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.

Michael Lang was kind enough to give the NEKLS staff a tour of the Kansas Talking Books facility in the Emporia State University Union. Here are a few highlights from our visit:

• Libraries may apply for Kansas Talking Books equipment for patrons to try out. Having a demonstration unit helps spread awareness of their services. Contact Jessi at NEKLS if you would like an application.
• Those experiencing temporary visual, or physical limitation may also qualify for Kansas Talking Books services.
• Libraries can contact Kansas Talking Books for promotional materials (static clings, bookmarks, pamphlets, information sheets, etc.) and to request a tour.

Photos from our visit:

Michael Lang, Director of Kansas Talking Books

Recording Studio

Braille Magazine

Talking Book Player and USB

Talking Book Case

Happy New Year! Many of you may be receiving advertisements for ready-made labor law posters. Remember that libraries do not need to purchase labor law posters to meet state and federal requirements. You can print them out for free! You do not need to keep old, or outdated posters. As long as you have the current posters displayed, you are meeting the requirements.

Here is the link to the State of Kansas required posters:
http://www.dol.ks.gov/laws/posters.aspx

Here is the link to the Federally required posters:
https://www.dol.gov/general/topics/posters

Printing the posters on standard-sized printing paper is perfectly
acceptable. Just be sure to display the posters where your employees can
easily view them.

If you would like to have NEKLS print the posters for you, email Jessi@nekls.org.