System Spotlight
by SWKLS Staff
Kinsley Public Library Stars in Local Christmas Parade
When the Kinsley Chamber of Commerce chose “A Storybook Christmas” for the Christmas Parade
theme this year, they decided to honor Kinsley Library Director Joan Weaver as Grand Marshal.
The library borrowed a restored 1950 blue Chevy pickup truck for its storybook entry, “Little Blue Truck’s Christmas”. Saturday morning, Librarian Yaneth Holguin organized a crew made up of Library Clerk Dawn Haynes and seven other board members and patrons to decorate the truck. Saturday night on the parade route, Joan reminded all the spectators to fill those stockings with books while Dawn, Yaneth
and her 2 little boys threw bubble gum to the crowd. The library won first prize in the Vehicle category.
Stevens County Library Participates in City’s First Lighted Santa Parade
From Director Stacey Strickland:
The Stevens County Library participated in Hugoton’s lighted Santa Parade on December 3. Trust us when we say our lighted signs were awesome…until the truck was in drive and the AC power clicked off. Lol, we didn’t let a lack of electricity keep us down! (But we do welcome any advice on lighted parade entries!
Future Dates & Training Opportunities
December 9, 2022, 10:00 am – State Library of Kansas Board Meeting
December 13, 2022, 10:00 am – Auto-Graphics Talks with Ted/Registration Link
December 14, 2022, 10:00 am – LJ’s Knowledge for Everyone Webinar/Registration Link
December 16, 2022, 10:00 am – SWKLS Board Meeting (Online Only)/Registration Link/Zoom Link
Consulting
By Richard Brookman
System Board Meeting December 16
The December System Board meeting will be held on Friday the 16 at 10:00 am CT. This meeting is an on-line meeting only. Please register for the meeting at this link. The Zoom Link has been established. To enter the meeting you will use the Zoom link.
Knowledge For Everyone Webinar
Library Journal is having a webinar sponsored by SirsiDynix entitled “Knowledge for Everyone: How Open Access in Discovery Furthers Your Library’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Goals”. It will be held December 14 at 10:00 am CT. This webinar will focus on “Open Access content” that “promises equitable access without paywall barriers, thus helping to level the playing field for users without privilege”.
The panel of presenters for this webinar are: Chris Baker, Circulation Librarian, Presell R. Robinson Library; Thedis Bryant, Interim Director of Library Services, Alabama A&M University; Mantra Henderson, Director of Library Services, James H. White Library, Mississippi Valley State University; and Rick Branham, VP Pre-Sales, Academic & Content Solutions, CloudSource OA, will be the moderator.
If you are interest you can register for the webinar using this link.
Continuing Education through the System and State Library
Most have finished the year for the Accreditation requirements. For those that haven’t or for next year, remember that the System office has recorded several session of Continuing Education and the State Library of Kansas has WebJunction for Continuing Education. The WebJunction page has links for upcoming training sessions as well as archived training sessions. You will need to create an account with WebJunction, however it is a free account.
If you watch any of these sessions through the System’s Wiki Page or the State Library’s WebJunction Page, remember to email Richard the name of the session you watched and how long the session was so he can update you or your staff’s Continuing Education File.
Here are the links to both webpages for online Continuing Education Training:
Southwest Kansas Library System Wiki Page and
State Library of Kansas WebJunction Page.
Talking Books Presentations
If you would like to have your library sponsor a Talking Books presentation at your library or at a different community location (Senior Centers are the most common locations) please contact Richard and he can coordinate with you on a date and time for the presentation. Remember this service is provided through a Federal/State wide BPH Grant so their is no cost to the library for the program.
Also if each of you could let Richard know when your community is having a Health Fair it would be greatly appreciated. Part of the grant is to allow the Talking Books representative to go to your local Health Fairs and set up a booth and discuss the service with attendees of the Health Fair.
Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL
By Sara Wilson
Adult Fiction:
Children’s & YA Fiction:
In literary news, this week . . .
Best of 2022 Lists
The year isn’t over yet, but a lot of book blogs and news outlets are already reflecting on 2022 and listing their favorite reads in different genres. Literary Hub published their 38 Favorite Books of 2022, Book Riot published their 10 Best Historical Fiction Books of 2022, Time Magazine announced their 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2022 list, the New York Times listed what they think is the Best Poetry of 2022 as well as the Best Crime Novels of 2022, Entertainment Weekly gave us their 10 Best Romance Novels of 2022, and The Guardian came out with their list of The Best Comics and Graphic Novels of 2022. These might make great end-of-year displays in your library or give you some acquisition inspiration. 🙂 How do your best-of lists compare?
A Makerspace for Everyone
What if makerspaces went mainstream? What if makerspaces existed in every community, from urban to rural? Robin Hooker asks these questions and invites us to examine the possibilities that exist when we offer maker communities a place to converge and create.
Looking for a cool, cost-effective display/passive program? The Smithsonian Museum has FREE POSTER EXHIBITS that you can request for your library! They’re available on request for libraries and educational institutions and do not have to be returned. Printed posters are available while supplies last and digital files can be downloaded and printed.
In Case You Missed It: SHAREit Update
Auto-Graphics announced an update to SHAREit this week, on Tuesday, December 6. See the release notes below:
Technology
By: SWKLS Staff
More New Computers
Still working on additional new computers coming in and making runs to install. Thanks to everyone during this time with your patience.