Apr 18

Coming soon to a library near you

Rotating Book Van

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2019/04/18/coming-soon-to-a-library-near-you/

Jan 25

Newest Resource added to LearningExpress!

  • Here are a few new resources add to Learning Express Library in Jan 2019.  This is not a complete list:

Career Preparation Tests:

  • Civil Service Practice Exam 5, 6. 7 (Tests)
  • Court Officer Practice Test 3 & 4
  • Firefighter Practice Test 3 & 4
  • Journeyman Electrical Practice Exam 3 & 4
  • Paramedic (NRP) Practice Exam 3, 4, & 5
  • Postal Worker Practice Test 3 & 4
  • Praxis II Elementary Education: Content Knowledge Practice Test 3
  • State Trooper Practice Test 3 & 4


Career Preparation Tutorials:

  • Pharmacy Technician Tutorial: Basic Anatomy, Physiology, & Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy Technical Tutorial: Pharmacy Math

College Students, Prepare for College Placement Exams:

  • TSI Math Practice Placement Test 1 & 2
  • TSI Reading Practice Placement Test 1 & 2
  • TSI Writing Multiple-Choice Practice Placement Test 1 & 2

High School Equivalency Center:

  • Data, Graph & Statistics Level 1, Practice Set 1 & 2
  • Data, Graph & Statistics, Level 3, Practice Set 1 & 2
  • Decimals: Level 3, Practice Set 2
  • Fractions & Mixed Numbers: Level 3, Practice Set 1 & 2
  • Integers: Level 1, Practice Set 1 & 2
  • Integers: Level 2, Practice Set 2
  • Integers, Level 3, Practice Set 1 & 2
  • Measurement: Level 2, Practice Set 1 & 2

 

 

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2018/01/25/see-whats-new-in-learningexpress/

Canopy

NCKLS has purchased this canopy and weights and it can be checked out to you for library use.

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2017/12/20/canopy/

Active Shooter Policy

In light of the shooting in the Clovis, NM Public Library on August 28, it is a good time for libraries to review their evacuation and/or active shooter plans. If you and your board has not established one, now would be a good time to talk about it.  This VIDEO may be in a much larger building than most of us work in, but the overall message is useful wherever you are.  It was produced by the Department of Homeland Security and the City of Houston.  This is recommended by the Houston Public Library.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2017/08/29/10358/

How to travel the US from your armchair?

If you  (or your patrons) didn’t have time to travel around the country this summer, Literary Hub has a book list to take you to all 50 states.  You will find it at 100 Books Across America website.

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2017/08/28/how-to-travel-the-us-from-your-armchair/

Adding Diversity to Our Collections

Illustration of diverse representation in children’s books published in 2015.

Yes, Mirrors, but also Windows

Anyone who is keeping up on trends in children’s and teen publishing knows that there has been a big push in the last few years to encourage publishers to print more diverse books and libraries to add these books to their collections. This “We Need Diverse Books” movement has been championed by ALA, ALSC, and YALSA, but there has also been push back.

Some communities question the value of having diverse books because their demographics aren’t diverse. And some libraries feel that books with non-majority characters are a waste of money because they don’t circulate well. Newbery Honor winning author Grace Lin discusses the impact diverse books have on both diverse and homogeneous communities and readers in this excellent TEDx Talk: The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf.

For other resources on diverse books, visit some of these sites:

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2017/08/18/adding-diversity-to-our-collections/

Aug 02

Promote Your Library with a Painted Rock Hunt

Heard of Friendship Rocks?

 

Sort of like geocaching, this fad has people hiding painted rocks around their communities. When someone finds a painted rock, they can share a picture on social media and then re-hide the rock at a new spot. Some libraries are turning this into a PR campaign, and it’s super easy to do.

 

  1. Paint some rocks. You can do this yourself, with volunteers, or as a program. Be sure all the rocks have the name or initials of your library somewhere on them.
  2. Hide the rocks around your community. Again, you can do this by yourself, with volunteers, or as a program.
  3. Make a splash on your library’s website and Facebook page about the rocks.
  4. Offer a small prize to people who find the rocks and bring them into the library. This can be something simple like, taking their picture with the rock and posting it to your website/Facebook page.
  5. Ask them to hide the rock somewhere new.

Need some rock painting ideas? Check out these websites:

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2017/08/02/fun-library-scavenger-hunt/

Aug 01

Rural Libraries: The lifeblood of small towns

And #10, Libraries are safe places……Gone are the days when a person goes to the local library to do nothing more than check out a book and return it or renew it later. Small town libraries have become a provider of numerous services to their communities. Their future will be one of expanding those services even more. The communities that support those services will be more vibrant, educated and engaged.

Phil Hardwick is coordinator of capacity development at the John C Stennis Institute of Government in Mississippi, and he shared the 10 things he learned about rural libraries.  Same applies to Kansas rural libraries.

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2017/08/01/rural-libraries-the-lifeblood-of-small-towns/

May 01

A Machine to Dust Books, is like a ‘waterless carwash”

Book cleaning spotlight by Library Journal, highlights an Italian-made machine, The Depulvera, as an automatic book cleaning system that dusts about 12 books per minute. It’s compact, simple to use, and can be operated in small spaces—even within stack aisles.  The Boston Public Library tweets about their use of it.  See the company website http://depulvera.com/ for more information.

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2017/05/01/a-machine-to-clean-books/

Mar 02

Tax-lid Exemption For Libraries

Roger Carswell, the Director of the Southeast Kansas Libraries System reports:

Several of the regional library system directors were able to meet with Roger Basinger of the state Municipal Services office regarding the “library exemption” from the tax lid.  The news was probably the best we could have hoped for.

Although Mr. Basinger had been skeptical last year that the wording in the bill really was an exemption for libraries, he said after thinking about it through the winter, they have come to the conclusion that it is, in fact, an exemption for libraries.

Furthermore, the budget forms that cities, counties, etc. will use have the library exemption built in.  To oversimplify it a bit, on the page used to compute their maximum levy for 2018 without having to go to an election, they will start with the amount levied for 2017, then subtract off the amount levied for the library to come up with a base for computing the limit.  After allowing for factors they can increase for (such as new improvements) and applying the allowable increase (1.4% for cities, 1.3% for other units of local government) to come up with the maximum levy, they will then add the amount to be levied for the library in 2018 onto that.  Perfect!  No city should be able to claim that the library cannot have an increase because of the tax lid; that just won’t work with the forms.

Permanent link to this article: http://lib.nckls.org/2017/03/02/tax-lid-exemption-for-libraries/

error: Content is protected !!