Sparks - The Rails Podcast

RAILS Executive Director Monica Harris talks with Dan Matthews, Cataloging and Digital Services Librarian at Moraine Valley Community College Library about the benefits of open educational resources and how to get started using OERs.

RAILS Executive Director Monica Harris talks with Kate Hall, Jennifer Czajka, and Mara Barbel from Illinois Libraries Present, a cooperative programming intitative that provides high-quality online events at equitable prices for member libraries. They talk about how ILP was created, the long-term goals for the program, and how your library can take advantage of its benefits.  Related links: https://www.illinoislibrariespresent.com/ https://www.illinoislibrariespresent.com/events https://www.illinoislibrariespresent.com/membership Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://juliejurgens.bandcamp.com/

RAILS (then interim) Executive Director Monica Harris talks with Chicago Public Library (CPL) Commissioner Chris Brown about The Book Sanctuary (committed to protecting banned and challenged books) and the 150th anniversary of CPL. Links: https://www.booksanctuary.org/ https://www.chipublib.org/news/book-sanctuaries-committed-to-protecting-banned-and-challenge-books/ https://www.chipublib.org/cpl-150-anniversary/ Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://juliejurgens.bandcamp.com/

RAILS Interim Executive Director Monica Harris talks with AISLE Executive Secretary Carolyn Kinsella and RAILS Data Research Specialist Janette Derucki about efforts to support school libraries in Illinois, including a statewide partnership and RAILS’ School Library Data Project. Related Links: School Library Data Project Data in Libraries Pulse Page https://www.railslibraries.info/issues/240560 AISLE (Association of Illinois School Library Educators) https://aisled.org/# SLIDE – The School Librarian Investigation - Decline or Evolution? https://libslide.org/ SOPPA – Student Online Personal Protection Act https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3806&ChapterID=17 Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://juliejurgens.bandcamp.com/

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Lynn Stainbrook and Leon Smith of Rockford Public library, and Leila Heath of RAILS about Career Online High School, a nationally accredited online high school degree program. Lynn and Leon discuss the program’s tremendous success at their library and how it makes a huge impact on lives. RAILS offers a vendor discount on the scholarships from Smart Horizons to libraries offering this program. Related Links: https://www.railslibraries.info/deals/183705 RAILS Deals and Discounts web page for COHS https://www.rockfordpubliclibrary.org/rpls-career-online-high-school/ Rockford’s COHS web page Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://juliejurgens.bandcamp.com/

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with RAILS Data Analysis Manager Grant Halter about how he defines data, demonstrating the library’s value through data, the difference between useful and interesting data, using your strategic plan to develop a survey and gather data, and much more! Relevant Link: https://www.railslibraries.info/issues/240560 Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://juliejurgens.bandcamp.com/

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with RAILS Associate Executive Director Monica Harris about our recent strategic planning process: choosing a consultant, virtual tools, member feedback, and much more. They also give advice on how libraries can create their own strategic plans. Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://juliejurgens.bandcamp.com/

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Stephanie Chase, Founding Principal of Constructive Disruption (https://www.constructivedisruption.info/), about the  importance of strategic planning. Stephanie gives some good tips for what to do if you have little money or little time. Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens (https://juliejurgens.bandcamp.com/)

  In our latest Sparks podcast, RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois) staff members Anne Craig (Senior Director) and Michele Leigh (Senior Coordinator, Open Illinois) about CARLI’s $1.08 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Open Textbooks Pilot Program. The grant will fund a program that will provide access to open textbooks and personalized learning tools for entry-level courses in high-demand health care and human development career paths. Please note: We had some technical issues with Deirdre’s microphone, but the content is worth sticking with it! Relevant Link: https://www.carli.illinois.edu/products-services/collections-management/IllinoisSCOERs Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Heather Perhach (CUSD #5 in Streator), Andrea Perrin (CCSD #50 in Gurnee), and Emily Porter (CCSD #299 in Chicago), who have all received My Library Is… grants for their school libraries. Each is working on projects that focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion. https://www.railslibraries.info/services/my-library-grants Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Carmen Patlan, Executive Director of Highwood Public Library, about winning the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. This podcast provides an excellent example of what a small library with very limited resources can do to make a real difference in the community through grants, partnerships, and volunteers.  Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com Relevant Links: Waukegan Public Library website https://www.waukeganpl.org/ Highwood Public Library Recognized as a 2021 Recipient of Nation’s Highest Museum and Library Honor Press Release, May 18, 2021 https://highwoodlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Highwood-Public-Library_2021-National-Medal-Press-Release.pdf National Medal 2021 Virtual Ceremony August 24, 2021 at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CDT) https://www.imls.gov/events/national-medal-museum-and-library-service-2021-virtual-ceremony

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Durand CUSD #322 school librarian Audra Hill and Kelly Giovanine, Executive Director of Durand Charm, a local non-profit, about their My Library Is… grant project to promote the combined school and public library. Many in the community are not even aware that they have a library. Durand Charm: https://durandcharm.com Durand CUSD Grant Application Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOJ3ycziilo Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with representatives from Gerber/Hart Library & Archives about their journey to create an eight-episode podcast on the personal stories of LGBTQ life and history in Chicago.  Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Fox River Grove Public Library District Director Nicole Steeves about the videos her library made after being awarded a My Library Is... Grant. Nicole talks about how their videos came together and she provides great, specific tips for libraries that want to do something similar. Their videos can be found in the Sharing Showcase of the My Library Is... website. Relevant Links - My Library Is... Grants: https://www.railslibraries.info/services/my-library-grants FRG video: https://www.mylibraryis.org/showcase/videos/552 FRG video: https://www.mylibraryis.org/showcase/videos/551 Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens: https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Executive Director Kathleen Helsabeck and Assistant Director & Marketing Coordinator Burgundy Hill from Quincy Public Library, about how they worked with library users to tackle budget cuts to the library. Using simple, low-cost methods to make their case with the city council, Quincy Public Library came out victorious. This is a wonderful story about the importance of advocating for your library. Relevant Links: Quincy Public Library - https://www.quincylibrary.org/ My Library Is... blog post about the videos of community members speaking up for the library at city council meetings - https://www.mylibraryis.org/blog/how-quincy-public-library-used-videos-show-their-community-support QPL Community Videos: https://www.mylibraryis.org/showcase/videos/378 (Patron talks about the value she receives from Quincy Public Library programs) https://www.mylibraryis.org/showcase/videos/377 (Patron talks about QPL's value for genealogy research) https://www.mylibra

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks, via Zoom, with Library Director Lauren Rosenthal, from Fox River Valley Public Library District, about the importance of data in library advocacy and telling a compelling library story. Lauren gives great specific examples about how she used data to achieve library goals.  They discuss the library's creation of a Transparency Dashboard and Long Overdue Project/Survey, as well as how the library secured COVID-19 relief funds through the effective use of data. Data comes to life in this podcast. We hope you enjoy! Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Assistant Library Director Teri Campbell from Evanston Public Library, Preschool Outreach Librarian Emily Conradt from St. Charles Public Library District, and Community Engagement Manager Nancy Kim Phillips from Skokie Public Library about their libraries EDI initiatives and activities.   Relevant links: Evanston Public Library’s EDI task force info https://www.railslibraries.info/news/172013 Skokie Cares http://skokiecares.org/ EDI Pulse Page https://www.railslibraries.info/issues/183804 RAILS EDI Mailing List (for discussion, shared ideas, and other EDI opportunities) https://www.railslibraries.info/user/6935/user_mailman_register#edit-list61 Project READY: Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth: A free online professional development curriculum https://ready.web.unc.edu/ Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

In the latest episode of Sparks, RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Amy de la Fuente, RAILS Census 2020 Program Manager, about the significant role libraries will play in ensuring a complete census count throughout the state, and how RAILS and it’s subgrantees will use the grant received from the Illinois Department of Human Services for the 2020 census. Relevant Link: https://www.railslibraries.info/issues/170330 Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with RAILS' own Leila Heath and Anna Behm about e-resources, including RAILS' e-content and self-publishing resource, inkie.org, the robust amount of material (or rabbit-hole if you prefer) on the BiblioBoard Library, current publisher restrictions on library e-content, and more. Relevant links: inkie.org https://inkie.org BiblioBoard https://library.biblioboard.com RAILS Library Pulse: E-Content Issues https://www.railslibraries.info/issues/170353 Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Library Director Brian Shepard from Indian Trails Public Library District about being named Librarian of the Year, promoting the value of libraries, library remodels, getting into the library field, and more. Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com