel?
Accel is a microlearning solution that helps individuals build professional and workplace-ready skills through short, engaging videos, book summaries, and articles. Content comes from over 47 leading business thinkers—including members of the Thinkers50—and supports continuous learning and career growth in just minutes a day.
What's New in the User Experience? Modern, More Intuitive Design: A streamlined interface makes it easier than ever to explore and engage with content. Expanded Topics & Subtopics: More targeted categories help patrons quickly find content that’s relevant to their goals. Personalized for You: Content recommendations are tailored to each user’s interests, based on what they selected during onboarding. New Learner Dashboard: The redesigned homepage provides a full view of the learning journey, with easy access to carousels like My Learning and Recommended Content.
Watch the “What’s New on Accel” Video: Click here to see a quick overview of all the exciting updates
Find marketing resources and more for Accel on the Find It VA Marketing section on the Library Development Info Center. |
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Want to learn more about EBSCOLearning Accel and how you can promote it to your patrons? Join us on Tuesday, July 22nd at 1 pm for a webinar on getting the most from the LVA EBSCO Learning Accel subscription in Find It Virginia. Use the button to the right to register.
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Civic Season is a national effort among libraries, archives, museums, and historic sites to make history accessible for younger generations and empower them to understand our past and shape our future. It runs from Juneteenth through July 4 each year, and the Library of Virginia offers a series of challenges to encourage community engagement and learning. Find this year’s challenges on our Civic Season webpage or use our Civic Conversations resources at any time to host informed, small-group discussions around complex issues affecting Virginians.
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Finding Grant Opportunities
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It can be a challenge to locate grant opportunities, but there are some resources out there to help you get started. These sites list national, regional, and local grants that might be of interest to libraries. Some require you to register with your email address, and others only provide basic level searching without a paid subscription, but all of them offer some initial ideas for grants to provide library services.
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Demco Free Grant Search -- Library vendor Demco provides a free search tool to explore national and state-level grants of all types. Registration required. Library Grants -- A blog that lists library grant opportunities. You can subscribe to get the latest posts via email. Programming Librarian -- The ALA Public Programs Office provides a regularly updated list of grant opportunities to "help libraries fill their role as cultural and civic hubs in their communities." You can sign up for a monthly email to stay up to date. TLC Library Grants and Funding -- ILS vendor TLC has a page listing a variety of grant opportunities for libraries.
In addition to these free resources, there are fee-based sources for grant exploration that some libraries may consider adding to their digital collections. These include The Foundation Directory, GrantStation, and GrantWatch. If you only need access for a short period of time, The Foundation Directory and GrantWatch offer monthly subscriptions as well as an annual subscription.
The editor would like to thank Benjamin Goldberg, Library Development Officer at the Williamsburg Regional Library for his assistance in compiling these resources. |
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Readers' Advisory Tips and Tricks
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Building a Culture of Readers' Advisory |
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While readers' advisory is generally acknowledged as an important library service, it can be a challenge to build an RA team and a culture of RA at your library.
The suggestions below offer some ideas about how to move from readers' advisory being a hit-or-miss service depending who is on the public service desk to being an integrated part of library services. |
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Building an RA Team
A thriving culture of readers' advisory begins with organizational commitment. Does your library's mission or vision and strategic directions include anything about books and reading or the importance of stories in people's lives? If not, why not?
In “Missing the Real Story: Where Library and Information Science Fails the Library Profession,” in The Readers’ Advisor’s Companion, (Libraries Unlimited, 2001), LIS practitioner Wayne Wiegand says cultures have always used stories “to validate their experiences, make sense of their worlds, and pass on to future generations what they regard as the culture’s collective wisdom.”
Stories are why people come to the library. While libraries offer much more than books, our brand, like it or not, is centered around circulating materials where readers/viewers/listeners can find stories that support and sustain them and open their eyes to new possibilities. This is important work.
Here are some ways to articulate the value that RA services bring to the library:
RA builds relationships between the library and its users, who will then be more likely to support the library in challenging times. RA provides a human connection to users, one that is increasingly rare in our world of chatbots and automated phone responses. RA services increase circulation of materials. While not the sole criterion of success, circulation is an important data point that library funding bodies can easily understand. By helping move mid-list and older titles, RA keeps library circulation figures up. Book displays help move titles that might otherwise languish on the shelves.
Here are some ideas for ways to build a culture of RA in the library: Advocate for your library's mission and strategic directions to reflect teh value of supporting your community of readers. Welcome new staff members to RA services. Create an atmosphere where new staff can try out different aspects of RA to explore possibilities. And include RA training in your on-boarding process. Encourage staff to talk about books and reading. Build time in staff meetings to discuss what folks are reading or some RA-focused topic. Make opportunities for staff to build and polish RA skills. There is a lot of RA training available in the LVA Niche Academy, and Library Development staff can offer in-person RA training. Encourage staff in all areas of the library to learn about RA, participate in creating RA resources like displays and booklists, and share their reading interests. Don't limit things to just public services staff.
Our primary work as library staff is building relationships--between our patrons and the library, between those patrons and library staff, and among our patrons. These relationships reinforce the role of the library in the community and make our communities stronger by building empathy and understanding. Readers' advisory services can be a key tool here, and libraries should take advantage of the opportunities it offers.
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Virginia Library Projects
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Outreach Book Bike Project
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From the editor: This feature in the newsletter is an opportunity for libraries to share interesting projects that they are implementing to improve access to resources or improve services. If you are interested in sharing a project your library is doing, please reach out to Barry Trott, barry.trott@lva.virginia.gov, to discuss writing it up.
In this month's installment, Rachel McDowell presents the Waynesboro Public Library's Book Bike project. |
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Waynesboro Public Library is proud to announce the roll out of the new Outreach Book Bike, a mobile library initiative designed to extend library services beyond the building and into the heart of the community while removing barriers such as lack of transportation.
The Book Bike will further the library’s mission of connecting people with information, resources, entertainment, and each
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other outside of library walls through a variety of event visits and programs.
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The Book bike is set up to do library card sign up, carry a collection of books for check out, and offer information about other library programs. It comes complete with an interior bookshelf, brochure holders, chalkboard, front fold-down table for computer set-up. It is a 7-gear bike with 5 levels of e-assist to tackle Waynesboro’s hills.
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The idea of the Book Bike started at the Association for Bookmobile and Outreach Conference last October when Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Rachel McDowell discovered Icicle Tricycles. This company specializes in creating commercial cargo bikes. They have created customized tricycles for all kinds of businesses, including their Library Book Bikes. Local graphic design company, Mountain Laurel Studio, shaped the colorful and fun design of the vinyl wrap to make sure it was eye-catching, and the library’s name/logo were prominently featured.
A huge thank you to Icicle Tricycles and Mountain Laurel Studio for bringing this creation to life!
The Book Bike aims to make library services more visible, approachable, and fun while removing barriers to access. With its fun exterior and unique design, it has already had great success in starting conversations about library services. We’ve had many community members express excitement about the initiative. It will be used at a variety of local festivals such as Hiker Fest and Juneteenth, story times in park, senior facility visits, child care facilities visits, and collaborative programming with local organizations.
For more information on the Waynesboro Book Bike project, contact Rachel McDowell, McDowellRA@ci.waynesboro.va.us |
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Hammer Dyeing with Flowers
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Fiber arts are popular these days, and the Parkland Community Library in Allentown, Pennsylvania developed an interesting and inventive program using inexpensive materials to produce some colorful art.
With flowers, wax paper, fabric, and small hammers, participants learned about the Japanese art form tataki-zomé, sometimes called "flower pounding" or "hammer dyeing." |
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Featured Virginia Programs
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The Charles E. Beatley Library in Alexandria is committed to sustainability. Our newest initiative, Twice Loved Plushies, gave our patrons a way to donate gently used stuffed animals secure in the knowledge that their once-beloved toys would find a new home after being thoroughly cleaned and repaired.
Community members eagerly donated 600 items in January that otherwise would have been thrown away or sat in a closet unused. There was such a strong response that we had to stop collection efforts early due to space and capacity constraints. Patrons shared with staff members their struggle to know what to do with once loved stuffed toys that didn't feel wasteful or dishonor the emotional bond with the object. They were grateful to have their plushies given a second chance to make someone new very happy. |
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Interested staff members worked as a team on different aspects of the program. Each donated item was sorted by size and condition, cleaned, sanitized and repaired. After this process, each stuffy was prepared to be given out in “house” bag with a personalized short story and adoption certificate.
During All Alexandria Reads month in April, the plushies were available to be adopted by the public. People of all ages came to the library to receive a plushie and left with a new friend and a smile on their faces. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and all the plushies found a new home. |
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For more info, contact Marialy Duncan, mduncan@alexlibraryva.org
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Pamunkey Regional Library
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The History of Baseball in Richmond |
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With 2025 marking the final season of baseball at Richmond's beloved Diamond, Ron Pomfrey, baseball enthusiast and author of the book, "Baseball in Richmond," presented a program at the Ashland Branch of Pamunkey Regional Library the history of baseball in the RVA area.
Recounting charismatic players and games played on fields in the City of Richmond and the surrounding area, Mr. Pomfrey educated and entertained a rapt audience of baseball fans with stories, trivia, and memorabilia from his extensive collection. |
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For more info, contact Joanne Jones, jjones@pamunkeylibrary.org
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Recent articles on topics of interest to Adult Services |
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This newsletter is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. It is published by the Library of Virginia Library Development Division.
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