Susan Usha Dermond
(NOTE: This article is excerpted from the current issue of our bi-monthly magazine, Congregational Libraries Today.)
Whether you're new to congregational libraries - or a skilled veteran - CSLA's conference this summer in Greenville, South Carolina, will connect you with a world of strength: the people, the ideas, the skills, and the resources that you'll need as you move forward with fresh energy into the vital and ever-expanding role of congregational libraries.
Pre-conference events - including cultural tours, visits to diverse congregational libraries, religious and entertainment opportunities, and a fast-track school for those new to congregational libraries-get underway Friday evening, July 19.
The conference itself - with twenty-five wide-ranging workshops, visionary speakers, demonstrations of automation software, helpful exhibits by book, media, and library suppliers, and abundant opportunities to share personal ideas and experiences - officially begins on Sunday morning, July 20. The action wraps up Tuesday afternoon, July 22.
At a time when the role of congregational libraries is rapidly evolving and expanding, your attendance at this particular conference could not be more advantageous. Preferential pricing is available for CSLA members, using the registration form on page 16 of this issue of Congregational Libraries Today. [Click here to download Registration Form.]
You won't want to wait long before registering. Not only is there a discount for early registrations, but by registering early, you will guarantee yourself a seat in those workshops that come closest to meeting your needs.
A full list of scheduled workshops can be found on pages 14 and 15 of this issue. Topics range from money matters to automation issues to book selection, with additional sessions on everything from the intricacies of cataloging to the practicalities of including blogs on your library's Web site. The presenters have been carefully chosen, offering incredible experience and credentials.
Equally impressive are the three headline speakers for this year's conference: Susan Usha Dermond, Rodney Sadler, Jr., and Charles Kimball.
With libraries increasingly claiming a role as "information central" for today's most active congregations, it is important for librarians to provide perspective on some of the critical issues with which members of concerned churches and synagogues are wrestling.
Clearly, there are no easy solutions for the broken world in which we live. Is it any wonder that so many in our congregations feel helpless to effect change? Congregational librarians, however, can contribute toward a better understanding of pertinent issues by passing along perspectives that will enrich and empower children, congregations, and communities.
To that end, this year's speakers will offer important insights on such issues as children and spirituality, race and differences, and the value of overcoming deepseated conflicts by better understanding and connecting with other faiths.
Kicking things off on Sunday, July 20, will be Susan Usha Dermond, an educator and author with degrees in both education and library science. Dermond will share some of the spiritually sensitive methods that can help parents and congregations influence children - the very ones who will inherit our broken world - to be "calm and compassionate."
On Monday, Bible professor Rodney Sadler, Jr. will focus on "The Bible and Our Most Dangerous Myth: ScriptureSpeaks of Race and Difference." His address will examine the role of the Judeo-Christian scriptures in our nation's ongoing dialogue about "race."
Finally, professor Charles Kimball, who has just been named director of the religious studies program at the University of Oklahoma, will close the conference Tuesday afternoon with a thoughtful address on making connections with other faiths. Kimball's insights into the religious nature of Middle Eastern conflicts should prove especially helpful.