The American Library Association (ALA) announced on June 1 that the Fremont County Library System (FCLS) has been awarded one of only 77 national grants from the ALA COVID Library Relief Fund. The $20,000 grant will assist libraries that continue to experience substantial economic hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic. The grantees include academic, correctional, public, school, and tribal libraries from 32 states and Puerto Rico. The ALA COVID Library Relief Fund is one of the largest non-federal grant opportunities for libraries.

The grant will help FCLS purchase print and digital books for public checkout, book kits for loan to school classrooms, books for children learning to read, and promotion of the library system’s services and resources throughout Fremont County.

Library Director Anita Marple commented, “This award is an important source for supplementing our budget during this difficult economic period. Thank you to ALA and Acton Family Giving for helping us in the most practical way to continue our mission of meeting the resource needs and desires of our whole community.”

The impact of the pandemic and the economic downturn resulted in a 47.2% reduction of the FCLS operating budget over two years. To meet the challenges of reduced staffing and loss of funding for purchasing collection materials, the Library has relied increasingly on the generous support of the Fremont County Library Foundation and the Friends of the Library groups. These volunteer organizations have funded temporary staffing during summer months and have been provided most of the funds for purchasing new materials, as well as supporting literacy programming.

FCLS Assistant Library Director Shari Haskins said, “All of this represents hard work and good communication among all our stakeholders. Library staff and volunteers are committed to maintaining a high level of service to our county citizens.”

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org.

About Acton Family Giving

Acton Family Giving supports distinct initiatives and collective efforts. Its Empathy Building Initiative, launched in 2014, partners with organizations building connections across difference and reaffirming our common humanity. This work is rooted in the belief that an empathetic society fosters stronger, healthier, and more just communities. Acton Family Giving is part of the Wildcard Giving philanthropic family.

Find a wrap-up of the latest in Wyoming library news in the May 2022 Outrider newsletter from the Wyoming State Library. Subscribe today, and we’ll send the Outrider straight to your email inbox each month. You can also see past issues.

Do you know any library colleagues, trustees, advocates, or volunteers who might be interested in the Outrider? Please share the news with them and encourage them to sign up for our monthly email.

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

Wyoming Reads, gives a hardback picture book to keep to every Wyoming first-grade student. Over 6,900 books were distributed to first-graders at Wyoming Reads literacy celebrations held across the state in each of Wyoming’s 23 counties. This year’s event took place today, May 17.

Celebrity readers from the community — including First Lady Jennie Gordon — read books to the first graders at these events. The children also enjoy a special fairytale about “The Good Queen Sue,” a tribute to Sue Jorgensen, in whose memory this event was established.

Earlier this year, children had the opportunity to choose which book they would like to receive from the following options:

• Crossings by Katy S. Duffield
• Duck Duck Moose by Mary Sullivan
• I Am Not a Penguin: A Pangolin’s Lament by Liz Wong
• A New Day by Brad Meltzer
• Oh Look, a Cake! by J.C. McKee
• The Truth About Dragons by Jaime Zollars

Wyoming Reads celebrations focus on the joy of reading, highlighted by each child receiving a hardback book with their name printed inside the cover, donated by the Sue Jorgensen Library Foundation.

John Jorgensen established the Sue Jorgensen Library Foundation in 1996 and founded the Casper Cares, Casper Reads festival to honor his late wife’s commitment to children and reading. The celebration was expanded statewide as Wyoming Reads in 2006.

For more information on Wyoming Reads, visit wyomingreads.org.

 

From the ALA-APA Library Worklife blog

May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time to raise awareness around mental health challenges and prioritize mental health in the workplace. Mental health is always important, but with the lingering effects of the pandemic and a push to “return to normal,” it is at the top of the priority list.

Most people will experience a mental health challenge at some point. When the demands placed on a person exceed their resources and coping abilities, the strain could impact their mental health. For example, working long hours, caring for a relative, or experiencing economic hardship can contribute to poor mental health. Learning to cope with stress and situations that may lead to mental health concerns in a healthy way will help you become more resilient.

This article on the ALA-APA Library Worklife blog offers more information and numerous self-care tips for supporting mental health in the workplace. The list of resources below was also taken from the article.

Mental Health Resources

• The American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) Center for Workplace Mental Health developed a toolkit that offers tips and resources for supporting mental health and well-being at work for May and beyond. Topics include resiliency, self-care, isolation and loneliness, real strategies to show your support, and more.
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the United States.
• The Mental Health.Gov site explains the basics of mental health, lists several early warning signs of possible mental health concerns, and offers suggestions to maintain positive mental health.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) page on mental health offers many resources to help with understanding mental health, tips for coping with stress, and ways to get help.
• Suicide Prevention LifeLine: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
• National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Find a wrap-up of the latest in Wyoming library news in the April 2022 Outrider newsletter from the Wyoming State Library. Subscribe today, and we’ll send the Outrider straight to your email inbox each month. You can also see past issues.

Do you know any library colleagues, trustees, advocates, or volunteers who might be interested in the Outrider? Please share the news with them and encourage them to sign up for our monthly email.

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

Check out the Oceans of Possibilities created by NoveList Plus for you to take advantage of for 2022 summer reading.

Find Novelist Plus on GoWYLD.net alphabetically or under Recommended Reading.

Once in, refer to the Recommended Read lists on the left or type Oceans of Possibilities in the search box.

The Recommended Read lists let you select adult, teen, 9-12, or 0-8 and fiction or nonfiction. Scroll to Oceans of Possibilities to find By the Sea, Pirates & Mermaids, Terror at Sea, and Sea Stories.

A search for Oceans of Possibilities will bring up the tab: Lists & Articles. This includes book lists for marine mammals, mythical creatures (teens), boats (0-8), sharks (9-12), and terror at sea (adults).

NoveList has also created a summer reading guide for 2022. It includes book display and programming ideas.

Find a tutorial for NoveList Plus in the Niche Academy collection. From GoWYLD.net, click on the tutorials tab on the far right.

For more information, about the databases, training, or marketing materials, contact Chris Van Burgh, Wyoming State Library Database Instruction Librarian, chris.vanburgh@wyo.gov.

Find a wrap-up of the latest in Wyoming library news in the March 2022 Outrider newsletter from the Wyoming State Library. Subscribe today, and we’ll send the Outrider straight to your email inbox each month. You can also see past issues.

Do you know any library colleagues, trustees, advocates, or volunteers who might be interested in the Outrider? Please share the news with them and encourage them to sign up for our monthly email.

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

Happy National Inventors Day! February 11 is a day to celebrate America’s resourcefulness and imagination. Celebrated on Thomas Edison’s birthday, this day was set by Ronald Reagan in 1983 to laud all innovators old and new.

While you can go to the National Inventors Hall of Fame or the United States Patent and Trademark sites to see multiple inventions from around the country, the Wyoming State Library has a database that celebrates inventions closer to home.

The Wyoming Inventors database highlights Wyoming patents from 1867 to the newest patents approved every Tuesday. Dive into the database to explore the wide selection of inventions created by Wyomingites or come along through this selection of inventions to celebrate National Inventors Day.

The first invention ever patented in Wyoming was U.S. Patent No. 67898 – Improvement in Cartridge-Belts. This innovation was created by Anson Mills, and patented in 1867 while he was serving at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory (current day Uinta County).

After that first Wyoming patent, Wyomingites received over 6,000 individual patents. These inventions span the whole range of ideas from Animal Tags (U.S. Patent No. 3260007)

to Zipper Pulling Aides (U.S. Patent No. D40067).

Sometimes, these ideas work to solve classic problems, like this spin on creating a better mousetrap (U.S. Patent No. 5720125). The following mousetrap aims to make live capture easier and more hygienic.

Wyoming ingenuity carries on to the present day. For instance this invention for sustainable packaging system and packaging sealing device (U.S. Patent No. 11235917) just received its patent this month.

Check out the Wyoming Inventors database for more outstanding examples of the inventor’s spirit.

Chinese New Year begins on February 1 this year. The holiday is also called Lunar New Year because the dates of celebration follow the phases of the moon. (find out more in Britannica Library or Britannica School in GoWYLD.net. in the Encyclopedias subject area).

Oh, the beautiful children’s books about Chinese New Year! Use GoWYLD.net resources such as Novelist, Teaching Books, Bookflix, and Books & Authors to locate titles to share.

A search in Novelist K-8 will result in fiction and nonfiction titles. You can refine the results for ages 0-8, 9-12 and teens, and fiction or nonfiction. For each title, there are reviews, including Goodreads, book appeal terms, reading level, and reader’s advisory options, and a link to WYLDCat to check availability in Wyoming libraries.

There are also titles in the reader’s advisory resource, Books & Authors. Filter your results by audience level or subjects, such as Chinese Americans, culture, dragons, or cooking.

Teaching Books has created a landing page, Stories for the Chinese New Year. Depending on the book, you will find a cultural representation reflection, author information and interviews, and activities and lessons. You can also create a word search as well as flyers and bookmarks.

Bookflix, for grades PreK-3, pairs classic fictional video storybooks with related e-books. A title search (or find it under Celebrations) brings up the video story book, Sam and the Lucky Money, by Karen Chinn and the non-fiction e-book, Chinese New Year by David F. Marx. Book-specific interactive games reinforce core reading skills.

All the above resources, except for Bookflix, can be found under Recommended Reading on GoWYLD.net. Find Bookflix under Kids K-8 or by title.

For more information, about the databases, training, or marketing materials, contact Chris Van Burgh, Wyoming State Library Database Instruction Librarian, chris.vanburgh@wyo.gov.

The February 2022 Wyoming State Library training calendar is now available with 61 live webinars, an online conference,  and four recordings to watch “At Your Leisure.” Every training opportunity on this list is free and offered online. Topics include advocacy, planning, careers, children and teens, collection development, communication, databases, managing change, fundraising, legal, management, outreach and partnerships, programming, readers’ advisory, reference, school libraries, technology, training and instruction, and volunteers.

View, download, or subscribe to the calendar at library.wyo.gov/services/training/calendar.