Smallwood’s volume offers insight, inspiration, and tips for those already retired as well as those thinking about retiring.

Public libraries, through their mission, vision, and position in the community, play a significant part in building community sustainability and are already positioned to serve as a “backbone support organization” for collective impact initiatives.

"The Frugal Librarian delivers innovative solutions for today's profound economic challenges."--- Suzann Holland, Director, Monroe Public Library, Monroe, Wisconsin; 2010 Winner of Public Libraries Feature Award --

Libraries and writers have always had a close working relationship. Rapid advances in technology have not changed the nontechnical basis of that cooperation: author talks, book signings and readings are as popular as ever, as are workshops and festivals. This collection of 29 new essays from nearly 50 contributors from across the United States presents a variety of projects, programs and services to help librarians establish relationships with the literary world, promote literature to the public and foster creativity in their communities.

Learn the dynamics of the grant-seeking process, including proposal writing and grant management, for public, school, and academic librarians. A comprehensive book that covers the full spectrum of the grant process, Librarian's Handbook for Seeking, Writing, and Managing Grants is designed to provide all the information necessary for librarians and educators to become effective members of grant-development and management teams. Written in an easy-to-understand, succinct format, it will be invaluable even for those with little or no background knowledge and regardless of the size or type of library or information center. Recognizing that grants are developed through a sequential process, the volume focuses on the fundamental components of grant planning, grant writing, and grant management. Readers will learn to identify potential federal and state funding sources, organize and manage the proposal development process, do research, and establish and encourage participation on local development teams. They will also learn about specific aspects of grant management, such as budget and finance monitoring; hiring; research compliance and policies; sub-agreements and partnership forms; and reporting requirements.

This book brings together a diverse range of scholars and practitioners working at the nexus of health literacy work in libraries. This engaging resource presents a practical and accessible guide to meet the needs of librarians, health literacy researchers, and information and service professionals seeking to address health literacy needs in their communities. Through chapters offering multiple perspectives on the topic, the book covers specific types of literacy, such as mental health literacy and health insurance literacy, as well as timely applications, such as health misinformation. Chapters in this compilation also feature health literacy and the following communities: LGBTQ+, Latinx, Black, and Immigrants, Refugees, and Migrants. The book is full of numerous examples, thoughtful advice, and discussions addressing the challenges of working with adolescents and young adults, older adults, and parent caregivers of children with rare diseases. Each chapter starts with “Key Messages'' synthesizing the main points and concludes with a proposed set of “Discussion Questions'' to inspire further reflection and to facilitate health literacy conversations. Overall, the up-to-date coverage of health literacy in various contexts explored throughout the book will be beneficial to a range of stakeholders interested in health literacy work.

Reference and information services are more important than ever for today’s young people. By analyzing key features of reference and information services to young people in school and public library environments, including the research behind the trends and issues, librarians can make sure that those services are appropriately responsive to children and teens. Based on standards and evidence-based practice, this book helps you to optimize those resources and services by: providing guidance in assessing youth communities, determining youth’s information needs and information behaviors, developing and maintaining age-appropriate reference collections (starting with the book’s core list of print and online resources), optimizing physical and virtual access to reference and information sources, interacting with youth and facilitating their reference and information literacy skills, curating and producing reference and information products, dealing with relevant legal and ethical issues, and planning effective library reference and information services for youth. Chapter sidebar examples provide food for thought.

It is an exciting time to be a librarian. Advances in technology have let libraries expand far beyond walls and lead the way in information delivery, while transforming the physical library into a place where customers can connect to information in new ways. It is also a challenging time to be a librarian. With continual change as the new normal, staying current can seem overwhelming. Even as they face budget shortfalls and staff reductions, librarians are tasked with finding the time and resources to keep abreast of rapid changes. This book offers a cornucopia of practical advice about how to acquire new skills (and formal and informal credentials) through all stages of a career. The 27 essays cover formal and online education, conferences, fellowships, workshops, networking, teaching, mentoring, balancing personal with professional lives, and money matters--and are filled with practical, honest and real-world advice.

In a world that often questions the value of libraries and librarianship, this collection of reflective essays and future-focused research emphasizes the ways in which being an information professional continues to be a rewarding and vital profession.