ASCLA selects its 2016 award winners!

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) has selected its 2016 Award winners. The awards program recognizes outstanding achievement within the library profession by librarians and libraries for significant current or past achievements, including publications, program development and leadership in the profession.

The Awards Ceremony and Reception will be held from 5:45 – 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, June 25 at the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, FL at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, Room Plaza BR D. This event is co-sponsored by the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) and the Federal and Armed Forces Librarians Round Table (FAFLRT) and will include hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. All conference attendees are welcome!

The following recipients will be honored.

Chris Corrigan, Digital Reference Librarian of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress is the 2016 recipient of the Cathleen Bourdon Service Award, which is named after former ASCLA Executive Director Cathleen Bourdon. Chris was chosen for his sustained leadership and exceptional service enhancing the stature, strength and reputation of ASCLA to ALA Council, ALA Membership, and other ALA-affiliated organizations.

The recipient of the 2016 ASCLA Leadership and Professional Achievement Award is awarded to Cal Shepard, State Librarian, State Library of North Carolina. Ms. Shepard is recognized for her many years of service to the library profession and is specifically being honored for her accomplishment at the State Library of North Carolina in formulating a sunset plan to transition Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding for two large State Library projects to state funding. Through her leadership and vision, she opened up LSTA funding to be used by libraries across the state.

Kate DeVoe, Youth Services Librarian and Kelly Doolittle, Library Assistant, both of Tompkins County Public Library (NY) are the recipients of the 2016 ASCLA/Keystone Library Automation System (KLAS) & National Organization on Disability (NOD) Award. They are recognized for providing vital services to children through their project, “Adapt and Include: Library Programs for Children with Sensory Integration Challenges.” The award consists of $1,000 and a citation supported by Kay and David Holloman of Keystone Systems, developer of the Keystone Library Automation System (KLAS), and the National Organization on Disability.

Stephen Prine, Assistant Chief, Network Division, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is the recipient of ASCLA’s 2016 Francis Joseph Campbell Award for outstanding contributions to the advancement of library service for people with physical disabilities and/or physical impairments. Mr. Prine is recognized for his many years of exemplary service to the print disabled community, as well as to his colleagues across the country and within ASCLA.

The 2016 ASCLA Exceptional Service Award is presented to the Marshes of Glynn Library System in Brunswick, Georgia for implementing the ALA Every Child Ready to Read program at their local jail. This innovative project teaching incarcerated parents and other caregivers how to support the early literacy development of their children is an exceptional example of how libraries can transform lives.  It also serves as an example of a program able to be replicated in other libraries.

Call for ASCLA Online Learning Proposals!

Submit by March 8, 2016 

Access the online course submission form here.

Download this PDF of the online course form to help you prepare your submission.

ASCLA invites ALA members who are subject matter experts and experienced librarians with knowledge of interest to ASCLA members, to submit proposals for ASCLA online learning to be presented between April 2016 and August 2016, as a part of ASCLA’s outstanding online learning offerings. See the list of suggested hot topics below. All proposals must be submitted electronically.

ASCLA members include, but are not limited to: 

  • Library staff providing services to special populations, including library users with disabilities and adults and youth who are incarcerated or detained
  • Independent librarians and consultants
  • State libraries and their employees
  • Public libraries serving or working with the populations above
  • Library networks and cooperatives

What courses are we currently offering? Check them out at the ASCLA online learning webpage.
Webinar presenters and online learning instructors are compensated for their work and will receive training and support for Adobe Connect, the webinar technology platform used by the division.

Proposal topics for courses and webinars may include, but are not limited to the following:

  • ADA updates for libraries
  • Assessing accessibility knowledge
  • Basics and best practices for prison/jail libraries
  • Basics of running a hospital/medical library
  • Benchmarks and evaluation
  • Budgeting for the first time manager
  • Collaborative digitization
  • Adult programming in correctional libraries
  • Correctional/prison librarianship 101
  • Creating training for patrons who use accessibility tools
  • Data analysis and assessment
  • Designing effective surveys
  • E-books and cooperatives –  best practices
  • Future trends in library service
  • Grants: how to find grant funding and write your proposal
  • Helping library users with learning disabilities
  • How to be a consultant
  • How to be a futurist
  • How to deliver online training
  • How to hire a library consultant
  • Innovative service ideas for library cooperatives
  • Law librarianship for correctional librarians
  • Library cooperatives: basics of managing services
  • Low-literacy adults
  • Marketing library services to special needs populations
  • Marketing on a shoestring budget
  • Mobile and emerging technologies for those with special needs, including apps and ipads
  • Nonprofit leadership
  • Outcomes-based education
  • Outreach to visually or physically handicapped populations
  • Partnering with community organizations
  • Serving library patrons with cognitive or mental impairments
  • Standards and guidelines to improve library services
  • Training staff to serve library users with disabilities
  • Utilizing focus groups to prioritize services for people with disabilities
  • Working with refugees

Questions about submissions or about ASCLA’s online learning programs should be sent to Andrea Hill, ASCLA web manager and primary online learning contact at ahill@ala.org

ASCLA seeks Online Course and Webinar proposals for 2015!

ASCLA encourages subject matter experts and experienced librarians to submit proposals for ASCLA Online Courses and Webinars to be presented November 2014 through August 2015. 

Proposals must be submitted by October 24, 2014 for presentation November 2014 through August 2015. Online Courses and Webinars submitted during this open call period will be reviewed and approved by November 14, 2014.

ASCLA welcomes proposals on topics that will assist our diverse membership in improved service delivery and job performance. ASCLA’s members represent libraries serving special populations, including library users with disabilities, and adults and youth who are incarcerated or detained; independent librarians and consultants; state library agencies and their employees, public libraries serving or working with the previously cited populations and institutions; and library networks and cooperatives. Staff of these libraries and agencies include librarians, library paraprofessionals, and library support staff.

The online course proposal form can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/asclaonlinecourse2015

Attendees are charged a fee to participate in the course and receive a certificate upon completion. The fee includes ongoing access to an archived version of the course. Instructors will be paid a one-time course/curriculum development fee of $1,000 to set up the course initially, and $40 per participant thereafter.

The webinar proposal form can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/asclawebinar2015 .
Webinar presenters will be paid $150 for each webinar presented and will receive training and support for Adobe Connect, the webinar technology platform used by the division. Webinars are generally 1-1 ½ hours long.

Proposal topics for online courses and webinars may include, but are not limited to the following:

  • ADA updates for libraries
  • Adult programming in a correctional library
  • Basics of a good prison/jail library
  • Best practices in correctional librarianship and providing services to the incarcerated
  • Consulting: marketing your services
  • Demonstration and review of current accessibility products
  • Ebooks
  • Emerging technologies in accessibility products and services, including screen readers, mobile devices, IPADS, etc.
  • Evaluating and improving cooperative services;
  • Future trends in library service;
  • Grants: best practices for finding funding and writing proposals
  • Group purchasing best practices
  • Hiring library consultants: best practices
  • How to be a futurist
  • Marketing library services to people with disabilities
  • Marketing on a shoestring budget
  • New apps that assist library users with special needs
  • Providing library services to people with cognitive or mental impairments
  • Review of best practices, standards and guidelines to improve library services
  • Technology trends for people with disabilities

Questions about submissions or about ASCLA’s online learning and webinar programs may be sent to Andrea Hill, ASCLA web manager and online learning liaison at ahill@ala.org.

Summer 2014 Interface Available Now!

The new issue of Interface, ASCLA’s quarterly newsletter, is available online now! This issue includes all sorts of relevant information about upcoming events, a recap of ASCLA’s Annual Conference experience, and news from a variety of ASCLA’s interest groups. Access the new issue here.

Interested in submitting an article for publication in the next issue? We welcome articles that cover human interest stories, highlight successful programs or projects, discuss the implementation of workplace and library improvements, cover news from our member interest groups, and just about anything else that you’d like to share with your ASCLA colleagues.

Submissions and inquiries can be sent to Anne Abate, Interface editor, at anne@librarydiscountnetwork.com.

BREAKING NEWS: Strategies for Storytelling: Get Storied’s Michael Margolis empowers libraries at ASCLA President’s Program

CHICAGO — Michael Margolis, CEO of Get Storied, will offer strategies for crafting powerful stories about the value of libraries at “Storytelling Mojo: Creating the 21st Century Library Narrative” – the 2013 President’s Program hosted by the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of ALA.

The ASCLA President’s Program will focus on how we can think strategically about how we communicate within and outside of our libraries more effectively. Through this engaging and interactive session, Margolis will provide simple ways to help design and deliver powerful messages.

“As humans, we have used stories throughout time to help us communicate with each other. In a world of information overload, we must be able to share compelling stories with each other in our organizations and with our communities to be successful,” said Stacey Aldrich, ASCLA president and deputy secretary for the Office of Commonwealth Libraries in Pennsylvania.

The ASCLA President’s Program will be held Sunday, June , 2013 from 10:30 a.m. – noon in Chicago as a part of the 2013 ALA Annual Conference. The online scheduler for the conference will launch in late April, at which point attendees will be able to add this exciting event to their personal conference schedule. Register for the conference now. Learn more about ASCLA, a unique, diverse and dynamic division of ALA at www.ala.org/ascla.

Margolis is the CEO of Get Storied, an advisory and learning company devoted to transformational storytelling. For more than a decade, he has worked as a story architect – helping CEOs and CMOs redefine how the world perceives their brand, cause or message. Clients include AARP, Audubon, Bloomberg, NASA and Zappos. He is an anthropologist by training and an entrepreneur by trade. The son of an inventor and artist, he is committed to the biggest stories of our age – the cultural inflections that are reshaping reality. His work and ideas have been featured in Fast Company and Storytelling Magazine. He is also an evangelist for the global storytelling movement, serving a community of 15,000 change-makers who believe in the future of storytelling.

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 ASCLApreconferences and online courses, and other important membership benefits? Join, renew or add ASCLA to your ALA membership atwww.ala.org/membership.

Volunteer for ASCLA! Plentiful leadership and virtual participation opportunities

Did you know that the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies, as a small and mighty division of ALA, has excellent opportunities for you to become involved? There’s lots of room in our leadership ranks for you to collaborate, contribute and become a champion.

Are you a new member or even a non-member who wants to learn more about ASCLA? Stop by any of our events at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle–here’s an overview from the Scheduler. The ASCLA/COSLA Reception and ASCLA Leadership Session are excellent division-wide events for connecting with other members, and interest groups are good for meeting those in your field of work.

As an ASCLA volunteer, you’ll:

  • Support our advocacy efforts on behalf of the libraries, librarians and library users our members serve, including incarcerated adults and youth; the blind, deaf and hard of hearing; those with learning disabilities and other special populations.
  • Make direct contributions to the quest for equitable access to information and library services for all library users.
  • Participate in the development of online learning, conference programming, workshops, and other continuing education opportunities.
  • Help cultivate interest groups that represent the diverse interests of our membership.
  • Be a leader! It’s a great way to network with other influential colleagues and to gain valuable leadership experience.

Please consider volunteering for one or more committee to help us make our mission and vision a reality! Virtual members are encouraged and welcomed.

Volunteering can be done in just two quick and easy steps:

Remember, you must be an ASCLA member in order to volunteer for committee positions, with your membership current for the duration of your volunteer term. ASCLA dues are $52 annually plus the cost of ALA membership.

Visit www.ala.org/membership to update your membership record and add ASCLA, or call Membership and Customer Service at 1-800-545-2433, option 5.

We look forward to your participation!

Stacey Aldrich
ASCLA President

Sara Laughlin
ASCLA President-Elect

Carol Desch
ASCLA Past-President

RFP for Accessibility Academy Project Consultant: Deadline extended to Nov. 20

ASCLA has extended the deadline for its RFP for a project consultant to 6:00 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, November 20, 2012. Download the complete RFP.

The consultant will assist in the production of an online, interactive ASCLA Accessibility Academy module focused on improving library staff communications and interactions with people with disabilities.

ASCLA, a division of ALA, serves librarians who work primarily with people with disabilities. The ASCLA Accessibility Academy aims to provide information and skills training that will prepare librarians and staff at public, academic, special, and international libraries to work with these special populations. The Project Consultant will develop and implement the first Academy module, which will include an online tutorial and webinars, and will assemble manage an advisory team to provide long-term feedback on project deliverables and content, and also provide evaluation assistance.

Project deliverables to be managed by the consultant include one online tutorial on working with people with disabilities, presented live twice and also recorded, by May 1, 2013, to be presented by the consultant or an identified subject matter expert; a selection of reference tools for distribution for the tutorial such as tip sheets, checklists, vocabulary list, and additional reading; a logo and other branding materials for the Accessibility Academy; a prioritized list of future topics for future sessions; a documented framework for future Academy sessions; development of criteria and procedures for evaluating the modules; and a list of presenters for future sessions.

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, October 15, 2012 to: 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 Accessibility Academy 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 at shornung@ala.org or (312) 280-4395 with any questions about the RFP content or submission process.

“Creating a Latino Friendly Library”: Register for Nov. 15 webinar today

Nationwide, Latino communities continue to grow. The Census Bureau reports that the U.S. Hispanic population is now 50.5 million–a 43% growth from the previous census–and that one in four people under the age of 18 is Latino. Even in the face of this significant growth, bringing Latinos into the library in our communities still remains an uphill battle that has stumped many a librarian.

ASCLA can help! Take the first step towards engaging this community with your library by attending our upcoming webinar “Creating a Latino Friendly Library”. This 90-minute online presentation will introduce practical and simple techniques that libraries of all sizes can use to begin the process of making Latinos feel welcome and comfortable in the library. Participants will learn how to work with and challenge the language and cultural barriers that keep Latinos from using the library.

 

**Know someone who might want to attend this event? Please forward this message to them. Thanks!**

Event Details:
Webinar: Creating a Latino Friendly Library
Thursday, November 15, 2012, 2:00 – 3:30pm Central Time
REGISTER NOW.
Who Should Attend: Anyone whose library serves Latino/Spanish-speaking populations and who is interested in implementing a plan to bring more Latinos into the library and make them feel welcome.
Instructor: Yolanda J. Cuesta, lead consultant at Cuesta MultiCultual Consulting
Registration: starts at $40 for ASCLA members.
Group rates are available! Single-login group rates are $99; multiple login group rates are $38/person, minimum 2 people. More information here.

Questions about registration? Contact registration@ala.org or (800) 545-2433, option 5