In This Issue... - NDLA Annual Update - Perspective Corner: Conference Survey Results - New Feature: My Story - On the Rug with SLAYS: Why would they give me a grant? - Conversations about EDI: Justice, Equity and Problem Solving August 2021 Volume 51 Issue 3 Tabl e of Cont ent s Page he T President Message 3 Good NDLA Annual Update 4 Stuff Perspective Corner: Survey Results 6 Library Conferences and Events 9 Conversations about Equity, Diversity, and 10 Published quarterly by the Inclusion North Dakota Library Association Healthy ND 11 Editorial Committee Open Resources Shannon Yarbrough, Chair 14 Nicole Eckroth My Story 15 Production Artist On the Rug With SLAYS 16 Lesley Allan People Stuff 17 Subscription Rate $25/year The Good Stuff 17 Advertising Rate (per issue) ND In Print $100 - Full Page Ad 22 $50 - half-page ad MPLA Report 25 $25 - quarter-page ad ALA Report 26 Editorial Policy Trip to Europe 27 For information or to submit letters, news, and articles via Membership Report 28 email, contact: Shannon Yarbrough, Chair Treasurer's Report 30 2020-21 NDLA Executive Board 31 Issue Subm ission Deadline March 2021 February 1, 2021 June 2021 April 30, 2021 August 2021 July 2, 2021 Decem ber 2021 Oct ober 29, 2021 Remember to check our website for more information and updates The Good Stuff 2 August 2021 PRESIDENT'S M ESSAGE By Amy Soma, NDLA President - Library Director Fargo Public Schools Greetings from Omaha! I?m writing this message from my covered deck on a beautiful July day. During July, I?m working 2-3 days a week at my new job and taking some long weekends to settle into our new home. So far, we are loving Omaha and having all of our kids around. However, as I write, I?m mindful of all the wonderful people and opportunities we left behind when we decided to pursue this new adventure. In the Executive Board?s quest to simplify how NDLA operates and serves its members, during August, we are asking the membership to vote to approve the consolidation of the constitution and bylaws into a single, more usable document. I want to take a moment to thank the Constitution, Bylaws, and Policies Committee members for their hard work on this and other aspects of the restructuring proposal that have gone into place this year. Their attention to detail and passion for this work is one example of the organizational spirit that makes me love and value NDLA. At our last board meeting, we were discussing how NDLA serves its members beyond the Annual Conference and how we can make NDLA leadership positions appealing to a broader cross-section of members. Somebody asked the difficult question, ?If NDLA disbanded, how would your life be different? Would your professional life be worse without the existence of the organization?? I don?t know your answer to that question, but as I start over in a new state and take the time to reflect upon my eight years of working in North Dakota, I can honestly answer that both my professional and personal life are richer because of the people I met and worked with in NDLA. I remember the advice I was given at my first conference clearly. Go to the SLAYS section meeting, listen and learn, and ?keep your head down and refuse to make eye contact when they ask for officer volunteers.? I didn?t keep my head down. Now, I?m President! I believe you get out of an organization what you put into it and I wanted to give NDLA everything I possibly could. So, in my final message to the membership, I ask you all to lift your heads and volunteer to do everything in your power to help NDLA become the professional organization that North Dakota libraries need today and in future. You will receive much more than you give! Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your NDLA President.I know I could have done more.I know I have made missteps (most notably in parliamentary procedures), but I have been proud to give my efforts towards helping improve the organization and North Dakota libraries. I have not been a perfect President, but I have loved every minute of it! Summer is flying by and before you know it the NDLA Annual Conference will be upon us. I can?t wait to see you all in person and celebrate all we have accomplished in the past year! The Good Stuff 3 August 2021 2021 NDLA Annual Conference Updates By Traci Lund, past president, NDLA Director, Divide County Public Library Let?s get ready to SLIDE! Yes, you heard that right - SLIDE. At this year?s conference, we will be having a Slide-Off! Grand Forks Public, with their fearless leader Wendy Wendt, have done some amazing new renovations including putting a slide into their beautiful library which we - as civilized, mature librarians - would like to take full advantage of. Let?s see who can slide down the fastest and who has the best landing! Of course, as with anything we crazy (ahem,sophisticated!!) librarians do, costumes are welcome and encouraged.There will be more information on this soon.Watch the listserv as all are welcome to participate. As you can see,we are busy planning a fun-filled conference that all will enjoy. This month is an exceptionally busy month as we have been picking out the breakout session presenters, putting together the timeline schedule, wrapping up the award nominations, and pushing everyone to register. By the way, have you registered for the NDLA annual conference yet? Our president-to-be, Stephanie Galeazzo, has been hard at work getting vendors lined up. If you have a favorite vendor that you would like to see participate in our conference, please reach out so we can send them some information. The more the merrier! I want to take just a quick minute and say, ?Thank you!? to the NDLA Conference committee. This year we have a wonderful group that is making the old saying true - many hands do make light work. I am lucky to have such a great committee that keeps me grounded. This is no small feat and keeps things moving forward. So, a huge THANK YOU to those helping! And finally, a not-so-small side note: Did someone at your library retire? We are looking to recognize those in our library world that have buttoned their cardigan for the last time. If you have an employee that has retired, please email me at [email protected]. If possible, please attach a couple pictures and a brief bio of the employee. We are excited to add this recognition to our conference! The Good Stuff 4 August 2021 2021 NDLA Annual Conference Updates continued The Good Stuff 5 August 2021 The Good Stuff 6 August 2021 The Good Stuff 7 August 2021 The Good Stuff 8 August 2021 Library Conferences and Events Compiled by Marlene Anderson,The Good Stuff editorial committee Director of Library Services, Bismarck State College Sept em ber 2021 Library Card Sign-up Month September 26 ? October 2 ? Banned Books Week September 29-30 ? South Dakota Library Association Annual Conference (Virtual) Oct ober 2021 October 6-8, 2021 - NDLA Annual Grand Forks, Alerus Center October 6-8 ?Minnesota Library Association Annual Conference (Virtual) October 13-15 ? 2021 Midwest Chapter/Midcontinental Chapter MLA Joint Virtual Conference October 17-23 ?National Friends of Libraries Week October 20-23?2021 Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) Conference Nugget Hotel, Reno/Sparks, Nevada October 21-23 ?2021 American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Annual Conference Salt Lake City, Utah Novem ber 2021 November 3-9 - International Games Week November 4 ? NDSA and Digital Preservation 2021?Virtual November 15-17 ? Digital Directions: Fundamentals of Creating and Managing Digital Collections ? Virtual January 2022 January 24-28 ? American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, Philadelphia The Good Stuff 9 August 2021 Conversations About EDI: Justice, Equity, and Problem Solving By Karlene Clark, EDI Committee Member Coordinator PRC Reference Services,Chester Fritz Library, UND One could say that there has been a great deal of progress in working towards equity in many areas and across multiple platforms. You could equally say there is a long way to go yet. People are familiar with #BlackLivesMatter and a few others that have been in popular media over the last few years, but equity goes beyond the social cause. Equity looks at both visible and invisible differences in people. To explain, JEDI, is the acronym for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. This covers age, race, gender, religion, disabilities (both physical and unseen), socioeconomic, and many more areas. A meme currently circulating shows this example: Examples of ?reality? can be seen in areas where lived experiences for different peoples provide different skill sets. Consider a job application that states a requirement to be able to lift 60 pounds. This may be a situation where a large box of something like paper is delivered, once a week. A disabled person wouldn?t know this based on ?be able to lift 60 pounds? description. That could mean there actually is something heavy they would be expected to lift. ?Equality? says the job description is accurate. ?Equity? would be taking that limit off the job description because maybe the person can?t lift 60 pounds?but they CAN lift 10 pounds. They can still do the job ? it would just take them a few extra trips! To go further, consider handicapped parking or if your organization provides a shuttle. If there are handicapped spots within a few blocks of your building or ?on? your university campus, these may not be proximate to the building or its access points.