System Spotlight
By Staff
Kearny County Public Library Has Decked Their Halls
Check out these whimsical decorations that Tammy and her crew have on display in Lakin! Their library has decked the halls with Grinches, trees, presents, a Christmas village, and even some winter snow. It looks amazing! Great job, Kearny County!! 🙂
Future Dates & Training Opportunities
Dec 12, 2023 – 2:00 pm CT, Train UP: End of Year Reports Overview with SWKLS Director Richard Brookman/Registration Link
Dec 12, 2023 – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CT, ESU SLIM Webinar: Process Before Product – Strategies for Harnessing the Benefits of AI in the Classroom/Registration Link The recording will be archived at this link.
Dec 13, 2023 – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CT, Scholastic Presents: Picture Books That Inspire/Registration Link
Dec 15, 2023 – Deadline to submit Penguin Random House Small & Rural Library Grant Application
Dec 15, 2023 – 10:00 am CT, SWKLS Full Board Meeting (Online Only)
Dec 22 – Dec 26, 2023 – SWKLS Office Closed
Jan 1, 2024 – SWKLS Office Closed
Jan 9, 2023 – 2:00 pm CT, Twosday Takeaway: Netizen 101 – Teaching Patrons Internet Safety/Registration Link (registration opens 12/18)
February 23, 2024 – 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, Summer Reading Workshop Featuring Will Stuck/Registration TBD
Consulting
By Sara Wilson
January 2024 Children’s Activity Calendar
If you need ideas for January’s children’s programming, Demco has you covered! They offer free downloadable calendars full of children’s activities for every month of the year. They also have early literacy calendars. To browse all of their activity calendars, click here.
Here’s a cute, inexpensive winter display idea! All you need is some white paper and you’ve got a winter wonderland waiting to happen.
Do you need some guidance when it comes to end-of-year reports? Wondering what’s coming up? Have no fear, SWKLS is here! Director Richard Brookman will be giving an overview on end-of-year reports next Tuesday at 2 PM. Register here and don’t miss out! See you then!
KLA Grant Opportunity for APPLE 2024
From April Hernandez, President of the Public Library Section of KLA:
This year the Public Library Section of KLA has two $500 grants available to fund library director participation in APPLE 2024. The application will open by the end of January, so keep an eye out for it. These grants are available to library directors who have no other funding options for the program.
More information: APPLE (APplied Public Library Education) is a year-long training program exclusively for public library directors in Kansas. Managing a library has no counterpart in other types of work and day-to-day library operations are not the focus of library science schools. The APPLE program covers the vast array of topics required to operate a Kansas public library and connects the cohort of new directors with resources: fellow directors, regional system staff and experts from around the state.
If you have any questions before then you can email plsofkla@gmail.com.
Don’t forget to check out the PLS website to access wonderful resources http://www.plsofkla.org/. If you have resources you would like to share or think we should add, please let us know.
Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL
By Sara Wilson
Collection Development Inspiration
Adult Fiction
Children’s & YA Fiction
Struggling to Find Book Club Picks? This Book Club Has Only Read One Book Since 1995!
Finnegan’s Wake, by James Joyce, was read for 28 years by a book club in Venice, California, who recently finished their epic task (or did they?). It took Joyce 17 years to write the text, so they spent 11 more years reading it than he did writing it! You can read about why they embarked on this journey and what they learned along the way by clicking here. Skip to the end of the article to find out what they’re reading next. 😉
For All VERSO Users: Versed in VERSO Coming Up
From VERSO Product Manager Rae Schneider:
The next Versed in VERSO is on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 11:00AM Eastern / 8:00 AM Pacific.
This edition of Versed in VERSO will include the Quarterly Product Update presented by Cheryl Slinkard, Chief Operations Officer at Auto-Graphics.
The first 15 minutes of Versed in VERSO will be a product update followed by the regular Q&A session.
If you have a question, please ask it here: https://forms.office.com/r/e3cbQ6saKW
To register for the next Versed in VERSO, please do so here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2812974491027422048
Technology
by Christopher Dressler
Yodeck: Signup
Next Week: Choosing a screen.