December 1, 2019 (Vol. 27, No. 21): HAPPENINGS

2019 Mock Pura Belpré Awards December 7th in McMinnville

What: 2019 Mock Pura Belpré Awards

When: Saturday, December 7, 2019.  10 am – 4 pm

Where: Kent Taylor Civic Hall, 200 NE Second Street, McMinnville, OR 97128.

Each year, since 2015, the REFORMA Oregon Round Table (RORT) for the Oregon Library Association hosts the Mock Pura Belpré Award. This is a great opportunity not only for librarians and library staff who are working with Latino and/or Spanish speaking children, but also for all children’s librarians. The focus of the Mock Awards is on knowledge building by including titles which are open to deliberation regarding the Pura Belpré Awards criteria. This helps us to raise awareness of the importance of more quality children’s literature written and/or illustrated by Latino authors.

Please bring all the copies of the contender titles (see http://reformaoregon.weebly.com/2019-mock-pura-belpreacute.html ) to make sure that we have enough books for discussion.

Contact: Marci Jenkins, Marci.Jenkins@mcminnvilleoregon.gov, 503-435-5568

December 1, 2019 (Vol.27, No. 21): LIBRARY NEWS

Waldport Public Library Receives the 2018 Oregon LSTA Project of the Year Award

Congratulations to the Waldport Public Library, which received the 2018 Oregon LSTA Project of the Year Award for their project, Community Math Outreach.

The library successfully refreshed many aspects of their youth programming over the past year to engage local students ages pre-K-12 and their families in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related activities, with a special emphasis on math.

Activities included Legos, rocket workshops, kids clubs for radio controlled cars and drones, and much more.

Pictured left to right: Barbara Fischer (Library Assistant), Sharon McCrum (Family Outreach Coordinator), Sue Bennett (Library Director), Jennifer Patterson (Oregon State Librarian), MaryKay Dahlgreen (District Librarian of the Lincoln County Library District). Staff not pictured: Pam Fodness and Norm Klusman.

December 1, 2019 (Vol. 27, No. 21): OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENRICHMENT

Online Northwest 2020 Call for Proposals

The 2020 conference will be held on March 27, 2020 at Portland State University, Portland OR. Online Northwest seeks proposals for 45-minute panels, workshops, and presentations. The program committee is interested in sessions that address technical, social, and policy issues associated with information technology, information management, and librarianship. Academic, public, school, and special librarians are strongly encouraged to submit proposals.

Proposals for the 2020 conference are due by December 9, 2019.

To submit a proposal, follow this link and create an account.

If you have questions, contact:

Robert Monge, Chair, Online Northwest Planning Committee at monger@wou.edu

November 1, 2019 (Vol. 26, No. 20): ASSOCIATION NEWS

New OLA Quarterly

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion issue of the OLA Quarterly is now available! The Guest Editor is Elaine Hirsch, Associate Director of Watzek Library at Lewis & Clark College and our current OLA President. Please download and read it here: https://commons.pacificu.edu/olaq/vol25/iss2/

This year, EDI is a specific area of focus for the Oregon Library Association, and there will be many opportunities for OLA members to engage in related efforts and conversations. The best place to start is to read this issue! See if you know someone who wrote about their EDI work! 🙂

UX note: The links in this issue may work better if the reader downloads it into an Adobe DC Reader. The table of contents is clickable.

Best wishes,

OLA Communications Committee

November 1, 2019 (Vol. 26, No. 20): ASSOCIATION NEWS

OLA International Relations Round Table: Sister Libraries

Michael Boock and Richard Sapon-White, Oregon State University Library Faculty, will be visiting their sister library at Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, for two weeks in November 2019. They will be meeting with international colleagues, consulting on setting up their institutional repository, and presenting at conferences.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Learn more about Sister Libraries with this fact sheet from ALA IRRT: 

To promote the concept of a global community of libraries, the American Library Association (ala.org) encourages U.S. libraries to form partnerships with libraries in other countries. Developing a Sister Library (http://bit.ly/35MoPXa) relationship can be a great opportunity for each library to learn about the work and lives of librarians around the world.

Why?

• Broaden your staff’s view of the library profession
• Increase staff and community knowledge of other cultures
• Exchange information, resources, expertise, and training between libraries
• Share techniques and technologies to help solve problems
• Improve access to information in both countries
• Promote awareness of libraries and their international reach
• Raise awareness of issues and needs facing libraries in various countries

How?

Get tips on how to find a Sister Library.

Browse the “Libraries Seeking Sisters” list of libraries seeking a Sister Library partnership.

If you wish to be added to the list so that a potential Sister Library can find you, complete this form: Add Me to the List of Sister Libraries Seeking Partners.

For more information, email sister.libraries@gmail.com.

Each Sister Library relationship is unique. Once two libraries decide to partner, they establish the level of commitment that they are both comfortable with; the partnership can be as formal or informal as desired. It can be as simple as holding virtual conversations once a month to exchange ideas, or more complex involving exchanges of materials and staff. For more examples of successful library partnerships, check our Success Stories  page.

Building a partnership with a library in another country means the exchange of knowledge, information, resources, experience, and good ideas on library work. Join us in making the library world a little smaller and more connected! The Sister Libraries Committee is looking forward to your participation.

Sincerely,

Sister Libraries Committee

ALA International Relations Round Table

October 15, 2019 (Vol. 26, No. 19): HAPPENINGS

OSU Library Faculty Association Seminar Series:

Michael Boock, Associate Professor and Scholarly Communications Librarian at OSU Libraries and Press will deliver the first presentation in this year’s Seminar Series. The topic is: A Fulbright and Librarian in Bulgaria.” He will speak on October 18 from 10-11:30 a.m. in the Valley Library, VLib 3622 – East Willamette Industries Seminar Room.

For more information, contact Cara Key at cara.key@oregonstate.edu or 541-737-7988.

October 15, 2019 (Vol. 26, No. 19): CONFERENCE

Call for Session and Pre-conference Proposals / 2020 OLA Conference:  Equity, Diversity, Inclusion

The Oregon Library Association conference will be held April 29-May 2 at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes in Bend. As we celebrate 80 years since OLA’s beginnings at Timberline Lodge in June 1940, the theme for the 2020 OLA Conference will be: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion.

 The deadline for session and pre-conference proposals is fast approaching: this Friday, October 18!

With your contribution, we hope to build a slate of content that is engaging, informative, diverse, and inspiring.

Pre-conference proposal form: https://forms.gle/VALsSPspsBPyezD7A

Conference session proposal form: https://forms.gle/cjHD53QyCNUB5H4a9

Questions? Please contact:

•         Caren Agata, Program Co-Chair, caren.agata@state.or.us
•         Rinny Lakin, Program Co-Chair, erinl@multco.us

Read on for more information:

Submissions are open to anyone, regardless of membership status.

 Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are at the center of our work in libraries.  Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy, providing free and open access to services and resources for everyone in our local communities. This year’s OLA conference will explore EDI in many connotations and intersections, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical and mental abilities, body size, religious beliefs, political ideologies, and geography.

 The conference is an opportunity for OLA to have focused conversations surrounding EDI, learn from one another, provide professional and personal growth, and share the important work we are doing to help create equitable and inclusive communities in Oregon.

October 15, 2019 (Vol. 26, No. 19): CONFERENCE

New OLA Conference Scholarship for Technical Services Staff

The Technical Services Round Table (OLA TSRT) will offer a new scholarship (up to $600) in time for the first winner, to attend OLA 2020 in Bend, OR.  Watch for Details in November!

Staff/support staff in technical services who are members of both OLA and the Technical Services Round Table will be eligible. The scholarship may be used to offset registration and other conference-related expenses for OLA. 

Meanwhile, click through https://www.olaweb.org/membership to join OLA and TSRT or add TSRT to your existing OLA membership.

October 1, 2019 (Vol. 26, No. 18): PEOPLE

From the OLA President

On October 4 OLA’s Executive Board will meet at Hood River Library to discuss new and continuing business, including the Macmillan embargo on libraries’ access to new ebooks, OLA’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Task Force, and strategic planning.  Board meetings also provide opportunities for OLA units and individual members to share information, ideas, and concerns, and all members of OLA are always welcome and invited to attend, either in person or online via Zoom.

Who, you may ask, serves on the OLA Board and when does it meet?  Voting members of the Executive Board consist of the OLA President, Vice President/President-elect, and Past President, as well as the elected Treasurer, Secretary, and ALA Chapter Councilor.  The President appoints a Member-at-Large, and the current chairs of ACRL-OR, Children’s Services Division, Oregon Association of School Libraries, Oregon Young Adult Network, Public Library Division, and Support Staff Division round out the 13 voting members.  OLA’s Parliamentarian, Association Manager, and the State Librarian serve as three additional non-voting members of the Board. To view the current members and a list of bimonthly board meetings for 2019-2020, see OLA’s Executive Board/Current Officers.

Meeting agendas and information on attending virtually are available on the Board Meetings page of OLA’s website.  On the October 4 agenda I want to point out the Open Forum at 2:00, where any member is invited to introduce items and participate in the meeting.  The Open Forum is a standing part of every board meeting and I encourage OLA members to be aware of this opportunity to engage with the Executive Board.

Thank you,

Elaine Hirsch

olapresident@olaweb.org

September 15, 2019 (Vol. 26, No. 17): ASSOCIATION NEWS

OLA Quarterly: Call for Submissions

The Oregon Library Association Quarterly is seeking submissions for the Fall 2019 issue. The OLAQ is a professional journal that showcases the writing and work of library employees in Oregon, and it is indexed in LIS databases.

The theme for the upcoming issue is Youth Services Take Over OLA Quarterly! Of course, youth services are well-represented in most issues, but this time we’re taking over the whole publication. The guest editor will be April Spisak, Head of Youth Services at the Albany Public Library. I’ve been passionate about libraries as a patron, as an instructor, and as a librarian. I’ve been working in youth services for almost 20 years, and as an instructor I told my students repeatedly that they had to advocate for themselves and for their work, and that I considered sharing our experiences and knowledge to be a core aspect of librarianship, a key element in “beyond four walls” librarianship.

It is in that spirit that I invite all potential authors to email me with your ideas for articles at: april.spisak@cityofalbany.net  

I’d like to see articles that explore innovative programming or outreach, new ideas about youth services librarianship, explorations of third space in your children’s or YA areas, and introspective thought pieces that explore what you thought youth services was if that is a contrast with your job experience, or what you’d like to be able to do within your role. If we could get together in a big room and chat, we’d want to talk about successes, ideas, and goal-setting. I’m envisioning this issue as a version of that – what do we want to say to each other, and what do we want to make sure non-youth services librarians know about the work we do?

Proposals will be due by September 24th, and then you’ll have about a month to get me your first draft (October 25th). I’m looking for articles around 1,000-1,500 words, and images and creative work are, of course, always welcome. I’ve been an OLA Quarterly fan since I moved to OR, and I am thrilled to work with authors in this capacity.

Thank you!