Good day!

As you have probably heard more than once by now, ARSL (Association for Rural & Small Libraries) is holding their 2019 conference in Burlington, Vermont. Conference dates are September 5-7. The theme is Tap Into Libraries, and if early conversations are any indication, expect advocacy to be a recurring topic. Those of us on the Advocacy Committee are working on a program proposal for a panel presentation of Advocacy Dos and Don'ts. If you have a compelling story you'd like to share and think you can attend, please do let me know!

There will also be a pre-conference on September 4, and ARSL is thrilled to announce that the presenter will be Ryan Dowd, Executive Director of a large homeless shelter outside Chicago. This will be a paid pre-conference, and while the prices has not yet been set, ARSL and I will keep you updated. You can learn more about Ryan here: http://www.homelesslibrary.com/

Registration for ARSL's 2019 conference will open in April. Program proposals are still be accepted at this time: https://arsl.info/2019-conference-news/

Because the conference is so much closer to Maine this year, we are really hoping for a strong Maine attendance. If you are in need of financial assistance to attend the conference (and I know many of you don't have an extra conference in your budget), PLEASE do visit the Continuing Education Stipend page of Maine State Library's website to apply for funding. This conference promises to be of great value to your respective communities, and we want to help you get there: https://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/ce/stipends.htm

Most warmly and respectfully,
Lisa


Lisa M. Shaw

Rural & Small Library Specialist

Maine State Library

145 Harlow Street

Bangor ME 04401

Cell: (207) 217-1565

(207) 947-8336 Xt. 114

800-427-8336 Xt. 114

Fax: (207) 945-6694

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