Join METRO and our sister council, Long Island Library Resources Council (LILRC), for this presentation from Ashley Dalle, Interim Chief Librarian about the many free benefits available for children from the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library is a branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) that provides FREE accessible reading material for patrons who are blind, low vision, physically disabled, print disabled, or otherwise unable to read print, to patrons located in the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties. Andrew Heiskell Library offers materials to borrow in a wide range of formats, including braille, talking books (audio), and magazines, for users of all ages, as well as players and mobile apps. Patrons can also find accessible programming and events, individual coaching in assistive technology, group workshops, braille study groups, the Dimensions Lab for tactile creation, and more. Ashley will present on how to apply for NLS service, the benefit to you, your students, and your patients, as well as the types of assistive technology courses and workshops that are being offered, for FREE, to library patrons. Andrew Heiskell Library offers children's materials to borrow in a wide range of formats, including braille, talking books (audio), and magazines, as well as players and mobile apps, and early tactile literacy kits for early Braille users.

Join METRO and our sister council, Long Island Library Resources Council (LILRC), for this behind-the-scenes tour and information session with Ashley Dalle, Interim Chief Librarian, who will discuss the many free benefits available for both children and adults from the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library is a branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) that provides FREE accessible reading material for patrons who are blind, low vision, physically disabled, print disabled, or otherwise unable to read print, to patrons located in the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties. Andrew Heiskell Library offers materials to borrow in a wide range of formats, including braille, talking books (audio), and magazines, for users of all ages, as well as players and mobile apps. Patrons can also find accessible programming and events, individual coaching in assistive technology, group workshops, braille study groups, the Dimensions Lab for tactile creation, and more. Ashley will share how to apply for NLS service, the benefit to you, your students, and your patrons, as well as the types of assistive technology courses and workshops that are being offered, for FREE, to library patrons.

Join us for a tour of the Morgan Library & Museum’s Belle Da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy exhibition. The exhibition is devoted to the life and career of its inaugural director, Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950). Widely recognized as an authority on illuminated manuscripts and deeply respected as a cultural heritage executive, Greene was one of the most prominent librarians in American history. Following the tour, join us for a social hour at a nearby location to connect with fellow local library and archives workers. Please note: Space is very limited, and this is a special opportunity to visit this exhibition for free. Please join the waitlist if there are no longer spaces available, because spots do open up at the last minute. If you have secured a spot but then find you’re unable to join, please let us know as soon as possible so we can open your spot to someone on the waitlist.

Join METRO and our sister council, Long Island Library Resources Council (LILRC), for this presentation from Ashley Dalle, Interim Chief Librarian about the many free benefits available for adults from the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library. The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library is a branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) that provides FREE accessible reading material for patrons who are blind, low vision, physically disabled, print disabled, or otherwise unable to read print, to patrons located in the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties. Andrew Heiskell Library offers materials to borrow in a wide range of formats, including braille, talking books (audio), and magazines, for users of all ages, as well as players and mobile apps. Patrons can also find accessible programming and events, individual coaching in assistive technology, group workshops, braille study groups, the Dimensions Lab for tactile creation, and more. Ashley will present on how to apply for NLS service, the benefit to you, your students, and your patrons, as well as the types of assistive technology courses and workshops that are being offered, for FREE, to library patrons.

A Beginner's Guide to Failure is a half-day cohort experience that teaches library workers how to embrace and even celebrate failure. Instead of viewing failure as evidence of something lacking, this short course endeavors to help individuals better integrate failure as part of being fully human, taking creative risks, and growing critical skills and mindsets for learning organizations. In other words, despite the common misconception, failure is the rule, not the exception, and more failure actually leads to better ideas, creative solutions, and more productive workplaces! This workshop draws on teachings in emotional intelligence, psychology, philosophy, and culture. Our specific goals and objectives for this workshop are to: Encourage critical engagement and exploration of the concept of failure in our lives, especially, but not exclusively, our work lives Experiment with new ways of failing productively, including design-thinking and prototyping approaches Explore stories of failure in library-settings, normalizing the experience of failure Experience failure as part of a work of beauty and impermanence Help workers orient themselves and develop unique connections to fellow workers in a shared spirit of celebrating failure About the Instructor: A.M. Alpin is a creative librarian and educator who teaches workshops at NYU, the Made in NY Media Lab, and other institutions. In addition to producing countless failures, she is the past recipient of the Sundance Institute's Sheila C. Johnson Creative Producing Fellowship, the American Library Association's Advocacy & Innovation in Library History Award, and the Association of College & Research Libraries' Outstanding Professional Development Award. Her creative work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, the Independent Filmmaker Project, the Austin Film Society, the Southern Humanities Media Fund, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Please note: Lunch is included! Plus, all attendees will leave with a copy of the book Creative Acts for Curious People by Sarah Stein Greenberg.

Want to learn more about prison abolition? Looking to explore the role of information in the prison industrial complex? Excited to discuss ways we can collectively offer resources to address violence caused by mass incarceration? Join the club (literally!). The Prison Library Support Network is collaborating with METRO to host Abolitionist Futures: A PLSN Discussion Group, which will meet quarterly on the second Monday of the month in the evening. In 2025, we will continue to curate a rotating calendar of media resources for discussion, including: books, podcasts, videos, zines, and more! We’re also building off of last year's renewed commitment to the “futures” part of our discussion group by intentionally building in time during each meeting to share actionable steps for practicing everyday abolition. This calendar year we’re aiming to extend our run of special guest facilitators (artists, authors, librarians, and more) with a range of experiences relating to prison abolition. More details to come! If you’re on our PLSN listserv, you’ll receive information throughout the year on how to join each discussion group, who our featured guest(s) will be, and which materials we’d like you to engage with before joining. Both upcoming discussion content and past years of discussion materials can be found on this doc. Join Abolitionist Futures for our first meeting of the year featuring special guests from the Arts Justice Safety Coalition. On March 10, we will host a screening and discussion of the film Before Time/After Time. The creative team and cast will join us to share reflections on the film and their experiences and take questions from audience members. Before Time/After Time takes audiences on a journey through the lives of nine returned citizens who share fragments of their lives before and after incarceration. The piece is a tribute to their resilience, compassion, and generosity and an example of the kinds of communities that the arts can create at almost any age—communities where self-realization, shared goals, and transformation are made possible. As always, our discussion materials are free to access and contain a variety of media formats. Before joining the meeting please read, listen to, and explore these materials: WATCH Before Time/After Time (to be screened during the discussion group - view the trailer here!) Additional resources to be added soon!

Please join us for the Second Annual STEM Information Professionals Mini Conference at Barnard College in New York City, co-sponsored by Barnard College and the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO). This two-day conference, taking place Thursday, March 20th and Friday, March 21st from 8:30am to 4:30pm both days, aims to bring together science librarians, other liaison librarians, archivists, museum curators and workers, library workers, LIS students, and other information-focused professionals who want to learn more about information and research services in the sciences. Attend this conference ready to build community, share ideas, and discuss critical approaches to instruction and research in the sciences. Registration fees for this conference are on a sliding scale! All levels are self-selected at registration; please choose the level that best aligns with your current situation. All levels receive the same great experience: both days of conference sessions, invited speakers, coffee/tea in the morning, lunches (takeaway containers for people observing Ramadan). Please note: You only have to register once to attend both days! Would you prefer to attend virtually? An online-only option is available for free, but does not include coffee or lunch. All sessions take place via Zoom. Register here! Call for Session Proposals: Submit by February 8, 2025! Do you have an idea for a session or workshop? Find out more about what the conference team is looking for here, and submit your proposal ideas by February 8, 2025 using this form.

Please join us for the Second Annual STEM Information Professionals Mini Conference at Barnard College in New York City, co-sponsored by Barnard College and the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO). This two-day conference, taking place Thursday, March 20th and Friday, March 21st from 8:30am to 4:30pm both days, aims to bring together science librarians, other liaison librarians, archivists, museum curators and workers, library workers, LIS students, and other information-focused professionals who want to learn more about information and research services in the sciences. Attend this conference ready to build community, share ideas, and discuss critical approaches to instruction and research in the sciences. Registration fees for this conference are on a sliding scale! All levels are self-selected at registration; please choose the level that best aligns with your current situation. All levels receive the same great experience: both days of conference sessions, invited speakers, coffee/tea in the morning, lunches (takeaway containers for people observing Ramadan). Please note: You only have to register once to attend both days! Would you prefer to attend virtually? An online-only option is available for free, but does not include coffee or lunch. All sessions take place via Zoom. Register here! Call for Session Proposals: Submit by February 8, 2025! Do you have an idea for a session or workshop? Find out more about what the conference team is looking for here, and submit your proposal ideas by February 8, 2025 using this form.