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Materials for Dealing with Loss, Grief, and Trauma

Introduction and Project Background

Books can be wonderful tools to use with children who have experienced trauma or loss. Reading (or being read to) and talking with adults can help them understand and cope with their feelings in a developmentally appropriate way. Reading also offers a great way to spend time with a child, reinforce a sense of normalcy and security, and connect with them, all of which are important to recovery from a traumatic experience.

The Vermont Department of Libraries (VTLIB), The Barre District of the Department for Children and Families, and UVM’s the Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership (VTCWTP), have worked together to develop initiatives to create a path to healing and stability. The three agencies developed a book collection targeting grief, loss, and trauma for different age groups; 0-5, 6-12, and 12-18.

Other offerings include statewide training for librarians, kinship, foster, and adoptive parents regarding grief, loss, and trauma. The goal is for caregivers and librarians to gain a sense of increased skill as a trauma-informed caregiver/librarian in addition to caregivers and children/youth in care accessing their local libraries on the topics of grief, loss, and trauma.

In the episode Reading to Promote Healing, of the podcast Welcome to the Field (a podcast for child welfare workers) Sharon O’Neill (VT Child Welfare Training Partnership) talks to Jamie Blouin, Stephanie Reale (DCF), and Jonathan Clark (VTLIB) about using literature to help heal grief and loss with young people in foster care who often have a history of trauma. The discussion also highlights the collaborative work this group has done to make books on trauma and loss available to foster families and throughout Vermont libraries.

For or more information about this project, or contact VTLIB: Jonathan Clark (jonathan.l.clark@vermont.gov), VTCWTP: Sharon O’Neill (sharon.oneill@uvm.edu), and the Barre District Resource Coordinators: Jaime Blouin (Jaime.Blouin@vermont.gov

Overview and Guide to Using the Free Resources Available from The Vermont Department of Libraries

Dealing with Loss, Grief, and Trauma Booklist – Compiled by The Vermont Department of Libraries (VTLIB), The Barre District of the Department for Children and Families, and UVM’s the Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership (VTCWTP)

VTLIB has book sets for Dealing with Loss, Grief, and Trauma available for circulation through Clover. These book sets are organized by age range 0-5, 6-12, and 13-18- and intended for those targeted ages along with parents and caregivers. There are 5 sets available for each age range.

For libraries interested in making these books available, we recommend setting up a display with them so that patrons can see everything that is available. 

Ages 0-5 Book-set (Each set contains one copy of each title)

Title

Author

Me and My Fear

Francesca Sanna

Still a Family: A Story about Homelessness

Brenda Reeves Sturgis

The Memory Box: A Book About Grief

Joanna Rowland

The Rabbit Listened

Cori Doerrfeld

Where do they go?

Julia Alvarez

Ages 6-12 Book-set (Each set contains one copy of each title)

 

Title

Author

Cry, Heart, But Never Break

Glenn Ringtved

Half a world Away

Cynthia Kadohata 

Prairie Evers

Ellen Airgood

Sunny Side Up

Jennifer L Holm

Train I Ride

Paul Mosier

Ages 13-18 Book-set (Each set contains one copy of each title)

Title

Author

Hey Kiddo

Jarett Krosoczca

Orbiting Jupiter

Gary D. Schmidt

Prairie Evers

Ellen Airgood

The image below shows how the book sets appear in Clover:

catalog screenshot

Other Resources and Booklists

Tips for Talking With and Helping Children and Youth Cope After a Disaster or Traumatic Event: A Guide for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers (samhsa.gov)

ALSC booklists for Tough Topics - Includes resources for young people and for parents

 

Beanstack: Information for Vermont Librarians

Overview - Training Resources - Promotional Materials - Training Registration

Beanstack provides a mobile-friendly site for local families to participate in reading-based initiatives, including summer reading, early literacy initiatives, and bookclubs for teens and adults. Patrons have access tools to log their reading, complete activities, and earn digital badges. For staff, Beanstack makes it easy to register patrons, view reading and activity participation, and produce extensive reports.

Vermont Libraries Beanstack URL is https://vermont.beanstack.org/

Features include: 

  • Custom, mobile-responsive site for patrons 
  • Family, classroom, and group registration 
  • Concurrent reading programs system
  • Virtual points and badge system
  • Reading logging system
  • Book reviews system
  • Administrative tools for staff to provide patron service
  • Library staff “Add Reader” and “Find A Person” system
  • Prize and drawings system
  • Reading lists and learning track system and templates
  • Data reports and insights for admins 

Training Resources: 

Promotional Materials:General Sign-up Promotional Materials

Training Sessions for Library Staff:

Recorded sessions:

 

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Outdoor Performances

*Due to the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, there will be a collection of movies available to be shown outdoors on library property, included with the license for the remainder of 2020. Please see our Outdoor Performance page for more information about hosting an outdoor showing on your library property.

Please always familiarize yourself with the latest Stay Home, Stay Safe Order by the Vermont ACCD before showing a movie to make sure you are in compliance.

  • Form to Request an Outdoor Showing
    • The outdoor form goes through all the guidelines that need to be followed. The form must be reviewed and completed to get permission for the outdoor events exception. Once completed, you can email the form to libraries@swankmp.com. As long as the guidelines are followed, you can host those outdoor showings as part of you annual license coverage through the end of 2020.
  • Films Eligible for Outdoor Showing
    • Films NOT on the above list, but still covered by the license, can still be shown outdoors for a fee- $100 for 50 people or under, $250 for 50-250 people.

 

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EQUIPMENT, ETC. COMING SOON

2024-2025 Public Library Movie License - Terms of Agreement

For a Public Performance Site License to Exhibit Motion Pictures

(June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025)

A portion of the cost of this service is paid with federal LSTA funds awarded through the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Terms of License

Swank Movie Licensing USA (a division of Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.) under the terms of its contract with the State of Vermont Department of Libraries will provide Vermont public libraries as defined in 22 VSA §101(B), with Public Performance Site Licenses to Exhibit Motion Pictures of the copyright owners listed below in full compliance with 1976 U.S. Copyright Act (Title 17, United States Code, Pub. Law 94-553, 90 Stat. 2541).

The Federal Copyright Act governs how copyrighted materials, such as movies, may be utilized publicly. Neither the rental nor the purchase or lending of a video cassette or DVD carries with it the right to exhibit the movie publicly outside the home, unless the site where the video/DVD is used is properly licensed for copyright compliant exhibition. Swank Movie Licensing USA provides this Public Performance Site License to Vermont’s public libraries so that these entertainment movies can be shown legally in their library buildings.

The Swank Movie Licensing USA Public Performance Site License is a sole source product. Swank Movie Licensing USA is the only company that can provide you with public performance site licensing for this comprehensive selection of Hollywood studios:

Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, NBC/Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, New Line Cinema, Lionsgate Films, MGM, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Summit Entertainment, Focus Features, Warner Independent Pictures, Fine Line Features, United Artists, Warner Independent Films, Paramount Vantage, & Screen Gems.

For more information on your license and confirming coverage visit https://www.swank.com/public-libraries/

  • These motion pictures may be shown only inside a Vermont public library building.*

  • Read the guidance on advertising movie showings for your library.

  • These licenses allow for the showing of a covered film using any legal source. Sources that would be ‘for home use only’ may be used in conjunction with the license.

  • There may not be any duplication, editing, altering, or digital transmission of the video cassette and/or DVD's in any manner.

  • The copyright of the motion picture remains the property of the copyright holder, who reserves all rights to protect its intellectual properties.

  • All copyright notices must remain on the motion picture.

 

 

Vermont Certified Public Manager® Final Report & Survey Results

Last year, Vermont State Librarian Jason Broughton applied for the services of a Vermont Certified Public Manager (VCPM) cohort group to research the value of public libraries within the state. The VCPM class—offered through the Vermont Center for Achievement in Public Service, a division of the Department of Human Resources—requires a capstone research project as a consulting service it makes available to other Vermont State departments.

The capstone report is now available along with survey results of a survey the group sent out earlier this year.  The report represents a snapshot in time and reflects a segment of the library landscape prior to COVID-19.

Final Report

Survey Results

Using Canva to Create Accessible Graphics for Your Library

This webinar will discuss the basics of Canva, a free, online graphic design platform that can be used to make graphics for social media and beyond. The webinar will also discuss best practices for making your designs accessible to those with visual impairments. Participants will have an opportunity to practice what they've learned, so participants should create a free Canva account at www.canva.com before the class if they do not already have an account.
 

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

+1 802-828-7667   United States, Montpelier (Toll)

Conference ID: 817 155 313#

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Webinar Materials

  • Pre-Reading (Canva article in Marketing Libraries Journal)
  • Pre-Reading (Lens of Color, Lens of Font, Lens of Images & Icons, Lens of Readability)
  • Webinar Handout
  • Webinar Exercise
    • Make a graphic advertising your library’s book sale to your community.
      • The graphic will be posted on Facebook.
      • The graphic should have the date range and location of the sale, as well as the prices of different items.
      • The graphic should include one image or icon.
      • The graphic should follow concepts of accessible design through the lenses of font and color.
  • https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
  • https://webaim.org/techniques/fonts/

Additional Materials

Reader to Reader Book Descriptions

  • The Cobra-Ferrari Wars: 1963-1965 (Michael L. Shoen)

Personal recollections range from Shelby's greenest mechanic to Ferraris chief engineer, from forgotten privateers to world-class drivers. Acclaimed by Ferrari and Cobra enthusiasts alike, this is the definitive history of the epic struggle that changed sports car racing forever. The work is based on interviews of 53 of the original participants, conducted over 18 years. Over 530 archival photos, drawings, blueprints and documents, including 57 large-format color prints.

  • Doggie Paddlin' (David & Linda Mullaly)

That first moment you learn to paddle is almost as much fun as the first time you take your dog along with you. Whether on a canoe or kayak, surf board or stand up paddle board, dogs can’t get enough of the water. From paddling poodles to surfing sheepdogs, bring your furry best friend along for the ride and uncover hidden depths to their unique personality. Professional photographer David Mullally captures a dog’s love of being on the water through a series of breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and hilarious images while Linda Mullally provides need-to-know information to help you get your dog on the water. Explore, laugh, and learn as these energetic dogs show us the true meaning of happiness.

  • Finding Shelter: Portraits of Love, Healing, and Survival (Jesse Freidin)

Without volunteers, our nation’s animal shelter system simply would not exist. Volunteers speak for those that cannot speak, pick up the pieces for abandoned animals that have been let down by previous owners or unfortunate circumstances, and do whatever it takes to heal the deepest of wounds.In Finding Shelter, award-winning photographer Jesse Freidin shows the softer side of this story. He witnessed firsthand how many of the volunteers were able to mend their own emotional hurts with the love the shelter animals gave back to them, and how the power of these relationships transforms shelters into places where humans and animals can heal together. This realization propelled him to take a two-year journey across the country to document the tenderness and healing, beauty and joy he encountered within the shelter system. The result is a heartwarming inspiration for people to look differently at how to save shelter pets. In Finding Shelter, Freidin sparks a new discussion about animal rescue and what it feels like to truly love an animal.

  • First In, Last Out: An American Paratrooper in Vietnam with the 101st and Vietnamese Airborne (John D. Howard)
Fresh out of West Point, John Howard arrived for his first tour in Vietnam in 1965, the first full year of escalation when U.S. troop levels increased to 184,000 from 23,000 the year before. When he returned for a second tour in 1972, troop strength stood at 24,000 and would dwindle to a mere 50 the following year. He thus participated in the very early and very late stages of American military involvement in the Vietnam War. His two toursone as a platoon commander and member of an elite counterguerrilla force, the second as a senior advisor to the South Vietnameseprovide a fascinating lens through which to view not only one soldier’s experience in Vietnam, but also the country’s.
  • Foodie Snob (Kevin Nelson)

Food-lovers will enjoy this fun and lighthearted look at their obsession with trendy food and restaurants. Food Snob is both be a send-up of foodies and an affirmation of certain aspects of the foodie way of life. While laughing at this satire of the habits, attitudes and lifestyle of foodies, foodies will laugh at themselves and also get solid advice and tips on the activity they love.

  • Running Snob (Kevin Nelson)

Runners will enjoy this fun and lighthearted look at running enthusiasts who, of course, resemble them in many ways. This is both a send-up of runners and an affirmation of certain aspects of the running life. While laughing at this satire of the habits, attitudes and lifestyle of runners, they are laughing at themselves and also getting solid advice and tips on the activity they love.

  • The Long Term Missing: Hope and Help for Families (Sylvia Pettem)

When loved-ones go missing, the lives of their family members are turned upside-down. As the days and months turn into years, some families are caged in by their grief, while others become proactive –– renewing police contacts, keeping up with the latest technologies, and educating themselves as they strive to become their long-term missing persons’ advocates. By inspiring hope, as well as providing answers and practical advice, The Long Term Missing: Hope and Help for Families assists families in navigating the uncharted territory they never chose to enter.

  • The Most Low-Down, Lousiest, Loathsome Things Ever Said: 1,292 Cutting and Sharp-Tongued Quotations (Steven D. Price)

A nasty insult (is there any other kind?) can be offensive and infuriating, but we’ve all had those moments when we’ve employed one or just wished we had come up with the perfect nasty thing to say. Even better, having the perfect comeback to one of these rude remarks brings us all the personal satisfaction in the world. The Nastiest Things Ever Said gathers together the very sharpest of these barbs from a wide variety of sources with some of the wickedest put-downs from the literary, political, and entertainment worlds, and everywhere else people say nasty things to each other.

  • The Real "Tales of Hoffman": Origin, History, and Restoration of an Operatic Masterpiece (Vincent Giroud and Michael Kaye)

Of all operas in the standard repertory, none has had a more complicated genesis and textual history than Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann. Based on a highly successful 1851 play inspired by the short stories by the German Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, the work occupied the last decade of Offenbach’s life. When he died in October 1880, the work was being rehearsed at the Opéra-Comique. At once cut and rearranged, the work was performed from the start in versions that ignored the composer’s final intentions. Only a few decades ago, when previously unavailable manuscripts came to light, it became possible to reconstitute the score in its real form. Vincent Giroud and Michael Kaye’s The Real 'Tales of Hoffmann' tells the full story for the first time in English.

  • 30 Days a Black Man: The Forgotten Story that Exposed the Jim Crow South (Bill Steigerwald)

In 1948 most white people in the North had no idea how unjust and unequal daily life was for the 10 million African Americans living in the South. But that suddenly changed after Ray Sprigle, a famous white journalist from Pittsburgh, went undercover and lived as a black man in the Jim Crow South. Escorted through the South’s parallel black society by John Wesley Dobbs, a historic black civil rights pioneer from Atlanta, Sprigle met with sharecroppers, local black leaders, and families of lynching victims. He visited ramshackle black schools and slept at the homes of prosperous black farmers and doctors. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter’s series was syndicated coast to coast in white newspapers and carried into the South only by the Pittsburgh Courier, the country’s leading black paper. His vivid descriptions and undisguised outrage at "the iniquitous Jim Crow system" shocked the North, enraged the South, and ignited the first national debate in the media about ending America’s system of apartheid. Six years before Brown v. Board of Education, seven years before the murder of Emmett Till, and thirteen years before John Howard Griffin’s similar experiment became the bestseller Black Like Me, Sprigle’s intrepid journalism blasted into the American consciousness the grim reality of black lives in the South.

  • Seeing Life through Private Eyes: Secrets from America's Top Investigator to Living Safer, Smarter, and Saner (Thomas G. Martin)

For over three decades Thomas G. Martin has been the secret weapon of choice. Now America’s PI has combined his life experiences, cautionary tales, and insider information into a valuable guide for the rest of us. Seeing Life Through Private Eyes is an invaluable resource for living smarter and safer in today’s complicated world.

  • Tyranny of the Textbook: An Insider Exposes How Educational Materials Undermine Reform (Beverlee Jobrack)

Educational reforms and standards have been a topic of public debate for decades, with the latest go-round being the State Common Core Curriculum Standards. But time and again those reforms have failed, and each set of standards, no matter how new and different, has had little impact on improving student achievement. Why? The textbooks. Textbooks sell based on design and superficial features, not because they are based on the latest research on how children learn and how well they promote student achievement. In Tyranny of the Textbook, Beverlee Jobrack, retired from educational publishing, sheds light on why this happens. She gives an engaging and fascinating look behind-the-scenes of how K-12 textbooks are developed, written, adopted, and sold. And, perhaps most importantly, she clearly spells out how the system can change so that reforms and standards have a shot at finally being effective.

  • Women Who Surf: Charging the Waves with the World's Best (Ben Marcus and Lucia Griggi)

Mavericks and more, a celebration of feminine beauty, athleticism, wisdom, and skill when the surf is bombing—Women Who Surf profiles some of the world’s most inspiring female surfers ranging from Bethany Hamilton to Wrenna Delgado. Each surfer tells her story, highlighting her personal challenges, accomplishments, and philosophy, as well as inspiring readers and providing them with practical how-to suggestions on maximizing not only their own potential in surfing but in life as they lead the charge and push their limits at infamous big-wave spots like Teahupoo in Tahiti, Waimea Bay, and Peahi/Jaws in the Hawaiian Islands.

  • Maxims Minimus: Reflections in Microstyle (T. Byram Karasu, MD)
Maxims Minimus is the sedimentation of over forty years of experience in teaching, writing, and treating patients. As many other poets, T. Byram Karasu dares to be just so clear, and no clearer. Thus, Dr. Karasu’s Maxims is well suited for this age of Twitter and text messages. He says, “Anything that cannot be said in 140 characters (or in 140 seconds) is not particularly worth saying.” This book is Dr. Karasu’s reflections about loving, working, living, dying, and everything else—his philosophy of life expressed in microstyle.
  • Kicking Gas and Taking Charge! (Duane Leffel)

Would you take off on a trip across the U.S. without knowing where you could get gasoline along the way? I did…in a way. Only instead of looking for gas stations, I had to find 220 volts of electricity to charge an all-electric car! With 8 people I had never met! Take a fascinating behind-the-scenes journey across the U.S. using over 600 color photos as I try to set a Guinness World Record in an all-electric Nissan LEAF. Finding 220 volts of electricity is not as easy as it seems! Also, learn why everyone should care about sustainability. I got educated. You should too. You CAN make an impact!

  • A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment (Spring Washam)

Spring Washam is a founder of the East Bay Meditation Center, one of the most diverse and accessible Dharma centers in the United States. In A Fierce Heart, Washam shares her contemporary, unique interpretation of the Buddha’s 2,500-year-old teachings, with short chapters that get to the heart of mindfulness, wisdom, loving kindness, and compassion.

 

Call for New GMBA Reading Committee Members!

Dear reader, the Green Mountain Book Award (GMBA) reading committee is looking for new members!

Each year, the GMBA committee selects the 15 GMBA titles that make up the following year's GMBA list. Committee members must be able to:

  • Read and recommend YA books throughout the year
  • Meet 4 times per year for 2-3 hr meetings + 1 full day-long meeting in March*
  • Locally promote the current GMBA list & teen involvement
  • Fulfill other committee duties, as needed

*Meetings will be virtual until it is safe to meet in-person. In-person meetings are usually held at the VT Department of Libraries in Barre.

The committee is searching for two new adult members and two new teen members to join the team! Interested adult and teen applicants should send the following materials to this email address: gmba.award@gmail.com

  • Brief resume or activities list
  • Paragraph stating your interest in the committee
  • Two paragraph long book reviews (one positive and one negative) for YA titles published within the last three years
  • Teens Only: a letter of recommendation from an adult who can speak to your ability to read consistently, to discuss books, and to participate in meetings 

The deadline to apply is Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 11:59pm.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Committee Chair Shannon DeSantis Gile (shannon.gile@lsuu.org) or Youth Services Consultant Jonathan Clark (jonathan.l.clark@vermont.gov).

 

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