The Birth of a Library Service
Posted on December 14, 2020
Home delivery: a more comfortable way for patrons to get library materials during a global pandemic.
What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting
My Library Is... Blog
If you have an idea for a My Library Is... blog post, send it to the RAILS Communications Team at communications@railslibraries.info.
Fox River Grove Library Unveils Grant-Funded Videos
Posted on December 9, 2020
The Fox River Grove Public Library District has created two videos to promote the Library and the Fox River Grove community. The videos were funded by the My Library Is… Grant from the Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System (RAILS). The videos are available on the Library’s YouTube channel, social media, and website, as well as the RAILS My Library Is... website.
Recommendations for Makerspaces During a Pandemic
Posted on December 4, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed how patrons and library staff utilize and learn in makerspaces or within their maker communities. Beyond topics of public health and politics, this pandemic has shown the importance of the skills and sense of community that one may gain in makerspaces. A perfect example is masks and other PPE supplies.
The Festive Readers’ Advisory We Need Now: Teen and Adult Book Boxes
Posted on November 30, 2020
After Lisle Library’s Adult and Teen Focus Librarian, Noelle Spicher, started hearing about the success of teen book box programs in other libraries, she began crafting a procedure to try out the program at LLD and it went live in January 2020.
SRP Already? Lessons from the Pandemic
Posted on November 16, 2020
Yes, it’s November. Yes, many of us are still recovering from the Summer Reading Program that wasn’t (or almost wasn’t). No, we don’t want to think about Summer Reading 2021, but like it or not, planning time is here. Normally, libraries base their coming programs on participation and response rates of the program that just ended, but with a global pandemic raging, nothing is normal.
Announcing the My Library Is... Grants for School Libraries!
Posted on November 9, 2020
As part of the My Library Is… campaign, RAILS and AISLE are teaming up to offer up to ten $1,000 grants to help school libraries promote their value. My Library Is...
Effective Library Marketing Campaigns
Posted on October 26, 2020
At the 2020 ILA Annual Conference, I had the privilege of co-presenting a program, Effective Library Marketing Campaigns, with two colleagues, Burgundy Hill from Quincy Public Library and Ann Reeves from Eureka Public Library District.
Get Out the Vote at your Virtual Library
Posted on October 19, 2020
The Lincolnwood Public Library Junior Justice League, a community service club for 3rd-8th graders, works throughout the school year to highlight kids’ voices and interests to provide activism and agency. They choose the causes and projects to focus on - ranging from supporting animals in shelters to civic engagement.
My Library Is... Conversation with Sasha Vasilic
Posted on September 30, 2020
RAILS Member Engagement Manager Dan Bostrom speaks with Sasha Vasilic, the Public Relations and Marketing Supervisor, Niles-Maine District Library about the Best. Deal. Ever. campaign. This campaign won the Niles-Maine District Library a John Cotton Dana Award from the American Library Association for excellence in library public relations and strategic communication.
How E-Content Bridged the Gap During Library Building Closures
Posted on September 24, 2020
When Illinois’s Stay at Home order went into effect on March 21, 2020 and public libraries were required to close their buildings, something happened. At RAILS we started to see a noticeable shift in user behavior on the eRead Illinois Axis 360 e-content platform. The number of holds being placed on items skyrocketed.