CE NEWS

April 5, 2021

Table of Contents

• Alaska Libraries and Community Engagement: Listening Sessions
• Reading Colors Your World!
• Beanstack Training for Youth Services Librarians
• Homeschooling Help Webinar Featuring Deborah Rinio
• Library Freedom Project Crash Courses
• CE Calendar

Alaska Libraries and Community Engagement: Listening Sessions

The Alaska State Library would like to hear from you. A lot has happened in the past year and we want to hear how you and your community are doing. What are your library's aspirations, goals and needs for the coming year? Which demographic in your community was most negatively impacted in the past year? What were some of the wins your library experienced? What were some of the insurmountable barriers that limited your library’s impact?

All library staff are invited to attend these listening sessions and share their thoughts, comments, suggestions, ideas and experiences. The information shared during these sessions will assist us in planning future statewide services.   

1^st Alaska Libraries and Community Engagement: A Listening Session

April 5^th from 3-5 pm

To register:  https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAuc-2oqD4sE9PKZQB2NNZLNTeetM2vj6kW

 2^nd Alaska Libraries and Community Engagement: A Listening Session

April 6^th from 3-5 pm

To register:  https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcoc-6spjkqHNCfJCGDyZYF2-utiteqKNys

Reading Colors Your World!

With the last day of school just seven weeks away. Many public librarians are busy putting the finishing touches on their summer reading program. This year’s summer reading theme, Reading Colors Your World encourages readers of all ages to celebrate art, creativity, reading and being kind to others.  Reading over the summer is a great way for students to stay engaged with learning and improve their reading comprehension and skills.  Starting on May 1^st, the Alaska State Library’s Beanstack reading challenge platform, Read More Alaska will offer early literacy, children, and teen and adult summer reading challenges.

Beanstack Training for Youth Services Librarians

If your library participates in the Statewide Summer Reading program and you are interested in incorporating the online Reading Challenges into your summer reading program but aren’t sure how to go about it. Please join us on Tuesday, April 20^th at 11:00 am, for a one-hour training with Tracy Johnson, Beanstack Client Success Manager. Tracy will review standard staff related workflows and actions in Beanstack as well as review the 2021 early literacy, children, and teen and adult summer challenges and take a look at the patron/reader view. 

Deadline to register is April 16^th

To register:  https://library-alaska.libwizard.com/f/AK-Beanstack

Homeschooling Help Webinar Featuring Deborah Rinio

Deborah Rinio, Alaska Library Association Past-President will be a featured guest on an upcoming Booklist webinar focused on homeschooling.  The webinar is scheduled for April 6^th at 10 am and includes representatives from DK, Rourke Educational Media, and Scholastic Library Publishing.    Deborah Rinio will talk about her book, STEAM Activities in 30 Minutes for Elementary Learners which was published by ALA Editions in 2020.

To register, visit: https://www.booklistonline.com/webinars

Library Freedom Project Crash Courses
Library Freedom Project (LFP) began in 2015 in response to persistent online surveillance by governments and corporations.  One of LFPs’ missions is to provide librarians with training on privacy tools and techniques.   Applications are now open for the following Crash Course programs.

Systems and Policies (will run May-June 2021): This Crash Course will focus on privacy in library infrastructure. Topics will include: creating good privacy and data governance policies, conducting privacy audits, working with library IT, understanding vendor agreements from a privacy perspective, and more. It'll cover some technical stuff, but it's intended for library workers without a formal technical background or role.

Programs and training (will run September-October 2021): This Crash Course, will cover how to teach privacy to patrons, fellow staff, and other stakeholders. How the loss of privacy affects communities and how to run effective and interesting privacy programs for various audiences.

Crash Courses are free and generally run for 8-weeks.

To learn more visit libraryfreedom.org/crashcourses 

CE Calendar

Visit the CE Calendar to see all of the upcoming professional development trainings taking place in April.