Are you going to ARSL?  For most of us’ns in Idaho, we are small, and we are rural.  With the Association for Rural and Small Libraries coming so close to us in Tacoma, consider coming! This is our chance to get together and share our ideas, network with librarians just like us, and learn from people who are in the same boat – resource thin, short staffed, ever changing, and developing strong ties to our community.  ARSL is my favorite conference and I encourage all of you to consider going this year.

Click here for more info about ARSL – http://arsl.info/annual-conference/

In addition to some awesome sessions and networking opportunities, ARSL offers great pre-conferences, some by our very own Idaho superstars!  It’s not very often we get a huge conference like this one so close to us, and I hope to see you all there!

ARSL Preconferences:

A Cram Course in Youth Services or “What’s the difference between a 2-year-old and a teenager?”
— Maryann Mori, Iowa Library Services

This half-day workshop will cover the basics (and beyond!) of youth services— working with
children from babies to teens (and ages in between). The session will include aspects of child
development, early childhood literacy, programming for specific ages, collection development
considerations, outreach, teen involvement, and more.

Community Building
— Shirley Biladeau, Idaho Commission for LibrariesJennifer Fenton, Washington State Library

Community building enhances the status of libraries as a community anchor. But sometimes it is
hard to know where to start. This pre-conference is designed to provide insight for participants on
resources to use for outreach in their community, potential community partnerships, and
developing an engagement plan.

Two half day workshops: The morning is for the novice, providing the basics on getting started in
community building (topics include team building, communication and strategic planning). During
the afternoon workshop, participants will build on the basics by creating an actual plan of
engagement for a specific community building project. Depending on your current level of
knowledge in regard to community building, you can select the part of the day that best fits your
needs. Participants may attend both sessions if they wish.

Crafting a Successful Adult Education Program for Small, Rural and/or Part-time Libraries
— Debra A. Kavanaugh, Shreve Memorial Library

Small and rural libraries can provide vital, successful adult education opportunities for adult
patrons without a GED, or other high school equivalency. This workshop will present workable,
affordable manageable strategies, solutions and alternatives which can be adapted to any budget,
workforce, workspace and public need. Following the initiative developed for the Shreve Memorial
Library system, who wanted to provide its small, rural part-time branches with the same level of
instruction and resources offered in the full-time branches, the Coordinator for the program will
present the development and implementation of its first ever rural Adult Education Program series.

Do It Now: Design a Successful Kidlit Festival
— Suzanne Williams, author Terri Farley, author

Young adult and middle grade authors Suzanne Morgan Williams and Terri Farley lead this hands-
on workshop on organizing a literacy festival for your library and community – including finding
speakers, identifying funding sources, working with schools and community groups, creating kid
friendly materials, and integrating writing workshops and reading.

Gizmo Garage: Closing the Digital Divide One Device at a Time
— Jezmynne Dene, Portneuf District Library

The Gizmo Garage is a partnership program with the Idaho Commission for Libraries and funded
by a grant from the US Institute of Museum and Library Service that offers ereaders and tablets to
library for staff and library patron training. The Gizmo Garage belongs to a regional area and is
circulated among libraries for events. The Portneuf Library’s events are very popular, leading to
more classes and one on one sessions to help users learn to use their devices and connect to digital
materials. Come hear about the successes of this program, learn the basics about popular devices
and how they connect to library resources, and discover how you can build a team to create your
own Gizmo Garage!

Program goals:

Share the successes from the library’s Gizmo Garage events
Demonstrate the basics of popular devices/operating systems
Discuss fundamental requirements popular devices/operating systems have
Discuss training tips for staff training with devices
Get hands on play time with several gadgets
Brainstorm creative ways to build partnerships for creating a garage
Section One

The first portion of our workshop will be an overview of the Idaho Gizmo Garage project,
sponsored by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and funded by a grant from the US Institute of
Museum and Library Services. The overview will share how the program developed and changed
from its initial plan to ways it worked best in practice. Ways to use the Gizmo Garage for staff
training, patron training, and digital holdings will be addressed.

Section Two

The second portion of this workshop will cover the basics of the most popular mobile operating
systems and devices, including the most important things to know in order to maneuver on devices.
Requirements for setting up accounts and how to download apps in each environment will be
covered.

Section Three

The final section will be exploration time with several devices on loan from the Idaho Commission
for Libraries. Attendees will have access to many devices in order to play and explore and become
familiar with the different operating environments. Included in this portion will be guided active
learning exercises to reinforce objectives from the previous section. We will wrap up the workshop
with discussion and brainstorming on how to implement similar programs in your library.
Rooms that Rock: Practical Tips for Library Space Planning
— Betha Gutsche, WebJunction OCLC with Jennifer Peterson and Kendra Morgan

You don’t need a new building to make your library more inviting to the community. In this
interactive workshop, discover ways to improve and stretch space without increasing floor area.
From flexible layouts to movable furniture and modified collections, learn practical space planning
ideas for libraries of any size and shape. An interactive, half-day workshop, engaging participants in
a series of hands-on exercises. Registrants will be invited to bring current library photos and floor
plans.

Talking to Voters About Your Library: Planning and Executing Effective Tax, Bond and
Referendum Campaigns
— John Chrastka, EveryLibrary
Morning Session: Library Ballot Campaigns 101

Do you wonder what the limits are for the library staff and board during a library ballot initiative?
Are you concerned about what you can say or do in support of a library ballot campaign? Do you
know the right questions to ask of the Clerk of Elections and Assessor’s Office? In this session, we
will explore the difference between Information-Only and Vote Yes campaigns. You will come
away with solid advice about effective planning and execution. We will talk clearly about what
library staff and officials involved with Informational campaigns can and cannot do. We will
demonstrate how a local ballot committee—with a campaign plan—can help reach voters in
different and important ways. Participants will build a roadmap for the roles and responsibilities of
those involved in the ballot initiative including Library staff and Trustees, Friends of the Library
and Foundations, and the local Ballot Committee.

Planning Your Message: How to Talk to Voters, Not Just Library Users

Are you worried that the people who love your library don’t vote? Do you understand the ways that
messages about the library impact voters who don’t use the library? And do you know what
motivates voters about the library more than anything else? Learn about the best ways to formulate
your library campaign message—and who the messenger should be to voters. This discussion will
be relevant to both Information-Only and Vote Yes campaigns because the message is similar and
the call to action is clear. You will learn how messaging for an election is different than messaging
for library advocacy. You will come away with specific and actionable framework of an effective
message, and knowledge of the techniques for getting your message out through the right channels.