Consulting

Talking Books

Talking Books is here for any Kansas resident that falls into the medical category to qualify (blind and/or physically handicapped). If one of your patrons needs this service you can print the application form from the State Library of Kansas website here or you can call 1-800-362-0699 to have an application mailed to the patron. The patron will take the application to file out and return to your library. The director of the library can be an authorizing signature when the handicap is evident. If the handicap isn’t evident then the patron will need a physicians signature.

When the application is turned in to the library and all signatures are signed then you will need to send it to the System Office to Richard Brookman. From there he will make a copy of the application and forward the original application to Talking Books, headquartered at Emporia State University. The turn around for a machine and the starting titles should be approximately 2 weeks.

With mail service being slow at times it could be up to 1 month. If for any reason between that 2 week to 1 month period the patron has not received their machine and beginning titles have them report it to the library. From that point the library will need to contact Richard Brookman to follow-up on what is taking so long for the Talking Book product to reach the patron.

Also the System will come to your community to do a talk about Talking Books for your patrons if you wish. This program is state funded and is part of the System’s services. If you have any interest in having the System come out and do a Talking Books presentation please contact Richard Brookman at rbrookman@swkls.org.

Engaging Adults with Low Literacy Levels

On July 7, 2022, WebJunction will be hosting “Engaging Adults with Low Literacy Levels” webinar. It will begin at 2:00 pm CT with Katharine Ware, Writing and Education Consultant, presenting.

“In the U.S., there are 43 million adults–nearly one in five–who read below a third-grade level, and over half of all adults read below a sixth-grade level (National Action Plan for Adult Literacy, 2021). Low levels in literacy can impact many aspects of daily life including the ability to find and maintain employment, navigate health care needs, and complete government forms. This webinar will explore the characteristics of adults with low literacy levels and how they differ from those of adults with learning disabilities, including how and why each of these groups approaches reading. Learn about the importance and value of developing literacy skills, as well as strategies for library staff on how to identify when someone may need literacy support, how to broach the subject with a patron, and ways to suggest materials and resources to reluctant adults who may be struggling with literacy.”  

If you are interested in this WebJuction webinar follow this link to register.

Just Added!

• eBooks:
  • (Kids) “The Bad Guys” series by Aaron Blabley – All 14 titles are available now, and #15 and #16 are coming soon!
  • (Kids) “Touching Spirit Bear” by Ben Mikaelsen
  • (Adults) “Out of the Corner” by Jennifer Grey
  • (Adults) “Mean Baby” by Selma Blair
• eAudio
  • (Kids) “The Doll People” series by Ann Martin – All 4 titles are available now.
  • (Kids) “Touching Spirit Bear” by Ben Mikaelsen
  • (Kids) “Petey” by Ben Mikaelsen
  • (Adults) “Out of the Corner” by Jennifer Grey
  • (Adults) “Mean Baby” by Selma Blair
• Sincerest gratitude to Amy Brucker at Hamilton County Library for these purchases!

Consulting

Trauma in the Library Webinar

The National Library of Medicine (NNLM) is holding a webinar May 27, 2022, at 11:00 am CT entitled “Trauma in the Library: Findings To-date about PTSD among Public Library Staff and Methods for Ensuring Trauma-Informed Care”.

The goals of this project were: “1) To identify the types of post-traumatic symptoms experienced by library staff in diverse library settings where violence and other trauma has occurred; 2) …to ascertain the extent of workplace related PTSD symptoms on staff and their awareness of existing resource help; 3) to identify trauma-informed care tools, policy and procedure that libraries can implement; and 4) create trauma-informed care for library staff curricula for teaching in MLIS programs.”

Guest speakers will be Dr. Karen E. Fisher (Primary Investigator of the project), Professor in the Information School and an Adjunct Professor in the Communication Department at the University of Washington and Lauren Alex Gambrill, with a Masters in Social Work with an emphasis in trauma and is the Research Coordinator for the study at the University of Washington.

If you are interested in hearing information about this unique and different topic usually not discussed amongst the library community you can register at this link. If you do not have an account with NNLM you will need to create one first and then register. To create an account you will use the same link as the registration link and click the “Create an NNLM User Account” button.

After Lunch Course “Intellectual Freedom: Fighting the Good Fight” with Dr. Martin Garner

Registration for the next After Lunch Course is now open. The course will be on June 9, 2022, at 1:30 pm CT. Dr. Martin Garner, Director of the Amherst College Library, chair of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee and the editor of the 10th Ed. of the Intellectual Freedom Manual, will be the presenter.

“With book bans all over the news, intellectual freedom is under attack, with a specific focus on materials related to or representative of marginalized communities. In this engaging presentation, you’ll hear about the latest challenges to books and programs, review tools and resources for engaging with community concerns, and have a chance to discuss what’s on your mind.”

To listen and take part in this After Lunch Course discussion follow this link to register.

Consulting

Senate Bill 58 Update

As of this writing Senate Bill 58, which is now the “Parental Bill of Rights” bill has been vetoed by Governor Kelly. The Senate overrode the Governor’s veto (27 – 12) however the House did not receive the 2/3 needed to override the veto (72 – 50) short of the 84 votes needed to override the veto. Therefore, the bill has been officially vetoed by Governor Kelly and the veto stands.

May’s “Talks with Ted” Date

For those that have been keeping up with Auto-Graphics (Verso) and the Talks with Ted series the next date has been released. It will be on May 10, 2022 at 10:00 am Central Time. This is the time where our librarians can ask Ted questions concerning Verso. To join in on the session follow this link to register. If you would like to send in your question ahead of the session you can do so at this link.

New PSA’s for Oceans of Possibilities Summer Library Program

The Collaborative Summer Library Program has produced two new PSA’s for libraries to use as PR pieces on their website or Facebook Page. Below are the two versions that are available for 2022.

myLibro Session Scheduled

Consulting

April 22 Full Board Meeting

The next Full Board meeting is coming up this next Friday, April 22. The board meeting is a hybrid meeting you can attend by coming to the Dodge City Public Library or through Zoom. The meeting will begin at approximately 10:00 am. If you haven’t registered yet you can do so at this link. The Zoom link to attend virtually is at this link.

2022-2023 APPLE Participants

Meet the current class that just began April 12, of APPLE. Savanah Moomaw, Director of Lane County Library, Sara Munn, Director of Plains Community Library, and Sara Koehn, Director of Haskell Township Library. The four of us spent the last two day at Rock Springs Ranch for the kick off of the Class’ next year of workshops that various System Directors, Consultants and Library Professionals instruct. We wish them all a good year of learning and continued support from the System Office during their studies.

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Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL

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March’s CatExpress Usage Report / Link

4/12 Train U.P.! Two Topic Tuesday

How to print your own library cards + VERSO: How to print your own barcodes – Directions and recording / Link

Our April 6th workshop in Dodge City was a success! We are grateful to Dr. Marche’ and Erica Young for being our special guests. Additionally, Baker & Taylor has kindly provided us with lists of DEI bestsellers, divided by age group. Complete information about each title is present, including ISBN, publisher, summary, etc. / Link

Last year, Kelly Easton, Sara Koehn (Haskell), and Casandra Norrin (SCCC) formed a DEI Planning Team to prepare for this workshop, and we will now be called the SWKLS DEI Task Force. Monthly, via Zoom, we hope to arrange for guest speakers, share collection development ideas, write policy documents, create title challenge forms, discuss intellectual freedom, and support ALA’s freedom to read. If you’re ready to become involved in the movement towards greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in our libraries (and planet), email Kelly to join. All are welcome!

Consulting

SB 496 & HB 2662 have become SB 58

Senate Bill 496 and House Bill 2662 have become Senate Bill 58. This new version keeps the language of SB 496 (paraphrasing) that a parent has a right to see what their child is being taught and the parent has the ability to lodge a reconsideration of materials used in School Districts. Both Houses have approved Conference Committee Reports (Agree to Disagree) as of April 1, 2022. As of this writing this is the last activity on SB 58.

Mystery Writing Workshop Possibility for a Library Program

Steven Kolbe contacted the System Office and asked that the Office relay that he and his family are traveling the State during the last two weeks of June and are scheduling his Mystery Writing Workshop with different libraries along the way. He has extended an invitation to any library to possibly schedule a workshop at your library by reaching out to him for a possible date. Since he is already in the area he states that he would only charge mileage between libraries as the cost of the workshop. You will need to visit with Steven for particulars.

Steven already has Dodge City Public Library booked. If you are interested please contact him for more information at KolbeStevenJ@gmail.com or visit his website with this link.

Library Patrons Privacy Niche Academy Webinar

On Wednesday, April 20 at 1:00 pm Central Time, the Niche Academy is offering another free webinar. This webinar is over “Library Patrons’ Privacy: How to Navigate Concerns with Emerging Technology”.

“It is imperative not only to ensure that patrons have an excellent experience, but also that their rights to privacy and intellectual freedom are protected.” This webinar will address these issues in a library setting as we continue to stay up to date on emerging technologies for our patrons while still considering their rights.

If you are interested in attending the webinar you can register at this link.

Technology

Consulting

Southwest Kansas Library System has 4 Library Journal Star Libraries

This year’s America’s Star Libraries – Library Journal Index of Public Library Service of 2021 has 12 libraries from the state of Kansas on the Index. The Southwest Kansas Library System has four in our region. We want to congratulate the following libraries that are on the Star Index for their level of budget: Cimarron City Library with 5 Stars; Hamilton County Library with 4 Stars; Greeley County Library with 3 Stars; and Lane County Library with 3 Stars!

We are proud to have these libraries represent the Southwest Kansas Library System on Library Journals Star Library Index!

National Library Week is Here!

If you haven’t already planned some activities for next week, make sure you do. National Library Week is here again! We’d love to hear what your library did to celebrate for 2022.

One recommendation from the Kansas Library Association is to “share stories and photos on your library’s social media pages. Tag your elected officials” so they can see that the library is an active place. It’s not all about books anymore, but people talking and attending programs within your community.

Reader Zone Application is not Offered this Year

For the past two years the State Library of Kansas through one of the Pandemic grants purchased Reader Zone for the State’s libraries to use. This grant has expired. The State Regional System Youth Library consultants are using this current year to look at the different companies type of library reading applications that might be included in future year’s. So for all of our libraries that used Reader Zone the past two years it is back to the old with recording books read for the Summer Library Program.

Recipe for Success in the School Library Workshop

We don’t have many school librarians that are on the System’s ListServs. If you, as librarians in your local communities, can pass this workshop along to your school librarians it would be appreciated.

Northwest Kansas Library System is having a Zoom Workshop “Recipe for Success in the School Library” presented by Amy Brownlee. “Amy will discuss the ingredients needed for a successful library program with a buffet of resources and strategies to appeal to every palate.” The workshop will be May 12, 2022 through Zoom. If you register for the workshop you will also receive a link to the recorded session so you can go back and review for things you might have missed during the live Zoom session.

If you are interested it will be May 12, 2022, starting at 9:00 am and last through 11:00 am. To register follow this link.

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Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL

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This workshop will be held exclusively in-person.

We are unable to provide recordings, due to nature of this workshop.

Consulting

Friends of Kansas Libraries Challenge Grants

The FoKL Challenge Grant is now open with a submittal date of April 1 if your library’s Friends group qualifies and would like to apply to the grant.
To qualify you need to first have an established Friends Group for your library with a current membership to FoKL.  Your Friend’s Group is who will be applying for the Challenge Grant.  
The next qualifier is that your Library Friends group cannot have received a FoKL Challenge Grant in the previous three (3) years.  
Then as mentioned above your Library Friends group will need to submit the FoKL Challenge Grant application by April 1, 2022.
For the Library Friends that qualify the application form is here for download.

SpongeBob SquarePants Reservations

If your library is interested in reserving the SpongBob SquarePants costume please call Tandy or Richard to place a reservation. We have 3 libraries that have done so already. With the Calendar filling up we don’t want your library to miss out of a chance to use the costume.

Remember the costume can be used at anytime of the year, not just during your Summer Library Programs.

As always you can have Richard come to your library, so all your staff can be available to visit with your patrons or you can just receive the costume. If you decide to receive the costume, for someone else to wear, remember it is sized to fit Richard.

Senate Bill 496 & House Bill 2662

I visited with the System Board last Friday about SB 496 & HB 2662. A quick update for both of them. As of this writing HB 2662 is not above the line for discussion in the Kansas House. However, SB 496 has passed on Final Action with a vote of 24-15.

The Senate Bill is the more abbreviated of the two bills and does not require that School Districts create a WebPortal to view all teaching and library material.

If you would like to read both bills here are the two links to do so: Senate Bill 496 – House Bill 2662

The Kansas Library Association has also put out an informational piece through the Governmental Affairs Committee that you can read at this link.

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Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL

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This workshop will be held exclusively in-person.

We are unable to provide recordings, due to nature of this workshop.

“Llano County librarian loses job after not removing books” / Link

Texan Librarians promote freedom of speech and protest censorship: #FReadom Fighters

To show your support, visit: https://www.freadom.us/

Perfect for SWKLS:

Available now!

Available in May!

Available in May!

Consulting

Full Board Meeting March 18

The next Full Board meeting is March 18. This meeting is an on-line meeting and will begin at 10:00 am that morning. To register for the meeting here is the Registration Link and you can join the meeting through our Zoom room at this Zoom Link.

Daylight Savings Time

Don’t forget to set your clocks up 1 hour this Sunday, you don’t want to be late for work on Monday. Also remember to reset any of your clocks in your library on Monday Morning. Get ready to enjoy more sunlight in the evening!

KLA’s Advocacy Idea for March

Call or email your Federal Senators and remind them to support funding libraries. The U.S. Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121. Kansas Senators are: Senator Jerry Moran and Senator Roger Marshall.

Kansas Library Association Educational Foundation Accepting Grant Applications

If you are a member of the Kansas Library Association and you are wanting to attend a Continuing Education event that has an expense to your library consider applying for the KLAEF grant. This grant is for any Continuing Education event that does not lead to a degree or certification. The grant can be up to $250.00 if awarded.

Use this KLAEF Grant Guideline Link to review the guidelines to see if you qualify. If you do qualify use this KLAEF Grant Application Link to apply for a chance to receive one of the Foundation’s awards. Application period will remain open until the KLAEF funds are expended for this giving year.

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Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL

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CatExpress Usage Report is available on the Wiki / Link

3rd Annual “Crafting Your Collection”

Mark your calendars for this upcoming cataloging workshop on October 28, which will be held 100% online this year.

New Leaf is coming to SWKLS!

Donate your weeded items to New Leaf in Wichita! Pick-up locations are listed below. If you need help with weeding and/or transporting your items to one of these locations, please the SWKLS Staff know ASAP. We are always happy to help!

• NOTE: Before dropping off your items, please contact the director of the library to give them a box count.
• April 13: DCPL, Haskell Township, Ness City
• April 20: Plains and Ashland

Summer Reading Programming Idea?

Consulting

Full Board Meeting March 18

The next Full Board meeting is March 18. This meeting is an on-line meeting and will begin at 10:00 am that morning. To register for the meeting here is the Registration Link and the join the Zoom room you will need this Zoom Link

After-Lunch Course 2022 Season Begins!

The After-Lunch Course begin for this year with the first installment at 1:30 pm CT, on March 10, 2022. The first session is “Policy Writing & Review” with Andrew Smith.

This session goes into why a library needs policy and the need to review the library policies to keep them current. To attend you just need to follow this link to register. Remember if you attend the session send Richard an email so credit can be placed in your Continuing Education File.

2022 Association for Rural and Small Libraries Conference

Mark your calendars if you are interested in attended the 2022 Association for Rural and Small Libraries Conference. It has been set for September 14-17, 2022, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

You can go to the Conference’s webpage for more information by clicking through on this link. The Conference Committee has also opened up their request for proposals. If you are interested in sharing your knowledge you can follow this link to submit your proposal for a session during this year’s conference. Submission deadline is April 12, 2022, and they ask that you limit the amount of proposals you submit to four.

Important Details About Summer Library Program Workshop

The Summer Library Program Workshop is fast approaching and I hope everyone is getting excited about the workshop. Just a little reminder to bring your laptop. We are doing a training in the afternoon on a program called Scratch. This program teaches kids the basics of coding. If you like to get a small description of the Scratch program the following link is a recording from a Train U.P. Session. Click here for the recording. If you do not have a laptop we will have extras that you can use for the afternoon. 

We have included a map of First Church of God parking options. If these locations are filled which we are not anticipating there is parking at the Farmers’ Market grocery store. The Farmers’ Market is just a short distance from the church. If you prefer to be chauffeured, feel free to call Richard’s cell phone at 620-474-3321. The Farmers’ Market address is 1800 Central Ave Dodge City, Ks 67801 please park on the east side of the parking lot. An email will follow closer to the event.

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Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL

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Train U.P.!

Recording

If you missed our Train U.P.! on Tuesday, “WANTED: Cover Art!” (a.k.a. How to Manually Add Cover Art in VERSO), the video is available in the box above, and written directions are available on the Wiki / Link

Teen Non-Fiction

This website provides an excellent list of engaging non-fiction titles for teens. Highly recommend it! / Link