RFP issued for Revised Standards for Libraries Serving the Incarcerated

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) has issued an RFP for a project director to assist in the production of a revising the current ASCLA standards for libraries serving the incarcerated; responses are due by Monday, March 25, 2013.

ASCLA, a division of ALA, serves librarians who work  with the incarcerated of all ages and produces standards, guidelines and policies for libraries in its four core areas: state library agencies, specialized libraries, library cooperatives and library consultants. The standards for libraries serving the incarcerated were last updated in 1992. A project director will be hired to faciliate, coordinate and work with ASCLA members and outside stakeholders to provide revised standards that will assist librarians and staff serving the incarcerated.

Project deliverables include a library standards booklet and 2 webinars about the standards. A complete version of the RFP is available for download from the ASCLA website. Applicants must submit one print or email copy, and one copy on a CD of the proposal by 6:00pm CT on Monday, March 25, 2013: American Library Association, Attention: Susan Hornung/ASCLA, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2795; e-mail: shornung@ala.org.

Email submissions must have “ASCLA Library Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions RFP” in the subject line of the message. Proposals not received by the date and time specified may not be considered and will be returned to the sender marked “LATE RESPONSE.” Faxed submissions will not be accepted. Contact ASCLA Executive Director Susan Hornung, shornung@ala.org,  or (312) 280-4395, with any questions about the RFP content or submission process.

ASCLA, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is a diverse organization of librarians and support staff who work in academic and public libraries, state agencies, specialized libraries and cooperatives, as well as those who are self-employed. Our division’s work centers on member-driven interest groups that represent the diversity and important work of our engaged and active members. Not an ASCLA member, but interested in forming new interest groups, receiving discounted registration rates on ASCLA preconferences and online courses, and other important membership benefits? Join, renew or add ASCLA to your ALA membership at www.ala.org/membership.

 

Seeking Beta Testers: Webinar for ASCLA Accessibility Academy

ASCLA is developing an online interactive module on help improve library staff communication and interactions with people with disabilities. “Positive Interactions: Making the Library a Welcoming and Empowering Place for People with Disabilities” is the first presentation in our Accessibility Academy series.

We’re seeking a small group of “beta testers” who would be interested in attending a free preview version of “Positive Interactions”. The webinar is scheduled for March 14, 2013, and will run from 11:00a.m.-12:00p.m. Central/Chicago Time.

For more information about the webinar, visit the webinar page at the ASCLA website.

Participating in this webinar is free, but you must register in order to receive login information! Register now.We will be limiting this initial beta testing group to 25 people. Another webinar will be available later on the same topic for all ALA members, revised according to the feedback we recieve from the beta testers.

New Resources on Students with Disabilities and Website Accessibility

The ASCLA Resources Page has been updated to include new information on website accessibility and students with disabilities:

Students with Disabilities: Pre-K-12
Project ENABLE (Expanding Nondiscriminatory Access By Librarians Everywhere): This comprehensive site provides information and training for developing effective library and information services for pre-K-12 students with disabilities. The site contains five self-paced learning modules, jam-packed with useful information in a variety of formats (text, still and moving images, graphics, audio over PowerPoint, and more). You will find information to read, videos to view, games to play, learning exercises to challenge you, and quizzes to assess your learning.
Website Accessibility
Raising the Floor (RtF) is an international coalition of individuals and organizations working to ensure that the Internet, and everything available through it, is accessible to people experiencing accessibility barriers due to disability, literacy, or age.

The ASCLA Resources page contains links that will lead you to excerpts from selected ASCLA publications or to Web sites that may be of interest in the following areas. Visit this page often for new information about serving the following topics:

  • Blind and Physically Handicapped
  • Certification
  • Cooperative Library Organizations
  • Deaf/Hard of Hearing
  • Equity of Access
  • Impaired Elderly Library Patrons
  • Independent Librarians
  • Learning Disabilities
  • Prison Libraries
  • State Libraries
  • Students with Disabilities
  • Website Accessibility

CEUs now available for ASCLA online course “Improving Library Services for People with Disabilities”

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) is now offering continuing education units (CEUs) for its online course “Improving Library Services for People with Disabilities.” The next session of this course begins Monday, Feb. 18; registration will end at close-of-business on Thursday, Feb. 14 Friday, Feb. 15.

Providing library services to people with disabilities is a role filled by all levels of library staff. From the part-time aide checking out library materials to the library director determining policies, staff skills and attitudes are crucial for a satisfactory library experience. During this course, participants will identify library users with disabilities at their library and the resources and assistive technologies available to assist them; examine changes in attitudes, laws and technologies that have impacted people with disabilities; and will be able to recommend changes in personal and organizational behaviors to improve services for people with disabilities at their library.

Register now!

This course is truly designed for all library staff, including support staff, general professional staff, age-level or subject specialists, managers and administrators. Here’s what some of our previous course participants had to say:

Several of our staff enrolled as a group, and used the course as a launching pad to have further discussion across the library. We all agree that there is much for us to do. It created momentum for us around the library about many issues of accessibility.  

We implemented a team to begin looking at all aspects of how our library assists people with disabilities. We have already begun making recommendations for improvement to our department heads.

We have already begun to look at programs and services in light of what we’ve learned and will be setting up a process that will prioritize new work to implement enhancements and improvements. Several recommendations have already been made in the areas of staff development and training, modifications to web pages and program statements and adoption of new technologies.

I feel I have a much more open mind about my programming and I definitely keep accessibility issues in mind when I plan now. The most valuable thing I learned in this course is to not be afraid to offer help and services to someone different to me.

The most valuable thing I learned was how to use “Person First Language.” Sharing ideas and having an open forum really helped my understanding of the public library’s goal of making things functional for everyone through technology, words and programming. I shared the information I learned from the course with the children’s staff at our annual meeting; as a library system we plan on doing more Sensory Storytime programs.

The course will begin Monday, Feb. 18 and finish on Sunday, Mar. 17. Two live online sessions using the FlashChat feature of Moodle, the online course management system, will take place on Thursday, Feb. 28 and Thursday, Mar. 14, from 3-4 pm CENTRAL/Chicago Time. Students complete the remainder of the weekly coursework at their own pace.

Interested participants can register online now, register via fax or mail, or learn more about the course at the ASCLA website. Registration fees start at $150 for ASCLA members. Discounted group registration rates for two or more registrants from the same library, library system or network are available. Contact ALA’s Membership and Customer Service Team with any questions about registration for this course at registration@ala.org or (800) 545-2433, option 5.

“Improving Library Services for People with Disabilities” is taught by Kate Todd, who has worked as a children’s librarian for The New York Public Library and as emerging technologies librarian for Manhattanville College. At Manhattanville College, she taught “Technology for Special Education” in the graduate school of education. She has also taught several online courses for the Association of Library Services to Children (ALSC), including “Children with Disabilities in the Library”—this new ASCLA course is the general staff counterpart to that course.

ASCLA preconferences at ALA Annual Conference cover disaster response, servant leadership and resource sharing

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of ALA, will host three workshops at the upcoming ALA Annual Conference in Chicago covering important topics like disaster response, servant leadership and resource sharing.

Add any of these events to your conference registration *or* you can register for this event without attending the ALA Annual Conference (Reg. Type: Ticketed Events and Preconferences Only). Register here.

This year’s preconferences include:

Ports in a Storm: Your Library as a Disaster Recovery Center
Friday, June 28, 8am-12pm
This workshop focuses on community needs after an emergency, and will prepare libraries to actively function as disaster recovery centers by partnering with emergency responders and providing vital resources to the community. Hear firsthand how libraries in Queens County, NY and New Jersey responded to Hurricane Sandy. Learn what role your library can play in educating communities on disaster preparedness, and review the resources available via the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) Emergency Preparedness & Response Initiative.
Speakers: Thomas W. Galante, president and CEO of Queens Library, Queens County, NY; Michele Stricker, associate director, Library Development Bureau, New Jersey State Library; Lori Foley, vice president of emergency programs at Heritage Preservation; Dan Wilson, associate director for collections and library services at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Library.
Registration Rates (thru April 12): $169, ASCLA member. $199, ALA member. $239, non-member. $149, ALA Retired and Student members. Rates increase after April 12.
Register now.

Servant Leadership in Your Library
Friday, June 28, 9am-4pm
Servant leadership can change the dynamics of a library–large or small–by cultivating strong loyalty from both employees and library users. Servant leaders focus outwardly and work in partnership with their staff and communities. Through exercises, group discussion, real-world stories and personal reflection led by professional library trainer Linda Bruno, participants will develop their servant leader persona.
Speaker: Linda Bruno, expert trainer and workshop facilitator
Registration Rates (thru June 21): $279, ASCLA member. $299, ALA member. $319, non-member. $239, ALA Retired and Student members.
Register now.

Discovery to Delivery: Rethinking Resource Sharing
Friday, June 28, 9am-4pm
Sponsored by ASCLA’s Physical Delivery Interest Group and RUSA’s Rethinking Resource Sharing Steering Committee
This event will bring together discussions of the critical components of resource sharing in the academic and public library environments, including innovations in discovery and ILSs as well as trends in both physical and virtual delivery of library materials to users. Attendees will learn about radical resource sharing theories, the finances of interlibrary loan (ILL) and e-books, and the latest trends in physical delivery that will provide efficient, fast and comprehensive access to patrons. In addition to panels and presentations, attendees will participate in breakout groups to further pursue ideas presented by the event speakers.
Speakers: Marshall Breeding, Jamie LaRue, Jason Kucsma, Lori Ayre and other representatives from public and academic library consortia.
Registration Rates (thru April 12): $159, ASCLA member. $189, ALA member. $209, non-member. $209, ALA Retired and Student members. Rates increase after April 12.
Register now.

ASCLA Nominees for 2013 Elections

The following ASCLA members will be running for ASCLA offices in the 2013 Elections:

VICE-PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-ELECT:
Kathleen Moeller-Peiffer NJ

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE (2 positions to be elected):
Cheryl O’Connor NJ
Lisa Priebe CO
Tiffany Lanette Bradford-Oldham KY

DESIGNATED DIRECTOR, SPECIAL POPULATIONS CONSTITUENCY
Christopher J. Corrigan WASH DC

DESIGNATED DIRECTOR, LIBRARY CONSULTANTS CONSTITUENCY
Allan Kleiman NY

Please join me in thanking these members for agreeing to stand for election for an ASCLA office; and be sure to vote in the Spring elections!