System Spotlight
By SWKLS Staff
It’s Library Lovers’ Month! Of course, we love you all year & this is one of our ways of showing it: highlighting all of the wonderful work that you do every day! If you would like to showcase some of the fantastic things your library has been up to, please send the information to Sara (swilson@swkls.org) or Chris (cdressler@swkls.org) and we’ll be sure to give you and your team a shout out on the Wrap-U.P.!
The Great Outdoors Moves Indoors at Kearny County Public Library
Check out these elaborate decorations happening in Lakin! Tammy Dickey, Director of Kearny County Public Library says, “These are pictures from our Spring Storytime. This is in our library, and we are calling it Camp-Read-Alot. This is for children 3 to 5 years old.” [Editor’s note: I want to go to Camp-Read-Alot!]
Great job, Kearny County Public Library! This looks amazing!!
Ness City Public Library Celebrates Kansas Day
Kansas Day was January 29th and patrons at Ness City Public Library celebrated by decorating their own license plates. From Assistant Librarian Laurie Dinges: “We supplied copies of a blank Kansas license plate and asked the kids to create a plate that they thought represented Kansas. There were 57 great entries. We have a small gift basket for the top six plates.” Ness City has some talented artists! Check out this creativity:
What a fun way to celebrate Kansas’ birthday; these look awesome! Way to go, Ness City Public Library!!
Future Dates & Training Opportunities
March 4, 2023 – KASL Connect & Learn West District Workshop/Registration Link
March 15, 2023 – Great Stories Club Grant Application Deadline/Apply Online
March 24, 2023, 10:00 am – System Board Meeting at Grant County Library, Ulysses (Hybrid)/Registration Link
March 31, 2023, 10:00 am – Summer (Reading) Program Workshop, at Finney County Public Library, Garden City/Registration Link
Consulting
By Richard Brookman
March System Board Meeting
The March System Board Meeting has been moved to March 24, 2023, due to availability of board members. The meeting is being held at the Grant County Library, in Ulysses, Kansas. This meeting is a hybrid meeting. If you do come in person the afternoon session will be a Continuing Education event. The System Office is still awaiting a reply for a possible presenter.
When you register for the Board Meeting there will be some questions about if you will be in person and lunch. The registration link is here and we will send out the Zoom link when the date comes closer.
Love Your Library Month
While Valentine’s Day is over you can still share the love of libraries. The whole month of February is “National Library Lovers” month. So if you haven’t done anything yet for the month you still have time.
Valentine’s Day sales are going on so you can go to the local store and pickup some themed Valentine’s Day cards for children and put them in a books, movie cases, and the like for a little fun. Some of your adult patrons might get a chuckle out of with this as well. Of course there’s always the candy that you could purchase. Put Valentine’s candy in a bowl for your patrons to take when they check out. Anything you can think of to have fun and interact with your community.
Summer Reading Workshop Registration is Open
The “All Together Now” Summer Reading Workshop registration can be found here. The date for the workshop is Friday, March 31, 2023. Registration will begin at 9:30 am and the session will start at 10:00 am and last until 3:00 pm. The workshop will be conducted by the lively due Patty Collins and Diane Bott, of the Central Kansas Library System. Finney County Public Library is hosting the workshop this year. Having it in Garden City, Kansas, will allow for participants to have a different local to find supplies for your Summer Library (Reading) Program needs.
Talking Books Week
Kansas Talking Books Week is March 6-10, 2023. The Talking Books program would like our member libraries to promote this service especially during this week. Most Kansans don’t realize that this program is available to them. Once they start the service they enjoy what is available for our Kansas reading community that believe they couldn’t enjoy books. This service is a no-cost service that is provided for all Kansans that meet the criteria for this service.
If you would like to schedule an introductory program of the Talking Books service please contact Richard at the System office to set up a date and time. The program lasts approximately thirty minutes.
Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL
By Sara Wilson
Collection Development Inspiration
Adult Fiction
Children’s & YA Fiction
In Literary News
Looking for a Children’s Book? Better Call Saul!
Bob Odenkirk of the popular TV show, Better Call Saul (a spin-off of another hit TV show, Breaking Bad) has written a children’s book. The book is inspired by poems that he and his children wrote together as part of a bedtime routine. Zilot & Other Important Rhymes is set to be released this fall. Look for this one to be popular with fans of both shows.
Calvin & Hobbes Author Returns With a New Graphic Novel
The creator of Calvin & Hobbes, Bill Watterson, is back and he’s created a graphic novel aimed at adults, this time. Fans are sure to be delighted to see the beloved author return to his craft. The Mysteries, a fantasy with dark artwork and mature themes, will hit shelves October 10, but you can preorder it on Amazon now.
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 book challenges and bans across the United States.
The Week in Libraries: February 10th, 2023
The State of Book Bans in the US in 2023
League City Council, Amidst Opposition, Creates Committee to Review Library Book Challenges (Texas)
Defunded Over Book Controversy, West Michigan Library May Try Third Time for Millage (Michigan)
This Rural Virginia County Is A ‘Testing Ground’ For Book Banning (Virginia)
Central Bucks School District is Considering Removing 60 More Books From Its Libraries (Pennsylvania)
Windham, Raymond Parents Call for School District to Ban Gender Queer: A Memoir (Maine)
You Can Customize Sounds in VERSO
Are you being annoyed by the chimes in VERSO when you perform certain tasks? Do you not have any sounds and would like to activate some? Would you like to upload a custom .mp3 to play as a warning sound in your VERSO? If you said yes to any of these, there is a way! Go to Staff Dashboard > Circ Admin > Circulation Parameters. “Manage Sounds” is the second to last link. From here, you will be able to view and fully edit the sounds your VERSO makes so you can customize your ILS to fit your needs. Any questions? Call or email Sara and she’ll be happy to help you.
In Case You Missed It
For ILLers
From SHAREit Product Manager Deborah Hensler:
Just a reminder that the next Sharing about SHAREit is scheduled for next Wednesday, February 22, at 1pm.
Registration is open at: https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/3937275701497130753
In this Q&A, we’ll answer questions about ILL Configuration – Bookstraps, Shipping Labels, Pick List, plus the Copy and Loan Full Record Displays.
For All VERSO Users
From VERSO Product Manager Rae Schneider:
Dear VERSO Users,
Release notes are [. . . ] below.
We will be doing a VERSO release on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, beginning a little after 7:00pm Pacific (10:00pm Eastern). Downtime is usually about 15 minutes but may be longer if issues come up.
RESOLVED
| AG-2158 | Novelist Select content was not displaying on full record if the record had more than one ISBN. We updated the request sent to Novelist Select. The request will now include the first ISBN in the record for compatibility with Novelist Select. |
| AG-2126Multiple CS Tickets | Records that were defined as a Serial in the MARC record were displaying as eSerials. The code has been adjusted to properly differentiate Serial and eSerial formats. |
-Rae
Google Analytics/Looker Studio Webinar
In this Google Analytics/Looker Studio presentation, you’ll learn how to harness the power of your data to gain valuable insights and make informed decisions about your website. We’ll cover how to interpret the data on your Looker Studio report and how it compared to the old Monster Insights (which we are phasing out) so you can optimize your online presence and achieve your business goals. Click here for more information.
– Christopher Dressler