Space Utilization Grants ...

Grants Available November 6th

The State Library of Iowa is excited to announce that we are offering six Space Utilization Grants of up to $3,000 each.  These grants open next Monday November 6th.

The process happens differently this year: all grant applications will be submitted through IowaGrants.gov. You will need to create an account in IowaGrants.gov before applying (instructions are in red on the website)  Please note: it can take up to 72 hours for your account to be approved, so you are strongly encouraged to create your account before beginning the grant application.  Space Utilization Grants may be requested for the following consultation services. 

Space Needs Assessment: Building consultant will help make the best use of the current space in the library and determine the area needed for the library's programs and services.

Building Program Review: Building consultant will assist the library in writing and/or reviewing the library's building program statement

ADA Compliance Evaluation and Planning: Building consultant will advise on the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for libraries

About Space Use Grants

The State Library allocates federal funds to provide Iowa public libraries with subgrants for consulting services on better utilization of existing library space.  These grants reimburse fees for professional advice from impartial consultants who provide recommendations to library directors, city officials, and the community about best use of existing space. These particular grants have been funded by the State Library since 1994.

Thanks to Brenda Hall, State Library Program Director along with Jay Peterson,
North Central District Consultant for this news.  Read more about this grant
opportunity on our webpage linked below, direct any questions
about this project to Jay Peterson  515-249-4513.

Read More About Space Utilization Grants

Next Big Library Read

Artie and the Wolf Moon
November 2-16, 2023

Held three times each year, the next Big Library Read starts this week with the title Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens.  Artie and the Wolf Moon will be available in eBook and audiobook formats for simultaneous downloads November 2-16.

Author Olivia Stephens is a graphic novelist and illustrator; this title is a graphic novel for middle school grades.  From the Big Library Read website, here’s more about the book: “After sneaking out against her mother’s wishes, Artie Irvin spots a massive wolf—then watches it don a bathrobe and transform into her mom. Thrilled to discover she comes from a line of werewolves, Artie asks her mom to share everything—including the story of Artie’s late father. Her mom reluctantly agrees. And to help Artie figure out her own wolf-like abilities, her mom recruits some old family friends. Artie thrives in her new community and even develops a crush on her new friend Maya. But as she learns the history of werewolves and her own parents’ past, she’ll find that wolves aren’t the scariest thing in the woods—vampires are.”

Big Library Read is literally a global reading program.  It’s a worldwide digital version of a local book discussion club.  Sponsored by OverDrive, this program represents an opportunity to connect your local readers with book lovers around the world as they read and discuss the same book at the same time without wait lists or holds.

Point your patrons to BRIDGES on November 2nd to download Artie and the Wolf Moon and to the Big Library Read website for the discussion guide and discussion forum.  Plus find lots of graphics to help with local promotion at the button below, everything from bookmarks to flyers, social media graphics, and a press release.  Plan to connect your library with others around the world during OverDrive’s next Big Library Read this week!

Big Library Read Marketing Materials

ILA Conference Highlights

State Library Staff Summaries

State Library staff who attended the ILA Conference in Dubuque this month shared some of their favorite sessions with our team, which are all worthy of sharing here.  For all those who attended the conference this year and for those who couldn’t, here are 3 noteworthy ILA programs summarized by Brenda Hall, Janee Jackson-Doering and Maryann Mori.

From Janee: Don't Sweat It: Song and Dance in Storytime.  With Dee Shalon-Deur @ Clive PL and Sheila Olson @ Johnston PL.  I adored their presentation! Everyone moved and grooved to new storytime songs (openings, closings, what to do to tame large groups, etc) And I loved how they explained their processes of using either vocal music or recorded music, talking about the pros and cons of each. Shelia's mother is a former aerobic instructor, too.  I would love to see them present this for the POP YS Conference in the spring!

From Brenda: Mental Health. Bobbi Newman, NNLM Region 6 Outreach and Engagement Specialist, presented Building Bridges for Mental Health: Creating a Toolkit for Effective Community Partnerships. They are working on a toolkit for mental health partnerships that they hope to launch in February 2024, along with training on concepts in the toolkit. I think this will complement our initiatives in Iowa and be an additional resource for our librarians.

From Maryann: Get Ready, Stay Ready.  With Lucy Santos Green, University of Iowa School of Library Science.  Get Ready, Stay Ready is a community-action toolkit, originated by a group of parents and librarians “who believe that power is in community, in togetherness, in a collective outcry and a collective pushback against those who want to erase our stories, our  history, our existence…”  This was a fantastic presentation with excellent resources already prepared and usable for any of us and for any Iowa library. Information included pro-active steps for communication, tips for displays, formal and informal frontline advocacy, and a website of information that links to their community-action toolkit.

We’ll recap a few more ILA sessions next week.

This Week: Annual Survey Due

Tomorrow is Halloween--Tuesday October 31 ?  
It's also the filing deadline for the Iowa Public Library Annual Survey.

Last week, library directors should have received a reminder email from Scott Dermont with a clarification about the required signature page.  Scott wrote “Please note that there is no automatic connection between the signature page and the annual survey. The two are completely separate and unlinked documents. This means that you still need to complete and submit the annual survey using the Bibliostat software—filling out the signature page does not automatically submit the survey or vice versa.  There are also no notifications between the two reports. Once you've submitted your survey, you still need to click the link to open up the signature page…” 

Please make haste, again the Public Library Annual Survey is due tomorrow.  Contact Scott Dermont with questions [ 515-281-7573 ]

And In Library Education This Week: 

Branding On A Budget: Achieve More With Less. 
In-Person Workshop @ Marion PL. November 2. 9:30AM-12:30PM

Lunch with the State Library: People's Law Library. 
November 2. 12:15-12:45PM

Register For The Above In IALearns

New From WhoFi

In September, WhoFi launched their newest feature: Meeting Room Scheduler.  This article is largely thanks to Christian Gutteridge, Marketing Coordinator with WhoFi. Christian contributed this promotion about this meeting room reservation software.

As with so many other WhoFi products, Meeting Rooms was developed from library feedback.  Using this software, patrons can easily discover available meeting room spaces and amenities through the library's website and then reserve those spaces online.  Meeting Rooms seamlessly integrates with WhoFi's Community Calendar, avoiding double bookings,  ensuring a synchronized approach to managing library programs and patron spaces.

Christian Gutteridge writes: “With more citizens working remotely than ever before, libraries offer valuable co-working spaces, study rooms, and meeting rooms. But common challenges persist such as promoting available library spaces, easily reserving spaces, and coordinating reservations efficiently.  Without solutions, these challenges can lead to underutilized spaces and strain staff time.”

All public libraries in Iowa are eligible to use the Meeting Rooms feature, whether using other WhoFi products or not.  Using Meeting Rooms applies a tech solution to what can be a cumbersome process, enhancing patron experiences and freeing up staff time. It's a win-win: that's the sentiment of Nevada Public Library staff and patrons.  Nevada is an early adopter of WhoFi’s Meeting Room Scheduler, you can see it in action on Nevada PL’s website

All WhoFi products are provided free to public libraries, paid for by the State Library.  For libraries that already have a WhoFi account login, navigate to Setup > Advanced > Integrations.  The Meeting Rooms URL will be provided, librarians can then add that URL to their website as Nevada PL has done. 

Learn more about it by watching the newest tutorial 
Contact Christian Gutteridge  with questions about Meeting Rooms
or anyone on the WhoFi Support Team for help getting started 

WhoFi Brought To You By: State Library of Iowa

Click Here to view the State Library Of Iowa News: Monday Morning Eye-Opener October 30, 2023