Library facilities are critical infrastructure in the best of times. Climate change promises to increase the critical nature of library facilities to build community resilience and well-being. Climate change is predicted to bring more severe and frequent storms, an increase in the number of heat waves, and regionally specific hazards that will all have different social, economic, public health, and other adverse impacts on historically marginalized or underserved communities. Library facilities for the future will need to adapt in the face of these predictions to utilize indoor and outdoor spaces to increase our capacity to meet community needs.

This kick-off summit is the first joint partnership of all Northeast State Libraries in support of adaptive resilience solutions for libraries facing the effects of climate change to their buildings and communities. The focus will be on facilities adaptation and include practical takeaways, concrete steps, and suggestions for improvement. Each session will be inclusive of libraries at all budget levels. Routine repairs, incremental upgrades, and manageable changes will be covered, as together libraries plan for improvements for the future of climate adaptation.

Click here to register.

The keynote speakers are Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Executive Director of the Mid-Hudson NY Library System, and Matthew Bollerman, Executive Director of the Hauppauge Public Library (NY). Rebekkah and Matthew are the co-creators of the national Sustainable Libraries Initiative. Stay tuned for the full agenda!

There is a new (and free) resource in NH https://learningblade.com/

Learning Blade®, a product of Thinking Media, is a supplemental STEM and computer science toolbox of interactive online lessons, ready-to-use teacher lesson plans, interactive classroom activities, and printable at-home activities for 5th to 9th graders, where students learn about STEM, CTE, and computer science careers while reviewing academics. Students can use over 400 online lessons in human-centered “missions” or stories to explore these exciting careers aligned to all state standards.

To sign up for your free NH account HERE 

To view the informational Tuesday Talk 

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/55Ffpg7Tm5HUeCE5IU4rjHUFUso1jHPuQ_OTTK3UYsF_bNYF6sakoep0AQiIZ1KG.HqeRdM6Rf6ctyDUE
Passcode: h4C!ZjBL

Order your FREE Eclipse Glasses!

GETTING STARTED WITH SEAL

500+ STEAM Activities for Public Libraries

STAR Net Online Community

Eclipses in Fiction (books, music, art, videos)

#STEMinLib Videos

NASA 's Night Sky Network

After 2024, the next total eclipse to cross the continental US won’t be until Aug. 12, 2045 –you don’t want to miss these two!

The NH State Library has 2 Multi-generational kits and 2 Younger Audience kits. Contact Deborah Dutcher to borrow.

See the Library of Things tab for kit contents.

https://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org/

Free resources available at Demco.

Following an incident last week at the New Hanover County Public Library Pine Valley Branch in Wilmington, North Carolina where the Proud Boys protested a Pride Month storytime—from my counterpart Jasmine Rockwell at the NC State Library following her meeting with the library’s staff:

• Understand whatever laws govern protests & share that with all library staff. Communicate with local law enforcement about what their role and capacity is by law should a protest take place at a library.  
• Understand and make clear what all is library property and which might be more general public property, and which policies or local law govern which. This may also mean getting the city/county attorney involved to give an interpretation.
• Ensure that all policies are linked to all calendar events. 
• Have a program policy that reflects and corresponds to the collection development policy, and also has a challenge form. 

Here are some resources we gathered to share. Some of these might be familiar to you. 

ALA ODLOS Hate Crimes Resources (pg. 1): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hWCJBNxAz9GIAWHrCaXd8ljlwGFRaTNlngak4VkrFVc/edit

Manager’s Handbook Handling Traumatic Events: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/worklife/reference-materials/traumaticevents.pdf

Hateful Conduct in Libraries: Supporting Library Workers and Patrons: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/hatefulconduct

Supporting library staff

As with many other areas, staff support is based on both policy and practice. An organization committed to the well-being of its staff makes it clear that there is a difference between public service and public abuse.

Administrators, supervisors, and front-line workers should be empowered to set and oversee clear boundaries of acceptable behavior in the workplace, particularly when directed toward staff. Human Resources training should address those boundaries, how staff might re-assert them, or use strategies to disengage or seek other assistance if they feel threatened. Strategies should be established for staff to step in for or back up each other.

Despite the presence of thoughtful policies, things will still go wrong. This provides an opportunity to debrief the situation, check in with the feelings of staff about the incident, and develop new strategies.

Ongoing training should use real-life examples of microaggressions, harassment, and hateful conduct as a way to educate staff and work toward being more prepared for possible future incidents. Consult human resources to determine what trainings are required by your state and if there are any laws or regulations concerning staff member exemptions.

There are many free resources to continually learn about these issues. The section “Resources for Further Development” lists a few starting places. In addition, ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services offers presentations, workshops, and consultations for libraries looking to begin or deepen their work on equity, diversity, and inclusion issues. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom offers webinars and consultations for libraries looking for guidance on policy development or crisis issues.

Refer to the “Assistance and Consultation” section to learn more.

Supporting library staff

Encountering hate speech and hateful conduct, even if not directed at you, can have an adverse emotional and mental impact. Talking about the experience with colleagues or supervisors may help you process the incident, and it may also help the next person that encounters a similar situation. Management and administration should model that self-care is a priority in the workplace and encourage staff to practice this, as well. In the short-term after an incident, this may include actions such as encouraging the staff member(s) to take a mental health day, granting them an extension on a project, or personally checking in with individuals in your unit.

Colleagues should give each other space to voice their concerns. It’s likely that colleagues will have varying emotional responses to an incident; these responses should be validated and acknowledged, as they are informed by each person’s life experiences.

Additional resources:

Responding to and Preparing for Controversial Programs and Speakers Q&A https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/controversialprogramsqa

Working with the Media: https://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/media

How to Respond to Challenges and Concerns About Library Resources: https://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/respond#:~:text=Listen%20thoughtfully%20and%20respectfully.,to%20agree%20with%20the%20individual

Let’s Go! is a community engagement initiative working with communities to create environments that support healthy choices. Evidence-based strategies are used to promote policy, systems, and environmental changes that facilitate healthy eating and active living (HEAL) in early care and education programs, schools, out-of-school programs and health care practices in Maine and Carroll County, New Hampshire. Out-of-School programs (OOS), like public libraries, support children and youth when they are not in school. The staff at OOS programs can establish healthy environments that encourage healthy habits. The Let’s Go! program is flexible and can be easily woven into your organization, whether a school-based, drop-in center, etc. 

If you work with children and youth, you can help them develop the building blocks of financial capability—at school, at home, and in the community. CFPB's tools and resources can help you teach financial literacy across the curriculum, even if you’re new to the topic.

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/educator-tools/youth-financial-education/

Introducing the CFPB Money Monsters!

The Money Monsters are a group of creatures who are new to our universe. That means they need to learn about many important things like school, friendship, and financial literacy.  https://orders.gpo.gov/CFPBYOUTH/CFPB_YOUTH.aspx

Why Civic Education is Important?

Civic education empowers us to be well-informed, active citizens and gives us the opportunity to change the world around us. It is a vital part of any democracy, and equips ordinary people with knowledge about our democracy and our Constitution.  Civics Academy

New Hampshire Civics programs help people understand how democracy works, how to find the facts, and how to be good and active citizens. Committed to non-partisanship, they believe people of varied perspectives and ages deserve high-quality information, hands-on learning that lasts, and a confidence that their voice matters.

In 2022, the Goffstown Public Library Community Conversations series focused on Civics: Get Engaged. Get Involved. The series was an investigation on how citizens can and should work together to solve public problems. For an extensive list of book and web resources on civics--see their Community Conversation web page https://www.goffstownlibrary.com/communityconversation/

Civics 101 is the podcast about how our democracy works…or is supposed to work, anyway.

Library of Congress Launches Video Game Challenge for Civic Engagement

The Library of Congress is calling on video game developers to create fun and lightweight video games related to civics that incorporate Library resources. This challenge is part of an effort to improve public knowledge of the rights and responsibilities of American citizens. Winning video game entries, to be announced early next year, will receive $35,000 in cash prizes. Deadline Nov 27  Click here for more information.