'Every day is a perfect day to read this.' Shari Low Eleanor Sharpley has been living a lie... Needing to escape her London life quickly, Eleanor throws her things into the back of her car, and heads to her erstwhile best friend Charlie's family farm. But Charlie isn't there. Instead she finds Charlie's grieving brother Daniel, her eight-month old daughter Hope (a daughter Eleanor had known nothing about), and a crumbling and unloved Damson Farm. Damson Farm lies at the edge of the village of Ferrington, with the river Maddon flowing at its heart. But Ferrington is a village divided by more than just a river - it is split in two by an age-old feud - between the Old Side and the New Side. Eleanor has run from her problems, straight into a family and a world that has problems of its own. But Damson Farm has magic too, and as winter gives way to spring, the old farm starts to come to life under Eleanor's love and care. The orchard starts to blossom with daffodils and bluebells, and the sound of bees busy in their hives fills the warming air. Can Eleanor bring Daniel and the feuding village of Ferrington back to life too, or will her secrets catch up with her first? Beth Moran's books are heart-warming, funny, and completely addictive. Perfect for all fans of Jill Mansell, Julie Houston, and Jenny Colgan. Praise for Beth Moran: 'Life-affirming, joyful and tender.' Zoe Folbigg 'Every day is a perfect day to read this.' Shari Low 'A British author to watch.' Publisher's Weekly

'Every day is a perfect day to read this.' Shari Low Eleanor Sharpley has been living a lie... Needing to escape her London life quickly, Eleanor throws her things into the back of her car, and heads to her erstwhile best friend Charlie's family farm. But Charlie isn't there. Instead she finds Charlie's grieving brother Daniel, her eight-month old daughter Hope (a daughter Eleanor had known nothing about), and a crumbling and unloved Damson Farm. Damson Farm lies at the edge of the village of Ferrington, with the river Maddon flowing at its heart. But Ferrington is a village divided by more than just a river - it is split in two by an age-old feud - between the Old Side and the New Side. Eleanor has run from her problems, straight into a family and a world that has problems of its own. But Damson Farm has magic too, and as winter gives way to spring, the old farm starts to come to life under Eleanor's love and care. The orchard starts to blossom with daffodils and bluebells, and the sound of bees busy in their hives fills the warming air. Can Eleanor bring Daniel and the feuding village of Ferrington back to life too, or will her secrets catch up with her first? Beth Moran's books are heart-warming, funny, and completely addictive. Perfect for all fans of Jill Mansell, Julie Houston, and Jenny Colgan. Praise for Beth Moran: 'Life-affirming, joyful and tender.' Zoe Folbigg 'Every day is a perfect day to read this.' Shari Low 'A British author to watch.' Publisher's Weekly

Focusing on adult patrons ages 19 through senior citizens, this book explains how libraries can best serve this portion of their community's population at different life stages and foster experiences that are "worth the trip"-whether actual or virtual. Adult library patrons are busier than ever before-working, taking classes and studying for advanced degrees, caring for children, helping their aging parents, taking care of their homes or rental properties, planning and nurturing careers, managing investments and retirement funds, and inevitably retiring. Each of these endeavors can require highly specific learning and education. Throughout their lives, adults continue to have different information needs that the library and its services can fill. Designing Adult Services: Strategies for Better Serving Your Community discusses the many ways libraries can serve adults of various ages and at different life stages, covering online services, collection development, programming, and lifelong learning. This guide's unique approach simplifies the processes of designing and carrying out a successful adult services program for adult library users in all the various stages of life. The book is organized by age groups, with the respective information needs and life challenges. Each chapter suggests programs, services, and collection development strategies for the life stages. Public library administrators and managers as well as adult services librarians in public libraries will find this guide a must-read. Helps librarians make their libraries the go-to places in the community for both information and recreation Enables librarians to accurately analyze the demographics of their communities and identify the services needed Offers simple suggestions to help librarians with limited resources provide age-appropriate services Describes information and resources most likely needed during each life stage, making it easier to target the audience for both programming and publicity

This title offers pre-service, newly practicing, and seasoned school librarians opportunities for reflection as well as inspiring strategies for enacting four core values of the profession. The school library profession has been in "crisis" for more than a decade. Educational decision-makers have not been made aware of or sold on the core values of school librarianship and its value to students, classroom teachers, administrators, and the entire school community. Budgetary priorities often do not include school librarians, resulting in a lack of funding and the elimination of many positions, which can cause many school librarians to feel vulnerable and afraid. Guideposts are needed to offer today's school librarians a chance to connect or reconnect with their passion for literacy, learning, and serving that led them to the profession. Core Values in School Librarianship: Responding with Commitment and Courage provides preservice, newly practicing, and seasoned school librarians with opportunities for thoughtful reflection alongside inspiring strategies for gathering courage and enacting four core values of the profession. It is an important and visionary book that all school librarians should read as they develop in their role as leaders in their schools. Guides readers to connect or reconnect with passion and purpose for school librarianship, both of which are essential during times of crisis and change Addresses the core values of librarianship with examples of how they are enacted in the school library setting Features diverse voices and experiences related to passion and practice of the core values Provides opportunities for reflection to improve practice and strengthen commitment to the work of school librarianship Benefits library stakeholders

The necessity for library leaders to demonstrate that libraries are innovative, collaborative, and can provide eye-catching, transformational services and programs to their communities cannot be understated. But libraries do not suffer from a lack of big ideas. What library workers really need is a roadmap for making those big, impactful ideas become reality. Based in part on her extensive experience coordinating large-scale initiatives, this guide from ASCLA Leadership and Professional Achievement Award-winning consultant Horton will walk you through formulating and shaping your ideas into sellable, actionable projects. You'll learn techniques drawn from project management experts and researchers from many fields; why Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) are worth your time and effort; guidance on upscaling your idea into a project or service that can be launched at a statewide, community wide, or library consortia level; several case studies of large-scale library projects, with analysis of why they were successful; how to successfully combine foundational principles of innovation with practical methods for collaboration; methods for extending your reach beyond your usual sphere to partner with other libraries and organizations; how to sharpen your skills of persuasion; no-nonsense advice on leading teams of disparate individuals; and evaluative tips for affirming the project is on the right track and correcting course as needed. By proudly owning the audaciousness of the Big Idea, libraries demonstrate both their resiliency and value to their communities. This resource shares the insights and practical knowledge to make it happen.

By learning how to rightsize, you will ensure that both the collection and your institution's available physical spaces meet the needs of your library's users. Honored with many accolades, including a starred review in Library Journal, the first edition of this book demonstrated the power and flexibility of "rightsizing," an approach that applies a scalable, rule-based strategy to help academic libraries balance stewardship of spaces and the collection. In the five years since Ward's first edition, the shared print infrastructure has grown in leaps and bounds, as has coordination among programs. With this revision, Miller addresses new options as well as the increasing urgency to protect at-risk titles as you reduce your physical collection. Readers will feel confident rightsizing their institution's own collections with this book's expert guidance on the concept of rightsizing, a strategic and largely automated approach that uses continuous assessment to identify the no- and low-use materials in the collection, and its five core elements; crafting a rightsizing plan, from developing withdrawal criteria and creating discard lists to managing workflow and disposing of withdrawn materials, using a project-management focus; moving toward a "facilitated collection" with a mix of local, external, and collaborative services; six discussion areas for decisions on participating in a shared print program; factors in choosing a collection decision support tool; relationships with stakeholders; how to handle print resources after your library licenses perpetual access rights to the electronic equivalent; and future directions for rightsizing

Current research is pushing schools to adopt more student-centered approaches to the classroom experience, and educators-librarians and classroom teachers alike-are being challenged to revise their curricula and instruction to be student-centered, personalized, and differentiated. This book empowers librarians, teachers, and administrators to be empathic problem-solvers and decision-makers. By reframing the challenges that members of a learning community face as opportunities to better meet teaching and learning needs, readers will find that adoption of a mindset focused on users-namely, design thinking-elevates and creates opportunities for innovating pedagogy. Moreover, it can enhance school culture as well as build channels of communication among various stakeholders in schools and districts. When educators of any subject or discipline apply design thinking skills to their curriculum implementation, authentic student-centered learning experiences become the core of the learning experience. The case studies shared in this book provide examples of student-centered approaches being used in elementary, middle, and high schools, so that readers have many models on which to base their work and from which to build confidence in shifting their pedagogy to keep the student at the center of teaching and learning decisions. Explanations of design thinking models, how they work, and how they apply to teaching and learning Opportunities to practice empathizing with learning community stakeholders and designing to meet those stakeholders' needs Models for writing curricula, units, and lesson plans that are student-centered by design Resources for implementing project-based learning experiences with students Reproducible graphics and organizers for instructional use

Sharing lessons learned and barriers overcome, this book will spur you towards new ways of serving your patrons during unprecedented times.When the pandemic suddenly forced many public libraries to close their doors or limit patron access, library staff redoubled their efforts to serve their communities in every way possible. Demonstrating their resilience by quickly pivoting to new modes of service, public libraries are continuing to offer innovative yet practical ways to connect patrons to the information and services they need and enjoy. Offering real-life examples of what it means to be a 24/7 library, this collection from the Public Library Association (PLA) and ALA Editions shares how several libraries transitioned to virtual and socially-distanced services. No matter your library's current situation or outlook for the future, you'll be inspired to adapt their ideas to suit the needs of your own organization. Among the initiatives and topics explored are homebound delivery; citizen science programs; virtual reference advice; services to small businesses; remote readers' advisory and book chats; early literacy storytimes; health services outreach; tech guidance for patrons; wifi hotspot lending; and tips for social media and marketing.

Developing the Next Generation of Library Leaders examines how the library profession can foster this skill development for new leaders through the leadership stories and development of twenty-two assistant/associate deans. Ten big ideas emerged through this research: Developing a career ladder Mitigating identity crisis Learning theory, applying to practice Support Find your people Leadership pause points Alternative leadership and management models Demystifying leadership and management Succession planning Battling gender-based doubts Each of these ideas include questions as well as recommendations that, when taken together, offer a holistic approach to shrinking the leadership gap in our profession and preparing the next generation of library leaders to move the profession forward and meet the evolving challenges of higher education.