The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce an opportunity for up to 15 Ohio library staff members or cultural heritage professionals to form a cohort and complete coursework to earn a Digital Curation Certificate from Library Juice Academy.  Through a competitive application process, the State Library will select the participants and manage their enrollment in the six-course series. In this pilot program, the State Library of Ohio’s federal LSTA funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services will be awarded to cover the cost of enrollment. 
 

The Library Juice Academy award-winning Digital Curation Certificate is designed to build skills for work in digitization, digital preservation, metadata creation, and more, and is suitable for those interested in the work whether they have prior experience or not.  

“The State Library of Ohio is committed to providing innovative, high-quality continuing education opportunities to Ohio library staff, and this pilot program, in partnership with Library Juice Academy, is yet one more way in which we can further that commitment,” expressed Evan T. Struble, Associate State Librarian for Library Development. “In particular, in response to our recent digital collections survey, the State Library recognized a specific need for additional support revolving around digitization and digital preservation.” 

The six required courses are asynchronous, virtual, and can be taken in any order from August 2022 through July 2023. No additional software or textbooks need to be purchased, but students will need access to a laptop or desktop computer with an internet connection and an updated web browser. Each four-week course involves approximately fifteen hours of work to complete. As this is a pilot program, we will be working closely with the cohort throughout the year to develop programming and materials supplementing Library Juice Academy’s course material.  
 

Any library, archive, or museum worker in Ohio, full- or part-time, is eligible to apply for this program. No pre-requisites are required, but it is not open to current students in credit or certificate-granting programs. Applications are now available on the State Library website and are due July 18, 2022. Enrollment opens August 1, 2022.  

For questions, please contact Library Consultant Jen Johnson.

Just a reminder that the 2022 Ohio Summer Library Program Evaluation survey is open:

Each year, the State Library asks all Ohio public libraries to report on their SLP. Your participation helps the State Library, Regional Library Systems, other partners, and the Collaborative Summer Library Program to provide helpful resources and support for future SLPs. It also gives us the information we need to communicate the value and impact of summer programs and activities provided by Ohio public libraries. Data from the survey is shared with the Ohio Library Council for its advocacy work. 

This evaluation survey asks you to submit these numbers:

You may also provide feedback on SLP resources provided by CSLP, the State Library, Regional Library Systems, and other partners, and make suggestions for improved or new services. 
 

The survey can take as little as ~5 minutes if you have your numbers ready at hand, longer if you have narrative feedback to share. Many respondents spend 20-30 minutes on the survey. Your time is valuable, and your insights and feedback are valuable too.

This survey invites you to share anecdotes and photos from your SLP. These photos and stories may be used in the annual Ohio SLP Evaluation Report, and in presentations, print, and/or online publications that communicate the importance of libraries for summer enrichment and literacy support.
 

Please complete the evaluation at the end of your library’s SLP and no later than September 9. I will send additional reminders.
 

Contact me if your systemwide statistics will not be compiled until end of September.

The evaluation survey link is www.surveymonkey.com/r/slpeval2022

Thank you for collecting your data and completing the survey. Summer reading and learning have an important positive impact on student success and community well-being. Your survey response lets us demonstrate the range and benefits of summer programming in Ohio’s libraries and helps us continue to improve our services.