The Massachusetts Library System is pleased to announce that we have contracted with ALA to provide our members with access to their live webinars.  These webinars are free to MLS members who register through our calendar.  Please do not register directly with ALA. Members who register directly with ALA are responsible for paying their registration fee. 

Please help us keep MLS sponsored training free for all members. If you are unable to attend the live webinar, please cancel your registration. A cancellation link can be found in your confirmation email, or you may contact Sarah Donnelly at sdonnelly@masslibsystem.org to cancel. 

Description

Libraries save lives. Loneliness and social isolation are so rampant in America that the Center for Disease Control calls loneliness an epidemic, exacerbated by COVID. Using programming, community resources, and collection development and display, libraries can address this significant mental (and physical) health condition. This webinar will guide you on how to develop these tools and create a culture of empathy and action by developing micro-communities to combat loneliness.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Identify existing programs that combat loneliness and modify existing programs to add a social component;
• Utilize, at no cost, outside agencies, institutions, organizations, and businesses to develop a coordinated series of programs both in and outside the library building; and
• Identify areas where staff training can prepare them to help patrons in need of socialization.

Who Should Attend

This webinar is intended for all public library staff, including directors and administrators.

Presenter

Tony Iovino (he/him) is the assistant director of the Oceanside (NY) Library, a position he has held since January 2015. Prior to joining the Oceanside Library, he was the head of litigation and managing partner of a medium size law firm he co-founded in 1986. Tony received his BA from the University of Richmond (History and Economics) in 1979, his Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University in 1982, and his MLIS from the University of Kentucky in 2020, where he was the recipient of the Melody Trosper Award for excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service. Tony has lectured locally and throughout the United States on library topics. He is the chair of the Membership Committee of the New York Library Association and is a published author and poet. He has received a number of awards for his service to the community.

Tech Requirements

This webinar will be presented using the Zoom platform. Please review Zoom technical requirements and support information, and test your connection.

Once you've joined the webinar, there are two ways to connect your audio: via computer (VoIP) or via telephone. No microphone is required. PLA works with its webinar platform provider to assure the highest quality audio is being delivered to attendees. However, variables over which PLA has no control—such as the speed of your Internet connection or traffic on your local network—can affect the end quality of the webinar audio delivered by your computer. Each webinar’s audio is also available by telephone via a toll number, so we recommend you have access to a long-distance enabled phone as a backup in case you experience audio issues with VoIP. If you do encounter any problems during the webinar, you will receive a link to its archived recording within a week of the live event and can review anything you missed.

Accommodations

This live webinar will be captioned in English (United States). Zoom desktop client or mobile app is required to access captions.

Attendees using screen readers are advised to turn off speech prior to joining the Zoom event because PLA webinars make extensive use of chat functionality. Attendees who find chat distracting may wish to disable it in the Zoom event, as PLA moderators will verbally highlight important topics raised in chat and chat transcripts will be provided post-webinar.

If you have a physical or communication need that may affect your participation in this webinar, please contact us at plawebinars@ala.org or 800-545-2433 ext. 5PLA (5752) at least two weeks prior to the webinar. Without prior notification of need, we may not be able to provide appropriate accommodations for the live event.