System Spotlight
By Christopher Dressler
Congratulations Graduates!
Haskell Co Township Library
Emily Froese — Library Clerk — South Gray HS Graduate — will be attending Wichita State University in the Fall majoring in Forensic Science. She will be coming back and filling in at the library during her breaks!
Deanna Fehr — Library Clerk — 21st Century Learning Academy/Kiowa County High School Graduate — will be working part time at the library and we are excited she will be here with us!!
Sara Koehn — Library Director— Emporia State University Graduate — Master’s in Library Science with emphasis in Leadership and Administration — will continue as the HTL Director.
Stevens Co Library
Congratulations to Emily and Jaxen. They are graduating this weekend and we are super proud! We are so excited for both of them, and can’t wait to see what the future brings. Jaxen has worked at the library since March 2019, and Emily started August 2020!
Future Dates & Training Opportunities
May 26 – Aug 13, 2023 – Sunflower Summer Program/Website for Information
June 15, 2023, 1:30 pm – After-Lunch Course Intellectual Freedom: Privacy/Registration
June 16, 2023, 10:00 am – System Board Meeting (Online Only)
Consulting
By Richard Brookman
Intellectual Freedom After-Lunch Course
The next After-Lunch Course speaker will by Professor Trina Magi entitled Intellectual Freedom: Privacy. Professor Magi is a Reference & Instruction Librarian at Howe Memorial Library, at the University of Vermont. Trina has spoken and written widely about privacy and libraries and was the editor of the 9th Edition of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Manual. She has also worked with then Congressman Bernie Sanders to introduce the “Freedom to Read Protection Act” and has won several awards to include ALA’s Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change.
This course Professor Magi will discuss why patron privacy matters and how you can protect it. If you are interested in this training it will be held June 15 at 1:30 pm CT. Follow this link to register.
SunFlower Fun
The Kansas Department of Education if providing Summer Activities for families. Your library can help spread the word about the program and website called “Sunflower Summer”. The website is available now to visit and find out what the program is about. The program officially starts May 26 and goes until August 13, 2023.
“Sunflower Summer is a program of the Kansas State Department of Education and is designed to provide a wide variety of ways for families to get out, explore something new, and enjoy time together. Kansas students in Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade are included. Students attending public schools, private and faith-based schools, or who are home-schooled are included. Students enrolled in 18-21 Transition Programs are also eligible for free tickets via the Sunflower Summer program. Up to two adults may access a ticket voucher on the Sunflower Summer app, when accompanying Kansas students enrolled in Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade on a visit to a Sunflower Summer participating attraction.
Parents and guardians can download the Sunflower Summer app free from either Google Play (Android) or Apple (IOS) app stores. To register your account, you simply open the app and follow the prompts. Then it’s as simple as selecting your first attraction, and then tap and go.”
The site answers additional questions that you might have about the program.
Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL
By Sara Wilson
Collection Development Inspiration
Adult Fiction
Children’s & YA Fiction
In Literary News
K-Pop Stars Are Releasing a Book
The singers of the wildly popular K-pop band BTS are releasing a book about their lives, titled “Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS.” The book will come out in July and will include exclusive photos of the group. If members of your community are part of the “BTS Army” (a devoted fan group), they’ll surely want to get their hands on a copy of this book! To read more about it, 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 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!)
Penguin Random House and Florida Parents Sue School District Over Book Bans
Police Called Over Illinois Teacher Offering ‘This Book is Gay’
School Librarians Face Prison Time for Distributing Banned Books
The 15 Most Banned Books in America This School Year
‘This is immoral’: Pastor Slams NC School Board Over ‘Pornographic’ Library Book
Mansfield ISD Considers Plan to Ban Books in School Libraries
CT School Board Deadlocks On Whether to Limit Access to Two Books
ALA OIF Blog 05.12.23: https://www.oif.ala.org/intellectual-freedom-news-05-12-2023/
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
In Case You Missed It
For All VERSO Users: Versed in VERSO Posted
From VERSO Product Manager Rae Schneider:
Greetings VERSO Users,
The video and PowerPoint from the May Versed in VERSO session have been posted.
They are available both in VERSO (Support > VERSO) and in the Auto-Graphics Portal.
For ILLers
New Shipping Labels
From Caroline Handwork of NEKLS:
Please check your KLE shipping labels for: Caney City Library, Cedar Vale Memorial Library, and Sedan Public Library. They should have ” ICT ” in the top right corner. If they have ” PAR” please throw them out. Those are old and their current hub is Wichita, (ICT). Any labels with ‘PAR” will delay materials getting to them.
Here is a link to the current set of shipping labels, https://kslibexpress.mykansaslibrary.org/shipping-labels/
Thank you
Sharing About SHAREit
From SHAREit Product Manager Deborah Hensler:
The next Sharing about SHAREit Q&A is scheduled for next Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 11am PT / 12pm MT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET.
Registration is open at: https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/6260051191640699905
As usual, there’s space on the registration form to ask questions in advance, and we try to answer as many as possible that are asked during the session.
New Book Discussion Group Sets
From State Library of Kansas Resource Sharing Librarian Nicole Hansen:
I just thought I’d make sure everyone knows there have been some additions/changes to the Book Discussion Group Sets spreadsheet. Along with the other titles that have been submitted, Louisburg PL has replaced their previous titles with a new list and updated their lending information. https://kslib.info/448/Book-Discussion-Group-Sets
Technology
by Christopher Dressler
Cyber WHAT!
Many of you may have been the victim of a cyber-criminal. These people are out to get money and fame at your expense. These cyber criminals can come from anywhere and pose as anyone. There are however tools that we use to keep you and your patrons safe.
Today I want to write about a few of the tools that they use to gain access to your network and in a later article, how security experts stop their access to your network and data.
- Ransomware – Software that is used to lockout a user from accessing his/her own equipment and accounts.
- Adware – Redirects your browser to look elsewhere for search and advertisement data.
- Pharming – A DNS attack that can (unknowingly to the user) force your browser to alternative websites.
- Spoofing – Emails messages sent from fake accounts that look real in an attempt to gain access to user data.
- Botnets – Software the works in the background that hackers use to attack other systems.
- DDOS – Distributed Denile Of Service floods a systems bandwidth, denying access to it from other legitimate users.
- Malware – Malicious software unknowingly installed on computer to perform a criminal act.
- Trojans – Software that looks legitimate that contains malicious code.
- Worms – Software that contains code to automatically spread itself to other computers on a network.
- Phishing – Uses mass email that looks legitimate in an attempt to capture a user’s sensitive information.
- Spyware – Software used to covertly monitor a user’s activity on their devices.
Not all of these are stopped by anti-virus or anti-malware tools so please be aware it you are going to website that you are not sure about when preforming your Google searches.
As always, if you have specific needs for a video or an in-person training, please feel free to reach out via phone or email. -5/17/23
Price Increases for Google Workspace
Google has announced price increases for Google Workspace accounts that will be rolling out this year. For our members that use Google Workspace, the Business Starter plan will increase from $6 per user (per month) to $7.20 per user (per month). The new pricing started rolling out in April of this year and will continue through 2024, depending on factors that include number of user licenses, current contract terms, and payment plan.
Google Analytics Notifications
Google is sending out notifications concerning the transition from Legacy (Universal) Analytics to the new Google Analytics 4 (GA4). As a reminder, the SWKLS I.T. department has already provisioned GA4 analytics for all websites that we manage. Please ignore these emails if we host and manage your website!