Mohawk Valley Library System

Category: Outreach

  • Free Webinar – Website Accessibility Principles

    Date: Wednesday, April 27 2022 OR Thursday, May 12, 2022
    Time: Wed, April 27: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM OR 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM; Thurs May 12: 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM OR 11:00 AM-12:00 PM OR 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM OR 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

    Join us for small sessions to learn about website accessibility. The same material will be presented at each of these sessions. Register for the date and time that works best for you. MVLS encourages ALL member library staff who maintain library websites to attend one of these sessions. Space in each session is limited to 10 individuals and registration is required.

    Register at https://tinyurl.com/563pzwu3.

    Outline of the topics that will be presented: 

    • Foundational Principles
      •  What is Digital Accessibility
      • Why Digital Accessibility is Important
      • 4 Pillars of Accessibility
      • Standards | WCAG A, AA, AAA
    • Making Environments Accessible
    • Accessibility Factors
      • Logical Flow
        • Headings
        • Navigation
      • Alt Tags / Alt Text
        • Introduction
        •  Informative Images
        • Decorative Images
        • Best Practices
      • Labeling and Tagging
      • Color Contrast 

    The program will be presented by the staff of AKEA, a website design and accessibility firm in Lansing, Michigan. AKEA focuses on creating accessible websites that are easy to navigate for every single web visitor. 

    This workshop is supported by federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated to the New York State Library by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

  • Free Digital Inclusion Consultations from NDIA Experts (National Digital Inclusion Alliance) 

    The New York State Library has partnered with the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) to offer FREE one-hour, virtual one-on-one consultation sessions for any New York State public or association library, public library system, or regional library council (3Rs). These sessions are intended for libraries/systems that would like to do a deeper dive into any of the following topics around digital inclusion work:

    •             addressing digital equity barriers

    •             building partnerships and coalitions

    •             developing digital navigator programs

    •             collecting, analyzing, and using local data to conduct asset mapping.

    We encourage you to sign up early. Consultations will take place in April and May 2022.

    If you would like to take advantage of one of these sessions, please contact vicky@digitalinclusion.orgwith your interest area and/or questions, and you will receive a Calendly link to schedule a time.

    The National Digital Inclusion Alliance is a community of digital inclusion practitioners and advocates working collaboratively to craft, identify and disseminate financial and operational resources for digital inclusion programs.

    For any questions about the New York State Library’s Digital Inclusion programs, please contact Lauren Cardinal (Lauren.Cardinal@nysed.gov), Library Development Specialist, Division of Library Development, New York State Library.

  • Grant Opportunity – Wish You Well Foundation

    The Wish You Well Foundation supports family and adult literacy (including early literacy) in the United States by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs.  Organizations with a 501 (c) 3 are eligible to apply.  Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed several times per year.  Requests for funding generally range from $200 to $10,000.  Application forms and complete program information is available here.

  • Grant Opportunity – Inclusive Financial Literacy Programming Kit for Kids

    Up to 100 public and school libraries will be selected to receive an Inclusive Financial Literacy Programming Kit to help them provide diverse financial literacy titles and programming for children and young people in their communities.

    Each kit will contain:

    • The Inclusive Financial Literacy book list, developed by a team of librarian advisors in collaboration with ALA and the FINRA Foundation, with corresponding best practices and programming ideas for public and school libraries
    • One copy of Rainy Day Ready: Financial Literacy Programs and Tools edited by Melanie Welch and Patrick Hogan for the ALA Public Programs Office (ALA Editions, 2020), a ready-to-use guide for library staff with 16 model financial capability programs
    • One print copy of five books from the book list for libraries to add to their circulating collection

    Public and school libraries (serving children in grades K–8) located in the U.S. and U.S. territories are eligible for this opportunity.

    Application Information

    To be considered for one of the 100 programming kits, you must complete an online application. The application will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Please only submit one application per library or branch.

    ALA will accept applications for this opportunity from November 10, 2021, to January 3, 2022. Each eligible request will be reviewed by a panel of librarians, FINRA Foundation staff and ALA staff.

    Key Dates and Contact Info

    • Application Deadline: January 3, 2022
    • Award Notification: January 2022
    • Programming Kits Distributed: February–March 2022

    If you have questions about the exhibition or the application, contact:

    American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office
    1-800-545-2433, ext. 5045
    publicprograms@ala.org

  • CLSP Summer Symposium

    Date: Thursday, December 02, 2021
    Time: 11:30 AM – 4:30 PM
    Place: Online at https://www.cslpreads.org/summer-symposium/
    Cost: Free

    Save the date for the first annual CLSP Summer Symposium! If you or your staff are interested in programming ideas, outreach and partnerships, or promotion and marketing of your library’s summer programming, then this day is for you! Sign up at the link above.