Category Archives: Education & Training

All Nebraska public libraries are members of United for Libraries through the Statewide Group Membership purchased by the Nebraska Library Commission. The Commission provides this membership to ensure that public library staff members, Friends, Trustees, and Foundations can take advantage of United for Libraries’ services to enhance fundraising, advocacy, and public awareness.

United for Libraries’ monthly virtual series, Learning Live, will continue with “Friends of the Library & the Future of Booksales: Chapter 2” on Tuesday, May 25, 2 p.m. Eastern. The Learning Live program is presented free to United for Libraries group and Statewide members and the recording will be available to members.

Featured presenters will include Terry Plumb, president of the Friends of York County (S.C.) Library, and Karen Jacowitz, president of the Friends of the Moorhead (Minn.) Library.

Friends group leaders will speak to how each of their Friends groups have adapted their booksales models during the past year, including obstacles they’ve overcome and strategies and ideas they recommend – from online to in-person sales. Each presenter will offer insight and answer questions from attendees.

Terry Plumb is in his second year as president of the Friends of York County (S.C.) Library. A native of Florida, Plumb retired in 2007 after a 40-year career as a journalist, including serving as editor of three daily papers, most recently The Herald of Rock Hill, S.C. (1987-2007). He is a certified Master Gardener, past president of the Master Gardeners of York County and past chair of the Summer Reading Coalition, a joint effort by the York County Library and the Rock Hill School District to promote summer-time reading by elementary school children. Terry is the proud steward of the first Little Free Library to be registered in York County, S.C. There are now upwards of 60 in the county.

Karen Jacowitz is president of the Friends of the Moorhead Library in northwest Minnesota. The Moorhead Public Library, which serves approximately 48,000 residents, is the largest branch in Minnesota’s Lake Agassiz Regional Library system. For more than a decade, Karen has been co-director of the organization’s book sales, including coordinating the efforts of volunteers for each sale. Prior to being elected president of the Friends of the Moorhead Library, Karen served as vice president. She has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s and doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.

Register for “Friends of the Library & the Future of Booksales: Chapter 2.”

United for Libraries Learning Live sessions take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Each month’s session will cover a hot topic of interest to Trustees, Friends and/or Foundations, followed by a Q&A and/or discussions. Sessions are open to all personal and group members of United for Libraries.

United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united/ or call 312-280-2160.

All Nebraska public libraries are members of United for Libraries through the Statewide Group Membership purchased by the Nebraska Library Commission. The Commission provides this membership to ensure that public library staff members, Friends, Trustees, and Foundations can take advantage of United for Libraries’ services to enhance fundraising, advocacy, and public awareness.

United for Libraries’ monthly virtual series, Learning Live, will continue with “Ask the Experts: Boards of Trustees, Friends Groups, and Foundations” on Tuesday, April 27th at 2 p.m. Eastern. The Learning Live program is presented free to United for Libraries group and statewide members.

A panel of experts, including San Francisco Public Library Executive Director Marie Ciepiela, Library of Michigan Library Law Consultant Clare Membiela, Friends of the Montgomery County Library (Md.) Executive Director Ari Brooks, and Kent District Library (Mich.) Board of Trustees Chair Shirley Bruursema will address common issues that arise among Library Boards, Friends Groups, and Foundations, and how to solve them. Panelists will present two in-depth scenarios, provide tips and best practices, and answer questions from attendees.

During a “lightning round” session, speakers will field questions from registrants. Submit a question in the registration form.

Due to time limitations, not all questions will be answered live. Attendees will receive a list of suggested resources for the presented in-depth scenarios, and the types of questions submitted with this registration form.

Marie Ciepiela has served as the Executive Director of the San Francisco Public Library since 2016, leading the private, community-based side of a partnership for excellence with the public library. Since arriving in San Francisco in 1990, she has served as an executive leader of three nonprofit organizations, including the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco; the OMIE (Oceanview, Merced, Ingleside, Excelsior) Beacon Center; and the Youth Service Bureaus, the mental health department of the YMCA of San Francisco. She holds a California Teaching credential, a Master’s degree from the University of California at Davis, and a Bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard University.

Clare Membiela serves as the Library Law Consultant at the Library of Michigan, helping public libraries understand and manage legal issues that impact library services. Before joining the Library of Michigan in 2016, Clare was the Associate Director for Library and Instructional Support for the WMU Cooley Law School Libraries. She has an M.L.S. from Southern Connecticut State University, a J.D. from the University of Miami, and 30 years of law library experience.

Ari Z. Brooks is Executive Director of the Friends of the Montgomery County Library in Maryland. An experienced fundraiser and nonprofit manager, she has held leadership positions in three not-for-profit organizations for twenty-five years in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Ms. Brooks earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of the 2004 Class of Leadership Montgomery and the inaugural 2009 recipient of the Emerging Leader Award for the County Executive’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities.

Shirley Bruursema is chair of the Kent District Library Board of Trustees in Michigan. She was the recipient of the ALA Trustee Citation in 2009. Bruursema has been a delegate for the White House Conference on Libraries. She was treasurer and co-chair of millage campaigns that continued the Kent District Library’s service to 26 communities and 18 libraries. Bruursema has been dubbed the “Millage Queen” for her work coaching libraries through millage campaigns, helping with efforts to pass more than 80 millage elections since 2000.

To register for “Ask the Experts: Boards of Trustees, Friends Groups, and Foundations,” click here.

United for Libraries Learning Live sessions take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Each month’s session will cover a hot topic of interest to Trustees, Friends and/or Foundations, followed by a Q&A and/or discussions. Sessions are open to all personal and group members of United for Libraries.

United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united/ or call 312-280-2160.