Weekly Wrap-U.P.! October 13, 2023

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System Spotlight

By Staff

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Rolla Library Happenings

From Librarian Phoebe Brummett: A trio of readers from Rolla traveled to Emporia to attend the annual William Allen White celebration on October 6 and 7.  Earning this trip required the readers to read nine to twelve WAW books and pass the accelerated reader tests with an 80% or above the previous school year.  The young ladies and their sponsors, Phoebe Brummett and Becky Sohm, were educated a little more about Mr. White as they toured his home in Emporia.  The group then went to Peter Pan Park for some outside recreation before having supper at Pizza Ranch and retiring for the evening at the youth center.  After a relatively restful night’s sleep, Saturday began with all the fun activities for children at Emporia State University.  There were activities for all ages, including but not limited to writing to the authors, crafts, bumper balls, silent dance party, Kahoots, robotics races and more before meeting the winning authors and attending the celebration.  Maria Wall, sixth grade, was in attendance for the first time and her favorite part was all the activities.  Charlotte Wood, sixth grade, was in attendance for the second time, and her favorite part was not having to present the awards to the authors in front of the 300 attendees.  Judith Wall, fifth grade, seemed to enjoy every aspect of the events.  Becky Sohm, who has attended multiple times, loved meeting the authors and walking through the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve on the way home.  Phoebe Brummett was just thankful they made it there and back safely and that all seemed to have a good time.  Readers are already preparing to earn the trip for next year.

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Ness City Public Library Shares Holiday Programming Idea

From Assistant Librarian Laurie Dinges: We are having a fall story time called “Holiday Leftovers” and are using it to try to use leftover odds and ends.  I am including an attachment of the flier and a picture of a game I put together that I call “Feeding the turkeys”.  It is made from inexpensive cornhole boards that I covered with poster boards of turkey faces and the kids could toss the bean bags into the turkey’s mouth.  They seemed to really enjoy it.

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Future Dates & Training Opportunities

Oct 18, 2023, 1:00 pm CST – Niche Academy “Q&A 101: Interview Questions and Answers” Webinar, Registration Link

Oct 20, 2023, 10:00 am CST – Full Southwest Kansas Library System Board Meeting, Registration Link / Zoom Link

Oct 24, 2023, 2:00 pm CST – Building Community Relationships for Better Library Services webinar, Registration Link

Oct 27, 2023 – Deadline to Submit SEED Grant Application/Main Page, Application Page

Nov 1 – 3, 2023 – KLA Conference/Wichita, Registration Link

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Consulting

By Richard Brookman

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Image provide by pixabay.com contributor Mariakray

October 20 Full Board Meeting

The next System Board meeting is next Friday, October 20. We are meeting at the Meade Public Library in Meade, Kansas for the in-person part of the meeting. We will begin at 10:00 am CT, have lunch at 12:00 pm, and finish up the day with the in-person attendees having a Continuing Education session on Cyber Security presented by Steve Andrews, System Technology Supervisor.

This will be a hybrid meeting for those that can’t attend the System meeting in person. If you haven’t registered yet please do so through this link so the office has a number for who will be staying for lunch. You can register here through this link.

For those not attending in person please still register so we know if we have a quorum. The Zoom link for the meeting can be accessed through this Zoom Link.

Image provide by pixabay.com contributor Edar

Accreditation Applications and Technology Plans

Just a reminder again that the end of October is when your library’s Accreditation Applications and Technology Plans are due. This process is for the years 2024 & 2025. The application page on the System’s website is here through this link. No changes have been made for this application term. The commitment to following the requirements, for accreditation, are the same as the last application period.

Remember that your library’s Technology Plan is part of the Accreditation Application now. Please send your updated Technology Plan to Steve (sandrews@swkls.org) so the Tech Team can review your plan and make any adjustments they need to make and then you can present the whole packet (Accreditation Application & Technology Plan) to your library board for approval and to sign off on both documents.

Both documents need to be turned in by October 31. This allows the Accreditation Committee to review the applications and technology plans for approval. If there happens to be a question on a library’s application and/or technology plan then it can be relayed back to the library for explanation before the end of the year. This allows the committee to reevaluate and approve before the start of 2024.

Niche Academy Q & A 101 Webinar

Niche Academy is providing a free webinar entitled “Q & A 101: Interview Questions and Answers”, on October 18, at 1:00 pm CT. This webinar looks at how if a person is looking for a job position. However, the session can be used for possible employers to get ideas for questions when conducting an interview.

“…the interview is a nerve-racking hour of questions. At worst, it seems like an interrogation that may last for hours leaving you exhausted at the end. You can reduce your anxiety by preparing for the interview; specifically, think about the questions you might be asked and formulate your answers ahead of time.

Join Melissa Lockaby to hear some common interview questions and their answers – and get a better idea of what prospective employers are looking for in your responses. You’ll also have a chance to share some of the questions you’ve been asked so you know how to reply the next time you apply for a job.”

If you are interested in attending this Niche Academy webinar you can register through this link.

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Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL

By Sara Wilson

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Collection Development Inspiration

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Board Book Recall

Seven Rainbow Road Board Books have been recalled due to choking hazards. The plastic rings used to bind the books can become detached and present a choking hazard to little ones. If you have the following books in your library, Make Believe Ideas would like you to remove them from your shelves. Please see this link from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for information on pursuing a refund as well as company contact information. The following books are being recalled:

*All images taken from the U.S. Product Safety Commission website.

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New Resources for You

The following are new items that have been added to our Professional Collection and Equipment Collection this week. If you would like to check out the book, whatever your position in the library, please feel free to reach out to us in any one of these ways that you prefer: 1.) Request it yourself through SHAREit. 2.) Ask your ILL personnel to request it for you on SHAREit. 3.) Call the SWKLS office. 4.) Email Sara at swilson@swkls.org. We will send the book to you over the courier. Check-out periods are 30 days. Renewals are allowed.

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For ILLers:

In Case You Missed It – ILL Survey for KLA Conference

From University of Kansas Libraries Resource Sharing Librarian Lars Leon:

Dear Kansas ILL Colleagues:

I’m gathering another round of ideas to share back with the Kansas ILL community. First up will be a conversation at KLA Conference (Thursday afternoon 11/2). Come on by!  I realize some can’t make KLA so I will share back information afterwards (and before winter holidays).  Please help by submitting ideas at my survey https://kusurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8eJjtt3E8fQGzrM  by Oct. 16.  Apologies if you’ve seen this email – trying to reach out to everyone.

As always, be sure and contact Nikki directly for SHAREit and Caroline for courier related issues. If anyone submits an idea related to those areas I will pass to them.

You can complete as many of the survey questions as you’d like. I’m asking things such as:

-What’s something you’re doing that really helps what you need to do (something fairly related to ILL)?

-Describe an issue you’d like help with?

-I’ve added a few questions specific to what might be pretty hot topics — borrowing electronic materials? Any type of materials challenging to obtain for your patrons? Copyright issues?

-If you were to give 3 to 6 hours over a year to help Kansas ILL (beyond the great service you’re providing) what can that be?

-If you’re not participating in the Kansas Library Express courier I’d love to capture why. I will share anonymous aggregated counts with Caroline at NEKLS (who helps manage courier).

-Interested in helping me compile survey responses? Present at KLA? Another way?

Thank you for considering this invitation.

Lars

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Technology

by Christopher Dressler

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