From the State Library

Online, Live Presentation Opportunity
When budgets are cut or a community is in need, libraries often demonstrate their value by working hard to add more services and more workload to their already full plates. Rarely is there a discussion about eliminating services, optimizing the assets of staff, or advocacy for staff well-being and safety. Learning how to advocate for yourself, your team, and your library is a critical conversation we must have to discuss and reflect thoughtfully about the profession and work to make it better. The State Library of Ohio and OhioNET are excited to contribute to the conversation about staff advocacy with an online, live presentation and Q&A titled Vocational Awe: Examining the Cost of Your Service with Fobazi Ettarh (Rutgers University). The virtual event will be held October 7 at 2 p.m. and a recording will be shared with those who cannot attend live. The presentation is geared toward Ohio library staff of all levels and all library types.

Vocational awe refers to the set of ideas, values, and assumptions librarians have about themselves and the profession that result in beliefs that libraries as institutions are inherently good and sacred, and therefore beyond critique. In this session, Fobazi Ettarh will discuss the theory of vocational awe and how, combined with the value of service, it has created a toxic framework of leadership that cannot grow or adapt to the ever-changing world in which we live. Fobazi Ettarh will build upon this foundation and reveal the hidden costs of service that vocational awe demands, and how you can encourage yourself and others to push beyond this framework. For it is only by breaking this framework that we as library workers and as a field can truly be of service to ourselves as well as our patrons.

After her presentation, Ms. Ettarh will be in conversation with Erin Kelsey, Library Consultant at the State Library of Ohio, about how vocational awe impacts the work of libraries and library staff and how library workers can develop tools to advocate for themselves to better serve their communities.

Click here to register. Registrants will be sent a GoToMeeting link via email in a few days prior to the event. A recording will be uploaded and available for viewing if you can't make the live event. 

In partnership with OhioNET, Critical Conversations is supported by the State Library of Ohio with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. 

New Grant Program for Libraries
The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce a new grant program for libraries enabling them to digitize and create new collections for the Digital Public Library of America. Through work with Ohio Digital Network, Ohio’s DPLA Hub, and support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, libraries who are not currently contributing to DPLA can apply for up to $4,999 to remediate metadata for collections that have already been digitized and create new digital collections. DPLA brings digital collections from cultural heritage collections all across the U.S. together in one place and makes them freely accessible to all. Libraries, archives, and museums in Ohio already contribute over 200,000 items to this national project, and with this grant, your organization can be a part of the project, too!

Applications are due by Monday November 2, 2020, and an informational webinar will be held on Wednesday October 7th, at 11 a.m. You can find more information and application instructions on the State Library’s website.


From the State Library Online, Live Presentation Opportunity When budgets are cut or a community is in need, libraries often demonstrate their value by working hard to add more services and more workload to their already full plates. Rarely is there a discussion about eliminating services, optimizing the assets of staff, or advocacy for staff well-being and safety. Learning how to advocate for yourself, your team, and your library is a critical conversation we must have to discuss and reflect thoughtfully about the profession and work to make it better. The State Library of Ohio and OhioNET are excited to contribute to the conversation about staff advocacy with an online, live presentation and Q&A titled Vocational Awe: Examining the Cost of Your Service with Fobazi Ettarh (Rutgers University). The virtual event will be held October 7 at 2 p.m. and a recording will be shared with those who cannot attend live. The presentation is geared toward Ohio library staff of all levels and all library types. Vocational awe refers to the set of ideas, values, and assumptions librarians have about themselves and the profession that result in beliefs that libraries as institutions are inherently good and sacred, and therefore beyond critique. In this session, Fobazi Ettarh will discuss the theory of vocational awe and how, combined with the value of service, it has created a toxic framework of leadership that cannot grow or adapt to the ever-changing world in which we live. Fobazi Ettarh will build upon this foundation and reveal the hidden costs of service that vocational awe demands, and how you can encourage yourself and others to push beyond this framework. For it is only by breaking this framework that we as library workers and as a field can truly be of service to ourselves as well as our patrons. After her presentation, Ms. Ettarh will be in conversation with Erin Kelsey, Library Consultant at the State Library of Ohio, about how vocational awe impacts the work of libraries and library staff and how library workers can develop tools to advocate for themselves to better serve their communities. Click here to register. Registrants will be sent a GoToMeeting link via email in a few days prior to the event. A recording will be uploaded and available for viewing if you can't make the live event.  In partnership with OhioNET, Critical Conversations is supported by the State Library of Ohio with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  New Grant Program for Libraries The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce a new grant program for libraries enabling them to digitize and create new collections for the Digital Public Library of America. Through work with Ohio Digital Network, Ohio’s DPLA Hub, and support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, libraries who are not currently contributing to DPLA can apply for up to $4,999 to remediate metadata for collections that have already been digitized and create new digital collections. DPLA brings digital collections from cultural heritage collections all across the U.S. together in one place and makes them freely accessible to all. Libraries, archives, and museums in Ohio already contribute over 200,000 items to this national project, and with this grant, your organization can be a part of the project, too! Applications are due by Monday November 2, 2020, and an informational webinar will be held on Wednesday October 7th, at 11 a.m. You can find more information and application instructions on the State Library’s website.
Template 11 - NEO-RLS News-September 21, 2020