CE NEWS

January 2, 2020

I hope your New Year is full of joy, happiness and lots of (CE) continuing education opportunities!

Table of Contents

• New Year’s Resolution: Inclusive and equitable libraries for Alaska youth  
• Alaska State Library Continuing Education Survey
• Strengthening Organizations Grant
• Resources for Continuous Nonprofit Improvement 
• Public Librarians' Chat: Charting Your Own Course
• Webinar: Learning Express Occupational Test Prep & Work Place Soft Skills
• Rasmuson Foundation Awarded $84,932 in Tier 1 Grants to Libraries 
• Library Development Training and Continuing Education Calendar

New Year’s Resolution: More inclusive and equitable libraries for Alaska youth

A resolution is a firm commitment to make a change. For 2020, Alaska State Library staff are making a resolution to foster more inclusive and equitable libraries by offering a guided facilitation of the Project READY: Reimagining Equity and Access for Diverse Youth online curriculum.  

The Project READY curriculum was designed for library staff committed to working toward racial equity both personally and professionally. The curriculum

• establishes a shared understanding of foundational concepts and issues related to race, racism and racial equity
• encourages self-reflection related to race and racial identify for white and black, indigenous, and people of color working in libraries
• provides concrete strategies for creating and improving library programs and services for black youth, indigenous youth, and children and teens of color

Alaska Project READY Training and Mini-Grant Opportunity

Beginning on January 13^th Alaska State Library staff will lead a series of bi-monthly webinars designed to support librarians working through the Project READY curriculum. These facilitated webinars will provide participants with an opportunity to review and discuss the coursework and learn from one another. We will be inviting guest facilitators with experience in racial equity or racial justice work to the webinars.

 Our goal in offering the bi-monthly facilitated webinars is to break the Project READY curriculum into small bite-size learning modules and support Alaska librarians’ progress through the course to completion.

 Participants in our guided facilitation of the Project READY training will be encouraged to

• develop a plan to improve their library’s space, policies and collections to better serve youth of color
• Implement their plan within the year and evaluate the results

Participants who complete our guided facilitation of the Project READY training by August 10^th will have opportunity to apply for a $500.00 mini grant to be used towards improving and making a more equitable space, program or collection in their library.

Learn more or register for the Alaska Project READY Training.

Alaska State Library Continuing Education Survey

Every two years, the Alaska State Library conducts a statewide continuing education survey for library staff to share their thoughts and concerns about their ongoing professional development needs. The results of the survey will be used to help us improve our services and assist in developing relevant and meaningful library workshops, online courses and resources.  Please take a few minutes to complete the  Alaska State Library Continuing Education Survey.

The deadline to complete the survey is March 1, 2020.

Strengthening Organizations grants 

The Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) is offering Strengthening Organizations grants of up to $10,000 to help Alaska nonprofits become better equipped to meet their missions. The program seeks applications for projects that will directly enhance the work of the applicant organization, making it stronger with well-organized systems in place and skilled employees who have the training and resources to successfully provide services.

Resources for Continuous Nonprofit Improvement

If your Library Board or Friends of the Library group is interested in applying for one of the Strengthening Organizations grants but isn’t sure what sort of projects or activities would directly enhance the work of your organization, you may want to review the resources for continuous improvement found on the Leap of Reason Ambassadors Community website.  This community of nonprofit leaders dedicated to high performance has developed the Performance Imperative, a framework for excellence organized around seven core disciplines.   

The Seven Pillars of High Performance:

1. Pillar 1: Courageous, adaptive executive and board leadership
2. Pillar 2: Disciplined, people focused management
3. Pillar 3: Well-designed and well-implemented programs and strategies
4. Pillar 4: Financial health and sustainability
5. Pillar 5: A culture that values learning
6. Pillar 6: Internal monitoring for continuous improvement
7. Pillar 7: External evaluation for mission effectiveness

Public Librarians' Chat: Charting Your Own Course

One of the competencies of leadership is self-awareness and self-knowledge. Knowing the strengths you bring to your work allows you to leverage those skills for the benefit of your library.  Being honest with yourself about any gaps that exist in your professional skills, then devising a plan to address those gaps is an important part of any personal professional development plan.

Join us on Thursday, January 9th at 11:00 am for a webinar on the steps involved in developing a personal professional development plan. 

 Enter Webinar

Webinar: Learning Express Occupational Test Prep & Work Place Soft Skills

Join us on Tuesday, January 28th at 9:00 am for a Learning Express Library Webinar that will focus on Career Center and Occupational Test Prep.

LearningExpress Library features online tutorials, practice tests, and e-books to help patrons of all ages. During this webinar we will focus on the Career Center with Occupational Test Prep and Work Place Soft Skills todays employers are looking for. In the Career Center we have over 25 occupational certification test prep which include ALLIED HEALTH, NXCLEX for Nursing, PRAXIS for Teachers, Military ASVAB, and many more. Are you preparing for a professional exam? Are you curious about a particular occupation or looking to improve your workplace skills? Choose the Career Center and begin your path to a bright future.

Enter Webinar

Rasmuson Foundation Awarded $84,932 inTier 1 Grants to libraries 

In 2019, the Rasmuson Foundation generously supported Alaska libraries by awarding a combined total of $84,932  in Tier 1 grants which are up to $25,000 and may be used for capital projects, technology upgrades and the expansion of programs. Tier 1 grant applications are accepted year-round. Alaska based organizations that have 501(c)(3) status and are classified as a “not a private foundation” under section 509(a) of the tax code are eligible to apply for a Rasmuson Foundation Tier 1 grant.

• Awarded the Anchorage Library Foundation $21,000 to upgrade equipment and technology
• Awarded the City of Homer $12,550 for books, media and cabinets for the Homer Public Library
• Awarded the Friends of the Sutton Library $5,200 to upgrade audio visual equipment and furnishings
• Awarded the Friends of the Thorne Bay Library $8,492 for technology upgrades
• Awarded the Kasilof Public Library $2,500 for collection enhancement
• Awarded the Petersburg Borough $20,000 for self-checkout kiosk and collection enhancements at the Petersburg Public Library
• Awarded the University of Alaska Foundation $15,190 for access to Alaska oral history recording at the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library

Library Development Training & Continuing Education Calendar

To view all the webinars and training opportunities available in January visit the Library Development Training & Continuing Education Calendar.