OLIS News & Updates

The Teen Summit planning team is soliciting proposals for sessions at the 2025 Teen Summit. Fill out this form if you have a notable program, service, or partnership that others around the region should know about and consider replicating. Program sessions will be 45 minutes in length. Submission deadline is August 29. Submit a proposal here.

Teen Summit is scheduled for Friday, November 14.

On Thursday, October 9, all library workers serving adult populations are invited to attend an in-person summit at the William Hall Library. Hear from statewide partners such as RI Department of Education's Adult Education team about their Adult Education Information Centers, HealthSource RI, and the team behind Rhode Island's local 988 call center. Time will also be set aside for connecting with state colleagues about current trends on your mind. Pre-register on our online calendar.

The RI Public Library Annual Survey (PLAS) will close September 15, 2025. Public libraries are required to submit the PLAS in order to qualify for state library grant-in-aid. The next virtual training session will be August 21 to review use of LibPAS (the data collection platform), provide clarifications for reporting data, and review the grant-in-aid process. For more information, visit Public Library Annual Survey.

The LORI Certification is open through September 15, 2025. School libraries have an extended deadline of September 30, 2025 to complete and submit the certification survey.

Log In to LORI Certification - LibPAS
Resource Guide for Library of Rhode Island Certification contains additional support materials.
A virtual training session is scheduled on August 20.

Join members of Cornucopia of Rhode Island for an evening of celebration and remembrance as the chapter sunsets after 20 years. Special guests include co-founder Dr. Michael Havener, Poet Lynda V. E. Crawford and RI Historian Laureate Keith Stokes.

Thursday, September 25

5:30 - 7:00 pm

RI State Library

Register to attend by September 18.

Even More from OLIS

For all the latest news and updates, visit the OLIS Website.

BARD Express : Version 4.0 Out Now

NLS recently released version 4.0 of BARD Express.

This release is considered a major release because the program has been converted to a 64-bit program and has been updated to use the BARD 2.0 API. Visit our website to learn about all the updates and bug fixes that accompany this new version.

Users with previous versions BARD Express on their PCs should be prompted to update the software, but a fresh download link is also available.

Smart Speaking to the Smart Speaker, Jul 17

The topic for the Thursday, July 17, 2025, Smart Speaking to the Smart Speaker online program will be My Talking Books Skill Preferences, Part 2.

The first part of the Preferences program was held in May. After the presentation and demonstration, we will answer any questions you have about the My Talking Books skill for Alexa-enabled smart speakers. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. eastern time and will last for one hour.