Thank you to the 111 trustees who attended this year’s training! It was wonderful to see so many of you taking steps to become even better board members!

If you were unable to attend, we recorded the Saturday session and will make an announcement when the video is ready.

Either way, here are the resources from the day.

Links:

Presentation Slides

Kansas Public Library Trustee Manual

Kansas Public Library Handbook

KOMA/KORA brochure

Roberts Rule of Order cheat sheet

Public Library Board Members – Job Description

Board and Director Roles

Five Leadership Roles for Library Trustees (Article from Urban Libraries Council)

New Board Member Orientation: A Checklist for Directors

Loyalty Oath/ Affirmation & Statement of Substantial Interest

Sample Meeting Agenda – Board

Sample Meeting Agenda – Public

Public Library Boards – The Essentials from NEKLS

Model Board meeting documents:

• Script
• Board packet cover sheet
• Board packet
• Questions to consider

Pictured – a book from our collection that covers digital copyright pretty comprehensively.
One thing that many of our libraries like to do is get their local yearbooks digitized by the folks down in OK. This is a cool service, but the next thing that our libraries want to do is put those files up on their websites. I’ve gotten a few questions about how to do this and I always ask “who has the copyright to these files”. Many times, the person asking the question can’t answer that one right away. Generally, the publisher of the yearbook – unless it’s from 1923 or before – has the copyright and could object via lawsuit to those images being posted on a library’s site. There are some subtleties to this – it’s not 100% black and white and the general legalities are covered nicely at The Legal Genealogist. If your local school published those yearbooks locally, you could be in luck – just ask and they’ll likely give their permission (get that in writing though – you want to be able to show that when future administrators come asking). If Jostens or one of the big yearbook companies published it, though, you might not be as lucky – they could still be selling those digital files and would not appreciate them being made available on the web without payment. Either way – whenever you put an image on the web, think about copyright and who owns that image and whether you have any rights to post it. As always, ask us if you have questions!

Hi, All! Anna here—on Friday, I attended Welcoming Library Spaces Where All Means All at Lawrence Public Library. The Mid-America Library Alliance (MALA) event featured Dr. Jaime Campbell Naidoo, a professor at the University of Alabama and ALSC president.

The day was jam packed with great conversation and useful resources, so I thought I’d share some with you.

Here is a selection of the great resources that Dr. Naidoo shared:

• Libraries Are for Everyone posters in many languages, free to print.
• Webjunction resources for helping Spanish-speaking patrons, which includes a “pointing guide” to help facilitate bilingual conversation and a one-hour audio course Survival Spanish for Library Staff.
• Spanish in Our Libraries – bilingual and Spanish library forms like card applications, signs and bookmarks, the Dewey Decimal System in Spanish.
• International Children’s Digital Library – online books in many languages.
• Two-page toolkit: “How to facilitate important conversations with kids using diverse and inclusive books” from Barefoot Books.
• Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books.
• Cheat sheet for selling diversity—brief book talks by author Grace Lin.

If you are interested in seeing the complete list of resources, including a section on available grants, drop me a note and I’ll scan and send it to you.

Huge thanks to NEKLS library staff members Karen Allen (Lawrence Public) and Kim Patton (Kansas City, Kansas Public) for making this event awesome! It was nice to see many of you there.

~ Anna

May 15, 2019

9am to 3pm

Overbrook Public Library, Community Room, 317 Maple St, Overbrook, KS 66524

It’s time to dream big. As a library director, leader or trustee, ask:

• What does my community need to be successful at home, at school, at work?
• What can my library do to facilitate that success?
• How much will that cost and where will we find funding?

Taxes and tuition pay for the basics (hopefully!). But to make your community’s dreams come true, you’re going to need to get some intentional gifts from supportive constituents. Additional funds mean you can do more, which is better service for your community.

In this interactive session, nonprofit fundraising consultants Judy Keller and Mary Loftus will help you to:

• identify your purpose and goals for fundraising.
• create a draft of a fundraising case statement that suits your short-term goals.
• identify next steps, including how to use your case statement to raise funds.

For more information on Judy and Mary, see kellerconsultingllc.com. As Judy says, “Fundraising is for anyone who has a goal—not just for the big guys!”

At the end of the session, you will leave with a draft of a case statement—a written piece explaining who you are, what the library needs and why funders should support the library. You will also leave with a plan to put the statement into action.

In order to get the most out of this session, bring copies of your library’s strategic plan, mission/vision statement(s) and a wish list with estimated costs.

There is no charge for this event; and you do get a free lunch! Register at: http://bit.ly/2HMf6HU by Monday, May 6.

5…4…3…2…1… Blast off to another fabulous Summer Library Program with A Universe of Stories, our annual workshop designed to get you ready for summer.

The NEKLS workshop will be held at Lawrence Public Library on Friday, March 8, 2019.

Find the library.

Here’s where to park.

The day will last from 8:30am to 4:00pm.

• 8:30-9am: refreshments and registration
• 9am: program begins
• Noon: working lunch
• 3:30: prize drawings—You must be present to win.

Here’s the agenda.

The $10 registration fee includes lunch and snacks through the day, plus tons of great content!

Pay by cash, check, or credit card at the event. To pay in advance: mail a check to the NEKLS office or call the office with your credit card information. Note that credit card transactions incur a small fee from our vendor.

Register here by Wednesday, February 20th. 

Our main presenter this year is Will Stuck, a youth services librarian and professional storyteller from St. Joseph, MO. Whether he is presenting workshop for various State Libraries, speaking at conferences, or just acting like a fool for laughs in front of children, Will’s passion for stories, books and libraries shines through.

The day will also feature a session, The Tween and Teen Universes, from Jennifer McCulley, a great librarian and Youth Services Coordinator at McPherson Public Library.

In addition, you will have an opportunity to talk to colleagues about one or two of the following topics:

• Nuts and Bolts of Running a Summer Library Program
• Adapting Programs for Various Age Groups and/or Families
• Serving Tweens and Teens During Summer and Beyond

Join us for a full day of learning, exploration and collaboration.

This project is funded in part through the Federal Library Services and Technology Act, with funds awarded to the State Library of Kansas by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.