Reposted with permission from Library Strategies

Public libraries often have a number of boards, including a Library Board, as well as a Foundation or Friends Board. As professional bodies that can affect the performance of your library, it is important that each member of the board regularly participates in professional development activities. In this way, the board members become informed leaders, such that their work improves the Library and advances the work of the expert, professional staff.

Here a few ways to help your board in their annual professional development:

Key 1: Board orientation – Hold a board orientation for all new members that covers their roles and responsibilities, as well as the basic services of the library. A board orientation is also valuable as a refresher for long-time board members, and requiring attendance once every three years can help members stay on track.

Key 2: Define annual activities – All board members should engage in some aspect of professional development each year. The topics may be library-related, or how to run an effective board, or on broader trends, such as publishing or the digital world. Conferences, webinars, and state and national organizations today offer a wealth of opportunities for board training and advancement. Help your board by offering a smorgasbord of opportunities each year, with regular reminders to participate.

Key 3: Board evaluation – Have an annual board evaluation process, which can be as simple as the board president sending out an annual comment sheet to each member asking what is working well or not on the board, and what they would like to see changed. By annually evaluating the board, you can help discover board weaknesses that might effectively be addressed through training or support.

Some additional ideas for professional development activities for your boards include regular presentations by professional staff on library trends; using former board members as mentors to new board members; and thinking outside the library to explore issues in publishing, technology, finance, change management, fundraising, social media, governance, etc.

In board professional development, it is important that board members fundamentally understand and embrace their defined roles and responsibilities. But for an energized board, it is equally important that they participate in interesting, social, and other engaging activities that help them support the library and plan for its future.

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Also check out the Wyoming State Library’s Library Board Members’ Handbook.

From UW News

Jean Garrison

University of Wyoming students and faculty members will give three presentations, free and open to the public, during the fifth annual “What in the World?” summer program at the Albany County Public Library Centennial branch. All sessions, moderated by Jean Garrison, UW Center for Global Studies (CGS) director, highlight the work that recent UW graduates completed for their international research projects and the innovative research of UW-affiliated faculty.

The summer CGS schedule is:

• Wednesday June 14, at 5:30 p.m., Centennial Fellow presentations: Ashkia Campbell, zoology and physiology senior, from Casper, “Nest Predation in Ecuador”; and Jeremy Goldsmith, international studies, and environment and natural resources master’s degree candidate, from Louisville, Ky., “How and Why Gambians Migrate.”
• Wednesday, July 12, at 5:30 p.m., faculty research presentation: Mark Ritchie and Lena Hardy, both Department of Art and Art History professors, “Riding the Range in Mongolia and Australia: Art, Insights and Impressions.”
• Wednesday, Aug. 30, 5:30 p.m., faculty research presentation: Thomas Risse, Department of Political Science, Free University of Berlin, “Europe, the U.S. and the Transatlantic Relationship during Tumultuous Times.”

The series is made possible by the Ruth R. Ellbogen Foundation and the CGS’s UW partners. For more information about CGS, call Garrison at (307) 766-6119, email garrison@uwyo.edu, or visit www.uwyo.edu/globalcenter.

Wyoming Newspapers now includes 1944-45 issues of the Fort Warren Sentinel:  “A weekly newspaper published by and for the military personnel of Ft. Warren, Wyoming.” In the first issue on February 11, 1944, Hollywood stars such as Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, Abbott and Costello, and Bing Crosby wished the fledgling paper well.

The Sentinel is one of several military newspapers the Wyoming State Library makes available online. We also expect to add German POW newsletters from Camp Douglas and Fort Francis E. Warren in the near future. (Watch this blog for the announcement!)

Currently, Wyoming Newspapers includes:

• Fort Warren Sentinel
• Fort D.A. Russell News
• Sky Dozer
• Slip Stream
• Warren Mustang

The Wyoming State Library added the Fort Warren Sentinel recently with the help of the Wyoming State Archives whose archivists found a set of old single issues in their stacks and digitized the paper copies so the images could be added.

So this Memorial Day, enjoy these glimpses into Wyoming’s military history in Wyoming Newspapers.

Happiness at Niobrara County Library! Wyoming’s 23 public libraries held more than 11,500 children’s programs in FY16.

Libraries are vital to Wyoming residents — and we have the numbers to prove it. The Wyoming State Library has just released FY16 public library data on its Wyoming Library Statistics page for the period from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016. A summary report, county rankings, and 5-year trends are available.

Among the report highlights:

• There were 3.53 million visits to public libraries in FY16 – 6 visits for every Wyoming resident.
• Public libraries were open for a combined total of 142,508 hours annually (almost 1,000 more hours than in FY15)..
• Circulation dropped slightly to just over 4.54 million, 7.8 items per capita (from 4.93 million and 8.4 items per capita in FY15).
• Public libraries held 2.7 million books and audio-visual materials in their collections, a decrease from FY15.
• All Wyoming public libraries offer free Wi-Fi. The 14 libraries that were able to provide this data reported, collectively, 237,321 Wi-Fi sessions in FY16 (37.5% increase over FY15.
• Public libraries employed 648 people for a total of 385.2 full-time equivalent positions.

Although these statistics allow for comparisons among libraries, caution should be exercised when interpreting them. Local needs, economies, geography and library policies differ, and that can be reflected in the numbers.

Questions about library statistics? Contact Thomas Ivie, WSL Research & Statistics Librarian at thomas.ivie@wyo.gov or (307) 777-6330.

From the Association of College and Research Libraries

Through a new report issued by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), Academic Library Impact on Student Learning and Success: Findings from Assessment in Action Team Projects, the higher education community now has compelling assessment findings that tell a strong story about the multiple ways that academic libraries are contributing to student learning and success

Positive connections between the library and aspects of student learning and success in five areas are particularly noteworthy:

1. Students benefit from library instruction in their initial coursework.
2. Library use increases student success.
3. Collaborative academic programs and services involving the library enhance student learning.
4. Information literacy instruction strengthens general education outcomes.
5. Library research consultations boost student learning.

Learn more and read the full report. The executive summary is available as a separate document, formatted to share broadly with campus stakeholders.

The ACRL is a division of the American Library Association.

Find a wrap-up of the latest in Wyoming library news in the May 2017 Outrider newsletter from the Wyoming State Library. Subscribe today, and we’ll send the Outrider straight to your email inbox each month.

Have news you’d like included? Contact Susan Mark, WSL publications specialist, at susan.mark@wyo.gov or (307) 777-5915. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, too.

Just posted on our YouTube channel and webinars index: join the Wyoming State Library’s Research & Statistics Librarian, Thomas Ivie, and our School Library Consultant, Paige Bredenkamp, as they look at ways the annual survey can benefit your library in the newly archived webinar, Using Statistical Data to Support Your Library. The focus of this webinar is primarily school and public libraries. Download the slides and follow along for some great information.

Find a wrap-up of the latest in Wyoming library news in the April 2017 Outrider newsletter from the Wyoming State Library. Have news you’d like included next month? Contact Susan Mark, WSL publications specialist, at susan.mark@wyo.gov or (307) 777-5915. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, too.

From the American Library Association

Choose Privacy Week, coming up May 1-7, 2017, is an initiative that invites library users into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age. The campaign gives libraries the tools they need to educate and engage users, and gives citizens the resources to think critically and make more informed choices about their privacy.

The American Library Association (ALA) has developed a variety of resources to help libraries reach out to their communities and learn what they can do to spark thought and discussion around privacy issues today. Whether your library is considering creating a display, sponsoring a contest, hosting a program or workshop, or moderating a community dialogue about privacy, the ALA has tools to help.

SirsiDynix has created this “Connections” video to help you tell your library’s story. Use the Connections video at board meetings, for digital signs, on social media, and anywhere else you find useful. Watch or embed it from YouTube, or download it for free in a variety of formats and languages.