National Arab American Heritage Month

See the ALSC Blog highlighting picture books about Palestinian Arabs in honor of National Arab American Heritage Month.  

View the blog post here:  https://lnkd.in/exkRgG88 [lnkd.in]

 

Newport Public Library Part-Time Young Adult Library Asst. Vacancy

The Newport Public Library, in Newport, RI, is seeking a Part-Time Young Adult Library Assistant.  Come join us in the City by the Sea!  

https://newportlibraryri.org/about/employment-opportunities/

ALA Announces Building Library Capacity Fund Grants for Minority Serving Institutions

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) announces the opening of the ALA Building Library Capacity Grants that will provide grants to assist libraries at Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) across the United States and US Territories that have experienced economic hardship due the consequences of the pandemic and its aftermath, to help increase academic support and achievement for students.

See link for complete information.

https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/04/ala-announces-building-library-capacity-fund-grants-minority-serving [ala.org]

Creativity and Connection: Engaging Older Adults Through the Arts Webinar

 An Infopeople Webinar

Register Now(link is external)

When

Download iCalendar entry for this event.Add event to Google Calendar

Start:

April 18th, 2023 11:00 AM

End:

12:30 PM

Start time: 2:00 Eastern, 1:00 Central, 12:00 Mountain, 11:00 Pacific

Presenters: Julie Kline, Jacqueline DuMont, Rhynna M. Santos, Krisene Watson

For complete information:   https://infopeople.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1077

RI Black Heritage Society Project Archivist Vacancy Announcement

 Rhode Island Black Heritage Society Project Archivist Job Description

The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society (RIBHS) seeks to preserve the RIBHS’ 3000 cubic feet archival collection of documents, manuscripts, photographs, digital files, material culture, film, and sound recordings spanning nearly two centuries, from the colonial period to the 20th century. RIBHS interprets and promotes the history of African heritage and Indigenous people through various exhibitions, programming, and policy initiatives.  Signature programming for RIBHS includes BirthRIte RI, a program focused on Junior and Senior High School students in Rhode Island; Creative Survival, the story of perseverance by African and Indigenous communities and the Van Horne Center for Racial Equity, a think tank focused on policy and the African communities of Rhode Island.

The RIBHS collection's materials range from Antiquarian books, African American church records, Philanthropic organizations, and the papers of numerous figures in the history of African Heritage in the State of Rhode Island.  This position is new, and in previous years, standard archival practices were not followed in the packing and storing of RIBHS materials.  For example, in a folder serving as a source reference for a walking tour of Providence, Rhode Island were original papers connected to a 1955 workshop conducted by Thurgood Marshall.

Basic Qualifications:

Master’s degree in library science, history, or related field with a specialization or significant coursework in archives, OR graduate degree in any field with demonstrated knowledge of archives, such as Certified Archivist status or post-graduate training. Current graduate students who have made significant progress towards a degree are encouraged to apply.

Skills and abilities:

• Experience providing public access to original cultural heritage resources through cataloging, reference, research or teaching.

• Demonstrated ability to research historical subjects, remain abreast of research and academic trends, and learn and apply evolving professional descriptive standards.

• Knowledge of or experience with standard archival principles and practices, especially metadata standards (DACS, EAD, LCSH) and best practices for processing analog and digital collections

• Experience with Archives Space or other archives collections management software

• Ability to lift boxes weighing up to 40 lbs.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills

• Experience working in college/university archives

• Experience conducting research in archival collections

• Experience working with users in archives or libraries, or other customer service experience

• Commitment to issues surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion

Compensation:

It is 30-35 hours a week. Salary range is 60-65k.

To apply, contact Theresa Soni Stokes at soni.stokes@riblackheritage.org

REFORMA Annual Book Buzz

Reformistas,

Our annual Book Buzz event will be held virtually next Friday, April 21st from 10am to 1pm! 
Publishers will be presenting Spanish Language titles as well as English Language titles highlighting Hispanic and Latinx stories. 

You can register for the event here. [eventbrite.com] 
The meeting link will be sent prior to the event. 

We hope you are able to join us!

Thank you,

Elisa Garcia & Asunción Cora

RNE Book Buzz Co-Chairs 

--

The Northeast Chapter of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, 

covers people living or working in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, or Rhode Island.
http://www.reformanortheast.org/ [reformanortheast.org]

CORI Member Maria Cotta: One of this Year's URI GSLIS Award Winners - Congrats!!!

The Graduate School of Library and Information Studies is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s awards for Library of the Year and Alumni of the Year. The Library of the Year for 2023 is West Warwick Public Library in West Warwick, Rhode Island. Each year, GSLIS honors two alumni: one who graduated 10 or more years ago and another recent alumnus who graduated within the last 5-10 years. Our Alumna of the Year for 2023 is Maria Cotto and our Recent Alumna of the Year for 2023 is Tayla Cardillo. These awards will be presented at the GSLIS Annual Gathering [alumni.uri.edu], to be held May 12, 2023 at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Warwick, RI where we are celebrating our 60th Anniversary Jubilee. The Annual Gathering is an evening of professional camaraderie and celebration that will celebrate these award winners, along with our graduates, alumni, current students, and larger community.

West Warwick Public Library is being recognized for their contributions to public library service, patron access, accessibility of library materials and services, and efforts towards equity in library work and library services. The West Warwick Public Library was a finalist for the National Medal for Museum and Library Services [imls.gov] in 2021 and 2022 (given by the Institute of Museum and Library Services). West Warwick Public Library Director Colin McCullough told the Cranston Herald [cranstononline.com] in 2021, “Our patrons’ needs might be informational, educational or – given the last twelve months – simply fun and entertainment, but each request is met with the same care and consideration by a dedicated staff. This recognition on the part of IMLS is a well-deserved tribute to their creativity, commitment to inclusivity, and sense of community.” In 2022, the West Warwick Public Library went fine free, even erasing the debt of long overdue books. Head of Circulation Caitlin Mendoza told ABC 6 News [abc6.com] that this was part of an effort “to bring our residents back to the library.” The West Warwick Public Library also reaches out to their community on social media, creating videos on TikTok [tiktok.com] and YouTube [youtube.com] about hidden gems in the library, the library’s pet gecko, and library programs and services, posting about programs and services on Twitter [twitter.com], Facebook [facebook.com], and Instagram [instagram.com]. GSLIS selected West Warwick Public Library as Library of the Year for 2023 because of their commitment to serving their diverse community with excellence, compassion, and friendliness.

After graduating from URI GSLIS in 2008, Maria Cotto worked as a Youth Services Librarian in Pawtucket Public Library, Central Falls Free Public Library, and the Knight Memorial Library in the Providence Community Library. In 2013, Cotto returned to the Pawtucket Public Library as Bilingual Children’s Librarian. She spearheaded efforts to develop the Sensory Friendly Inclusive Group. According to the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services website [olis-ri.libguides.com], “The Sensory Friendly Inclusive Group seeks to empower librarians to better serve individuals of all ages and backgrounds who are neuro-diverse or on the autism spectrum and their families by expanding programming, outreach, partnerships, and resources that welcome all abilities.” Among many other accomplishments, Cotto has also served as Chair of the Rhode Island Latino Book Awards [rilatinoarts.org] since 2014. URI GSLIS is proud of Maria Cotto and all of her exemplary contributions to the field of public librarianship, equitable library services, and the Rhode Island library community. 

Tayla Cardillo graduated from GSLIS in 2019, only a few years ago. Since that time, she has worked as a Reference and Young Adult Services Librarian at the Coventry Public Library and now as the Branch Librarian at the Oak Lawn Branch of the Cranston Public Library. Cardillo hosts a podcast at the library, Down Time with Cranston Public Library, serves on the Rhode Island Teen Book Awards [riteenbookaward.org] Committee, and as Co-Chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Rhode Island Library Association [rilibraries.org]. Cardillo told the RILA Bulletin [rilibraries.org] that “I think protecting people's intellectual freedom as well as their right to read and access information is one of the most important aspects of our jobs as library professionals.” URI GSLIS is proud of Tayla Cardillo and her commitment to intellectual freedom, youth services, and public librarianship in Rhode Island 

GSLIS is proud of all our 2023 award winners and looks forward to celebrating with them on May 12 at our Annual Gathering.