Blog Archives

We are professionals.

Dearest trustees, last week I had the privilege of meeting board members that I had yet to encounter while leading the What Am I Doing Here?!? workshop in Belmont. Here were our major discussion take- aways:   As educational institutions with governing boards and professional managers, building in support for development of governors (trustees) and

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What Am I Doing Here? (and Bad-Ass Librarians)

What am I doing here?!?! Great libraries become that way through effective partnerships between Directors and Trustees. In this workshop, we’ll clarify the separate but intertwined responsibilities of the public library Director and the library’s Trustees. Come prepared to learn something new, have a little juicy discussion, and practice good supportive collaboration. This workshop session

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The Iron is HOT: Making your library the HUB of your community!

Do you know what your community wants and needs? Do your community members see the library as a vital hub of the community? Well, MaryLou Carolan (Director of the Cornwall Public Library) sees amazing, unique and out-of-the-ordinary opportunities for your library to be a vibrant and active community center. Come join us as she shares her “inside/outside

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Social Justice is a Core Library Value – an interview with Eli Guinnee

Eli Guinnee is a super fabulous librarian. He’s a co-creator in the NYLA Sustainability Initiative and the editor of The Best! newsletter of the Rural Libraries Round Table. Oh, and he’s Executive Director of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System. What’s really the thing about Eli, is that he understands the work of librarians to be the

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Rural and Small Libraries Breaking the Isolation

Rural Libraries Round Table, NYLA, Advocacy, Passion, and Support What’s it like? I’ve been a one woman show in a few library settings. We do what we can. We have vision, we have a plan for the future, and then there are all those folks waiting for your help RIGHT NOW and books that need

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Yes, we can.

Last week I took a tour of the Fayetteville Free Library. Fayetteville is famous for their innovative labs and collection management, their programs and their building. They are the library people tour and immediately say “It was so great, but we can’t do that here.” One of the “so great” things about Fayetteville is that

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Yes! Cohocton’s new Director Phil Trautman talks mission and vision

Phil Trautman started as the Cohocton Public Library’s new director in October. He gave me some time and shared his vision of the library with me. Spoiler alert: one word mission statement! Can you guess what the word is?

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Alex Andrasik adjusting his glasses

Alex Andrasik: Penn Yan’s Heist Loving Librarian

This is an interview with Adult Services Librarian Alex Andrasik of Penn Yan Public Library in which we talk about #NYLA2015 (last interview with this topic – promise!), the newly named film genre The Glam Heist, and trying to crack the Milleniums code. Thank you members of Penn Yan’s public library community for letting me

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Pauline Emery: why she (and her community) won

Recently, while at the 2015 NYLA Conference, I witnessed Pauline Emery accept the Mary Bobinski Innovative Public Library Director Award. She did so with grace and humility and her eyes focused on the future of our profession and our neighborhoods. It was really beautiful. Unfortunately, I recorded that audio with Hope Decker’s phone (I felt

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STLS Sends Testimony to NY State Assembly

Last week, New York State library systems were asked to provide testimony in writing, or in person to the Assembly Standing Committee on Libraries and Education and Technology. The Committee sought input on the anticipated impacts of increased funding to New York libraries. Library Aid increased for 2015-2016 by 5.6%. I would have liked to attend in person,

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