System Spotlight
By Christopher Dressler
Tech Day+ August 25th, 2023
Tech Day+ is almost here. T-shirt orders are closed but there is still time to register to attend. If you are interested, please RSVP here.
Future Dates & Training Opportunities
August 16, 2023 1:00 pm – Niche Academy “Fighting for the First”, Registration Link
August 22, 2023, 1:00 pm – PLA & ACRL Webinar “Project Outcome 101”, Registration Link
August 25, 2023 9:30 am – TechDay+
September 8, 2023, 10:00 am – RNR & Budget Hearing, Full Board Meeting, Registration Link
September 11, 2023, 10:00 am – Solar Eclipse Activities Workshop, Registration Link
Sept 20 – 23, 2023 – ARSL Conference/Wichita, Hotel Booking/Conference Registration
Nov 1 – 3, 2023 – KLA Conference/Wichita
Consulting
By Richard Brookman
Solar Eclipse Kit Workshop
The State Library of Kansas wants to make sure everyone knows about the upcoming Solar Eclipse Kit Workshop at the Manhattan Public Library. As you can see above it will be September 11, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Andy Schafer, Director of Statewide Services of the State Library, is working with SEAL to get a kit for each Library System. If the kits are obtained they would be available for checkout to our membership for programs.
This is an in-person event so you would need to travel to Manhattan for the workshop. If you are interested in attending you can register through this link. Registration is limited so only one staff member per library can register and once the capacity is reach you will not be able to register.
Image provided by Pixabay.com Contributor Peggy_Marco
Registration Open for RNR & Budget Hearing and System Board Meeting
September 8 will be the Southwest Kansas Library System’s RNR and Budget Hearing. After these two hearings we will have the System’s Board Meeting. The meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. This is a Hybrid Meeting so you can attend through Zoom or attend in-person. The hearings and meeting will be held in the Dodge City Public Library, in the downstairs meeting room.
Lunch will be a Quizno’s sandwich platter and will provided for the in-person attendees. If you have any dietary needs please contact Tandy.
After lunch, beginning at 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., we will have an in-person training session on Book Challenges: News, Updates, and Discussion points.
To attend in-person you can register through this link.
Project Outcome 101 Webinar
The Public Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries is providing a free webinar on August 22, 2023, at 1:00 pm CT entitled “Project Outcome 101”.
This webinar in to provide an introduction to the Project Outcome toolkit and learn how to measure meaningful outcomes. The webinar will provide participants knowledge on: “Discover how Project Outcome can help libraries measure meaningful learning outcomes; learn how to use the Project Outcome toolkit, from administering surveys to visualizing results; Understand how other libraries have used outcome data for action; and learn how to utilize data to improve library services and better advocate for the library.”
If you are interest in attending this webinar you can register through this link.
Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL
By Sara Wilson
Congratulations to Kelli at Fowler Public Library on finishing Very Merry VERSO!
Kelli finished our Very Merry VERSO catalog clean-up project on August 10th and is now enjoying a customized catalog, organized to her specifications. If you would like to be like Kelli, contact our office at 620-225-1231 or email swilson@swkls.org and I will be happy to get you started! 🙂
Collection Development Inspiration
Adult Fiction
Children’s & YA Fiction
In Literary News
Robots Impersonating Established Authors
Author Jane Friedman recently discovered that someone has been posting books for sale on Amazon under her name, in her writing style – books that she’s never written! And she’s not alone. Other authors are having the same issue, with people contacting them excited about their newest book that they didn’t write. This poses problems not only for authors being impersonated, but for consumers who are unwittingly buying counterfeit books. How did this happen? Is Amazon going to do anything about it? Click here to find out.
Recent Book Challenge Issues Making the News
Libraries are feeling the impact of book challenges across the country. Here are some recent news reports involving censorship, book challenges, and bans across the United States. (Special thanks to Sara Koehn, Director of Haskell Township Public Library and Sean Bird, Interim Dean of University Libraries at Washburn University for their contributions to this list!)
A Georgia Teacher Wants to Overturn Her Firing for Reading a Book to Students About Gender Identity
Proposed Florida Rule Would Favor Only One Side in Book Challenges
‘Heartstopper’ Books Temporarily Removed from Mississippi Public Library
‘Criminal Liability for Librarians’: The Fight Against US Rightwing Book Bans
ALA OIF Blog 08.11.23: https://www.oif.ala.org/intellectual-freedom-news-08-11-2023/
First Amendment Coalition: https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/news-opinion/first-amendment-news/
Empowered by Reading (Unitedagainstbookbans): https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Empowered-by-Reading-final.pdf
DEI Taskforce Meeting Coming Up!
The next meeting of the DEI Taskforce will be held on Thursday, August 24th, at 3 PM. We will be preparing for the upcoming Train UP and giving feedback over that as well as discussing challenges, the upcoming ARSL conference, and any issues that have come up over the summer break. As a reminder, the DEI Taskforce is a group based on support, collaboration, and education and we discuss issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, such as book challenge issues, opportunities to make our collections more accessible, and ways to reach underserved populations in our area. Meetings are virtual and are open to all library staff and administration who would like to attend. We would love to see you there!
For All VERSO Users
Versed in VERSO Recording Now Available
From VERSO Product Manager Rae Schneider:
The August Versed in VERSO recording and slides have been posted on the support page and customer portal.
Here are the questions/topics we covered:
- The New Reports Module
- Improvements to Search Alerts
- How to set up a carousel for a new material type?
- Is there a way to prevent patrons from changing their PIN, email, and address when they login online?
- How are patron reserves deleted if the item is no longer needed?
To access the recording and slides, go to Support à VERSO. Then scroll down to the Versed in VERSO section.
For ILLers
Statewide ILL Training
The State Library of Kansas and Auto-Graphics will be hosting a state-wide ILL training event coming up next month, on September 13th and 14th. The first training will be in Great Bend, at Central Kansas Library System and the second will be in Emporia, at Emporia Public Library.
If you are interested in attending and would like to sign up for the training, the State Library would like for you to fill out this sign up sheet and include the kinds of topics you would like to hear about at the training. (If you don’t know, or can’t think of any, you can always just type “No” or “N/A.”
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Nikki Hansen at nicole.hansen@ks.gov or (800) 432-3919.
Resource Sharing Taskforce Meeting Coming Up
The next meeting of the Resource Sharing Taskforce will be held on Thursday, August 31st, at 10 AM. We will be talking about the upcoming statewide training and your needs/ideas for topics as well as FAQs and what’s going on in your little corner of ILL. This meeting is open to all ILL personnel as well as all directors. If you would like to join the meeting, please mark your calendar. I will send out a reminder as well as a Zoom link as the time gets closer. Hope to see you there!
We Still Need Your Videos!
Thank you to everyone who has sent videos for our 1-minute video request for Tech Day! 🙂 We have 16 videos out of a desired 30 (and they are so fun, creative, and all-around awesome!) So, 14 to go! I’m extending the due date for this project to August 15th to give you a little more time so we can hopefully meet our goal! 😉
This is a friendly reminder that we need your help! We are hard at work preparing for the 15th annual Tech Day+ coming up this month. I am working on a special project and to make it GREAT, I need to ask you a small favor.
If possible, between now and August 15th, I would like you, directors, or any staff member from your library to record a single, 1-minute video (the time is very important; it needs to be a minute long) where you introduce one programming idea.
We just need a single idea for a library program. It doesn’t have to be fancy, Pinterest-quality, never-seen-this-before creative or even something you’ve attempted, yourself. We just need one programming idea. Whether that’s a program that you’ve done, one that you’ve been to, one that you’ve seen online or somewhere else, or even one that you’ve thought of but haven’t tried, yet. One idea in one minute.
I’m asking you early so that we can get as many videos as possible, with a goal of 30. Do you have more than one staff member who would like to do a video? Send it! What kind of video? One that you record on your phone is fine! 🙂 Also, no one has to appear in the video. Get creative with it! You can add music, you can do an all-text slideshow if you want – however you want to do it is up to you.
Thank you for considering it . . . I look forward to seeing what you come up with! 🙂 Please send all videos to my email address. I will send out reminders between now and 8/15!! Have fun & I can’t wait to hear all of your amazing ideas. 🙂
Technology
by Christopher Dressler
What is MFA?
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), also known as Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), is a security mechanism that requires users to provide two or more different types of authentication factors to verify their identity before gaining access to a system or account. These factors fall into three categories:
- Something you know: This is typically a password or a PIN.
- Something you have: This can be a physical device like a smartphone, security token, or a smart card.
- Something you are: This refers to biometric traits like fingerprints, facial recognition, or retinal scans.
By combining these factors, MFA adds an extra layer of security beyond just a password, making it significantly harder for unauthorized individuals to access an account even if they manage to obtain the password. It’s an effective way to protect sensitive information and prevent unauthorized access.
As we continue our journey through cyber security, and I want to talk about one of many resources I use. CISA.gov is a government funded agency that “to defend against today’s threats and collaborate to build a more secure and resilient infrastructure for the future.” “CISA is the operational lead for federal cybersecurity and the national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience. We are designed for collaboration and partnership. Learn about our layered mission to reduce risk to the nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure.” You can read more about MFA by clicking here. Please call the office if there is a topic that piques your interest that you would like to know more about. I bet many of us would benefit from your suggestions.
Always feel free to contact me for training requests, library cards, or technology issues at cdressler@swkls.org or (620)225-1231. – Christopher Dressler – 8/4/2023