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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with RAILS Associate Executive Director Monica Harris about our recent strategic planning process: choosing a consultant, virtual tools, member feedback, and much more. They also give advice on how libraries can create their own strategic plans. Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://juliejurgens.bandcamp.com ..read more

  In our latest Sparks podcast, RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois) staff members Anne Craig (Senior Director) and Michele Leigh (Senior Coordinator, Open Illinois) about CARLI’s $1.08 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Open Textbooks Pilot Program. The grant will fund a program that will provide access to open textbooks and personalized learning tools for entry-level courses in high-demand health care and human development career paths. Please note: We had some technical issues with Deird ..read more

RAILS Executive Director Dee Brennan talks with Sylvia Norton, Executive Director of the American Association of School Librarians, and Megan Cusick, Grassroots Specialist at the Office for Library Advocacy, about the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Topics include the status of the legislation in Illinois and why it is critical for library staff from all types of libraries to work together to support school libraries. Intro/outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com/ Relevant Links American Association of School Librarians (AASL)—ESSA and School Libraries webpage: http ..read more

RAILS Executive Director Monica Harris talks with Dan Matthews, Cataloging and Digital Services Librarian at Moraine Valley Community College Library about the benefits of open educational resources and how to get started using OERs ..read more

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with Carmen Patlan, Executive Director of Highwood Public Library, about winning the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. This podcast provides an excellent example of what a small library with very limited resources can do to make a real difference in the community through grants, partnerships, and volunteers.  Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://himissjulie.com Relevant Links: Waukegan Public Library website https://www.waukeganpl.org/ Highwood Public Library Recognized as a 2021 Recipient of Nation’s Highest Museum ..read more

RAILS Executive Director Monica Harris talks with Kate Hall, Jennifer Czajka, and Mara Barbel from Illinois Libraries Present, a cooperative programming intitative that provides high-quality online events at equitable prices for member libraries. They talk about how ILP was created, the long-term goals for the program, and how your library can take advantage of its benefits.  Related links: https://www.illinoislibrariespresent.com/ https://www.illinoislibrariespresent.com/events https://www.illinoislibrariespresent.com/membership Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://juliejurgens.ba ..read more

RAILS (then interim) Executive Director Monica Harris talks with Chicago Public Library (CPL) Commissioner Chris Brown about The Book Sanctuary (committed to protecting banned and challenged books) and the 150th anniversary of CPL. Links: https://www.booksanctuary.org/ https://www.chipublib.org/news/book-sanctuaries-committed-to-protecting-banned-and-challenge-books/ https://www.chipublib.org/cpl-150-anniversary/ Intro/Outro music by Julie Jurgens, https://juliejurgens.bandcamp.com ..read more