Future Dates & Training Opportunities

Summer Library (Reading) Program:

The Summer Library (Reading) Program Workshop has been scheduled for March 18 from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm CT. Tammie Benham, Youth Consultant of SEKLS, will be going through the manual and exploring options for planning along the way. Registration Link for Summer Library (Reading) Program. See above in the calendar for the Zoom Link and we will send it out again before the Session on Thursday.

The main presenter will be Mindy Miller. Mindy is a Kansas native-and life-long bibliophile, Mindy Miller is a school library director and children’s programming practitioner. Mindy is a graduate of Washburn University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media/Public Relations. She also received a Juris Doctorate from Washburn Law School and is a former corporate lawyer. in 2014 she entered the professional library world and has tackled everything from summer library and story times to YA programming.

Additional Summer Reading Resources:

Many of you know Patty Collins, Central Kansas Library System (CKLS), Youth Services Consultant. With everything still being done primarily through digital means she and CKLS have placed their Summer (Reading) Program videos online for anyone to view. The three links below will take you to the YouTube videos to view CKLS’ programs. Remember let Richard know if you viewed any of these videos so he can update your Continuing Education File.

Summer Library Workshop: The Patty and Diane Show

Summer Library Program: Idea Swap

Summer Library Program Workshop with Will Stuck

Member Accreditation and Walk-Through

The new form is available on the System’s website it directors would like to start working on the accreditation application. The application is due October 31, 2021 (Accreditation Main Page on the System’s website). A walk-through of the new Accreditation form for anyone that wishes to join in will be March 26, at 2:00 pm, Zoom Link Here.

Remember as part of the accreditation Member Libraries need to send in their yearly proposed line item budget, the final line item budget from the previous year, and their insurance certificate if it has been renewed recently.

Train UP! Videos Ready to View

If you happened to have missed the first two Train UP! training sessions the System Office now has them available through our Wiki. The direct links are also listed below for your convenience. Remember if you watch the videos please contact Richard so he can update your Continuing Education File. Many Thanks to Bernardo for getting these prepped and linked in the Wiki:

Train UP!: Bonding Through Board Games

Train UP!: Zoom into Super Children’s Programming

Future Dates & Training Opportunities

Image by mohamed_hassan via pixabay.com

The Train U.P.! – “Zoom into Super Children’s Programming presented by Maribel Sandoval March 2, 2021, at 2:00 pm CT:

For March’s Train U.P.! we are pleased to announce that Maribel Sandoval, of Grant County Library, with be conducting “Zoom into Super Children’s Programming” workshop. For the little one’s she will be sharing her Story Hour Plus program, fun intro activities and songs, Mr. Bear’s Weather, fun learning games on Canva, songs and dances they do as a group and Bookflix videos. For older children (3-5 Grades) shell will share with us how she does her virtual Girl Power and Lego Club.

The Directors Forum is being rebranded to The Train U.P.! to coincide with the SWKLS Unity Project. The main feature will be Continuing Education presentation and then at the end of the session the SWKLS Departments will relay any news that needs to be mentioned.

Summer Library (Reading) Program:

The Summer Library (Reading) Program Workshop has been scheduled for March 18. Tammie Benham, Youth Consultant of SEKLS, will be going through the manual and exploring options for planning along the way.

The main presenter will be Mindy Miller. Mindy is a Kansas native-and life-long bibliophile, Mindy Miller is a school library director and children’s programming practitioner. Mindy is a graduate of Washburn University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media/Public Relations. She also received a Juris Doctorate from Washburn Law School and is a former corporate lawyer. in 2014 she entered the professional library world and has tackled everything from summer library and story times to YA programming.

Reader Zone Training:

For our member libraries that have gone with the Reader Zone App again for tracking the Summer Library Program, Jake Bell has set March 5 at 10:00 am CT.

You will be able to ask questions as Reader Zone Founder, Jake Ball, shows you how to build reading programs and use the new features of Reader Zone.

No pre-registration is required.

Click this link: Zoom.com and enter the meeting ID:  473 615 3161

Member Accreditation and Walk-Through

The new form is available on the System’s website it directors would like to start working on the accreditation application. The application is due October 31, 2021 (Accreditation Main Page on the System’s website). A walk-through of the new Accreditation form for anyone that wishes to join in will be March 26, at 2:00 pm, Zoom Link Here.

Remember as part of the accreditation Member Libraries need to send in their yearly proposed line item budget, the final line item budget from the previous year, and their insurance certificate if it has been renewed recently,

After-Lunch Courses

Throughout 2021, the Kansas Regional Library Systems are offering four free continuing education workshops on Zoom, for a series we are calling “after-lunch course”. Registration announcements will be posted to Kan-Lib, and to the regional system’s website: systems.mykansaslibrary.org.

The registration Links for After-Lunch Courses

Registration for Advocacy with Jamie LaRue – March 11 at 1:30 pm CT

Weeding Update: New Leaf Pick-ups

New Leaf will be coming to several SWKLS locations in April. Below, you will find the pick-up “hubs” and the windows of time these libraries will accept your weeded items. If you need help delivering your items to these libraries, please let the SWKLS Office know ASAP.

For New Leaf’s pick-up on April 14th, these libraries will accept your weeded items:

• DCPL: 4/5 – 4/13 @ children’s entrance, lower level. *Note: DCPL will not be able to accept your items during the last hour of the day as staff will be busy with closing procedures. Email Director Lori J. lorij@dcpl.info
• Haskell Township: 4/5 – 4/13. Email Director Sara K. haskelllib@gmail.com
• Ness City: 4/1 – 4/13. Email Director Laurie P. director@nesscitylibrary.org

For New Leaf’s pick-up on April 21st, these libraries will accept your weeded items:

• Plains: 4/12 – 4/20. Email Director Sara M. smunn@plainslibrary.info
• Ashland: Email Director Cara V. ashlib@ashlandlibrary.info

Free Books!

The SWKLS Office received a box of ARCs (advanced reader copies) from Sourcebooks. ARCs are pre-published, almost-complete versions of new books that are distributed to readers, such as professional reviewers, booksellers, and librarians; they are not to be sold or cataloged. But, any library staff member is welcome to enjoy reading them! To obtain these adult ARCs, email Tandy tritchhartswkls.org

Contributions to the Weekly Wrap-up are from all SWKLS staff.

Future Dates & Training Opportunities

All times are in Central Standard Time (CST).

February 1 2021 – State Library Survey Report Due. If you need an extension please contact Richard.

February 2, 2021 – Directors Forum – 2:00 pm, “Bonding thru Board Games: Developing the Six Traits of Strong Families”, Elizabeth Brunscheen-Cartagena – Guest Speaker

February 2, 2021 – Directors Forum Zoom Link: https://kslib.zoom.us/j/735791720

February 17, 2021 – Website Maintenance Training/ Registration Link

The SWKLS Unity Project proposed calendar is now available on the SWKLS Wiki

This calendar will be edited as 2021 progresses, and it contains recommended tasks in each of the four “branches” of the SWKLS U.P. “tree”: ILL (SHAREit), ILS (VERSO), new directors, and technology. You may wish to check the calendar regularly to organize tasks such as checking brief bibs, new directors’ training, counting ILLs monthly, checking CAT Express activity, weeding, New Leaf pick-ups, etc. / Link

Accreditation Standards

The new form is available on the System’s website it directors would like to start working on the accreditation application. The application is due October 31, 2021 (Accreditation Main Page on the System’s website).

Continuing Education Hours

Bonding thru Board Games: Developing the Six Traits of Strong Families

For the upcoming Directors Forum (February 2, at 2:00 pm) we will be having a presentation from Elizabeth Brunscheen-Cartagena, County Extension Agent/Family Life & Resource Agent/K-State Research & Extension of Sedgewick County, entitled “Bonding thru Board Games: Developing the Six Traits of Strong Families. This presentation is open to all who wish to attend in your libraries. Image provide by ErikeWittlieb via Pixabay.com.

After-Lunch Courses

Throughout 2021, the Kansas Regional Library Systems are offering four free continuing education workshops on Zoom, for a series we are calling “after-lunch course”. Registration announcements will be posted to Kan-Lib, and to the regional system’s website: systems.mykansaslibrary.org.
The registration for March’s online course, with Jamie LaRue, should be available on February 3rd.

ARSL Leadership Institute Applications Are Now Open!

Good afternoon, ARSL members!

We are excited to announce that applications for ARSL’s pilot leadership institute, Outstanding In Their Field, are officially open! We are looking for 30 outstanding people who are currently working in rural and small libraries to join us for this special professional development opportunity.

Applications will be accepted through February 24th, 2021.

Participants, a.k.a. “Outfielders,” will undertake 18 months of online and in-person interactive sessions.

It’s a BIG commitment, and rewarding! Participants will gain:

• skills and confidence as leaders
• a network of colleagues throughout the country
• experiences at two ARSL conferences

New Leaf Pick-up Locations in SWKLS–Another location just added!

Prior to dropping off your weeded items to the locations below, please call the library’s director.

• April 14 & October 13: Dodge City Public Library, Haskell Township, and Ness City
• April 21 & October 20: Plains & Ashland

Should we use “edit bib record” or “add new item” to copy-catalog?

• “Add new item” — After finding a good quality record, a cataloger can click this link, add the library’s holding, and click submit. The item has been added to the catalog without making any changes to the bibliographic record. Easiest option!
• “Edit bib record” — Performs the same task as “add new item” but with a few extra clicks: The library adds its holding information and clicks the “gold barrel” to save the record to the catalog. Additionally, for catalogers with full cataloging permissions, the bib record can be edited here, i.e. MARC field tag changes. It is a best practice for catalogers to edit bib records after receiving specialist training.
• For questions or concerns, feel free to contact Kelly.

Coming Soon to the SWKLS Professional Collection:

Coming Soon to the SWKLS StoryWalk Collection:

Contributions to the Weekly Wrap-up are from all SWKLS staff.

Future Dates & Training Opportunities

All times are in Central Standard Time (CST).

January 2021 – If you do your library’s W-2’s remember to be working on them to get to your staff

January 25, 2021 – State Library Survey Workday at Scott County Library from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

January 26, 2021 – State Library Survey Workday at Cimarron City Library from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

January 27, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Methods Session at 2:00 pm / Registration Link

February 1 2021 – State Library Survey Report Due. If you need an extension please contact Richard.

February 2, 2021 – Directors Forum – 2:00 pm, “Bonding thru Board Games: Developing the Six Traits of Strong Families”, Elizabeth Brunscheen-Cartagena – Guest Speaker

The SWKLS Unity Project proposed calendar is now available on the SWKLS Wiki

Thank you for voluntarily participating in SWKLS U.P.! This calendar will be edited as 2021 progresses, and it contains recommended tasks in each of the four “branches” of the SWKLS U.P. “tree”: ILL (SHAREit), ILS (VERSO), new directors, and technology. You may wish to check the calendar regularly to organize tasks such as checking brief bibs, new directors’ training, counting ILLs monthly, checking CAT Express activity, weeding, New Leaf pick-ups, etc. (Note: In last week’s Weekly Wrap-up, dates relating to SWKLS U.P. were written in orange.) / Link

Governor Kelly’s Vaccine Distribution Plan

Follow the link to Governor Kelly’s Vaccine Distribution Order. You will notice no mention is in the order for where librarians will fall in the different phases. Richard have contacted Eric Norris, State Librarian, and he replied that he is reaching out to his contacts on this matter. Eric advises for libraries to reach out to your local Health Care Providers to see where you and your staff can be placed on the list for vaccines and when he here’s of any additional guidance he will let me know.

Continuing Education Hours

If you haven’t sent your Continuing Education Hours in yet please do.

With the new year Richard will be rounding out the end of year continuing education (C.E.) hours for the staff of our member libraries in the coming week. The System has the hours for everything that you and your staff did with the office. The C.E. hours I need from our member libraries are any training that you and/or your staff did that was done outside of the System (webinars from different sources, Zoom training sessions from different sources, conferences). Richard will need the title of the course and how long the course was.

Bonding thru Board Games: Developing the Six Traits of Strong Families

For the upcoming Directors Forum (February 2, at 2:00 pm) we will be having a presentation from Elizabeth Brunscheen-Cartagena, County Extension Agent/Family Life & Resource Agent/K-State Research & Extension of Sedgewick County, entitled “Bonding thru Board Games: Developing the Six Traits of Strong Families. This presentation is open to all who wish to attend in your libraries. Image provide by ErikeWittlieb via Pixabay.com.

After-Lunch Courses

Throughout 2021, the Kansas Regional Library Systems are offering four free continuing education workshops on Zoom, for a series we are calling “after-lunch course”. Registration announcements will be posted to Kan-Lib, and to the regional system’s website: systems.mykansaslibrary.org.
The registration for March’s online course, with Jamie LaRue, should be available on February 3rd.

In the month of January, we will have four sessions all at 2:00 pm. We will present tips and tricks on how to get yourself organized for 2021. If you attend all four sessions your name will be placed in a drawing. If you unable to attend the session and can carry out the task your name can still be placed in the drawing. Simply take a screenshot of the process and email it to jhattrup@swkls.org. Instructions will be added to SWKLS Wiki soon after each session. The winner of the drawing will need to refer to their library’s policies about prize winnings. The deadline for this series is February 5, 2021.

• January 6 – Clean-Up & Clean Out Emails / Recorded Link
• January 13 – Clean-Up & Clean Out Desktop/ Recorded Link
• January 20 -Cling Onto – Privacy /Recorded Link
  Perfect time of the year to review privacy settings and how to protect yourself.
• January 27 – Cling Onto – Methods/ Registration Link
  Directors will discuss some methods they cling to throughout the year. We will have Holly Mathes (Grant County Library) a veteran director and Sara Koehn (Haskell County Library) a novice director as a presenter.

ARSL Leadership Institute Applications Are Now Open!

Good afternoon, ARSL members!

We are excited to announce that applications for ARSL’s pilot leadership institute, Outstanding In Their Field, are officially open! We are looking for 30 outstanding people who are currently working in rural and small libraries to join us for this special professional development opportunity.

Applications will be accepted through February 24th, 2021.

Participants, a.k.a. “Outfielders,” will undertake 18 months of online and in-person interactive sessions.

It’s a BIG commitment, and rewarding! Participants will gain:

• skills and confidence as leaders
• a network of colleagues throughout the country
• experiences at two ARSL conferences

New Leaf Pick-up Locations in SWKLS

Thank you to our members who have volunteered their libraries as pick-up “hubs” for weeded books which will be donated to New Leaf in Wichita. Prior to dropping off your weeded items to the locations below, please call the library’s director.

• April 14 & October 13: Dodge City Public Library & Haskell Township
• April 21 & October 20: Plains & Ashland

Expired patron accounts

While preparing the State Report, you may have noticed that you have many patron accounts which are expired and need to be deleted. It is possible to perform a “batch” delete of old patron accounts in VERSO. Auto-Graphics said: “The library can use the ‘expired patron maintenance’ option in Circ Admin to delete patrons by expiration date.” For example, perhaps you would like to delete all accounts which expired before 12/30/2018. You can complete this task at your library, or AG can perform it for you. If you would prefer the latter, email Kelly, and she will communicate with AG to get this done. 

Contributions to the Weekly Wrap-up are from all SWKLS staff.

Future Dates & Training Opportunities

Dates relating to the SWKLS Unity Project are in orange…SWKLS U.P.!

January – 2nd week: SWKLS U.P.! calendar will be distributed.

January 13, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Desktop Session at 2:00 pm / Registration Link

January 12, 2021 at 11AM – SWKLS U.P. : How to digitize your ILL tracking system / Registration Link

January 12, 2021 at 1PM – Public Library Survey Training Session by KS State Library / Zoom link

January 14, 2021 at 9 – 10:30A – State Report Overview with Richard, Steve, and Kelly.

January 15, 2021 – Full Board Meeting (Online with Zoom) at 10:00 am / Registration Link

January 19, 2021 – State Library Survey Workday at Plains Community Library from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

January 20, 2021 at 10AM – AG training for new directors #1: a general introduction.

January 20, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Privacy Session at 2:00 pm /

January 21, 2021 – Jody and Kelly hope to visit Scott County and Lane County Libraries.

January 21, 2021 – 10-11AM – SEKLS Online Workshop: Collection Development / Registration Link / Zoom Link – Flyer attached below.

January 22, 2021 – State Library Survey Workday at Grant County Library from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

January 25, 2021 – State Library Survey Workday at Scott County Library from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

January 26, 2021 at 10AM – AG training for new directors #2: VERSO

January 26, 2021 – State Library Survey Workday at Cimarron City Library from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

January 27, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Methods Session at 2:00 pm / Registration Link

January 28, 2021 at 10AM – AG training for new directors #3: SHAREit (Rhonda Machlan from the State ILL Dept. will also be present.)

January 29, 2021 – Jody and Kelly hope to visit Stevens County and Haskell Township Libraries.

Governor Kelly’s Vaccine Distribution Plan

Follow the link to Governor Kelly’s Vaccine Distribution Order. You will notice no mention is in the order for where librarians will fall in the different phases. Richard have contacted Eric Norris, State Librarian, and he replied that he is reaching out to his contacts on this matter. Eric advises for libraries to reach out to your local Health Care Providers to see where you and your staff can be placed on the list for vaccines and when he here’s of any additional guidance he will let me know.

Continuing Education Hours

With the new year Richard will be rounding out the end of year continuing education (C.E.) hours for the staff of our member libraries in the coming week. The System has the hours for everything that you and your staff did with the office. The C.E. hours I need from our member libraries are any training that you and/or your staff did that was done outside of the System (webinars from different sources, Zoom training sessions from different sources, conferences). Richard will need the title of the course and how long the course was.

Kansas State Library 2019 Survey Report

The Kansas State Library has posted the 2019 Survey Report, link to 2019 Library Survey Report webpage, just in time for libraries to begin gathering information for the 2020 Library Survey Report after the new year.

In the month of January, we will have four sessions all at 2:00 pm. We will present tips and tricks on how to get yourself organized for 2021. If you attend all four sessions your name will be placed in a drawing. If you unable to attend the session and can carry out the task your name can still be placed in the drawing. Simply take a screenshot of the process and email it to jhattrup@swkls.org. Instructions will be added to the SWKLS wiki soon after each session.

• January 6 – Clean-Up & Clean Out Emails / SWKLS Wiki Link
• January 13 – Clean-Up & Clean Out Desktop/ Registration Link
• January 20 -Cling Onto – Privacy /Registration Link
  Perfect time of the year to review privacy settings and how to protect yourself.
• January 27 – Cling Onto – Methods/ Registration Link
  Directors will discuss some methods they cling to throughout the year. We will have Holly Mathes (Grant County Library) a veteran director and Sara Koehn (Haskell County Library) a novice director as a presenter.

Need help with the State Report? Resources now available on wiki.swkls.org :

Auto-Graphics Q&A Sessions 1-4 are now available on wiki.swkls.org!

Topics include customizing SHAREit, VERSO’s Circ Admin, VERSO’s PAC Admin, user guides, and searching. Each video has a list of the topics discussed. View at your leisure. / Link

New Leaf Pick-up Dates in April and October

New Leaf is coming again in 2021! The NPO will be available in SW Kansas to pick up weeded items on: 4/14, 4/21, 10/13, 10/20. For April, we are looking for three libraries for each date–locations who would be able to serve as pick-up locations and temporarily store items from other libraries for a week or so prior. If you are able to volunteer your library as a pick-up location, please let Kelly know. / Link to New Leaf
– DCPL has kindly volunteered for one of the April dates. Thank you!

ARSL Leadership Institute Applications Are Now Open!

Good afternoon, ARSL members!

We are excited to announce that applications for ARSL’s pilot leadership institute, Outstanding In Their Field, are officially open! We are looking for 30 outstanding people who are currently working in rural and small libraries to join us for this special professional development opportunity.

Applications will be accepted through February 24th, 2021.

Participants, a.k.a. “Outfielders,” will undertake 18 months of online and in-person interactive sessions.

It’s a BIG commitment, and rewarding! Participants will gain:

• skills and confidence as leaders
• a network of colleagues throughout the country
• experiences at two ARSL conferences

Future Dates & Training Opportunities

December 23-25, 31, & January 1 – Auto-Graphics will be closed. To contact AG for emergencies only use: emergencysupport@auto-graphics.com

December 24 – 28, 2020 – SWKLS Office will be closed.

December 29 SWKLS Office will be back open.

January 1, 2021 – SWKLS Office will be closed.

January – 1st week: SWKLS Unity Project (SWKLS U.P.!) calendar will be distributed. Recordings of Auto-Grpahics Q&A Sessions 1-4 will become available on wiki.swkls.org.

January 5, 2021 – Directors Forum at 2:00 pm

January 6, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Email Session at 2:00 pm

January 6, 2021 – Rural Library Network Launch Registration https://berea.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_le7ScXcTTBihnuIi7AMmCA

January 13, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Desktop Session at 2:00 pm

January 12, 2021 – SKLWS U.P. : How to digitize your ILL tracking system at 11:00 am – Open to all ILLers.

January 15, 2021 – Full Board Meeting (Online with Zoom) at 10:00 am

January 20, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Privacy Session at 2:00 pm

January 27, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Methods Session at 2:00 Pm

Cloud Library: New eAudio titles are here!

SWKLS has added these eAudio titles to the State’s Cloud Library collection. They are available now!

• Titles in Spanish:
  • (Children’s) Los Cerditos = The Three Little Pigs by Charles Perrault
  • (Children’s) Las aventuras de Peter Pan = The Adventures of Peter Pan by James Barrie
  • (Children’s) Aladino = Aladin by Anonymous
  • (Juvenile) Cuentos de tia Lola = The Tia Lola Stories by Julia Alvarez
  • (Juvenile) Las aventuras más morrocotudas de Geronimo Stilton 1 = The Adventures of Geronimo Stilton #1 by Geronimo Stilton
  • (Juvenile/Teen) El ladrón del rayo: Percy Jackson 1 = The Lightening Thief: Percy Jackson, book 1 by Rick Riordan
  • (Adult) El Alquimista = The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
• Titles in English
  • (Juvenile) Hard Gold by Avi
  • (Teen) The Left-handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
  • (Western) From Missouri by Zane Grey
  • (Western) Missouri Guns by Larry Names
  • (Inspirational) The Divided Family by Wanda & Jean Brunstetter
  • (Inspirational) The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis
  • (Inspirational) Amish Quilt Shop Mystery by Samantha Price
  • (Romance) Guilt Ridden by Marie Johnston
  • (Romance) Her Cowboy Billionaire Bodyguard by Liz Isaacson
  • (HistFic) How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang
  • (Inspirational) Secrets of the Amish Diary by Rachael Philips
  • (Inspirational) Simple Lies by Jan Fields
  • (Western) To Keep a Promise by B.N. Rundell
• Kansas-related Titles:
  • (Family) Night Beat: The Girl From Kansas by Larry Marcus (old timey radio show)
  • (Juvenile) Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
  • (Western) Leaving Kansas by Frank Roderus
  • (Adult Nonfic) Chris Porter: A Man from Kansas by Christ Porter

In the month of January, we will have four sessions all at 2:00 pm. We will present tips and tricks on how to get yourself organized for 2021.

• January 6 – Clean-Up & Clean Out Emails
• January 13 – Clean-Up & Clean Out Desktop
• January 20 -Cling Onto – Privacy
  Perfect time of the year to review privacy settings and how to protect yourself.
• January 27 – Cling Onto – Methods
  Directors will discuss some methods they cling to throughout the year. We will have Holly Mathes (Grant County Library) a veteran director and Sara Koehn (Haskell County Library) a novice director as a presenter.

Contributions to the Weekly Wrap-up are from all SWKLS staff.

Activities and Training on the Calendar:

December 23-25, 31, & January 1 – Auto-Graphics will be closed. This email address is valid only for emergencies during the holidays to contact AG directly: emergencysupport@auto-graphics.com

December 24 – 28, 2020 – SWKLS Office will be closed.

December 29 SWKLS Office will be back open.

January 1, 2021 – SWKLS Office will be closed.

January – 1st week: SWKLS Unity Project (SWKLS U.P.!) calendar will be distributed. Recordings of Auto-Grpahics Q&A Sessions 1-4 will become available on wiki.swkls.org.

January 5, 2021 – Directors Forum at 2:00 pm

January 6, 2021 – Rural Library Network Launch Registration https://berea.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_le7ScXcTTBihnuIi7AMmCA

January 15, 2021 – Full Board Meeting (Online with Zoom) at 10:00 am

January 12, 2021 – SKLWS U.P. : How to digitize your ILL tracking system at 11:00 am – Open to all ILLers.

Rural Library Network:

Partners for Education at Berea College and Save the Children are also pleased to announce the creation of a Rural Library Network, a cradle to career initiative. Through the network participants will have access to online webinars offering training in core principles of place-based work and the opportunity to connect with practitioners working in rural communities across the country. Membership in the network is free. Simply register here.  The first webinar will take place on January 6, 2021, featuring Jennifer Garner and Mark Shriver – we hope you’ll join us for this exciting conversation and invite others to join who might be interested!

Thanks to Colleen, Stanton County Library, for sharing this opportunity that you might want to take part in.

VERSO Housekeeping

• In VERSO’s advanced search, the resource labeled “One Click” provides a link to RBDigital, which now needs to be deleted. During the first week in January, Kelly will remove this option from the resources list for all SWKLS libraries.

• At the end of an item record in VERSO, there appears a long list of features, such as “more about this title”, “shelf browse”, “Good Reads reviews”, etc. These features are populated by an EBSCO web-based program called NoveList. Some libraries have expressed their desire to turn NoveList off. AG has assured us that this is possible. If your library no longer wishes to see these features at the bottom of a record, let Kelly know.
• If you have not already done so, please update your 2021 calendars in VERSO and SHAREit.
• Some of our members have reported errors when they scan a barcode in VERSO. Sometimes, when one barcode is scanned, more than one item is displayed in the results. This is an imperfection that AG is aware of, and they have assured us it will be resolved shortly.

Cloud Library: New eAudio titles are coming soon!

SWKLS will purchase many new eAudio titles in English and Spanish via Cloud Library. A list of titles will be posted on December 23rd’s Weekly Update. Stay tuned!
–

Contributions to the Weekly Wrap-up are from all SWKLS staff.

Activities and Training On the calendar:

No Directors Forum for the Month of December

December 14 – Taxing and Contract Funding Task Force:
9:30 am CT Morning Session Link: https://kslib.zoom.us/j/97542481080 
1:00 pm CT Afternoon Session Link: https://kslib.zoom.us/j/91596977611

December 16th at 10AM CT: AG Q&A Session #4 – Register here. All are welcome! Submit your questions to Kelly by noon on 12/14.

January 5, 2021 – Directors Forum

January 6, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Email Session

January 13, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Desktop Session

January 15, 2021 – Full Board Meeting (Online with Zoom) at 10:00 am
Recordings from Sessions 1 & 2 are available on the SWKLS wiki, along with a list of topics discussed. Click here.

January 20, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Privacy Session

January 27, 2021 – Clean Up, Clean Out, Cling Onto – Methods Session

Congratulations to Library Journal’s STAR Libraries in the Southwest Kansas Library System area!!  

This is the 13th year of the Library Journal index of Public Library Service and Star Library ratings.  The LJ index rates U.S. public libraries based on selected per capita output measures.  The 2020 scores and rating are based on FY18 data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Public Library Survey (PLS).  This year, 5,608 U.S. public libraries qualified to be rated in the index. Kansas had a total of 10 Star libraries.  4 of the 10 came from the SWKLS region.  
These Libraries in the SWKLS region are:

5 Star      Cimarron City Library, Cimarron, Kansas

4 Star     Lane County Library, Dighton, Kansas     Morton County LIbrary, Elkhart, Kansas

3 Star     Montezuma Township Library, Montezuma, KS

Summer (Reading) Library Program:

Tandy has contacted Sam Ricke, By Grace Creative, to work up an alternate image for the Summer Library Program T-Shirts. Sam is still working up the design. We will let everyone know about the alternate design as soon as we hear back from Sam.

Website being Redesigned/Updated:

With the last meetings minutes being approved Jody and the Tech Department will continue to update the System’s website with updated information.

End of Year Activities to Prepare for:

Before the end of the year library boards will need to make their annual GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) resolution for the new year. The GAAP waiver is what allows libraries to operate on a “cash basis” accounting system. Contact the System Office if you have any questions.

Get ready to prepare your W2’s and if you have an accountant do this for your library, get it scheduled with them before the accountant’s calendar fills up.

If you library board chooses to move funds from the 2020 budget to the 2021 budget it will need to be done at the December board meeting. If you are unsure of how this works or need wording for the motion contact the office and Richard explain how this works and work up a sample motion for your board.

Set your calendars up within Verso for 2021.

Set your budget line items for 2021 in QuickBooks if you haven’t already done so.

If your library has it’s staff use all of their vacation and sick leave within the current year you need to make sure your staff takes their time off before they loose those hours.

Courier Information:

If you need to contact Caroline Handwork you will need to use her email chandwork@nekls.org.  She is in the process of getting a line in her home for a telephone.

Who to contact at SWKLS:

If you are uncertain who at SWKLS to contact with specific questions, we have created a sheet to assist. Here is the link to the sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14f3yUesarAyedYG7ShSyta_2-8R_WfLwioQOVUfvF4E/edit?usp=sharing

Auto-Graphics UPDATES:

• Verso Splash Page Inspiration:

AG has provided us with a list of beautiful Verso splash pages to inspire us. Click on each location to view.

Nephi City Public Library, UT

Millard Oakley Public Library, TN

Platteville Public Library, WI

Briggs District Library, MI

Mathews Memorial Library, VA

Spring Lake Public Library, NJ

• When looking at an item record in Verso, there used to appear a button on the left which said “request this item,” which was quite confusing, being as an ILL cannot be requested in Verso. Two weeks ago, AG changed the wording to “place hold.” Therefore, a hold can be placed by using either of these buttons:

In the month of January, we will have four sessions presenting tips and tricks on how to get yourself organized for 2021.

• January 6 – Clean-Up & Clean Out Emails
• January 13 – Clean-Up & Clean Out Desktop
• January 20 -Cling Onto – Privacy
  Perfect time of the year to review privacy settings and how to protect yourself.
• January 27 – Cling Onto – Methods
  Directors will discuss some methods they cling to throughout the year. We will have Holly Mathes (Grant County Library) a veteran director and Sara Koehn (Haskell County Library) a novice director as a presenter.