Sparks - The Rails Podcast

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Magan Szwarek, Director of Reference Services at Schaumburg Township District Library. They discuss the Panorama Project's data-driven insights on libraries and their impact on book discovery. https://www.panoramaproject.org/ Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director talks with Annie Bostrom, Associate Editor for Adult Books at Booklist, and chair of the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medals. They talk about the Carnegie awards dinner, the process of choosing the winners, the wonders of meeting authors, and reading the best books. Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Kim Caviness, Chief Content Officer of Chicago marketing firm Imagination about content marketing, how it is relevant to libraries, that print still has a place in our digital world, and our collaboration on the Dreams Take Flight video. Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Amanda Civitello and Katie McLain from Waukegan Public Library about sexual and other kinds of harassment in libraries, how library staff can handle harassment, and how administration can create a safe environment for employees. Slides and handouts for their American Library Association conference talk "It's Not 'Just Part of the Job'" are also available for those interested in learning more.  Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Justin Williams, Adult Services Librarian at Westmont Public Library, about the library’s Makery (Library of Things) and how other libraries can start a similar collection. Relevant links: https://westmontlibrary.org/makery Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Veronda Pitchford, former director of Membership Development and Resource Sharing at RAILS. They discuss projects Veronda had been part of during her five years at RAILS, including her challenges, successes, and wishes, with special attention to the growth of e-resources. Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Lynn Stainbrook, Executive Director at Rockford Public Library, about the library’s building project, including its unusual origins; envisioning sessions held with different community groups, including teenagers; and her advice for others going through a building project. Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com  

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with 2018 Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project (STBF) winner, Heather Bentley, and STBF committee member and Marketing/PR Director at Mount Prospect Public Library, Carol Morency, about writing, self-publishing, what they are reading now, and exciting news for STBF. Bentley's book, Sweetest Heartbreak, is available to read on BiblioBoard. Relevant Links STBF - http://soontobefamous.info/ Books Mentioned Sweetest Heartbreak by Heather Bentley The Idea of You by Robinne Lee The Hating Game by Sally Thorne Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with RAILS Director of Membership Development and Resource Sharing Veronda Pitchford and Mitchell Davis, Founder & CEO of BiblioBoard, about the e-book industry. Related Links: https://library.biblioboard.com Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Megan Millen, Executive Director and Denise Zielinski, Community Engagement Officer at Joliet Public Library, about how the library is working with others in the community to serve the unsheltered (homeless) and how other libraries can get started serving unsheltered populations.  Relevant Links http://www.jolietlibrary.org Unsheltered, but Not Unserved Illinois Library Association, ILA Reporter October 2017 | Volume XXXV. Issue 5 Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

Diane Foote is the new Executive Director of the Illinois Library Association (ILA). Related links: https://www.ila.org Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Karen Keefe, Executive Director of Hinsdale Public Library, about trends libraries should be paying attention to, what library staff can do to start identifying relevant trends, and the Library Forecasting Interest Group. Relevant Links: https://www.libraryforecasting.com/ http://www.ala.org/tools/future/ Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Keith Michael Fiels, recently retired Executive Director of the American Library Association (ALA), about his 15 years of service at ALA, including accomplishments, favorite moments, challenges, and other stories from the road.   Relevant links: http://www.ala.org   Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Larisa Good, Director of Warren County Public Library District in Monmouth, Illinois, and Michelle Simmons, library trustee and RAILS Board member, about innovative things that small (and all) libraries can do to engage their communities.     Relevant Links: http://www.wcplibrary.org/   Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Dee Brennan talks with Liz Aviles, Vice President of Market Intelligence at Upshot, about the marketing agency’s report on seven retail trends to watch in 2017 and how libraries can capitalize on these trends to better serve their customers. Relevant links: Seven retail trends to watch in 2017 https://upshot.agency/happenings/2017-trends Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Dee Brennan talks with Rebecca Teasdale, Senior Evaluation and Research Associate at the Garibay Group in Chicago, about how libraries can use evaluation to improve their programs/services and for organizational learning.  Relevant links: Team-Based Inquiry: A Practical Guide for Using Evaluation to Improve Informal Education Experiences Available as a free download from: http://www.nisenet.org/catalog/team-based-inquiry-guide W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook Available as a free download from: https://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2010/w-k-kellogg-foundation-evaluation-handbook Evaluating the Impact of Your Library (book) Sharon Markless and David Streatfield Facet Publishing, UK, 2012 http://www.worldcat.org/title/evaluating-the-impact-of-your-library/oclc/976189791 Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Dee Brennan talks with Margaret Peebles, Division Chief of Public Services at Gail Borden Public Library District, about the crucial role libraries can play in helping patrons deal with  "fake news," including how to evaluate what's "real" online.   Relevant Links http://gailborden.info/fakenews Intro/outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com

RAILS Executive Director Dee Brennan talks with Andrew Medlar, Assistant Chief, Technology, Content and Innovation at Chicago Public Library, about the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and DPLAfest, April 20-21, 2017, in Chicago. Relevant Links Digital Public Library of America https://dp.la/ DPLAfest https://dp.la/info/get-involved/dplafest/april-2017/ Chicago Public Library https://www.chipublib.org/ Black Metropolis Research Consortium http://bmrc.lib.uchicago.edu/ Chicago Collections http://chicagocollections.org/ Intro/outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com/

RAILS Executive Director Dee Brennan talks with Ryan Livergood, Executive Director of Warren-Newport Public Library, about how libraries can get started with fundraising, different strategies and events libraries can try, identifying donors and building relationships, the importance of establishing policies, and much more. Relevant Links Warren-Newport Public Library District website http://www.wnpl.info Library Strategies http://librarystrategiesconsulting.org The Fundraising Librarian http://www.fundraisinglibrarian.com Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com/

RAILS Executive Director Dee Brennan talks with Amita Lonial about how she got involved in the Libraries4BlackLives movement, the goals of the movement moving forward, and how libraries can get involved in efforts to foster racial equity and social justice. Intro/outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com/ Relevant Links: http://libraries4blacklives.org/ http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2016/04/engaged-and-inclusive-institutional-approaches-to-racial-equity-and-social-justice-podcast-episode-010/