Bridges Annual Enrollment Time

On Feb 6th, an early reminder about an annual happening in March each year—that’s the annual Bridges Sign-Up.  By March 31st, current Bridges libraries need to re-enroll to renew their participation. And it's also the only opportunity during the year for libraries to join Bridges for the first time.   

Bridges is administered by the State Library, the vendor behind the service is OverDrive. It is considered a consortium because member libraries pay an annual fee to belong; a portion of the fee is based on population. The Bridges collection itself has grown considerably over the years to include magazines and videos, in addition to eBooks and eAudiobooks. Here are some impressive facts about the Bridges consortium:

Collection Stats FY2022

• 71,300 eBooks (titles)
• 20,000 eAudiobooks (titles)
• 4,000 magazines
• 650 videos

Circulation Stats Calendar Year 2022

Over 2.4 million items were checked out, including

• 1,187,411 ebooks
• 1,120,767 audiobooks
• 94,939 magazines

“Digital content remains in huge demand with Iowa library patrons,” said Michael Scott, State Librarian. “Iowans appreciate the convenience of checking out library materials right from home. The State Library is pleased to offer libraries the opportunity to provide digital collections through the Bridges consortium at a greater scale than they could on their own.”

The first-year cost for a first-time participating library begins with a $400.00 set-up fee; to that, add an annual subscription fee based on city population.  Find the full cost on the State Library’s website, along with the Letter of Agreement for newcomers and current members, all linked at the button below.  The deadline to return the Bridges Letter of Agreement is March 31st.

Again, this is an annual enrollment period, so March is the only opportunity this year for your library to join Bridges and begin providing this important service for your community. Note that Bridges access is not part of the Open Access agreement; each library must subscribe in its own rite to provide the service to its residents. 

Detailed information at the button below, direct questions to your District Office

Find Bridges Information Here 

Iowa Small Libraries Association News

Sponsoring ILA / ISLA Memberships

Last week, officers with the Iowa Small Libraries Association (ISLA) announced their sponsorship of three ILA (Iowa Library Association) - ISLA subdivision memberships to be awarded to three people, not to exceed $250.00 each. These memberships are intended for first-time ILA members, the membership itself will extend for one year.  Instructions and criteria follow:

Instructions

• In order to nominate an individual, you must be a current member of ILA
• Review the criteria carefully. It is important to note that the candidate must meet all of the criteria to be considered for the award 
• We encourage you to not tell your candidate that they have been nominated. All accepted candidates will be given the opportunity to accept or decline the award
• Self-nomination is not allowed 
• There is no limit to how many nominations you can make. Nominations are good for one (1) year/award cycle. Each nomination should be made individually
• You must submit your name and contact information as the nominating party for your candidate to be considered 
• Nomination deadline for submission is February 17th

Criteria

• Candidates must work for a small Iowa library. ISLA’s definition "small" is a public library with a legal with a legal service area population under 25,000 people
• This award is intended for first-time members to ILA only. Individuals who have held membership in ILA or who have been selected for this award previously are ineligible 
• Awardees are expected to fully utilize their ILA and ISLA memberships. This includes attending the ISLA spring meeting via Zoom, participating in CE opportunities through ILA / ISLA, and attending other ILA events. Award recipients will be assigned an ISLA board member to help them navigate the various membership opportunities throughout the year

Find the nomination form at the link below. 

Direct questions to ISLA President Erin Rydgren [email protected].

ISLA Nomination For Membership Form

Paint Iowa Beautiful Grants

An Iowa Beautification Partnership

Apologies for this last-minute inclusion about a grant opportunity titled Paint Iowa Beautiful. Through a partnership with Diamond Vogel Paint of Orange City, Iowa civic groups can receive paint for community enhancement projects and parks. 

The Monday Morning Eye-Opener has included news about this grant for many years running, but this year your editor lost track of it!  Thanks to a heads up from Central District Consultant Maryann Mori, we decided to roll with it ?  Although this is an act-fast proposition: grants are due by this Friday February 10th.

From the project website: “Keeping up the appearance of buildings, facilities, and parks is an important component of viable communities. Well-maintained and painted buildings reflect pride in communities. This program provides free paint to a wide variety of public service projects throughout Iowa.” 

From Doug Vogel, VP of Marketing: “Our partnership with the Keep Iowa Beautiful project allows Diamond Vogel to assist and work with many local volunteers that help build communities, making Iowa a great place to live. This is a great opportunity for Iowans to improve the attractiveness of their community.”

From Reo Menning, Chair of the Keep Iowa Beautiful Board: “The Paint Iowa Beautiful program supports projects that help build and sustain stronger communities. In the 20-year partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful, Diamond Vogel has awarded over 12,000 gallons of paint for nearly 1,300 community projects in Iowa.”  

The online grant application is open, again due on February 10th. Maybe this will turn out to be a slow week @ your library and you'll have time to fill out a grant application.  But if not, tuck this idea way for next year.  This is a long-standing partnership, so the Paint Iowa Beautiful project is likely to make a comeback next year.

Paint Iowa Beautiful Grants

This Week ...

Four webinars of note this week, find complete descriptions and registration in IALearns

Register in IALearns

Summer Library Programming 2023: Adult Programming & Materials

February 8. 10:00AM-12:0PM

Pop YS Live: How a Bunch of Stressed Out, Rural Librarians Came Together to Impact 3rd Grade Reading Scores

February 8. 1:00-2:00PM

Iowa Public Libraries Psychosocial Needs Assessment Results with Dr. Beth Wahler

February 9. 10:00-11:00AM

Library for the Blind: StoryWalks and Accessibility

February 9. 1:00-2:00PM

Accreditation Apps Due February 28th

For all libraries in the FY24 accreditation cycle, applications for re-accreditation are due at the State Library by February 28.  Find all public libraries’ current Tier status updated on our website every year; that's linked at the button below. along with ample information regarding the re-accreditation process. Scott Dermont, along with District Consultants, are happy to answer questions—feel free to CONTACT US ?   

Standards / Accreditation Application