28 июля 2020 г.

7 июля библиотека округа Малтнома уведомила своих сотрудников о том, что она приняла трудное решение о сокращении штата. Увольнения начнутся 30 сентября. Это печальный поворот событий для всех в библиотеке округа Малтнома. Как и в случае с другими крупными публичными библиотечными системами, а также с предприятиями, школами и другими организациями, решения нашей библиотеки определяются COVID-19 и его значительным влиянием на библиотечные услуги и работу в обозримом будущем.

Это печальное и огорчающее решение, и я знаю, что это тяжелее для тех, чья работа затронута. Мы рассмотрели множество способов, которыми библиотека служит обществу. Учитывая реальное влияние физического дистанцирования на наши услуги, мы пришли к выводу, что библиотека не может вместить весь персонал, который в ней работает.

Хочу поделиться с вами, как мы приняли это решение и что будем делать дальше. В марте, когда здания библиотек закрылись для посетителей, у нас было мало информации о вирусе, и мы надеялись, что закрытие библиотеки будет кратковременным. Мы попросили сотрудников, которые могут выполнять свою работу удаленно, сделать это. Вместе с этим мы продолжили выплачивать заработную плату и оплачивать страховки тем работникам, чья работа не может быть выполнена удаленно. Поскольку COVID-19 продолжает распространяться, а руководства штата и общественного здравоохранения накладывают ограничения на личное общение, стало ясно, что нам необходимо планировать сценарий на гораздо более длительный период времени.

Многие из 19 зданий библиотеки очень маленькие (самое маленькое - около 3600 квадратных футов). Принимая во внимание планировку здания, выходы, туалеты, стеллажи и мебель, а также правила максимальной заполняемости, любое возвращение к библиотечным услугам внутри здания должно происходить с жесткими ограничениями. Разумно предположить, что эти требования будут действовать в обозримом будущем. Около половины сотрудников библиотеки имеют работу, требующую личное присутствие на рабочем месте, например, физическое перемещение библиотечных материалов. В настоящее время внутри библиотечных зданий не хватает места для всех.

Библиотека должна выполнять свои обязательства перед обществом, которое финансирует библиотеку, действовать прозрачно и разумно распоряжаться государственными ресурсами. Посоветовавшись с офисом председателя округа Малтнома, советом библиотечного округа и руководством библиотеки, я пришла к трудному заключению, что библиотека не может бесконечно оплачивать значительную часть своего персонала за работу, которую они не могут выполнять во время пандемии. В этой ситуации другого хорошего выбора просто нет.

Решение о сокращении наших трудовых ресурсов не является отражением качества работы сотрудников всей библиотечной системы, и это не означает, что все сотрудники, которые не могут работать удаленно, будут уволены. Во время пандемии сотрудники библиотеки работали новаторски и творчески. В настоящее время мы предлагаем выдачу забронированных материалов по предварительной записи, летние обеды в некоторых библиотеках и ​​широкий спектр услуг онлайн, по телефону, электронной почте и в чате. Наша библиотека и ее сотрудники значительно расширили доступные ресурсы и сделали некоторые программы виртуальными.

Заглядывая в будущее, библиотека активно работает над изменением существующих и внедрением новых виртуальных услуг при участии сотрудников библиотеки и в соответствии с приоритетами библиотеки округа Малтнома. Мы планируем предоставить библиотечные услуги, которые выглядят иначе, чем сейчас, например доступ к компьютеру на открытом воздухе, предоставление точек доступа Wi-Fi и заимствование Chromebook. По возможности, для выполнения этой работы, в первую очередь мы постараемся вернуть сотрудников библиотеки. Даже когда мы сможем возобновить предоставление некоторых услуг внутри зданий, все будет не так, как раньше.

Я глубоко благодарна талантливым и самоотверженным работникам, которые делают библиотеку ценным достоянием общества. Мы работаем с профсоюзом библиотеки AFSCME Local 88, чтобы завершить детализацию сокращения в соответствии с трудовым соглашением и напрямую уведомим затронутых сотрудников. Наши планы включают в себя ряд мер, направленных на смягчение воздействия сокращения рабочих мест на пострадавших сотрудников. Медицинская страховка и другие льготы будут действительны в течение трех месяцев после увольнения. Хотя эти меры принципиально не влияют на проблему утраты средств к существованию, мы делаем это, чтобы немного облегчить плохую ситуацию.

Библиотека округа Малтнома помогает нашему сообществу оправиться от пандемии. В своей работе библиотека сосредоточит внимание и сделает упор на усилия, направленные на оказание помощи тем, кто больше всего пострадал, при этом здоровье и безопасность будут стоять на первом месте. Я с нетерпением жду того времени, когда этих чрезвычайно сложных ограничений больше не будет. Я уверена, что библиотека выйдет из этого кризиса, уделяя больше внимания нашей миссии обслуживания, даже в самые тяжелые времена.

Vailey Oehlke, директор Библиотеки округа Малтнома
Библиотека округа Малтнома

One important part of reading is decoding the shapes of letters and seeing them as words, but there are other skills that are just as important. Learning to read in any language involves:

• knowing what words mean (vocabulary),
• figuring out how they make sense together in a sentence (context), and 
• understanding what sentences mean all together (comprehension).

Wordless books can be great tools for growing and strengthening all three of those skills for new and more experienced readers, including for a wide variety of reader ages. You can see some examples of this in these videos in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and Vietnamese, showing ways to read the book Draw! by Raúl Colón.

When there aren’t written words to rely on for a story, readers can become active characters in the story and talk more about what’s happening in the illustrations. Adults and teens use a lot of unusual words that don’t come up in regular, daily conversations to describe the setting and characters and to ask questions about what is going on. Children flex their creativity and observation muscles as they look at and think about the illustrations. They practice asking questions and coming up with answers as they figure out what is happening and what might happen next. Together you can decide what characters are saying and thinking or even make up your own stories based on what the readers see and interpret. All of that literacy development happens with no written words at all.

Whether you regularly use wordless books in your family reading or are just getting started, here are some ideas:

• Remember there are no right or wrong ways to read a wordless book! It’s all about the conversations between kids and caregivers, and those will be different from reading to reading and kid to kid.
• Think about first taking a “story walk” through the book. Look through the pages to get children used to the book and the illustrations. We all know kids love reading books over and over again!
• Try taking a look at the book from cover to cover. Sometimes artists hide fun details on the front/back cover, the title page, and even under the removable paper cover that comes with some books (usually called a dust jacket or dust cover).
• Maybe ask questions like “what do you see?” and “what is going on in this picture?” and “what do you see that makes you say that?” (borrowed from Visual Thinking Strategies)
• Encourage children to tell the story in their own words and help them learn new words  when they ask for more information about  an emotion or concept. Example: “yes, that duck looks angry and sad. Do you know what that feeling is called? Some people call it frustration, like when you’re sad you don’t get to do something and you’re mad about it, too.”
• Have fun with it!

For some great, inclusive wordless book suggestions, take a look at the booklist Wordless (or mostly wordless) books for all ages, including some for teens and even adults. 

The library is offering It's Storytime videos in 5 languages, and we would love to hear from you! Please take the short, multiple-choice survey below before August 25th to help us learn what your family is enjoying about the videos, and what storytime alternatives we can make available during this public health event. We value your privacy, and information will not be shared with outside agencies or used for any purpose other than determining program needs.

• English
• Spanish / Español
• Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt
• Russian / Русский
• Chinese / 简体中文

Please share your thoughts and ideas with us through August 25th. Thank you!  

July 28, 2020

On July 7, Multnomah County Library notified its staff that it has made the difficult decision to reduce its workforce. Layoffs will be effective September 30. This is a sad turn of events for everyone at Multnomah County Library. Like other large public library systems, along with businesses, schools and other organizations, our library’s decisions are being driven by COVID-19 and its significant impact on library services and operations for the foreseeable future. 

This is a sad and frustrating decision to make, and I know it is harder for those whose jobs are impacted. We have looked at many ways this library serves the community, but given the very real impact of physical limitations on our services, the library cannot accommodate work for all of the staff it employs.

I want to share with you how we made this decision and what we will do next. In March, when library buildings closed to the public, we had little information about the virus and we hoped for the library closure to be brief. We asked staff who could do their jobs remotely to do so, and we continued to pay the salary and benefits of workers whose jobs cannot be done remotely. As COVID-19 continues to spread within communities everywhere, and state and public health guidelines place limitations on in-person interactions, it became clear we needed to plan around this scenario for a much longer period of time.

Many of the library’s 19 public locations are very small (the smallest at about 3,600 square feet). Considering building layout, exits, restrooms, shelving and furniture and maximum occupancy guidelines, any return to in-building library service must take place with stark limitations. It is reasonable to assume that those requirements will be in place for the foreseeable future. About half of library staff have jobs that require in-person work, such as physically moving library materials. There isn’t enough room inside library buildings to accommodate everyone in the current era. 

The library must honor its obligation to the public that funds the library by acting as a thoughtful and transparent steward of public resources. It’s not business-as-usual. In consultation with the Multnomah County Chair’s Office, Library District Board, and the library’s leadership team, I reached the difficult conclusion that the library cannot pay a significant portion of its workforce indefinitely for work they are not able to do during the pandemic. In this situation, there is simply no good choice at hand. 

The decision to reduce our workforce is not a reflection of the quality of work from staff across the library system, and it doesn't mean that all staff who can't work remotely will be let go. Library staff members have worked in innovative and creative ways during this pandemic. We are currently offering holds pickup by appointment, summer lunches at some locations and a wide range of services online, by phone, email and chat. Our library and its staff members have greatly expanded available resources and made some programs virtual offerings. 

Looking forward, the library is actively working to shift existing services and stand up new services in a virtual environment, with input from library staff, and in alignment with Multnomah County Library’s priorities. We are planning for library services that look different than they are now, like outdoor computer access and loaning of wi-fi hotspots and Chromebooks. We will look first to recall library staff members for this work wherever possible. Even when we are able to resume some in-building services, it will not be the same as before.

I am deeply grateful to the talented and dedicated workers who make libraries a treasured community asset. We are working with the library’s labor union, AFSCME Local 88, to finalize details of the reduction according to the labor agreement and will notify impacted staff members directly. Our plans involve a series of measures intended to mitigate the impact of workforce reduction on affected staff members, including health care and other benefits for the three months after separation. While such measures don’t fundamentally change the loss of a livelihood, it’s something we can do to make a bad situation a small amount better.

Multnomah County Library is focused on helping our community recover from the pandemic. The library will center race in its work and emphasize efforts that serve those who are the most deeply impacted, with health and safety at the fore. I look forward to the time when these profoundly challenging constraints no longer exist. I am confident that the library will emerge from this crisis with a sharpened focus on our mission of service, even in the most trying of times.

Vailey Oehlke, Director of Libraries
Multnomah County Library
 

As Carla Davis knows well, library storytime is a playful and magical experience— a time full of singing, dancing, playing, and yes— also reading stories. Storytime programs enable Carla to introduce babies and toddlers to the library, while also connecting with parents about ways to continue to support their child’s literacy and learning. 

“The library is about exploration, and I love that I get to bring that to children,” said Carla. 

Carla, or even “Ms. Carla” as some of her young storytime attendees often like to call her, is a Youth Librarian at Midland Library, and she organizes several storytimes each week, in addition to serving as a storytime mentor teaching other library staff how to build age appropriate storytime curriculum and connect with young patrons. Carla is also part of Multnomah County Library’s Black Cultural Library Advocates (BCLA) team which focuses on bringing culturally relevant materials, programs and services to the Black community.

Since the closure of Multnomah County libraries in mid-March due to COVID-19, librarians like Carla have continued to support the community through this crisis. Carla has been working with a team of other Youth Librarians and BCLA staff to bring their storytimes online (find Carla’s virtual Black storytimes on the MCL Youtube It’s Black Storytime playlist). In addition, she is working with the Black Cultural Library Advocates Team to provide valuable resource information online for the Black community— everything from food and health to educational resources. Carla also volunteered to support Multnomah County’s emergency shelters, working shifts at the Oregon Convention Center shelters.

“It was a valuable  opportunity for my teammates and I to serve in the shelters. It’s always rewarding to not only help, but to meet and get to know great people who reside there,” said Carla

Carla started her career with Multnomah County Library as a Clerk. She later went on to earn her Masters in Library Science from Pratt University in New York. She’s worked with various libraries such as  Atlanta Fulton Public, and Shearman and Sterling Law Library as an intern. Like many library professionals, she was drawn to a career in the library from a love of books.

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Carla was working with a team of library staff from across the county on a community engagement project with the Coalition of Communities of Color aimed at helping prepare Black children ages 0-6, and their families, for kindergarten. 

The project is supported by the Equitable Education Grant from Meyer Memorial Trust and The Library Foundation. Recently, she initiated a survey at the largest national Martin Luther King (MLK) program in Portland. It included parents of Black children ages 0-6, and their awareness of library storytimes and services.  

“It is my hope that as our Education Equity team learns more about the needs of parents and educators, that Multnomah County Library will be a major conduit through which educational gaps will be filled in even more creative ways as a result of these and other kinds of assessments.” 

Carla’s dedication and service to children and families was recently nationally recognized by the American Library Association, and awarded the 2020 Random House Penguin Young Readers Group Award and stipend for her comprehensive programming efforts at Midland Library. Beyond organizing and delivering numerous weekly storytimes, Carla hosted a teen-led Teen Talent Showcase and organized a Black History Gospel Timeline that shows how gospel music developed from the 18th century to the present day. 

“Being in a library is the best kind of ‘work,” she said. “I love to be in an environment where I can  “theoretically” read— even though in reality I’m usually busy preparing for programs, working with community organizations, and helping youth and families navigate the library.”

After more than 20 years in library service, Carla sees the library evolving as a hub for the community, especially as people look to the library for services beyond books and traditional programs. 

“As we shift in the way we serve due to the crisis, thankfully the library has always been a viable source of online information and resources, and we will continue to expand the ways we deliver to our users.”

Multnomah County Library stands in solidarity and in support of our Black community, not just in this moment of crisis but as we look forward to working collectively to end inequity and systemic racism in our community and across the country. To combat the systemic racism that has perpetuated violence and inequities in our communities of color, we must act, not just feel. Multnomah County Library is taking action and we will expand those actions.

As Director, I will:

• Affirm and validate the harm that hundreds of years of racism and oppression causes and has caused Black, Indigenous, People of Color and other marginalized communities
• Lead the library’s efforts with race at the fore
• Center Black, Indigenous, People of Color and other marginalized communities in our service
• Rethink the library’s exclusionary history and redefine the library’s legacy through action
• Check my own biases and assumptions alongside those of the institution I lead

Finally and importantly, I want to honor library staff—and one member, in particular, Elle Budd, a Library Assistant on the Black Cultural Library Advocates team—who started something incredible in the past few days. Elle took the brave step of emailing hundreds of their colleagues to share perspective and resources around the history of violent protest in America in an effort  “. . . to cultivate a very different culture here at the library where we talk about anti blackness, whiteness, white supremacy, racism, and how we as an institution are working to uphold it.” It was the perfect step in that moment.

Others engaged, expressing support, gratitude, solidarity, acknowledgement, willingness to hear and learn and offered even more resources. I will list some of those below but—to me—this was especially resonant, Sam Cooke's incredible and inspiring A Change is Gonna Come. 

Here’s a portion of what library staff have shared with their peers:

• @ericabuddington: a history of racial violence and oppression
• @clairewillett: on Fred Hampton and COINTELPRO
• Georgakas, Dan: Detroit, I Do Mind Dying
• Hughes, Langston: Dream Variations
• NPR: Meet The Last Surviving Witness To The Tulsa Race Riot Of 1921
• NPR: 'This Little Light Of Mine' Shines On, A Timeless Tool Of Resistance
• Paper: How to Support Protesters in Every City
• Refinery29: Black People Need Stronger White Allies — Here’s How You Can Be One
• Refinery29: Why Are The Protestors Being Framed As The Problem? White Supremacy
• The Week: 'A riot is the language of the unheard,' Martin Luther King Jr. explained 53 years ago

And here are some additional resources from the library’s website:

• Multnomah County Library: What Does It Mean to be White? How Can I Be an Ally?
• Multnomah County Library: Talking with children and teens about race and racism

This library will be part of the change that’s gonna come.

Vailey
 

This decision will feel like an unexpected and difficult loss for many Albina Library patrons who have shaped their lives around neighborhood amenities like the library. Relocating any neighborhood’s library is not a decision we take lightly. A variety of factors contributed to our decision, including this pandemic, which has caused us to make hard choices and think in new ways about how the library can serve the community.

The current location is the smallest branch in the Multnomah County Library system at just 3,500 square feet. It is so small that it doesn't have a public meeting room. Because of the operational constraints around physical distancing for the foreseeable future, it is unlikely that the building would be feasible for much more than sidewalk service. The Knott St. building is about 2,000 square feet larger.

The library’s lease of Albina Library expires on June 1, 2020, with an option for a three-year renewal at a cost of more than $260,000. As a steward of public resources, the library is unable to justify that expenditure, when a suitable and larger option exists nearby. The building where Albina Library is moving to currently serves as The Title Wave Used Bookstore, but it was the home of Albina Library from 1912 to 1960. 

The distance between the two locations is 1.1 miles, a 23-minute walk, a seven-minute bike ride, a five-minute drive or about 15 minutes by bus. The Knott St. location complements the nearby Matt Dishman Community Center, Urban League of Portland and other community-facing services and affordable housing. We are working hard to get the new location ready. We will notify Albina Library patrons about holds pickup and when sidewalk service will begin. 

The sale of retired library materials to the public will continue, with specific details also to be determined.

For information about our phased reopening plan, an FAQ and instructions for using the holds pickup service at other locations, please visit multcolib.org/covid19.

We look forward to serving you soon at the new Albina Library location.
 

Centennial

• Bienvenidos al Kindergarten
• DISTRITO ESCOLAR DE CENTENNIAL FORMULARIO DE REGISTRO DEL ESTUDIANTE
• Preguntas que nos sirve para apoyar la enseñanza de lectura
• Distrito Escolar Centennial – Departamento de Transporte Información de Transporte para Estudiantes Elegibles para los Servicios de Transporte
• TRANSPORTE DE KINDERGARTEN

David Douglas School District

Cualquier niño que tenga cinco (5) años de edad el 1 de septiembre o antes es elegible para inscribirse en el Kindergarten en la escuela de su hogar designada.

La inscripción en línea  está disponible para la nueva inscripción de estudiantes de Kindergarten para 2020-21. Después de que se haya enviado la solicitud en línea, debe comunicarse con la escuela límite de su hijo para completar los formularios específicos de la escuela, la asignación de clase, los horarios y otra información para que la transición de su hijo sea fácil. Si se registra en línea, también puede cargar el certificado de inmunización de su hijo, el certificado de nacimiento y el comprobante de domicilio, o traerlos a la escuela.

Gresham-Barlow

línea está disponible para la inscripción de nuevos estudiantes. Una vez que se haya aceptado la solicitud en línea, la  escuela se comunicará con usted para un seguimiento adicional y puede  programar una reunión antes del primer día de su hijo. Esto es importante ya que puede recibir formularios específicos de la escuela para completar, tareas de clase, horarios y otra información para hacer que la transición de su hijo sea fácil. Si tiene preguntas, puede comunicarse con la escuela de su vecindario. Use la aplicación Localizador de escuelas para determinar en qué límite de la escuela vive.

Parkrose

Para la inscripción en el jardín de infantes en la primavera de 2020, Parkrose utilizará nuestro sistema de inscripción en línea. Padres / tutores, tenga lo siguiente listo para completar el proceso de registro: comprobante de edad, registro de vacunas, comprobante de domicilio, y nombres y números de teléfono de contactos de emergencia. Para comenzar, visite http://www.parkrose.k12.or.us/registration. Preguntas? Por favor llame al: 503-408-2100

Portland Public Schools

Si su hijo tiene 5 años de edad antes del 1º de septiembre, por favor inscríbalo en el kínder. Para inscribirse haga click en este enlace: https://www.pps.net/kinderenroll. El proceso toma de 20 a 30 minutos y el personal de la escuela se comunicará con usted a finales del verano. Mientras las escuelas permanecen cerradas, inscribirse en línea es la opción más fácil, pero los papeles de inscripción estarán disponibles muy pronto también. No es necesario inscribir a su hijo si actualmente asiste al programa escolar de PPS Head Start o Pre-kínder.

Reynolds

Si su estudiante es nuevo en el Distrito Escolar de Reynolds, regístrese para la inscripción.