In a new Specialized Library Spotlight, RAILS Member Engagement Manager Dan Bostrom speaks with Rita Hassert, Library Collections Manager at the Sterling Morton Library at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. Rita discusses ACORN (Arboretum COllections & Resources Nexus), an online platform that provides access to the library's special collections. This platform is open to anyone and gives users the opportunity to search photos, videos, audio, letters, and more! To access ACORN, please visit: https://acorn.mortonarb.org/
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14 July 2022
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12 July 2022
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Well not necessarily…That’s the lesson we learned at Palatine Library. We went through a full renovation on both floors of our Main Library during Covid shutdowns – the only silver lining to that challenging time. Like many libraries, door counts and program attendance went down drastically, but when we began seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, we wanted to see that reflected in our attendance.
So, our staff began to ask an important question: how do we get people back in the building?
In September 2020, Warrenville Public Library had a campaign to incentivize people...
11 July 2022
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Libraries are magical places. In fact, the Vespasian Warner Public Library District in Clinton, Illinois is truly enchanted. In 2018, former maintenance supervisor, David Ward, noticed that a fairy door had appeared on the children’s floor. Two more doors were discovered shortly after on the library’s main floor and in the periodicals room.
The fairies are named Morgan, Echo, and Weatherby. No one has ever seen them because they are very shy and prefer to play at night when the library building is empty. Instead, they communicate with the circulation staff through notes. Staff at...
27 June 2022
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The Founders’ Memorial Library at Northern Illinois University has been exceedingly fortunate to employ a highly competent and skilled support staff dedicated to serving its students and faculty. They play a major role in everyone’s success by supporting their studies, teaching, and research with their tireless work. Ron Barshinger has served the Northern Illinois University Library for 33 years. He began as Library clerk II in billing and is currently the Access Services Manager. A graduate of Monmouth University in music education, Ron is an accomplished organist who has served the First...
17 June 2022
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2022 marks the first year that Juneteenth will be recognized as a federal holiday.
As an academic health science library, I wondered how we could provide an appropriate context for our diverse university community.
The inspiration came from an unexpected as well as controversial source: J. Marion Sims, “father of gynecology,” whose innovations resulted from experimentation on enslaved women.
I was aware of Dr. Sims through classroom discussions as well as through recorded talks available through the National Library of Medicine (What History Reveals: Slavery and the...
15 June 2022
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13 June 2022
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A story of how our library went from a list of resources and literature on our website, to host a 2-week humanitarian drive, a cultural program with 140 attendees, a display, and more. All for Ukraine.
Libraries are about community and when it comes to helping others, they stand out even more. Libraries across the world play an important role in sharing information and providing services and resources for people. As most of us know already this has been a devastating year for Ukraine. Libraries coming together with resources and ideas to support this cause have been no...
2 June 2022
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Collection development is a craft, a skill that requires expertise, hard work, and insight about your collections and community. We seek out data about our community through information collected through the census, local government, schools, and community organizations. We build connections with our patrons to find out what they are curious about and try to find materials that match their interests. We scour social media for recommendations, pour through review journals, talk to colleagues and friends, join publisher previews, check out on-sale lists, preview books on Edelweiss and...
23 May 2022
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Voices of Belonging is an interactive exhibit, created as a collaboration between several entities at Northern Illinois University: Northern Public Radio, the Divisions of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development and Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as various campus and community partners. The exhibit is part of a continuing community and campus program focusing on belonging. The exhibit aims to deepen the communiversity understanding of belonging and othering by exploring personal lived experiences of campus and community members, and the insights of national...
13 May 2022
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The My Library Is… campaign is all about helping libraries do marketing and advocacy in new ways. And libraries aren't shy about discovering these new ways! Libraries are curious, creative places. Even though they might not have huge budgets to hire expensive graphic designers, videographers, etc., they constantly find a way to promote themselves and the programs and services they offer.
Many of them are using Canva. If you don’t know about it, Canva is a great free/low-cost tool that allows libraries to do their own graphic design and marketing....
Pages
The My Library Is ... campaign
is a project of the Reaching Across Illinois Library System.