I have always been passionate about early literacy and education. As an undergraduate majoring in human development, I focused most of my studies on child development with a minor in gerontology. After undergraduate studies, I worked as a literacy advocate with military families in Hawaii. When I returned to Colorado, I began work at Denver Public Library and decided to pursue a MLIS focused on children’s services. Upon graduation, I worked as a school librarian to promote the love of literacy and support teachers. I also had the opportunity to promote the love of reading with Foreign Service families in Washington D.C. 

Now as a children’s librarian, at Bemis Public Library, I enjoy conducting story times to children ages birth through five years with my ukulele; providing reader’s advisory to parents and kids; as well as ordering the JFICTION, E-READER, and Parenting collections of Bemis Library. I have been a member of CAL’s ILCE-IG for about 5 years and graduated in August from the CALLI (Leadership Institute) Program. I look forward to expanding my leadership skills as a co-chair of ILCE.    Shannon Brennan

When my husband brought home a job posting and suggested I might like working in the library, little did I realize he was pointing me towards my life’s purpose. I have spent nearly 20 years in Library Land, working my way through all the public-facing jobs at suburban public libraries of different sizes: I was a page, and then a library specialist, and then a lead library specialist, and then a co-supervisor. Currently I supervise a small branch, Sheridan Library, in the southwest corner of Denver. I was proud to earn my master’s of library science from Emporia State University in December of 2023.

Connection, expansion, and service are my strongest values. Librarianship speaks to all three, and international librarianship offers even more opportunity for expansion and connection. I believe my interest in other cultures makes me a better librarian–more aware, more understanding, more tolerant, more inclusive. I look forward to advocating for cultural exchange as co-chair of the International Library and Cultural Exchange Interest Group.  Kathleen Robertson

In this issue you will find a recap of Better Together: The Power of Global Library Connections, a two-day conference dedicated to global partnerships, with presentations from librarians and leaders across the globe. In a unique format, virtual on Day 1 and in-person on Day 2, Dr. Jesús Lau, Professor at Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico, delivered inspiring keynote addresses on both days emphasizing the importance of global connections. The in-person venue was held at the Colorado School of Mines.

The issue also introduces our new co-chairs, Shannon Brennan and Kathleen Robertson.  Join us in welcoming them to their new positions.

Learn about new technologies used in a refugee camp in Sudan that was awarded the 2023 BEST Emerging Technology Application Award by RUSA.

We also honor four women who passed away this past year and who have changed our lives.  They were dedicated to libraries and literacy and devoted their lives to making the world a better place. We hope you will be inspired by their lives.

The issue concludes as we Focus on a Project:  The Journey School of Costa Rica, Tamarindo, another example of the reach of ILCE-IG to library projects around the world.

ilce-ig-newsletter-issue-15.pdf (wordpress.com)

Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced Janet Lee (ILCE-IG member) and Tegest Hailu, M.D. are the recipients of one of two 2023 ETS Best Emerging Technology Application Awards for the Kindle Early Language Learning project for serving children in the Hasheba Refugee Camp in Sudan.  The $3,000 Best Emerging Technology Application (BETA) Award is sponsored by Chatstaff and LibraryH3lp.

For applying existing technologies in novel ways that benefit the library and patrons. Kindle Early Language Learning is an innovative way of replicating the library and its resources for children living in difficult conditions in Sudan’s Hasheba Refugee Camp, helping them learn reading, writing, and languages in engaging ways. – Award Committee Statement

The Kindle Early Language Learning Project in Hasheba Refugee Camp in Sudan introduces first language resources to refugee school children in a joint library/classroom through the use of Kindle technology. The children, many of whom are orphans, fled from the Tigray region of Ethiopia, when conflict broke out in November 2020 forcing them into exile in Sudan.  As basic housing and health services were implemented in the camps, housing over 60,000 refugees, it became apparent that the children needed educational resources and a sense of normalcy that a school would provide. An agreement was made among the refugees, NGOs and the Sudanese government to share classroom space with existing Sudanese students.  Among the refugees were Ethiopian-certified teachers, taking up the charge of teaching the students.  Since resources such as books and supplies are scarce, printing costs prohibitive, and shipping expensive, the project introduced the use of specially configured Kindle devices that were loaded with storybooks and first language reading aids in the languages of Tigrinya, Amharic, and Arabic. The Kindle device is ideal because it can hold hundreds of book titles in a variety of formats, is easy to hold, emulates a print book, and can handle the script of Tigrinya, Amharic, and Arabic.  Since the storybooks are downloaded, access to the books is available offline. In a remote area of the world such as in the refugee camps in Sudan, with little access to Internet and few print resources, the Kindle Early Language Learning Project provides needed resources in an attractive and affordable way.

Janet Lee will be presenting with other awardees at the 2023 RUSA ETS Technology Showcase at the American Library Association Monday, June 26th, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM.

The BETA selection committee was Chaired by Beth Caruso.

See announcement:  https://rusaupdate.org/2023/03/2023-ets-best-emerging-technology-application-award/

Sponsored by the Colorado Association of Libraries and the Colorado School of Mines

Have you ever wanted an international partner for your library?  Have you ever wanted to work overseas? 

The International Library and Cultural Exchange Interest Group of the Colorado Association of Libraries and the Arthur Lakes Library of the Colorado School of Mines are sponsoring a uniquely formatted two-day international conference, Better Together: The Power of Global Library Connections.   

Day 1 of the conference, March 6 is only online via zoom. Day 2 of the conference, March 7 is only in person in Golden, Colorado.  Each conference agenda is different.  Registration is separate for each day.  See each day’s registration link below.

Monday, March 6, 8:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. MST (3:00 p.m. -7:45 p.m. GMT)  

The free online conference will feature speakers worldwide.  Highlights:

• Dr. Jesús Lau, Professor at Universidad Veracruzana and Co-Chair of UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance, on the value of international cooperation among libraries. 
• A panel of librarians from China and the Colorado School of Mines will discuss their successful STEM project. 
• Librarians from Park City, Utah, discuss their partnership with Bimal Library in Dharan, Nepal.
• A representative from the Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, will describe partnerships with multiple international universities and how the library was involved.
• Representatives from Sister Cities International and the ALA, International Relations Round Table Sister Libraries Committee will discuss successful partnerships. 

Captioning in English will be provided.   A tip sheet will be made available to all participants.  Participation in the conference is free.  Questions:  Carol Smith at cesmith@mines.edu

Click below to register for March 6 online webinar

https://mines.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Lf9Z3p2SRUi37ElakThNpA.

Tuesday, March 7, 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. MST

This in-person conference will be held at the Colorado School of Mines, .  Highlights include:

• Dr. Jesús Lau, Professor at Universidad Veracruzana and Co-Chair of UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance speaking on the value of international cooperation among libraries 
• Sherri Baca from Pueblo City-County Library and Victor Zuniga from  Poudre River Public Library District discussing their partner library experiences
• Gayle Stallings, Sister Cities International State Representative for Colorado
• Brianna Buljung and Janet Lee, both US Fulbright Scholars on their experiences in Taiwan and Ethiopia
• Jamie LaRue on the value of international partnerships and his experience in Bulgaria.

The Registration Fee includes breakfast snacks, lunch, free parking, and a concluding reception in the Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science.   A tip sheet will be made available to all participants. 

Click below to register for the March 7, in-person, International Library Conference.

https://cal-webs.org/meetinginfo.php?id=398

Questions:  contact Nancy Bolt at nancybolt@earthlink.net

Supplemental Links:

Agenda

https://ilceig.com/better-together-the-power-of-global-library-connections-agenda//

Speaker Biographies

https://ilceig.com/better-together-the-power-of-global-library-connections-speaker-biographies

Documents

https://ilceig.com/better-together-the-power-of-global-library-connections-documents

Please join members of the International Library and Cultural Exchange as we visit libraries, cultural centers, and natural sites and participate in local library events in beautiful Nicaragua.

Local arrangements will be made by Jane Mirandette, Founder of the Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All Program, a Colorado-based nonprofit. Jane is the Director of the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca in San Juan del Sur, a beautiful coastal town.

Join us to:

Tour various cultural sites in Nicaragua including Masaya Volcano and its Natural History museum; the 16^th century city of Granada, with its cathedrals and the Museo San Francisco with its large collection of pre-Columbian statues.

Volunteer and travel with the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca Movil on its regular route to rural schools and participate in the lending process.

Celebrate the 21st anniversary of the SJDS Biblioteca, the highlight event of the year, with a library festival and street fair for over 500 children, events for Nicaraguan librarians and teachers, and an evening Gala event.

Click on More Information Link for costs, itinerary and registration form.

Congratulations to Shannon Brennan, Children’s Librarian at the Bemis Public Library, and a valued member of the ILCE-IG steering committee for being selected to the 2022 CAL Leadership Institute (CALLI).

The goals of the CAL Leadership Institute are to develop leaders within CAL and the Colorado library community by:

1. Allowing an exploration and understanding of personal leadership styles.
2. Developing key relationships among participants, presenters, and the larger library community through inquiry (listening and understanding others), advocacy (learning about issues and taking a stand), and networking (building collaborative networks and creating coalitions for change).
3. Providing the necessary professional development opportunities to grow leaders at all levels of library organizations.

Shannon writes, “Being on the steering committee for ILCE is very helpful so I’m glad to be a part of the group!” 

ILCE-IG is now accepting grant applications for its international/intercultural grant for 2022. Applications must be submitted by June 1, 2022.

CAL members and libraries within Colorado may apply for grants that support ILCE-IG’s two main goals:

• International Individual and library partnerships and activities that enhance cultural understanding
• Colorado Cultural programming and activities that celebrate ethnic and immigrant cultures in Colorado

Two grants, up to $1500  each may be awarded this year.

For further information and the grant application check out the Grants and Awards webpage:  https://ilceig.wordpress.com/grants-awards/

Shannon Brennan, Children’s Librarian at the Bemis Public Library in Littleton and Steering Committee Member of the International Library and Cultural Exchange Interest Group, has been named the 2021 Employee of the Year for the City of Littleton, a most deserved award.  She faced stiff competition for this city-wide award, but as the record of accomplishments attest, her dedication to the community and to library services to children is self-evident. She was recognized for her community outreach work, her promotion of a healthy and caring workplace, and her early literacy work supporting children to be school ready. As a children’s librarian, Shannon’s work with children and their families has a profound impact on a child’s early literacy development and school success.

Recognizing an influx of families with children from birth to five years old frequenting the children’s area of the Bemis Public Library, she increased promotion of children’s services to children and their parents and care givers.  

Shannon’s first initiative was to apply for and receive the Colorado State Library grant “Growing Readers Together,” a program funded by the Buell Foundation and distributed ­­­to multiple libraries and library districts in Colorado.   This award funded two programs: Take Home Story Time Kit and 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program at Bemis.

Any child who attends story time at Bemis or any child upon request receives a Take Home Story Time Kit that consists of an egg shaker, play scarf, and song/rhyme booklet.  Shannon selected over 20 rhymes, songs, fingerplays that are routinely used during Bemis story times that families can repeat at home using the props provided in the kit. These activities promote early literacy skills that build a foundation for reading and school readiness.

The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a nation-wide program that is new to Bemis. Shannon designed a schedule with built-in incentives and used the grant to provide prizes throughout the process of reading 1000 books. This program focuses on children ages birth to kindergarten and encourages parents to read 1,000 books to their child before they start kindergarten. Participants receive a book log and a series of prizes as they progress through their 1,000-book goal. The ability to learn language skills is greatest before the age of six. The most important predictor of school success is being read to at home during early childhood. Since Shannon launched the program at Bemis, over 300 families have signed up to participate.

In addition, it was her desire to expand on the popular StoryWalk®, which displays pages of a picture book in sequential spots to promote reading and walking. Bemis Public Library started one at the Gallup Gardens park, located adjacent to the Bemis Library during Summer 2020. It was so well received during the pandemic that it has continued ever since.

The popularity of StoryWalk® quickly grew, and the Aspen Grove Shopping Center indicated interested in participating with the book pages on display in their store fronts. Shannon brokered a partnership with them in June 2021.   Originally planned for one month, the partnership proved so popular that the shopping center has asked to continue the story walk partnership indefinitely. Each month, Shannon organizes and implements a new children’s story in the shopping center’s windows. Children and their families walk from store to store reading the story together ending at Tattered Cover where they receive a small incentive for reading the book and answering a question about it. Tattered Cover also made a point to order extra copies of each monthly book installment and volunteered to hand out small prizes as incentives for kids reading the book. Aspen Grove expanded the program to include a QR code scan contest for ongoing monthly prizes.

Shannon is also dedicated to the library profession. She has served on the ILCE-IG steering committee for three years and has been instrumental in organizing and scheduling programs at the annual CALCON conferences, marketing the programs, and scheduling speakers. She recently updated the ILCE-IG brochure that serves as a key marketing tool.

She has been selected to participate for a two-year term with the CLEL (Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy) Bell Award Selection Committee.  Each year the committee reads all the 2021 book nominations for the five early literacy practices and selects a book for each category that is best represented: Read, Write, Sing, Play, and Talk. These areas are the foundation to reading and promoted between birth and five years of age.

Testimony of two of the nominators:

“Shannon Brennan is a unique and special part of the Children’s Department at the Library. Shannon especially stands out because of her great attitude and welcoming personality. There is always a smile. She puts her best in everything she does from setting up the walking stories at Aspen Grove to assisting mothers and fathers with materials for their children. More importantly, she plays an incredible role in bringing special programs within the Children’s Department to life for all the children to enjoy. Shannon also adds her talent to the Employee Recognition Committee and the Director’s Council. she is always present and ready to go. Shannon’s devotion and graciousness toward her work demonstrates how essential Shannon’s service is to Bemis Library.”

“Shannon’s thoughtfulness and caring has helped promote a workplace in which staff feel valued and cared for. Shannon is a stellar employee who is always looking for new and creative ways that the library can positively impact the lives of Littleton families and promote a lifelong love of reading and learning.”

Congratulations, Shannon, for this well-deserved honor.

Note: ILCE-IG is an interest group of the Colorado Association of Libraries and is celebrating its tenth year as a committee in 2022.