Professional Development Grant Winners Fall 2022
The Vermont Library Association (VLA) Scholarship and Awards Committee is pleased to announce two winners for the Fall 2022 VLA Professional Development Grant.
Natacha Liuzzi (left in picture), Children’s Specialist at South Burlington Public Library, will attend “The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future,” a six-week Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) online course. The class will give participants a solid grounding in the history of the Newbery Medal and how it has changed over time; an opportunity to read, discuss, and consider past and present Newbery winners; a chance to talk to former Newbery Committee members and a Newbery author; and suggestions for programming using Newbery-winning books. The VLA grant will help defray the cost of the class.
Erin Davison, Youth Services Librarian at Norwich Public Library, will attend the New England Library Association (NELA) 2022 Annual Conference from October 23 through 25. The conference will give her the opportunity to connect with and learn from librarians in the region as she navigates rural librarianship for the first time in her career. The VLA grant will help defray the costs of the conference.
VLA’s Professional Development Grant, managed by the Scholarship and Awards Committee, provides the recipient with up to $250 for a professional development program such as a workshop, conference, or continuing education course. Applications are accepted twice a year (deadlines are May 1 and August 7), and priority is given by monetary need, library involvement, leadership, and commitment to Vermont libraries. Grant recipients are required to write a brief account of their professional development opportunity for VLA News, our quarterly email newsletter. For more information, and to apply, visit the Vermont Library Association Professional Development Grant webpage.
Addison County Library Tour
VLA Professional Development Grant Applications Open
The Vermont Library Association’s Scholarship and Awards Committee is accepting applications for the fall round of their professional development grant. Up to $250 is available to attend a workshop, a conference, or a continuing education course. The deadline for applications is Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, with the awardee notified by September 1. (Please note the deadline has been changed to August 14.)
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Be an active VLA member;
- Live in Vermont and/or work in a Vermont library; and
- Not have received a scholarship from VLA in the past two years.
For complete details and to apply, visit the VLA Professional Development Grant web page.
If you have additional questions, contact one of the Scholarship and Awards Committee co-chairs:
Pamela Cartier at clic@vermontlaw.edu
Mary Danko at mdanko@burlingtonvt.gov
VLA Annual Meeting 2022
Dear VLA Members:
The Vermont Library Association Annual Meeting will be held from 10 – 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, on Zoom.
You can register at this link.
For those unable to attend, you can request an absentee ballot by clicking this link.
Here is the agenda:
- Call to Order
- Approval of Minutes from 2021 Annual Meeting
- Budget Report
- Election of Board Members
- Reports from Working Groups, Roundtables, etc.
- Proposed changes to membership structure
- Remarks from the State Librarian Cathy Delneo
- Remarks from VLA President-Elect Kelly McCagg
Best,
Mike Roy
President, Vermont Library Association
2022 Vermont Library Association Conference
Better Together!
This year, VLA is again doing things a little differently. On the heels of a very successful 2021 virtual conference, we’ll be hosting a participant-driven conference on June 1, 2022, at Castleton University. The theme is Better Together, which embodies two defining principles for the day: the chance for us to see each other in person after a long time apart, and the idea that sharing our knowledge helps us all improve ourselves and our libraries.
Register now, or read more.
The Intellectual Freedom Committee Rapid Response Team
Dear Vermont Library Worker,
The Vermont Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) would like you to know we’ve got your back.
We are as concerned as you are about the censorship and challenges of books, particularly school library books, in many other parts of the country. Books which talk about complex social issues such as racism and bigotry, or which simply portray LGBTQIA+ characters and stories, are being aggressively targeted by so-called “family friendly” protestors who are trying to have these books removed from libraries, often through legislative means.
VLA IFC believes the best defense is a good offense, and we want to help libraries in Vermont prepare for the conversations and challenges which may be coming. Here are three things that libraries can do now to prepare.
- Be ready in advance of challenges or censorship action. Make sure your library has a collection development policy to support your library’s collection, and procedures for dealing with people’s requests for book removals. This procedure should be available to any staff who may be interacting with the public, and it should be readily available to a staff member dealing with such an interaction. The American Library Association”s Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit for Public, School, & Academic Libraries has good information for creating or amending such a document.
- Prepare to report challenges or censorship actions. The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom (ALA OIF) provides confidential support to anyone addressing a challenge to materials, programming, policy, or services. Their challenge report form allows you to report censorship and request assistance with the challenge. Alternatively, you can send email to oif@ala.org or call 312-280-4221 / 1-800-545-2433 x4226 to request assistance.
In addition, please notify VLA IFC of any challenges, using our Report a Challenge form. We keep statistics on challenges in Vermont.
- Contact the VLA IFC. We have a rapid response team who can help you manage situations and people. Email ifc@vermontlibraries.org and we will connect you with resources and strategies to help you with whatever you’re dealing with.
We’re all in this together. Forewarned is forearmed. We’re here if and when you need us.
VLA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee
Randal Smathers, chair
Lynn Eisenbrary
Laura Fetterolf
Virgil Fuller
Bryn Hoffman
Almy Landauer
Trina Magi
Dena Marger
Amy McMullen
Susan Meyer
Rachel Muse
Jessamyn West
Last update October 10, 2023
Vermont Library Association Statement on Critical Race Theory
The Vermont Library Association (VLA) stands firmly against any legislation that restricts or impedes any education on Racism, “Divisive” Concepts, Racial Injustice, Black American History, and Diversity Education in libraries and educational institutions. This includes any books, resources, curriculum, or programming that libraries provide. Furthermore, we believe that it is imperative to call attention to portions of our history that have been previously omitted, misrepresented, distorted or misstated.
VLA is committed to upholding intellectual freedom in all of our libraries: Public Libraries, School Libraries, Special Libraries, and Academic Libraries. People must be able to access information without censorship and without fear that their intellectual inquiries are illegal. It is only through the vigorous upholding of freedoms of speech and inquiry that we can truly be a democratic nation that strives not only to understand its history, but to learn and become better from it.
Libraries and librarians have had a long history of upholding all forms of intellectual freedom. The current attacks and efforts to use legislation to suppress it are alarming, and are reaching unprecedented numbers throughout our country. Critical thinking and civil discourse for all points of view must be protected and encouraged in a democracy. Any attack on these tenets is an affront to the rights of all people and is intended to work against the values of equity, diversity and inclusion for which all libraries strive for.
VLA is committed to supporting our librarians and the communities they serve. We pledge to defend, assist, and stand with our members if and when they are challenged. Furthermore, we pledge to continue to educate our communities on the importance of holding sacred the freedoms that the United States of America was built on, not only as an inalienable right, but as foundational to our democracy and our efforts to be an example of a true, thriving democracy throughout the world.
The Vermont Library Association is in agreement with, and stands firmly with, the American Library Association’s Statement on Censorship of Information Addressing Racial Injustice, Black American History, and Diversity Education of August 18, 2021.
The Vermont Library Association is in agreement with, and stands firmly with, the American Library Association’s Statement on Book Censorship of November 29, 2021.
Additional resources on Critical Race Theory
- The American Bar Association: A Lesson on Critical Race Theory
- New York Times: What is Critical Race Theory?
- ACLU: State Lawmakers Are Trying to Ban Talk About Race in Schools
VLAC21 Award Winners
Every year at the annual conference, the Vermont Library Association presents five awards for outstanding service to and support of the state’s libraries. This year, we did something a little different. Rather than ask people to nominate for our usual awards, we invited them to name their own awards. The results were entertaining and heartfelt.
The winners were announced during the conference, “Emerging Energized,” held online May 25, 26, 27, and June 1 and 2. You can watch the awards ceremony recording here.
And the winners are…Read more
Vermont Library Association 2021 Conference Registration Open
Register today for “Emerging Energized,” the Vermont Library Association’s Annual Conference for 2021. Visit the conference web page for complete details, including the program, speakers, and registration link.
VLA Covid-19 Vaccination Statement
A letter sent to Governor Phil Scott from the VLA Executive Board.
To the Honorable Phil Scott, Governor of Vermont:
Secretary Smith indicated at the press conference on February 2nd that Vermont is “open to discussions about what comes next” with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. In this spirit, the Executive Committee of the Vermont Library Association asks the State of Vermont to prioritize library workers alongside other front-line workers.Read more