Weekly Wrap-Up! – February 7th, 2025

/ Weekly Wrap-Up / By

System Spotlight

By Staff

STEM Program @ Scott Co. Public Library

Kinsley Storytime

It was all about colors again at Bounces and Rhymes on Thursday. These kids are so much fun and so smart! They love books and play so well together. Don’t you want to find a 1-3 year old to bring to the library to have fun on Thursdays at 10 a.m.?

Consulting

By Sara Wilson

  • February 10th at 1 PM CST – Getting Started with Citizen Science Kits | Webinar/Register Here
  • February 11th at 2 PM CST – Twosday Takeaway: HR for Rural and Small Libraries with Sara Koehn | Webinar/Register Here
  • February 11th at 10 AM CST – Issues & Controversies and World News Digest|Webinar/Zoom Link
  • February 12th at 1 PM CST – Photography Basics for PR and Marketing | Webinar/Register Here
  • February 13th at 2 PM CST – Cultivating Empathy, Trust, and Optimism: Strategies for Motivating Demotivated Library Teams | Webinar/Register Here
  • February 14th – Library Lovers’ Day/Valentine’s Day

Are You Prepared for Child Abuse Prevention Month?

From the Kansas Children’s Service League: April is recognized across the nation as Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Month. Kansas Children’s Service League (KCSL), as the Kansas chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, aims to create a collaborative CAP Month effort across the state. We are working hard to prepare for the 2025 campaign and would like to share a few key updates.

KCSL’s 2025 CAP Month online toolkit will be available mid-February at kcsl.org/resources/cap-month/. The toolkit will include talking points, a proclamation template, social media assets, and more. We will also share a video with ideas for celebrating CAP Month in your community. Please sign up here for our Community Resource Library newsletter to ensure you will receive a notification when the 2025 CAP Month toolkit is available.

We have attached the list of materials that will be available to order beginning in February. The pinwheel is the symbol of child abuse prevention. We encourage your organization to host a pinwheel planting or set up a pinwheel display to create awareness. Pinwheel displays can be small or large, ranging from a vase on a counter to outside pinwheel gardens. Pinwheels will be available for $1.25 each. We will also offer two kits that include a variety of materials perfect for a small display or a larger pinwheel planting.

Additional materials, including a family calendar and coloring page, will be available on our website at no cost. Please contact us with any questions about the 2025 CAP Month campaign.

While April is recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month, we know that prevention is a year-round effort. We encourage organizations and individuals to engage families in activities that promote positive childhood experiences throughout the year. 

If you missed Haskell Township Library Director Sara Koehn’s presentation on HR and the Rural Library at KLA, you’ll have another chance to view it coming up this month! Sara will be doing February’s Twosday Takeaway on Tuesday, February 11th, at 2 PM. Register now!

Save the Date: Summer Library Program!

This year’s Summer Library Program Workshop will held at Dodge City Public Library, in the Lois Flanagan Room (thank you, Carissa and staff!). It will be split into two events: in the morning, Patty Collins and Diane Bott from Central Kansas Library System will be presenting on the CSLP theme: Color Our World that is all about art, creativity, and COLOR! In the afternoon, Sara Wilson will be presenting on the iRead theme: Level Up at Your Library that is all about games, competition, and FUN! Lunch will be on your own, this year. You are welcome to attend either program or both. We will be announcing registration soon, but wanted to put this on your radar. It promises to be a fun day, filled with laughter and tons of inspiration for your summer library program! Hope to see you there!

Cataloging, Collection Development, and ILL

By Miguel Coca

Collection Development Inspiration

Adult Fiction

Children’s & YA Fiction

Versed in Verso

The next Versed in VERSO is Tuesday, February 11th at 11:00 AM ET / 8:00 AM PT. The webinar is scheduled for 1 hour.

The recording from January’s Versed in VERSO is posted here: Staff Dashboard > Support > VERSO.

Regards,

Julie

Julie Cavender, MLIS

VERSO Product Manager |  Lakewood, CO

(909) 569-1527 | jjc@auto-graphics.com

New to the SWKLS Pro Collection

With a renewed emphasis on facilitating learning, supporting multiple literacies, and advancing equity and inclusion, the thoroughly updated and revised second edition of this trusted text provides models and tools that will enable library staff who serve youth to create and maintain collections that provide equitable access to all youth. And as Hughes-Hassell demonstrates, the only way to do this is for collection managers to be learner-centered, confidently acting as information guides, change agents, and leaders. Based on the latest educational theory and research, this book

  • presents the argument for why collection management decisions and practices should focus on equity, exploring systemic inequities, educational paradigm shifts, developments in the information environment, and other key factors;
  • lays out the theoretical foundation for developing and managing a library collection that facilitates learning, supports the development of multiple literacies, and provides equitable access to an increasingly diverse group of young learners;
  • touches upon current competencies and standards by AASL, YALSA, and ALSC;
  • uses a learner-centered and equity perspective to cover core issues and criteria such as selection and removal of materials, budgeting, and cooperation among libraries;
  • shows how a business viewpoint can assist the learner-centered collector in articulating the central significance of the collection to learning;
  • discusses how library staff can work collaboratively to create policy and negotiate budgets; and
  • includes customizable tools and templates, including a Stakeholder Contact/SWOT Analysis, Decision-Making Model for Selecting Resources and Access Points that Support Learning and Advance Equity, and Collection Development Analysis Worksheet.

Technology

by Christopher Dressler

Dating Scams

As online dating has gained popularity over the years, it has unfortunately become a breeding ground for hackers. Hackers use various dating platforms to gain trust and then exploit users into sharing personal information or extort money from their victims. Romance/Sweetheart scams refer to cybercrimes that involve online dating sites. according to staysafeonline.org/articles/online-romance-scams article. “a bad actor creates a fake online profile, fires up the charm, and attempts to stir up romantic feelings in potential victims.” Often the victim is embarrassed and, in most cases, do not report the cybercrime. So, it is important to educate your patrons of the red flags and warning signs before they fall victim to such crime.

The Red Flags: The scammers’ goal is to be as convincing as possible. Many scammers use AI to make their stories very convincing. AI is not completely undetectable, so look for patterns that can trigger a Red Flag. After gaining a user’s trust, a scammer may try to convince you to send money by a sudden and urgent problem. Many may ask you to make a special trip to the store to obtain a gift card to perform the transaction. This is another Red Flag. Maybe you have been chatting with someone for a while, and you are ready for the next step. in-person meeting. While a legit person may agree, a scammer will break those promises to meet up or might not agree at all. (Red Flag) A scammer may also try to get a user to change platforms for chatting, like to WhatsApp or Signal. (Red Flag) Finally, they will push the fast-forward or skip button to advance a relationship. (Red Flag).

The Breakup: What do you do when you get the Red Flags? Break up immediately and stop communicating. Hopefully, the only you lost was time. Once money has been sent to a scammer, there isn’t much you can do to recover your money. The only thing you can do is stop communicating with them. Please report the issue to local law enforcement. In some cases. the scammer is someone inside the US and they can be stopped and prosecuted.