System Spotlight
By Christopher Dressler
HOT?
Ashland patrons finding ways to enjoy the heat.
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 25, 2023 9:30 am – TechDay+
September 8, 2023, 10:00 am – RNR & Budget Hearing, Full Board Meeting,
Sept 20 – 23, 2023 – ARSL Conference/Wichita, Hotel Booking/Conference Registration
Nov 1 – 3, 2023 – KLA Conference/Wichita
Consulting
By Richard Brookman
Costumes through the System
Don’t forget that you can checkout a variety of costumes through the System Office. Visit this link to see what is available. However, there are two that are not up on the site yet, Cat in the Hat and a Red Book costume. The other costumes are Hello Kitty, Cat Costume (looks like SkippyJon Jones), Minion, Beast, Grinch, Santa, and Sponge Bob. The library can use them for programs, parades, and fairs. The person wearing the costume just has to be willing to have fun!
Contact Tandy at tritchhart@swkls.org or Richard at rbrookman@swkls.org. Please include in your email the date you would like to use the costume and the specific character you would like to borrow.
“Fighting for the First” Webinar
Wednesday, August 16, at 1:00 pm CT Niche Academy is having a free webinar entitled “Fighting for the First”. The presenter for this session is John Chrastka, Founder and Executive Director of EveryLibrary, a national political action committee for libraries.
“Censorship and book bans are a singular challenge facing public libraries. Attempts to ban or censor materials come in many shapes and from several different directions. When they originate with concerned parents or community members, it is important to engage in difficult conversations. But when they become politicized or performative, it is necessary to understand that an agenda may drive them. Knowing the differences – and being properly equipped with digital tools, skills, and policy frameworks – is key.”
If you are interested in attending this webinar you can register through this link.
Image provided by pixabay.com contributor JillWellington
More Continuing Education You can Share
As librarians we try to keep up with issues related to the library world. Don’t forget that the State Library has avenues to obtain continuing education. One way is through the portal to WebJunction that each staff member can sign up for a free account. Once your account is established you can start viewing CE sessions. They have an archived link to past webinars and a calendar of events link for upcoming webinars.
Be sure to check the links out and see if there is anything that interests you. Some upcoming sessions are: Climate Action Planning Pt 1; Libraries helping Refugees and Immigrants learn the US Financial System; Building Community Relationships for better Library Services; and others.
If you attend a webinar or watch an archived webinar remember to send me an email of the webinar’s title and time of session (most are 1 hour in length). This way I can get it recorded in your personal CE file and I can add it to your library’s Accreditation Count for yearly CE hours.
Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL
By Sara Wilson
Collection Development Inspiration
Adult Fiction
Children’s & YA Fiction
In Literary News
Dolly Parton & Her Imagination Library Come to Kansas
Have you heard? Dolly’s coming to Kansas! Iconic country music star and actress Dolly Parton will be in our great state of Kansas on August 14th to celebrate the success of the expansion of her Imagination Library program in Kansas. The Imagination Library is a program that offers free books to children ages 0-5. To read more about Dolly’s visit and about the Imagination Library program, click here.
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!)
Book Banners, 1st Amendment Advocates Clash at Meeting
Urbandale [IA] Pauses Removing Banned Books Referencing Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation
An Arkansas Judge Has Blocked a Law Targeting Librarians Over ‘Harmful’ Books
Beaufort County [SC] Schools Ban Fourth Book in Book Review Process
ALA OIF Blog 07.21.23: https://www.oif.ala.org/intellectual-freedom-news-07-21-2023/
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
For All VERSO Users
Register For Versed in VERSO Coming Up 08/08
From VERSO Product Manager Rae Schneider:
Dear VERSO Users,
The next Versed in VERSO will take place on August 8, 2023, at 11:00 AM Eastern / 8:00 AM Pacific.
Please register via this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3281654514090628190
If you have a question or topic you’d like covered, submit it via this form: https://forms.office.com/r/C8amFqJRiq
As we get closer to the date, we will send out a tentative agenda of topics we will cover.
We Still Need Your Videos!
Thank you to everyone who has sent videos for our 1-minute video request for Tech Day! 🙂 We have 7 videos out of a desired 30 (and they are so fun, creative, and all-around awesome!) So, 23 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
Password Managers!
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