Join us to learn more about the ways that Book Connections can support your collection management projects. Discover tools to help analyze and generate reports that provide insights into the genre, cultural classification, and recency represented in your collections. Book Connections resources can also help you promote your collections for increased patron engagement. TeachingBooks and Book Connections are provided to all Indiana schools, public libraries, universities and residents through INSPIRE, a service of the Indiana State Library.
Book Connections tools can assist library staff in providing easy and thorough Reader’s Advisory for children and teens, as well as helping empower readers to independently discover a new favorite title. Learn about Discover Like Books, searching and filtering, and resources to preview titles, and come away ready to recommend a book to any reader. TeachingBooks and Book Connections are provided to all Indiana schools, public libraries, universities and residents through INSPIRE, a service of the Indiana State Library.
Description: Join the Indiana Center for the Book and the Rhode Island Center for the Book for “An Evening with Laird Hunt,” author of the 2021 National Book Award finalist, “Zorrie.” This title is being featured by both Indiana and Rhode Island at the 2022 National Book Festival. “Zorrie” tells the story of one Hoosier woman’s life convulsed and transformed by events of the 20th century, specifically the Great Depression. Set in Clinton County, Indiana, Zorrie is orphaned twice, first by her parents and then her aunt. She ekes out a living, eventually finding work in a radium processing plant in Illinois. However, when Indiana calls her home, she returns and works to build a new life, yet again. Laird Hunt’s novel is a poignant study in rural Midwestern life and an exploration of the passage of time through individuals and communities. Join us to learn more about the author and this fascinating novel.
Date Recorded: 8/2/22
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Speaker: Laird Hunt is the author of eight novels, including the 2021 National Book Award finalist “Zorrie.” He is the winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction, the Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine, the Bridge Prize and a finalist for both the Pen/Faulkner and the Prix Femina Étranger. His reviews and essays have been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Daily Beast, the Guardian, the Irish Times and the Los Angeles Times, and his fiction and translations have appeared in many literary journals in the United States and abroad. A former United Nations press officer who was largely raised in rural Indiana, he now lives in Providence, Rhode Island where he teaches in Brown University’s Literary Arts Program.
NetGalley is a free website for librarians to request and download digital review copies and audiobooks, while connecting with publishers and staying up to date with upcoming releases. The service is quick, efficient, secure, and always free for library staff. Learn how to get started (registration, filling in your Profile, and requesting your first book or audiobook), helpful features and tools, and ways NetGalley can specifically help librarians with collection development and readers’ advisory.
Date Recorded: 6/29/22
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Tarah Theoret – Senior Director of Community Experience and Hallie Fields – Social Media Assistant Manager / NetGalley
LibraryReads is the monthly nationwide library staff picks list for adult fiction and non-fiction. We draw upon the incredible power that public library staff has in helping to build word-of-mouth for new books. Learn how you can become part of this program by getting the chance to read pre-pub titles for free and use your votes to help create the list! This session will cover: the how and why of LibraryReads; how to access free print and downloadable galley copies of the hottest upcoming books; how to vote for the LibraryReads list; and more! Check out www.libraryreads.org ahead of time and come with questions for our presenters!
Date Recorded: 5/25/2022
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Rebecca Vnuk, Executive Director, LibraryReads, Michelle Morris, Fort Worth TX Public Library and Kelly Currie, formerly Delphi Public Library Director, Delphi, IN
This webinar is eligible for Library Education Units for Indiana Librarians. The following policy applies: Any time a staff member views an online event (or a library purchases a site license for an online event) by any of the Training Providers Approved by ISL for LEUs, the library’s designee in an administrative or Human Resources role shall create and award LEU certificates in-house.
Make planning easier, find new inspiration, and learn how Book Connections resources can be easily integrated into your summer reading program to inspire independent reading. Locate pre-made summer reading lists and create your own. Discover how to find, share, and incorporate Meet-the-Author recordings, book trailers, activity kits, and more. Book Connections/TeachingBooks is one of many databases provided free to all Indiana residents via INSPIRE.in.gov.
Date Recorded: 2/17/22
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Kym Davick and Mary Ellen Graf / TeachingBooks/Book Connections
Join librarian, book review blogger, and bookstagrammer Laura Jones as she shares her favorite readers advisory tools and tips to help library staff find the right book for even those patrons with the most eclectic tastes!
BookConnections.org is the newest INSPIRE resource for all Indiana public library children and teen services. With games, homework help, and homeschool support for families, and library programming, book promotion, and collection analysis tools for library professionals, you’ll be equipped to deepen reading connections for everyone in your community. Book Connections was developed to meet the needs of our public libraries from the group behind TeachingBooks, another INSPIRE resource.
Prior to and during the session, freely explore this resource at https://bookconnections.org.
Date Recorded: 9/17/21
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Nick Glass and Alyssa Yokota-Byron, TeachingBooks.net and BookConnections.org
Join trainers from TeachingBooks/Book Connections to learn more about the customizable tools available on Book Connections that support your collection development and patron engagement. Discover features to help analyze and generate reports that provide data insights into the genre, cultural, and curricular classifications represented in your collections. Book Connections, a children’s and young adult literacy resource, is licensed by INSPIRE, a Service of the Indiana State Library for all Indiana residents.
Date Recorded: 4/12/2021
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Alyssa Yokota-Bryon, M.Ed., Implementation & Training Specialist and Kym Davick, Director of Implementation & Educational Support / TeachingBooks/Book Connections