NELA News Febuary 2010
NELA News is a monthly e-newsletter of the New England Library Association
NELA Wants You!
Each year, our Nominations Committee works tirelessly to identify candidates for Officers on the NELA Executive Board. Since we start with suggestions from committee members, we often make call after call, finding out all the conflicting responsibilities that make it impossible for those people to serve.
BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL THE GREAT PEOPLE WE DON'T KNOW??? WHAT ABOUT YOU???
If you would like to gain experience working with colleagues from all six New England States---if you're curious about how association decisions are made and projects are chosen---if you're looking for a new opportunity for professional development---WE WANT YOU!
The open positions to be filled by election of the membership later this year are the following:
Vice President/President Elect
Secretary
Junior Director
Please check out the descriptions for NELA BOARD positions: http://nelib.org/candidates .
What do you need to do? Just identify your interest! Send in a short "candidate statement" by MARCH 20 so we'll know about you and why you'd like to serve in a specific role. Please email your statement to: nominating@nelib.org
The election will take place during the summer of 2010. Election winners are invited to an orientation meeting in September and then assume their duties at the Tuesday luncheon during NELA's Annual Conference in October. This year's Annual Conference will be at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, MA October 17 to 19.
Don't worry about not knowing shorthand or never having been a Library Director. The NELA Executive Board is a friendly group of professionals who work together to get the job done.
ALL VOLUNTEER CANDIDATES WILL BE LISTED ON THE BALLOT IN THE NEXT ELECTION---COME JOIN US!
Great Librarian Award
To recognize his outstanding achievements, the New England Library Association in 1988 honored Emerson Greenaway, an innovator in library organization and practice in the mid-twentieth century, with the "Great Librarian Award." Two years later this regional honor was renamed the Emerson Greenaway Award and the award is offered annually by NELA to recognize exceptional librarians.
Do you know a Great Librarian who deserves recognition? If so, please tell us about this person! Nominations are now being accepted for the 2010 Emerson Greenaway Award to recognize individuals who have had a "demonstrated impact on the library field in the New England region.”
Nominees must be, or have been, members of NELA. She or he should have made a major contribution to the field of librarianship in New England, such as:
- Development of outstanding services in a field of expertise, such as administration, reference services, technical services, etc.,
- Involvement with developing library cooperation in New England,
- Outstanding leadership in the field.
Nominations include a written statement chronicling the nominee's achievements, his or her resume, and three letters of support, of which at least two are from persons outside the nominee's home state. The award may be given posthumously. Nominations must be submitted by June 1, 2010.
2010 Emerson Greenaway Nomination Form (PDF format, requires Adobe Reader)
For a list of past Greenaway Award Recipients see www.nelib.org/greenaway
NETSL Award Deadline Extended
Good news! The New England Technical Services Librarians (NETSL) Executive Board has extended the nomination deadline for its annual NETSL Award for Excellence in Library Technical Services to February 17, 2010.
We know you've got someone in mind. They've inspired you by meeting challenges head on; they're innovative practitioners that keep the technical services department ahead of the curve; the library as a whole flourishes because of their efforts; they put the service in technical services!
Let us know who it is. Qualifications and nominating procedures are all available at http://nelib.org/netsl/award2010call.htm
Educational Assistance Available
Need money for library school?
Did you know that NELA offers scholarships for New England residents working on a Master’s degree in Library Science?
Well, we do - two scholarships each for full and part-time students, $2,000 and $1,000 respectively.
Interested? Complete details and an application form are at
http://nelib.org/educationalassistance/ScholarshipForm-200901.pdf . Be sure to submit your completed application form to your graduate school’s Dean’s office by March 15 (the Educational Assistance Committee cannot accept direct applications.)
If you have any questions, please contact Vickie Turcotte, Chair of the Educational Assistance
Committee (educationalassistance@nelib.org)
Extra Value In Spring Stand-Alone Conferences!
The NELA Executive Board has voted to give a $5.00 coupon to anyone who has paid to attend a spring 2010 stand-alone conference. The coupon can be used as credit toward registration for the Annual Conference in the fall. Register this spring for a NELA Stand-alone conference and watch for details to redeem your coupon.
On the Calendar
April 15, NETSL (Technical Services Librarians) Annual Spring Conference ("Crosswalks to the Future"), College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
April 19-20, CLA Annual Conference, Mohegan Sun
http://www.ctlibraryassociation.org/
April 23, NERTCL (Teen and Children’s Librarians) Spring Program, Needham Congregational Church, Needham
Spring Stand-alone: It's Not Just a Fantasy: Putting Fantastic Fiction to Work. Speakers for this event are authors Sarah Thomson and T.A. Barron and Simmons GSLIS professor Melanie Kimball.
April 28-30, MLA Annual Conference (Massachusetts) Hyannis, MA
http://www.masslib.org
May 13-14, New Hampshire Library Association, Attitash Resort, Bartlett, NH
http://www.nhlibrarians.org/
May 25, Vermont Library Conference, St. Michael’s College
http://www.vermontlibraries.org/
May 27-28, RILA Annual Conference, Bryant University, Smithfield, R.I.
http://www.rilibraryassoc.org/index.htm
June 11 (tentative), ITS (Information Technology Section) Conference, location tba
Spring stand-alone: “Non-print” Book Formats. These include Sony Readers, Kindles, e-books, downloadable audiobooks, vooks (text with embedded video), etc.
October 17-19, NELA Annual Conference, Boxborough, MA
http://nelib.org/conference
Maine Library Association, no conference announced
http://mainelibraries.org/
Around New England
MAINE Maine’s State Library is anticipating still more budget cuts for this year and next to come out of the state Legislature session that began in early January. Cuts will affect service levels in local libraries where there is dependence on services and programs provided by the State Library.
MLA and Starbucks have formed a partnership for distribution of MLA coffee sleeves. The success of the program has prompted the MLA Board to vote to purchase of a second shipment of coffee sleeves
RHODE ISLAND The Champlin Foundation has awarded a total of $2,579,115 to 36 Rhode Island libraries. The majority of the grants cover structural improvements to buildings, patron equipment and technology investments. A detailed list of awards can be found at: http://foundationcenter.org/grantmakawarded er/champlin/2009_grants.pdf
RILA sponsored a Legislative Issues Retreat on Saturday, December 5. Twenty-four people attended including representatives from most of the state’s library advocacy groups and professional organizations. Three priorities came out of the meeting: Funding/state aid issues; Legislation/law; and RITEAF (RI Telecommunications Education Access Fund). Three committee chairs were named to address these issues.
The Rhode Island Center for the Book announced the 2010 Reading Across Rhode Island (RARI) title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The RARI Kick-off Conference was held Saturday, January 30, 2010 at Bryant University. The 8th Annual May Breakfast will be held May 1, 2010 at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston, R.I., 9 am-12 noon. Annie Barrows, co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, with present the keynote address.
Rhode Island’s version of the Newbery award (fiction only) has announced its winners, selected from the final list developed by a group of children's services librarians, school library media specialists and teachers:
Medal: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Honors: Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff; Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
The annual Rhode Island Coalition of Library Advocates (COLA) event will be held at Rhode Island Statehouse on February 8, 2010. RILA will provide some financial support for the event.
The RILA conference will be held May 27 & 28, 2010 at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I.
NEW HAMPSHIRE NHLA has committed to funding NELLS in 2011.
New Hampshire libraries have received Kill-A-Watt meters that are available for checkout. The monitors allow people to see how much energy their devices (televisions, refrigerators, etc.) are using. They are made possible through a joint project of New Hampshire utility companies and the New Hampshire State Library as part of the statewide "Cut the Carbon" program.
New Hampshire will be participating in The Big Read in March with To Kill a Mockingbird.
The NHLA intellectual freedom committee plans to revise its intellectual freedom manual, which was last updated in 1998. Sections on the internet and current laws, in particular, need to be addressed.
The most requested topic for continuing education in New Hampshire is emerging technologies.
VERMONT Both VLA membership renewals and new memberships are up over the same period as last year.
The VT Department of Libraries is working with the VT Telecommunications Authority on a competitive grant application for the American Recovery and Investment Act stimulus funds to build a statewide fiber optic cable network that would bring high-speed broadband to towns across VT and to approximately 50 libraries. The VT Department of Libraries have been awarded a “contingent agreement” from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help with meeting the cash match requirement for the part of the application that addresses public libraries.
MASSACHUSETTS Rob Maier, Director of MBLC, provided a legislative update at a MLA meeting in December. The cuts for FY2010 were unanticipated. It is possible that more cuts will be made in January 2010. In response to the FY11 17% cuts to the MBLC budget, the regions will be downsized and reorganized. Rob has been told that we can expect at least two more very difficult funding years.
As part of our ongoing mission to educate legislators about the important role of libraries in the commonwealth, MLA will be holding Library Legislative Day again in April 2010.
The 2010 MLA Annual Conference, From Meek to Mighty: Reinventing Libraries in Challenging Times, will be held April 28 - 30th at the Hyannis Resort and Conference Center.
NELA News is a monthly e-newsletter of the New England Library Association.
To submit news or articles contact: publications@nelib.org;
NELA, 31 Connor Lane, Wilton, NH 03086; 603-654-3533, 603-654-3526 fax
Publications Committee: Jan Drake, Karen Patterson
The deadline for submitting news items is the last day of the previous month.
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