Audio version

DECEMBER 2016 PREVIEW

COGNOTES 9

Free Community Engagement Training Opportunities at News You Can Use Session

Starting in early 2017, public and academic libraries across the country will be invited to learn community engagement techniques, such as coalition building and dialogue facilitation, through a series of free web-based and in person trainings.

Join the ALA Public Programs Office for a News You Can Use Session, “Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change,” at the 2017 ALA Midwinter Meeting to learn more about these new offerings, including training schedules, application instructions, and special travel stipends available to small and rural libraries.

The session will be held on Saturday, January 21 from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. in room GWCC-B406.

Through Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change, a two-year initiative supposed by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), ALA will offer library-focused training and resources on a variety of community engagement models. The initiative builds upon Libraries Transforming Communities, a 2014-15 ALA project that introduced hundreds of libraries to the “Turning Outward” approach, a set of community engagement techniques created by The Harwood Institute for Public Engagement.

Courses will be customized to meet the needs of various library types and sizes: small, medium-sized, and rural public libraries; large public library systems; and academic libraries. Library professionals serving small and rural communities will be invited to apply for one of 25 scholarships to defray the cost of travel and lodging for in person workshops.

Over the next two years, ALA will work with several other change-making leaders – such as the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD), Everyday Democracy, National Issues Forum, and World Café – to develop and lead the trainings. NCDD will collaborate with ALA to connect libraries to their network and curated resources to complement training opportunities.

Through offerings such as these, ALA demonstrates its commitment to the idea that libraries have a unique capacity to support healthy, sustainable communities.

“In today’s changing library landscape, it is increasingly clear that skills like facilitation and consensus-building are vital competencies for library professionals,” said ALA President Julie Todaro. “ALA has been a champion of community engagement work for years, and we’re excited that this IMLS support will provide libraries and librarians even more resources to aid them in this important work.”

Like the resources developed through the first phase of Libraries Transforming Communities, all materials created for Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change will be available online for all libraries, free of charge.

Pam Jenoff and Kathy Hepinstall Among the Featured Authors at the Gala Author Tea, Sponsored by ReferenceUSA

Pam Jenoff and Kathy Hepinstall will be among featured authors at United for Libraries’ Gala Author Tea, sponsored by ReferenceUSA, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. on Monday, January 23 at the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Atlanta.

A light offering of tea, finger sandwiches and a variety of sweet treats will be served. A book signing will follow. United for Libraries will recognize the winners of the 2016 National Friends of Libraries Week Awards during the program.

Pam Jenoff (The Orphan’s Tale, Harlequin/MIRA, February 2017) was born in Maryland and raised in southern New Jersey, outside of Philadelphia. She attended George Washington University in Washington D.C., where she earned a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in international affairs, with minors in history and Japanese. She then received her master’s in history from Cambridge University in England.

Kathy Hepinstall (The Book of Polly, Pamela Dorman Books/Penguin Random House, March 2017) is the author of five previous novels. She is also a top level advertising creative director who has written award-winning campaigns for corporate clients from Apple to Nike. She grew up in Spring, Texas, near the Louisiana border and now lives in Portland, Ore., and Santa Barbara, Calif. Polly is based, in part, on Hepinstall’s own mother, who has as wicked a tongue as her fictional counterpart.

Advance tickets to the Gala Author Tea cost $60, $55 for United for Libraries division members. Onsite tickets cost $65, if available. Advance purchase is recommended. Event code: UNI1.

For more information on purchasing tickets and other United for Libraries events and meetings at the ALA Midwinter Meeting, visit www.ala.org/united/events_conferences/midwinter.

COGNOTES

ISSN: 0738-4319 • Volume 2017 Issue I

Reporter Michelle Kowalsky Rowan University Glassboro, N.J.

Publisher/Managing Editor Deb Nerud Vernon

Photography Curtis Compton Armando Solares Michael Buxbaum Alexandra Buxbaum

Production Tim Mercer Jenn Waters CustomNews, Inc.

Media Manager Fiona Soltes

Videographer/Video Editor Andrew Franks Guido Ronge

ALA Liaison Paul Graller

Transform and Recharge at the ALA Lounge

Drop by the ALA Lounge, where you can learn how membership can enhance your career, connect with colleagues and get information to help improve library services in your community. Our public awareness campaign, Libraries Transform®, will continue this year with new banners, videos from participating libraries and a kiosk where you can sign up to participate. ALA staff will be on hand, ready to help answer your questions about your membership, the conference, Libraries Transform®, ALA’s strategic directions, and the many things happening at ALA. With information and displays from ALA divisions, round tables, and offices, the ALA Lounge is your one-stop place to learn and get connected.

Don’t forget, next door you can find the Networking Uncommons where we’ll have a variety of items for you to use and recharge with. You can reserve spots to present to a small group (sign-ups will open soon), strum a tune on our ukuleles, feed your phone at the charging stations, sew a quick stitch on the sewing machines and even find a spot and supplies to make a page for your scrapbook.

ASCLA’s Ticketed Event

To register for “Activate, Collaborate and Engage: Transforming Your Community through Health Outreach @ Your Library,” you can include them with your initial registration or add them later using the unique link in your email confirmation. If you don’t have your registration confirmation handy, you can request a copy by emailing alaregistration@compusystems.com.

This event will be held on Friday, January 20, 2017 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., event code: ASC1. Please refer to the below chart for ticket pricing:

This session will provide an introduction on how libraries can strengthen their roles within the communities they serve through health outreach using ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC) initiative. Learn about free and reliable health information resources and ready – to – use materials. The focus will be on teaching libraries how to proactively create a culture of health for their users. Attendees will leave this session with resources to begin health outreach implementation at their library. Co-sponsored by ASCLA’s Consumer Health Information Librarians Interest Group.

Click here to

REGISTER