Next Big Ideas Book Discussion

Scheduled for February 17th, the first title in 2023’s Big Ideas Book Discussion series is Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual by Luvvie Jones (c2021) Best-selling author and national speaker, Luvvie Jones has also written I’m Judging You and a companion book to Professional Troublemaker titled Rising Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual For Teens. Given this summer’s reading theme—Find Your Voice—and whether applying the author’s ideas to kids or adults, this book is a timely lead-off for our 2023 discussion season.

From Amazon:“With humor and honesty, and guided by the influence of her professional troublemaking Nigerian grandmother, the author walks us through what we must get right within ourselves before we can do the things that scare us. How to use our voice for a greater good, how to put movement to the voice we've been silencing--because truth-telling is a muscle. The point is not to be fearless, but to know we are afraid and charge forward regardless.  It is to recognize that the things we must do are more significant than our fears…”

Some State Library staff heard Luvvie Jones’ keynote presentation at the Public Library Association virtual conference last spring. She’s a nationally known speaker, with a TEDTalk speech to her credit.  She is a best-selling author, blogger, and host of a podcast also titled Profesional Troublemaker.  The TEDTalk website describes Luvvie Jones as “a sought-after speaker who thrives at the intersection of humor, media, and justice.”

In Big Ideas Book Discussions, State Library staff and partners facilitate discussions using books outside of library management, but with plenty of application to library management. Choosing books on leadership, customer service, presentation skills, etc. we connect those ideas with public library service.

Participants are encouraged to purchase books used throughout the Big Ideas series for local collections.  Join us for the next good read: Professional Troublemaker

Registration for Big Ideas Book Discussion scheduled for February 17th should be open for registration with the week, please check back inside IALearns

ILOC 2023 Schedule Announced

Keynote Sessions and Breakout Sessions

The 16th annual ILOC Conference is just 2 ½  weeks away.  If you haven’t registered yet, there’s no time like the present!  Sponsored by the State Library, the acronym stands for Iowa Libraries Online Conference and it’s coming soon on January 26. 

The 2023 theme is “Productive Partnerships;” in fact, that will be the theme that carries us through this new year of education and training from the State Library.  ILOC is a day-long event with something for everyone, including an evening program for trustees.

ILOC 2023 will encourage attendees to implement partnerships that extend the library’s reach, build relationships with other groups and organizations, and make a difference in the lives of community members.  The event is bookended with keynote sessions in the morning and in the evening, plus a third keynote presentation over the lunch hour.  Add in several breakout sessions throughout the day and here’s a look at just some of what’s on the schedule:

• Library as Movement with R. David Lankes—morning keynote at 9:00AM
• Partnering With Your Community One Interaction at a Time—morning breakout
• County Connections—morning breakout
• The Outreach Project: A Library-Social Work Project—afternoon breakout
• Memory Circle: Partnering with the Alzheimer’s Association—afternoon breakout
• Not From Around Here: Partnerships With and For New People in Your Community with David J. Peters—evening keynote at 6:00PM

Find the full schedule with all session descriptions, speakers, and time periods throughout the day at the button below.

Find the registration link there, too

ILOC 2023 Schedule Page

This Week ...

All Iowa Reads 2023: Author Presentations
January 10.  10:00AM-12:00PM

Tomorrow, all three authors of the three All Iowa Reads 2023 selections come together to present a webinar.  Sequoia Nagamatsu, author of the adult title How High We Go In the Dark; Angeline Boulley, author of the teen title The Firekeeper’s Daughter; and Niki Smith, author of the children’s title The Golden Hour.  Each author will discuss their work and answer questions, followed by an overview of the resources available from the State Library to support All Iowa Reads events planned at your library.

Library for the Blind: Library Overview and Partnership Opportunities. January 12.  1:00-2:00PM

Learn more about the Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, including information about patron eligibility, programs, services and resources for patrons and libraries.

Register For Both Classes in IALearns 

Finally, next Monday January 16th is Dr. Martin Luther King Day and a state holiday, so State Library offices will be closed.

Look for the next issue of Monday Morning Eye-Opener on January 23rd.

Click Here for more information.