Forum Spotlight - Reaching Forward Forum
September 22, 2022
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Education and lifelong learning are at the heart of library services, and it is important to support library staff in this same regard so that they can professionally grow, learn, and connect with new ideas. Each year, the Reaching Forward Forum plans and holds a full-day conference specifically for this purpose. Our last conference in May 2022 was the first time in-person since 2019, and our attendees enjoyed being back together to network and learn new ideas.
At this time of year, Forum members hold their first meeting to discuss objectives and gear up for incoming program proposals. To offer a timely and balanced conference, we look for programs on a variety of topics related to library trends and information needs. As with previous years, we continue to seek presenters in the library industry, as well as those who can contribute to staff wellness and skill building.
Subcommittees of the Reaching Forward Forum work on additional, focused tasks to help bring all the conference activities together. This includes recruiting and liaising with vendors, soliciting award nominees and selecting winners, managing social media, and developing an exciting performers’ showcase for library staff to catch a glimpse of programs they might consider at their own library.
In support of current and future library professionals, Reaching Forward awards the Oberman and Rich Reaching Forward Conference Grant, which provides free conference registration and a small stipend for expenses, and the Robert P. Doyle ILA Conference Grant for Support Staff, which grants a year of ILA membership and full conference registration and expenses for the ILA Annual Conference. We will call for award nominations in early 2023.
We welcome you to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter, to stay up to date with all things Reaching Forward throughout the year. And mark your calendars now for next year’s full-day conference, which will take place on May 5, 2023. Registration for the conference will open up in early 2023.
This spotlight was written by the Reaching Forward Forum Manager Sara Horn. Sara is the Deputy Director at the Green Hills Public Library District.
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