System Spotlight
By Staff
🎅🏻Santa Visits Scott Co Library🎅🏻
Future Dates & Training Opportunities (All Times in CST)
Click the arrow next to each week to open the list of available training opportunities.
Week of December 16th – 20th
16th – 11 AM – 12 PM – Grant Trends and What to Expect for 2025 | Webinar/Register Here
16th – 3 PM – 4 PM – How to Inspire an Unmotivated Team | Webinar/Register Here
17th – 1 PM – 2 PM – New EBSCOhost Demonstration & Open Questions | Webinar/Register Here
17th – 1 PM – 2 PM – Overcome the Overwhelm: How to Manage Stress | Webinar/Register Here
18th – 1 PM – 2 PM – How to Be More Mindful in 2025 | Webinar/Register Here
18th – 2 PM – 3 PM – Bridging the Divide: A Panel Discussion on Library Workers’ Loneliness| Webinar/Register Here
Week of December 23rd – 27th
24th – 26th – SWKLS Office Closed for the Winter Holiday
If you still have CE to complete before the year’s end, please check our wiki for recorded opportunities. Thank you! Enjoy the holidays!
Consulting
By Sara Wilson
Quick, Fun, Easy Holiday Craft for Kids
10 Different Spins on the CSLP Summer Theme
The CSLP slogan for this year is Color Our World and the theme is art. I, personally, love art as many of you know. However, I appreciate the fact that for some, art is to them what math is to me and that is my worst nightmare. LOL So, if you’re feeling uninspired by this year’s theme, here are a few ways you can reimagine it that might make it fit better for you and for your patrons:
- Performance Art is art. You could make the theme all about acting, singing, dancing, and improv! The color part could relate to costuming, set design, dance streamers, etc. You could have programming around sewing, cosplay, and even carpentry.
- Filmmaking is art. You could have several movies based around color themes (like, one week you watch the Pink Panther, and then you watch Green Lantern, etc.) or watch different types of films and talk about how and why they’re different. You could learn camera angles, bring in someone to talk about sound effects and how they’re made, etc. You could also parlay this into YouTube/Twitch/Instagram/TikTok video making and sell it to the teens as a how-to-make-quality-influencer-videos type of program.
- Martial art is art. Do you know a martial artist who might be willing to come in a do a demonstration? Maybe there are children in martial arts who would like to show off what they know. You could talk about the different types of martial arts there are, maybe even partner with a dojo for some free or reduced lessons. The colors of the belts automatically fit in with the slogan.
- Game Design is art. If you want to combine the two summer themes, iREAD and CSLP, that would be one way you could do it! Focus on game design – whether video game or board game. For board games, you could have a prototype night with different pieces, old cards, and printable boards, and people could come and make and play their own games. You could have a whole series on building a board game, start to finish. Invite some local gamers to come and talk about what elements make games enjoyable for different types of gamers. For video games, you could invite your local computer science teacher to shed some light on how to get started in learning the tools you’ll need to begin crafting a video game.
- Fiber Art is art. What is fiber art? Anything that uses textiles. Sewing, needlepoint, crocheting, knitting, quilting, etc. These are all forms of art! You could have a Hooks and Needles night where crafters got together to craft, chat, and teach each other new skills. Your groups could have a set goal, like making x amount of hats or blankets to give to a charity, for example. They could collectively listen to an audiobook as they craft. When everything’s said and done, you could hold a gallery showing of all their creations on a special night in your library.
- Vehicle Restoration is art. You could invite mechanics, auto body technicians, stereo installation experts, people who do window tinting, etc. as well as a local or nearly-local person who is into restoring classic cars. They could do a series on how to restore classic cars. It may even include a field trip or two to a shop in the area. You could have a day where you invite classic car enthusiasts to bring their vehicles down to show them in front of the library.
- Floral art is art. Do you have a local florist who might be willing to come in and teach people how to make beautiful flower arrangements? Maybe they could teach how to make different types of flower arrangements, like wreaths, vase arrangements, and center pieces. If you used silk flowers, you could have loads of flower arrangements covering your library in all different colors all summer long. Kids could make flower crafts with various materials – coffee filters, construction paper, etc. They could make leis, hair clips, flower pens, etc.
- Tattoo art is art. Invite a tattoo artist to come in and talk about what it takes to become a tattoo artist, the tools that are used, and how long they’ve been tattooing. Maybe they can bring a portfolio with them. If you’re really brave (and so are they), maybe ask if they would mind doing a tattoo live at the library, as a demonstration. Maybe people who go to their program could receive a percentage off of a tattoo if they get one in the near future. Kids could be given stick-on tattoos and could practice their tattoo artistry by creating tattoo designs on a paper doll. Teens could be shown how to make a semi-permanent tattoo that lasts a couple of weeks using a few different methods and how to make their own tattoo stencils.
- Nail art is art. Manicurists might enjoy coming to present on nail art. You could provide a few bottles of nail polish and a nail brush kit, or maybe UV drying lights for gel nails – whatever your budget allows. See if the manicurist has some tools they would like to bring as well. Maybe provide some stick-on or press-on options. Patrons could learn a new style or technique at each session.
- Communication is an art. This is a theme you could really run with in that you have a mental health professional talk about emotional communication, you could have a sign language instructor talk about non-verbal communication, you could have an author talk about written communication, you could have a person who does a lot of public speaking talk about verbal communication. The angles on this are endless! For kids, activities could include games like Telephone, Telestrations, Guess Who, Guesstures, and Password. Crafts could include things like tin can phones, decoder wheels, lemon juice messages, cardboard microphones, etc.
Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL
By Miguel Coca
Collection Development Inspiration
Adult Fiction
Children’s & YA Fiction
Sharing about SHAREit
The next Sharing about SHAREit Q&A – All About Statistics – is scheduled for Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at 1pm.
Registration is open at: https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/8145377193955856900
Additional Sharing about SHAREit webinars are scheduled for:
- Wednesday, January 22
- Wednesday, February 19
- Wednesday, March 12
From the SWKLS Pro Collection
New public library directors quickly learn what seasoned directors already know: running a library means you’ve always got your hands full—balancing the needs of staff, patrons, facilities, library boards, and other stakeholders with professional responsibilities like community interactions, legal and financial requirements, and whole lot else that wasn’t exactly in the job description. Whether you are considering becoming a public library director, are brand new to the role, or have settled in but find yourself thinking “there’s got to be a better way,” authors Hall and Parker are here to help. This book walks you through the core components of getting up to speed and then provides templates, sample documents, checklists, and other resources that will make your job easier.
From the SWKLS S.T.E.A.M Collection
3D art made easy for kids: the plastic hardens rapidly allowing kids to literally draw in the air with only one speed and one temperature. Just plug the 3D pen in, insert plastic, wait for the 3D pen to heat up, and then you’re good to Extrude!
Technology
by Christopher Dressler
