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Key Takeaways From the 2024 Library Marketing and Communications Conference

The 2024 Library Marketing and Communication Conference held November 13-14 in St. Louis, Missouri, brought together hundreds of library marketers from across the nation to share best practices, creative strategies, and inspiring success stories. The event covered topics ranging from social media and email marketing to fundraising and outreach—all crucial for today’s libraries striving to…

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New Texas A&M Research Tackles Digital Literacy in Texas

This past Summer, researchers at Texas A&M University, along with non-profit Community Action Inc. of Central Texas (CAI), published an article on adult literacy in Texas. This study examined how Texas adult education and literacy (AEL) programs integrate technology, highlighting both successes and challenges. It used interviews with program directors to identify factors that enhance…

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Library Management Update: December 2024

Upcoming Opportunities These opportunities are available for free unless otherwise noted. Descriptions are provided by host organizations. Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) Newsletter The most recent edition features information about a survey requesting input for the 2028 slogan and 2029 theme. Read the CSLP newsletter online or subscribe and receive it in your inbox each month. Awards, Scholarships,…

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Library Management Update: November 2024

Upcoming Opportunities These opportunities are available for free unless otherwise noted. Descriptions are provided by host organizations. Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) Newsletter The most recent edition features information about this year’s Summer Symposium, the 2027 slogan and the 2028 theme, resources for inclusive programing as well as community outreach, and library success stories. Read the CSLP…

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Proposed Changes to Minimum Library Accreditation Criteria: 2026 and Beyond

Minimum standards for accreditation of libraries in the Texas Administrative Code were last updated in 2014. Over the past 18 months, TSLAC has held extensive discussion and review of the existing criteria with librarians from every part of the state. A proposal of updated standards has been drafted, submitted, and approved for public comment by the…

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TSLAC’s LIFI Grant Kicks Off With Assessment Phase: What Texas Public Libraries Need to Know

The Library Infrastructure Facility Improvement (LIFI) grant is entering the first phase of assessments. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is inviting a select number of small rural public libraries in Texas who reported slow speeds on TSLAC’s annual Texas Public Library Speed Test to receive a free IT assessment that will determine…

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ARSL 2024 Conference Recap

I recently attended the 2024 Association for Small and Rural Libraries (ARSL) conference. The theme “Libraries are (r)Evolutionary” proclaimed that the event aimed to provide an opportunity for exploring the transformative power of rural and small libraries in our communities. Thus, I’d spend the next four days flitting from session to vivid session through the meadow of…

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Notes from the Field: Waltz Across Texas, Final Dance

The end of September heralded the final bow for my visits to small public libraries in Central Texas, tours of their spaces, and chats about how the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) can best support library leadership. For this last round, Library Digital Opportunity Program Coordinator Henry Stokes accompanied me to Schulenburg Public…

Broadband and Technology

Public Libraries: E-rate Kick-Off Party on October 10, Now with Hotspots and Cybersecurity

E-rate is a federal discount program available to accredited public libraries that pays up to 90% of broadband costs, but we at TSLAC know the process to complete an application like this can be daunting. TSLAC is continuing its support of libraries this year in applying for E-Rate. The project, called Libraries Connecting Texas (LCT),…

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Library Management Update: September 2024

Upcoming Opportunities These opportunities are available for free unless otherwise noted. Descriptions are provided by host organizations. Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) Newsletter The most recent edition features information about opportunities for member input, families needing libraries, the call for program manual submissions, and library success stories. Read the CSLP newsletter online or subscribe and receive it in…