At many of the country’s 4,000 rural library systems, staffers are operating by themselves, or nearly so. Solo librarianship can take a variety of forms. It can be a sole employee, a full-time employee managing part-timers or volunteers, or librarians working with small or spread-out teams. As libraries continue to recover from the worst of … Continue reading One of a Kind
“Social Media for Small and Rural Libraries,” a June 25 program sponsored by the Association for Small and Rural Libraries (ARSL) at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2021 Annual Conference and Exhibition Virtual, offered easy ways for such libraries to engage patrons online without breaking the bank or overwhelming employees. Suzanne Macaulay, cochair of ARSL’s … Continue reading Social Media for Small Libraries
In “Small and Rural Libraries: A Candid Discussion,” Kathy Zappitello, executive director of Conneaut (Ohio) Public Library and president of the Association of Small and Rural Libraries (ARSL); Bailee Hutchinson, branch manager at Altus (Okla.) Public Library and ARSL vice-president; Jennifer Pearson, director of Marshall County (Tenn.) Memorial Library and ARSL past-president; and Kate Laughlin, … Continue reading Little Libraries, Big Problems
The event opened with a meme-filled presentation from author and librarian William Ottens (Librarian Tales: Funny, Strange, and Inspiring Dispatches from the Stacks) and closed with a keynote from renowned librarian and literary critic Nancy Pearl (The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives, with Jeff Schwager). The sessions … Continue reading Rural Libraries and Community Well-Being
1982 Year the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) was founded by Bernard Vavrek, director of the Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship at Clarion (Pa.) University. 5 Number of days the ARSL Conference will take place, September 28–October 2. Previously scheduled for Wichita, Kansas, the conference has switched to a virtual format. … Continue reading By the Numbers: Rural and Small Libraries
“Almost without exception, at one point that morning, each [person] was crying,” recalled the New York Times–bestselling novelist. “They would not have cried for the loss of CD-ROMs, but they cried for books … they cried for their community center.” But Lincoln’s is not just a story of loss, Bohjalian explained in a lunchtime session … Continue reading The Center of the Community
Standup comedian, storyteller, and speaker Susanne Schmidt continued Lewis’s theme. Storytelling, she said, is a form of connection. “People find common ground in the shared experiences that come to life in storytelling,” she said. “Stories allow us to connect on a deeper level.” She then walked the audience through the four elements of a good … Continue reading Building Community Connections at ARSL 2019
The Friday and Saturday keynote speakers did much to accentuate the feeling of togetherness. Blind musician/motivation speaker Clint Lewis and YA sci-fi/fantasy authors Brandon Mull (Fablehaven) and Lance Conrad (Price of Creations) praised their hosts and delivered talks that stressed the importance of following your passions and not being afraid to fail. The speakers—all Utah … Continue reading ARSL 2017 Conference: Days Two and Three
The 2017 conference has already broken ARSL conference records. More than 550 librarians from across the US are in attendance this year, according to Julie Elmore, director of Oakland City-Columbia Township (Ind.) Public Library and an ARSL board member. These numbers are up from 503 attendees at the 2016 conference. The increased attendance produced a … Continue reading ARSL 2017 Conference: Day One
