Last week I attended a webinar on examining your organization’s mission and vision through a racial equity lens.  The first thing we did was participate in a poll that asked how comfortable our organization was in having conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).  The majority of responses indicated that the people attending were comfortable or somewhat comfortable.  However, 26% of the attendees answered that they were somewhat uncomfortable or very uncomfortable having the conversation within their organizations.  This relatively high percentage was an excellent reminder that people and their organizations come to the topic with varying degrees of knowledge, self-education and access to applicable learning experiences.  This is also why NEO-RLS is trying to offer a wide array of learning opportunities centered around DEI in order to meet the varying levels of understanding that exist within our libraries.  In March we have added some new introductory programs, including “Single Story Bias” and “Introduction to Coded Language.”  We will continue to offer as many programs as possible, from introductory to more advanced, in order to give our members the opportunity to learn and grow.  My hope is that if you have to reply to a poll, like the one I took, you are able to say that your library is comfortable having conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion.  Thanks and have a safe and healthy week!
 
Betsy Lantz

Don't forget about CE @ a Glance.  A simple one-page flyer to share with your staff.

2/23/2021
Sort It Out! : Using In-House Classification Systems to Maximize Comics and Graphic Novels
2/24/2021
Arresting the Time Robbers in Your Life
2/24/2021
Addressing the Challenges of Retaining Institutional Knowledge
3/2/2021
Professional Writing Online Workshop Series - March 2, 2020 - May 18, 2020- 2 Seats Remaining
3/9/2021
Single Story Bias
3/17/2021
Virtual Outreach: Social Services and Public Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic
3/24/2021
Introduction to Coded Language
3/25/2021
The Role of Administration in Succession Planning

New NEO-RLS Code of Conduct Policy The Board of Trustees approved a Code of Conduct Policy at their meeting on January 19, 2021.  The policy details expectations for our speakers, attendees, and staff at all NEO-RLS workshops, webinars, meetings and conferences.  The policy is now linked to the program registration process and is available for your reference on our website in the Administrative Policy Manual.

NEO-RLS 2021 Statewide Salary Survey To Be Deployed in March The NEO-RLS Statewide Salary Survey is a comprehensive compensation survey including salaries and benefits.  There is no fee to participate and we welcome all public, academic and special library participation.  The results of the Survey will be available in print and online beginning July 1, 2021.

Hold the date… Take 5: An Ohio Youth Services Experience  Friday, May 7, 2021, 1:00-4:00 pm  (plus self-paced lead-up activities!) Take 5: Reemerge, Refocus, Reconnect is FREE but registration is required. Registration is anticipated to open in early March. Registration will be announced on this list and other Ohio library listservs, and will be posted to the Take 5 webpage and Facebook page.   Learn more at library.ohio.gov/take5     Like Take 5 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Take5YouthServices

Ohio Digital Network’s Outreach Working Group is seeking new members for the next 2-3 year term. If this sounds interesting to you, read on! The Outreach Working Group meets quarterly to advise on Ohio Digital Network projects and works on some of their own, too. In our last term, members of the Outreach Working Group curated sets of Ohio-based Primary Source Sets for classroom and educator use. This time around, your input can shape the direction of the team.

See what's new!  View Job Postings on the NEO-RLS website. 

Please join us for  BLOSSOM! Building Life-long Opportunities for Strength, Self-Care, Outlook, Morale, and Mindfulness   A free virtual symposium for library staff focused on their health and wellness. From the Network of the National Library of Medicine, Greater Midwest Region at the University of Iowa.

Black to School is a new weekly newsletter that explores the contributions of Africans and the African Diaspora to global society. Its goal is to learn from these stories, draw inspiration, and make a positive change in readers’ and contributors’ lives, homes, and communities. The creators make three commitments to readers: