CARLI News December 11, 2024

CARLI & ILDS Holiday Information

The CARLI office will be closed Tuesday, December 24 through Wednesday, January 1. Regular hours will resume on Thursday, January 2. 

The CARLI Office will also be closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on January 20, 2025.

The following is the list of days that ILDS will not provide service:

  • Tuesday, December 24–Christmas Eve (observed)
  • Wednesday, December 25–Christmas Day 
  • Wednesday, January 1–New Year's Day 
  • Monday, January 20–Martin Luther King Jr. Day

While the CARLI office is closed, please send an email to or call toll free 866-904-5843 to report any problems or concerns. CARLI staff will respond to all reports when regular business hours resume.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season!

2024 CARLI Value Letter and Value Letter Graphics

Every year CARLI staff prepares a customized analysis of the monetary value realized by each CARLI Governing member library as a result of its CARLI membership, as well as a visual illustration of CARLI′s overall contribution to collaboration and resource sharing in Illinois. The 2024 CARLI value letters and value graphics were sent to all Governing Directors by email on Thursday, December 5. Please let us know if you have not received your letter. 

More information about the way the value letter is calculated, is available on the Membership Value web page.

2024 CARLI Annual Meeting Slides and Recordings 

Thank you to all the staff at our member libraries who were able to travel to Champaign for the CARLI Annual Meeting on Tuesday, October 22. There were over 150 CARLI members and representatives from 13 vendor sponsors in attendance!
 
The slides and recordings from the meeting are now linked from the agenda

If you attended the meeting in person, via the Zoom livestream, or if you watched the recordings, we would love to hear from you! Please complete the CARLI 2024 Annual Meeting Survey to provide feedback on the topics featured in the table talks, as well as to provide general feedback about the meeting. 
 
Your feedback will inform the planning for future CARLI programming, including the 2025 Annual Meeting. The survey will be open until 5:00 p.m. on December 19. 

Staff Changes at CARLI

We are excited to announce that several CARLI managers have recently received promotions! 

  • Diane Day, to Senior Accounting and Financial Coordinator
  • Jessica Gibson, to Associate Director, System Services
  • Jen Masciadrelli, to Associate Director, User Services
  • Nicole Swanson, to Assistant Director, Library Services and Outreach

Along with the promotion announcements, we are happy to report that Megan Pearson, who joined our staff as a visiting academic professional, is now a permanent CARLI Library Services Coordinator. 

CARLI is also celebrating Sara Mercurio, one of our graduate assistants, who is graduating from the iSchool in a couple of weeks. 

Please join us in congratulating our fabulous CARLI staff on their promotions, status changes, or graduation!

Alma Fulfillment Training Sessions

The CARLI Office is planning additional Zoom fulfillment training lessons during January/February. These sessions are optional for library staff; please share with your colleagues as appropriate.

Please note: 

  • These sessions are the same content taught in October/November 2024.
  • There are two sessions per topic; the content is the same in both sessions.
  • Please only register if you plan to attend the session live; do not register just for the recording- recordings will be posted.

Fulfillment Workflow Review

The full planned agenda is on the event webpage, but it does include these topics: Overview of Alma Fulfillment- login and Alma organization; Staff searching and review of item records; Staff searching and review of user records; Fulfillment functions including loans, modifying due dates, returns, and renewals.

January 22, 2025: 2:00–4:00 p.m.
January 24, 2025: 10:00 a.m.– 12:00 p.m.

Fulfillment Exceptions Review

The agenda includes information on how to manage: fines and fees; lost processes; patron blocks; patron notes; and fulfillment notes.

January 29, 2025: 2:00–4:00 p.m.
January 31, 2025: 10:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m.

Requesting Workflow Review

Processing requests that can and cannot be filled; routing items; and hold shelf processing will be covered in these sessions.

February 5, 2025: 2:00–4:00 p.m.
February 7, 2025: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

The Power of Appraisal: Selecting Archives Workshop

Before donations arrive in your archives, the first step is appraising the item, does it fit your organization's mission? Can the item(s) be stored appropriately and cared for? What if this did not happen before you accepted the collection, and it is on the shelves—it happens to everyone. Appraisal often refers to the time spent assessing existing records for their potential to be retained as part of the historical record in your archives. Sometimes, this is done as part of surveying one′s holdings or even when processing a collection. Join the CARLI Archives Task Force on January 31, 2025, from 1:00–3:00 p.m. for The Power of Appraisal: Selecting Archives.

This two-hour workshop will discuss the different values assigned to archives to help you better understand the appraisal principles and introduce techniques to identify records necessary for adequate documentation. A case study will be presented on a recent appraisal project, followed by a discussion and questions.

Speakers:

  • Ruth Bryan, University Archivist in the Special Collections Research Center, University of Kentucky Libraries
  • Nicole Menchise, Digitization and Archives Coordinator for the Long Island Library Resources Council
  • Moderator: Matt Gorzalski, University Archivist and Associate Professor, Special Collections Research Center, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Registration is now available. If you are unable to attend, but would like to view this program, it will be recorded and added to the CARLI Archives and Special Collections Resource Page.

First Amendment Audit Training for Frontline Staff

First Amendment audits of libraries are a growing trend and a very real challenge for frontline staff to handle. Chances are increasing that library staff will be faced with a First Amendment auditor's attempt to get footage for their social media. 

Join CARLI on February 25 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. as Dustin Smaby from Vernon Public Library shares basic knowledge about First Amendment audits, what typically happens during an audit, and the key strategies for successfully navigating an audit. Video examples of audits created by Vernon Area Public Library staff will be used to highlight what (and what not) to do during an audit. Registration is required for this event.

CARLI FY 2026 Ebook Program

CARLI is seeking to continue the member funded Ebook Program for FY 2026 (July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026). All funds provide access to a catalog of ebooks for FY 2026 (July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026). At the end of this access period, all funds purchase perpetual access for all members. As in previous years, CARLI will not be assessed access fees for the program.

Please plan to join one of the following Zoom sessions (limited to CARLI member library staff only) to discuss the FY26 Ebook Program. The content will be the same for all sessions.

  • December 12, 9:00–9:30 a.m.
  • December 19, 9:00–9:30 a.m.
  • January 6, 1:00–1:30 p.m. 
  • January 14, 3:00–3:30 p.m.

Registration is not required. Additional sessions will be scheduled as needed. Please contact  for connection information.

Due to contractual agreements about pricing disclosure–the Zoom sessions will not be recorded.

WEST Shared Serials Storage Informational Webinar 

CARLI is pleased to host an informational webinar on January 29, 2025, 11:00 a.m.– 12:00 p.m. on WEST (Western Regional Storage Trust) for CARLI Members.

Last year, CARLI announced an agreement between CARLI and WEST that CARLI Members may choose to become a participant of the Western Regional Storage Trust (WEST) Shared Serials Storage.

To learn more about WEST, please visit WEST′s Frequently Asked Questions as well as CARLI webpage on WEST

Please register for the information session. The session will be recorded.

CARLI Counts Cohort 6 Application Deadline: January 2

The institutional application for CARLI Counts, a continuing education library leadership immersion program that prepares librarians to make effective use of research findings on the impact of academic libraries on student success for the twin purposes of service development and library advocacy. 

Program participants learn how to use local library data analytics in alignment with institutional data, goals, and strategic priorities to improve their services and demonstrate their value. CARLI Counts deliverables will include a portfolio of local case studies, an evaluation of the collective statewide impact of those cases, and a replicable state/regional training model for equipping librarians to be campus leaders in assessing library impact on student learning and success, all of which has been made openly available to anyone that wants to offer their own program. You can find all the materials on the CARLI Counts Curriculum Guide page.

CARLI Counts started as a four-year project funded by an IMLS, Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant and has been continued beyond the initial 4 years with CARLI funds in partnership with the University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign and Lewis & Clark Community College. 

Partial Registration Support for Creative Commons Certificate 

Partial registration support is available for up to five library workers at CARLI member institutions to participate in the Creative Commons Certificate Program.

Creative Commons (CC) licensing is a type of license commonly used with open educational resources. The course delves into the Creative Commons licenses and open practices. This 10-week certificate course is asynchronous, online training, with options for synchronous discussions. 

To qualify, members must register for a course that begins prior to June 30, 2025. In return for CARLI's financial contribution to your registration fee, we ask that you provide CARLI with at least two of the resources you created during the certificate program so that all of CARLI may benefit from these projects.

For complete details on how to register for the course and receive the MHEC discount, please visit the program web page.

OER Updates

Virtual Course: Understanding and Promoting Open Educational Resources

CARLI is pleased to offer a 3-week synchronous and asynchronous course on open educational resources in February 2025 with the live sessions on February 13, 20, and 27 from 9:00–10:30 a.m. Attendees should plan to attend each live session.

This virtual course is designed to help the novice person learning about open educational resources to apply the information from this program to build their own local programs and workshops. The program is open to all CARLI members.

The virtual program will contain both synchronous (three live 90-minute Zoom sessions) and asynchronous (readings, videos, etc.) to be completed before each live session. The live sessions will include presentations, but the aim of the program planners is that these will incorporate a flipped classroom model to build community among participants as all share and discuss the topics.

Registration is available until February 11 or until the course is full. Course materials will be sent to registrants beginning February 6. 

Open Pedagogy Workshop for Librarians

The CARLI OER Committee invites all CARLI member librarians and staff who support their institutional OER or affordable initiatives to attend an online workshop on January 10, 2025, from 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. to learn about open pedagogy. 

In this session specifically for librarians, learn how to support your faculty in utilizing open pedagogy in their classrooms, where students can be invited to be part of the teaching process, participating in the co-creation of knowledge. In this online workshop, you will learn the definition and context of Open Pedagogy, view innovative examples being applied in a variety of subjects and formats, and consider with other attendees how faculty can apply open pedagogy in assignments in their classes.

Space is limited and registration is required.  

Opportunity for Teaching Faculty to Attend the CARLI OER Faculty Workshop and Open Pedagogy Workshop

The CARLI OER Committee invites members to share with their teaching faculty the opportunity to attend an OER for Faculty Series of workshops to learn about open educational resources, equitable course materials, and open pedagogy. Faculty may attend either workshop or both!

CARLI OER for Faculty Series, Workshop 1: Supporting Academic Success: Open Educational Resources and Equitable Course Materials

This first workshop of the two-part OER for Faculty Series will identify:

  • what are open educational resources (OER).
  • benefits and motivations for using OER
  • how to find and evaluate OER
  • how to integrate OER into your class

After attending, CARLI-member teaching faculty will be invited to write a brief review of an open textbook in the Open Textbook Library.

If your institution plans to offer an incentive to your faculty for attendance at the workshop & writing a review of an open textbook, please email CARLI Support (support@carli.illinois.edu) so that CARLI staff can provide you the information you need about your faculty attendance/review status.

This workshop will be offered twice. Both workshops contain the same content. Please register at the link below if you would like to attend.

 February 7, 2025, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
 February 20, 2025, 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

CARLI OER for Faculty Series, Workshop 2: Open Pedagogy Workshop

In this second webinar of the two-part OER for Faculty Series, the CARLI OER Committee invites teaching faculty to an online workshop on open pedagogy.

When you use open pedagogy in your classroom, you are inviting students to be part of the teaching process, participating in the co-creation of knowledge. In this workshop, you will learn the definition and context of Open Pedagogy, view innovative examples being applied in a variety of subjects and formats, and work with other attendees to create an assignment that you can use in your own class.

Please register at the link below if you would like to attend.

February 27, 2025, 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

CARLI-OER Email List

CARLI has established an email list for CARLI members to discuss and learn more about Open Educational Resources. Any person from a CARLI institution may subscribe to the email list.

Professional Development Alliance Events

The following programs from the Professional Development Alliance are currently on the calendar. Programs are offered on a wide variety of subjects. Check out everything the alliance is making available to our libraries!

  • December 13: Excel for Library Projects Series: Learn by Doing: Project 4: Collection Analysis Report Production  
  • December 18: Transforming Library Spaces: Merging Help and Circulation Desks
  • January 7: Project 2025 and Its Consequences for Libraries
  • January 14: OER Ancillary Creation with Generative AI
  • January 22: Library Grant Writing Basics: An Overview
  • January 31: The Power of Appraisal: Selecting Archives
  • February 6: Interview Question Design
  • February 7: CARLI OER Faculty Workshop: Supporting Academic Success: Open Educational Resources and Equitable Course Materials
  • February 11: Behind the Bulletin: A Look at Reviewing Children’s Literature and Its Role in the Professional Field
  • February 20: CARLI OER Faculty Workshop: Supporting Academic Success: Open Educational Resources and Equitable Course Materials
  • February 25: First Amendment Audit Training for Frontline Staff
  • February 27: CARLI Open Pedagogy Workshop
  • March 4: Turning Data into Action: Responding to Illinois Students' Need for Equity of Course Materials

To register, visit the CARLI Event Calendar. Recordings of past CARLI-sponsored PDA events are available on the Professional Development Alliance website when permitted by the presenter. 
 
Are you interested in presenting on a topic for CARLI members and the Professional Development Alliance? Or would you like to moderate a follow up discussion for an upcoming program? to become more involved in CARLI's continuing education efforts!

OER Ancillary Creation with Generative AI
January 14, 1:00–2:00 p.m. 

In this webinar, we will consider strategies for using AI to generate ancillary materials from OER texts. Rebecca McNulty and Lily Dubach, University of Central Florida, will begin with sharing questions to consider before using AI in conjunction with OER, including current guidelines on Creative Commons licensing. With those questions in mind, we will workshop approaches to using a variety of AI tools to support content creation and revision while still prioritizing human oversight and expertise in all steps of the generative process. We will also discuss current complexities surrounding copyright, ethical uses of AI, and associated questions as they continue to evolve. By the end of the webinar, participants will gain practical skills for selecting and using AI tools to create ancillary materials, along with strategies for considering licensing through content development.

Library Grant Writing Basics: An Overview 
January 22, 10:00–1:00 a.m. 
 
Anne Craig, Senior Director at CARLI, will assist participants to: identify sources of grant funding from private and public funders; highlight the essential elements of grantsmanship; complete a grant proposal application package according to a Notice of Funding Opportunity; take action on the proposal based on the results of the funder’s decision; and understand the most common missteps in preparing an application package.

Interview Question Design 
February 6, 1:00–2:00 p.m. 

Effective interview questions are key to making fair, informed hiring decisions. In this 1-hour webinar, you'll learn best practices for crafting meaningful questions to help you make job-relevant hiring decisions. Ben Mead Harvey will explore the concept of bias and its impact on the interview process before diving into actionable strategies to design questions that genuinely assess the candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Behind the Bulletin: A Look at Reviewing Children′s Literature and Its Role in the Professional Field
February 11, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
 
In this webinar Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children′s Books (https://bccb.ischool.illinois.edu ), will give an overview of what it′s like to review children′s literature for a professional journal, discussing the ins and outs of the process, from working with publishers to final edits. The presentation will also touch on what role the Bulletin believes reviews have in the field, especially in light of the current upswing in book challenges.  

Preservation Tip

Introducing the 2025 CARLI Preservation Survey
Patti Gibbons, University of Chicago, and Shelby Strommer, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The Preservation Committee would like to learn more about how we can support our member institutions in your mission to provide ongoing access to your collection materials. To that end, we are excited to announce the upcoming launch of the 2025 CARLI Preservation Survey. This new survey coincides with the ten-year anniversary of the 2015 Preservation Survey, which gathered information about members′ preservation activities and challenges. This survey will allow us to learn more about your institutions and track how priorities may have changed over the past decade.

Learn more in the full article and watch for the distribution of the survey in early February.

Other Library News

Call for Papers/Presentations for Third Annual Conference on Northern Illinois History and Cultural Heritage 

The Regional History Center at NIU Libraries invites proposals for papers, sessions, panels, and multi-media presentations for a conference exploring the historical and cultural impacts of technology, innovation, and scientific development on individuals and communities within the greater Northern Illinois region. From everyday farm implements and household products to global scale laboratories and data centers, Northern Illinois' continuing legacy as a site of technological development has roots in the latter half of the nineteenth century, anchored by Chicago's rise as an international hub of commerce, transportation, heavy industry, and capital investment. This conference seeks to highlight the inventions, innovators, industries, and ideas that have characterized the technological history of Northern Illinois, especially how these continue to shape the present and future.

The deadline for proposals is January 31, 2025, and all individuals and groups submitting proposals will be notified with an acceptance decision by February 15, 2025. The conference, Still Point in the Turning World? History and Technology in Northern Illinois will be held on April 19, 2025, on the NIU Campus in DeKalb, Illinois.

For more information, please see the full call

Invitation to Join Community Engagement Roundtables

Libraries are invited to attend the virtual Community Engagement Roundtables of the project Libraries as Partners for Emergency Preparedness and Response in Times of Crisis, an Institute of Museum and Library Services funded initiative to study how libraries partner with emergency responders during community-wide emergencies.

Two, two-day roundtable groups will be held in February and March 2025, with each roundtable discussing the same topics. Registration to join a roundtable is free and the event will occur via Zoom.

Roundtable Dates:

  • Group 1: February 12–3, 2025, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
  • Group 2: March 4–5, 2025, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Participants in the roundtables will enjoy panel discussions by experts in the library and emergency response fields and engage with each other in breakout sessions to share their own insights and experiences. 

If you are interested in joining a roundtable, please complete this Google Form and indicate your preferred dates.

For more information about the Libraries as Partners project, please visit their website or contact with any questions.

Open Repositories Conference Call for Proposals

The 20th International Open Repositories Conference (OR2025) will be held from June 15–18, 2025, in Chicago. The theme for the conference is: Twenty Years of Progress, a Future of Possibilities
 
This milestone is being celebrated with a conference theme that reflects the progress and contributions that the repository community has made toward equitable access to digital resources and research outputs. In addition, the conference will explore the future possibilities of what repositories can do to tackle the global challenges that currently exist.

Proposals aligned to the overall theme are particularly welcome, but also on other administrative, organizational, or practical topics related to open digital repositories.
 
Submission categories include posters, workshops, lightning talks, papers, the repository showdown, and panels.
 
Please visit the Call for Proposals page to learn more about the sub-themes and submission categories of the conference, including a full list of submission templates and key dates for submission deadlines and approvals.
 
The deadline for submissions is December 18.

Upcoming CARLI Events and Meetings

Consult the CARLI calendar to view the current list of meeting times and locations.

Contact Us

Please direct all questions and comments about the e-newsletter to

Subscribe to CARLI email lists to receive the latest news on topics of interest to you.