System Spotlight
By Staff
Hamilton County Library Grand Re-Opening and Ribbon Cutting
Congratulations to Amy Brucker and staff on the grand re-opening of Hamilton County Library! Part of our SWKLS staff was able to attend the ribbon cutting held on July 30th. After much hard work, the project is complete and the new space is open for the community of Syracuse to enjoy! 🙂 Those attending the SWKLS Retreat in September will get to tour this new, state-of-the-art space, so be sure to register!
Future Dates & Training Opportunities (All Times in CST)
August 28th – 2 PM – Breaking the Silence: Exploring Mental Health Challenges Among BIPOC Library Workers Webinar/Register Here
August 30th – Summer Library Program Evaluations Due!
September 10th – 2 PM – Twosday Takeaway: Multicultural Community Programming with Miguel Coca/Zoom Link
September 19th – 10 AM – 4 PM – Auto-Graphics SHAREit In-Person Training at SEKLS in Iola, KS/Register Here
September 20th – 10 AM – 4 PM – Auto-Graphics SHAREit In-Person Training at Advanced Learning Library in Wichita, KS/Register Here
September 26th – 27th – SWKLS Retreat/Register Here
Consulting
By Sara Wilson
72nd Annual William Allen White Children’s Book Awards
From Beverley Olson Buller:
The 2024 Wm. Allen White Children’s Book Awards authors will be in Emporia for two days this October.
From 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, October 4 they will be signing books on the porch of White’s home (927 Exchange). Books will be for sale on site or bring your own.
Saturday, October 5 there will be another booksigning plus many activities for kids at the WAW Library on the campus of ESU, starting at 8 a.m. with the awards ceremony at 11 a.m. Note that this is in the library, not the union as in past years.
These events are free, but please register for the awards ceremony so we know how many chairs to set up:https://wawchildrensbookaward.com/contact-us
See attached flyer for details on all the activities on campus October 5.
KLA Presidential Awards
From KLA Past President/Presidential Awards Chair Shanna Smith-Ritterhouse:
Greetings Kansas Librarians,
Remember to nominate the star libraries/librarians from across the State for the Kansas Library Association’s Presidential Awards! The deadline this year is September 30th, and you can access the submission form on KLA’s website: https://kslibassoc.org/Presidential_Awards
Here are the various award categories:
The KLA Library Advocate Award recognizes distinguished service to the Kansas library community by someone not employed in library service.
The KLA New Professional Award recognizes distinguished service to librarians who earned a professional degree within the last five years and are employed in library service.
The Library Personnel Award awards distinguished service from employees currently in or recently retired from library service.
The Meritorious Service Award is presented to those who have provided exemplary library service.
The Intellectual Champion Award is presented to those who promote intellectual freedom, literacy, and knowledge within Kansas.
I look forward to reading all of the submissions!
Accreditation Summaries
You should have received an email with a summary of where your library is at on your accreditation, so far in 2024. If you have not received this summary or have misplaced it, please contact me and I’ll be happy to resend it. If you are in need of Continuing Education credits, please remember the opportunities available to you through this publication (Future Dates & Training Opportunities), our wiki, our website calendar, the Continuing Education Calendar I sent out at the beginning of the year, and our Professional Collection. Thank you!
Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL
By Miguel Coca
Collection Development Inspiration
Adult Fiction
Children’s & YA Fiction
New to SWKLS Professional Collections
Since it was first published in 2005, Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Near and its vision of an exponential future have spawned a worldwide movement. Kurzweil’s predictions about technological advancements have largely come true, with concepts like AI, intelligent machines, and biotechnology now widely familiar to the public.
In this entirely new book Ray Kurzweil brings a fresh perspective to advances toward the Singularity—assessing his 1999 prediction that AI will reach human level intelligence by 2029 and examining the exponential growth of technology—that, in the near future, will expand human intelligence a millionfold and change human life forever. Among the topics he discusses are rebuilding the world, atom by atom with devices like nanobots; radical life extension beyond the current age limit of 120; reinventing intelligence by connecting our brains to the cloud; how exponential technologies are propelling innovation forward in all industries and improving all aspects of our well-being such as declining poverty and violence; and the growth of renewable energy and 3-D printing. He also considers the potential perils of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, including such topics of current controversy as how AI will impact employment and the safety of autonomous cars, and “After Life” technology, which aims to virtually revive deceased individuals through a combination of their data and DNA.
The culmination of six decades of research on artificial intelligence, The Singularity Is Nearer is Ray Kurzweil’s crowning contribution to the story of this science and the revolution that is to come.
Library and Information Center Management: Eighth Edition continues to be an essential textbook that provides a complete introduction to library management. It supplies a comprehensive, one-volume overview of all the functions of management specifically applied to the modern library environment.
This latest revised and updated edition begins with introductory chapters that discuss the roles of library managers in the past and in the present, explain why library staff must rethink their purpose, and document the inadequacy of management techniques that once seemed appropriate. In addition to discussing key planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling strategies, the book also provides chapters on marketing, facilities management, and fundraising. The final chapter provides young managers with invaluable guidance and addresses the challenges of succeeding in management without the benefit of decades of experience.