Kansas Library Express

Kansas Library Express (KLE), the Kansas interlibrary courier service, provides library users with rapid and direct access to library resources.  Kansas Library Express began service July 6, 2009 with 198 delivery locations and 14 additional locations receiving service through another library.

The numbers of items shipped has been reported as follows.  July items shipped: 32,737, August items shipped: 43,680 with 189 libraries reporting.  That is an overall cost of 82 cents per item shipped during August.

Highlights of service other than the numbers include endorsements from librarians.

“We are thrilled with this service . . . . we love everything about it and it does seem we are sending out more ill books than before -  but that is great!  Before when my postage money was gone for the month, we just had to say ‘No’ to requests.” (Ness City library director, Jean Schlegel)

Nancy Saddler of Pioneer Memorial Library in Colby comments, “ . . .  I LOVE the courier.  In just July and August, our courier packages saved us $503.88 in postage! (For my own information I weighed the packages I sent on the courier, so these are actual cost savings.) We will recoup our investment in the next month or so, and then the REAL savings begin.”

Kansas Library Express is committed to providing reliable and efficient courier service to participating libraries throughout Kansas. Delivery days and times are established for all participating libraries based on their service request and the courier company’s routing requirements with available delivery options of either 3 or 5 days per week.  Day-to-day management of this service is provided by the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS.)  Libraries interested in joining the Kansas Library Express service, or with any questions about the service, should contact NEKLS at any time 785-838-4090 or contact Carolyn Little, Courier Services Coordinator, clittle@nekls.org[.]

Winter 2009 KLA newsletter

Winter 2009 Newsletter hits the stands!

Can you believe it?

I can’t.

and better yet, a new one is coming out right after conference.

Woo-hoo!  Conference registration is now open.  Please visit the KLA conference website at
http://www.kansaslibraryassociation.org/displayconvention.cfm
to register early for the conference.  Click on Register for Conference and pay by credit card or print an invoice to send with a check.  Both KLA and MPLA members will sign in with their username (firstnamelastname with no spaces) and
password kla (default password which you will be prompted to change).
Non-members will create their own username and password for registration purposes only.
Regular registration rates run through March 6, 2009.  After March 7th registration increases.
KLA or MPLA member $100
Non-member $140
Students, Friends, Trustees $40

Conference highlights:
Keynote Speaker Will Manley, longtime Will’s World & Manley Arts
columnist
Keynote Speaker Brad Meltzer, #1 bestselling author
KLA Luncheon Speaker Roland Smith, award winning YA author
CULS Luncheon Speaker Lori Goetsch, ACRL Vice President
Library Celebration Luncheon FoKL/KLTA
State Librarian’s Luncheon
Pre-Conference Speaker Warren Graham, Black Belt Librarian
KLA/MPLA Awards Banquet
100+ enlightening sessions to choose from!

Be sure to join us for a fabulous joint conference in Wichita April 1-3, 2009!

If you have trouble with registration, please contact Carolyn at
kslibassoc@yahoo.com or Laura at llove@kckpl.lib.ks.us

YALSA’s MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens

This award honors a YALSA member for developing an outstanding reading or literature program for young adults. Winners receive $500 and an additional $500 for their libraries. Applications for the MAE Award, along with all of YALSA’s grants and awards, are due to the YALSA office by Dec. 1.

The MAE Award for Best Literature Program for Teens is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust.

Edwards was a well-known and innovative young adult services librarian at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Md., for more than 30 years. Her trust has supported many initiatives from YALSA, including the Alex Awards for adult books with teen appeal and all five rounds of the Excellence in Library Service to Young Adults project.

Criteria

• The purpose of the reading or literature program must be to bring young adults and books together and to encourage the development of life-long reading habits.
• The program must be specifically designed for and targeted at reaching young adults.
• All or part of the program must have taken place in the twelve months preceding the award deadline date of December 1.
• The applicant must work directly with young adults and be a personal member of the Young Adult Library Services Association.
• Nonwinning entries may be resubmitted in subsequent years if the program is current and ongoing and if a new application that updates the documentation is submitted.

Guidelines

1. All entries must include the application form (PDF) provided by the Young Adult Library Services Association.
2. All applicants must be current personal members of ALA/YALSA at the time the application is submitted.
3. Entries should be models of clarity and completeness.
4. The application should be e-mailed to Nichole Gilbert at ngilbert@ala.org. Questions can be directed to Nichole at 1.800.545.2433 x 4387.
5. Applications must be received no later than December 1 of the current year.

KLA newsletter call for submissions

Dear KLA members, affiliates and other librarian related peoples,

The KLA is putting together a new Newsletter.

We are hoping to have this out on the ‘stands’ by the middle of October.

The only definite thing right now is a section that will include Section/Roundtable Notes. So if you have something to pass along about your roundtable or section please forward that to me by October 5^th. We will have a word limit of 150 words per group.

We also highly encourage participation from affiliates and students.

If you would like to submit an article for the publication, please forward that to me as well. The deadline for submissions is October 5^th.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kansas Rules!

Royce Kitts

Director

Tonganoxie Public Library

KLA Newsletter Editor

KLA MPLA Call for Proposals!

Yes, it’s that time of year again!  It’s like summer reading – it NEVER goes away!

2009 KLA – MPLA Joint Conference
Libraries: Dynamic People, Places & Ideas
April 1-3, 2009
Hyatt Regency / Century II Convention Center
Wichita, KS

Libraries are filled with dynamic */PEOPLE/*, both staff and patrons.  Libraries are unique spaces with an increasingly unique sense of /*PLACE*/.  Libraries are filled with /*IDEAS*/.  Start thinking about how /*YOU*/ can contribute to the most fabulous, entertaining library conference of 2009!   We’ll have tracks of interest for everyone.  Tracks include: administration, advocacy, archives / preservation, children, collection development, electronic resources, government resources, instruction, marketing / outreach, professional development, reference, reader’s advisory, technology, technical services, trustees / friends, and young adults.

We are accepting program proposals Sept 2 – Oct 31, 2008.  We will notify accepted proposals in November.
http://www.kansaslibraryassociation.org/displayemailforms.cfm?emailformnbr=94133

Feel free to forward to additional listservs.  Hope to hear from you soon!

Call for Chapters

CALL FOR CHAPTERS
Proposal Submission Deadline: October 30, 2008
Full Chapter Deadline: February 15, 2009

Book: “Recruitment, Development, and Retention of Information Professionals: Trends in Human Resources and Knowledge Management”
A book edited by: Elisabeth Pankl, Danielle Theiss-White, and Mary C. Bushing

Introduction
With the projected retirement openings in the field of information science and management and the ever growing need for knowledge management, the need for a viable workforce is more pressing than ever before.  Our handbook will provide both information professionals and their organizations with the skills and knowledge necessary to strengthen and develop the profession.

Objectives of the book
Our objective is to inform and to expand the current literature on the career development of information professionals by bringing together the expertise of practicing information professionals in the 21st century. This handbook will bring together this disparate yet exciting and vibrant profession by sharing how various information professionals encourage the recruitment, retention and career development of individuals within their organizations whether at a single workplace or on a regional, state, or national level. Thus, this handbook will provide a toolkit for employers, new information professionals, and information organizations.

The target audience
The prospective audience of our proposed text is composed of several distinct groups. Perhaps the most important group is the future information professionals. This group will benefit immensely from the information, real-life experiences, advice, and future developments detailed in the book. Another important group is the employers of information professionals. Employers will be able to use the information in the book to design and implement recruitment, development, and retention policies and procedures that further both the success and longevity of the profession and their own organizations. A third, but not final, group is the teachers and trainers of information professionals. All quality professional training incorporates not only the technical skills required for employment and advancement, but also the myriad of affective elements that shape one’s professional career.

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
· Retention and/or recruitment research and/or practices and the information professional
· Retention and/or recruitment research and/or practices and diversity in the workplace or profession
· Mentoring policies, programs, procedures, and outcomes from an individual, organizational, regional, state, or national level
· Mentor/mentee relationships
· Mentoring in the professions/peer mentoring
· State, Regional, National leadership programs and outcomes
· Succession leadership planning
· Trends in Human Resources and the information professional/personnel management
· Career development guidance
· Organizational culture/group dynamics
· Orientation programs
· Continuing education/training/in-service education
· Librarianship as a profession
· MLS/MLIS/Library Media Specialist/Library Certification education programs
· Regional, state, and/or national information professional associations and their involvement with career development, recruitment to the profession, and retention

Submission Procedure
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit a 2-5 page proposal clearly explaining the objectives and concerns of the proposed chapter by October 30, 2008. The status of submitted proposals will be communicated by November 15, 2008.  At that time, the authors of accepted proposals will be provided with chapter organizational guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by February 15, 2009. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. The book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group, Inc.), www.igi-global.com, publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formally Idea Group Reference) and “Medical Information Science Reference” imprints.

Inquiries and Submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) to:
recruitment-development-retention@googlegroups.com

Elisabeth Pankl
Humanities Librarian and Assistant Professor
K-State Libraries
epankl@ksu.edu

Danielle Theiss-White
General Reference Coordinator and Assistant Professor
K-State Libraries
dtheiss@ksu.edu

WordPress for Libraries

Since there are a number of Kansas libraries using WordPress for their websites, you may find this handy:

The WordPress for Libraries Wiki

It was started by Laura Crossett of the Park County Library System in Wyoming. Check out the wiki for good information and to see what other libraries are doing with WordPress. And if you have things to contribute and share, go ahead and add stuff to the wiki.

There’s also a WordPress for Libraries group on the new WebJunction site!

A report from the Reference Renaissance

Submitted by Rhonna (aka the Enviro-Nag)
I just returned from Reference Renaissance in Denver.  I learned all kinds of
great things about virtual reference, library 2.0, reference with international
patrons, and reference outside of the library.  I'm overflowing with ideas and
renewed energy.  The best part, though, was the librarians themselves.  It was
amazing to be in a room with 500 other people who are looking at the same issues
that I work with everyday at Manhattan Public Library.  

  I also realized that librarians are really nice people.  There was no posturing or
politics.  There was a universal feeling of "Sure this seat is open.  Where are
you from and what is happening at your library?"  I met amazing people that
confirmed my career choice.

  Check it out at the website and join us next time around!

New WebJunction site!

Have you had a chance to check out the new WebJunction? Well you should! It rules. I have been playing with it all day. There are some kinks as with all new things, but those seem to be getting worked out every minute. So if you liked the old webjunction you are going to love the new one.

Check this out:

royce's webjunction profile

It is kinda small, but what it is is my profile on webjunction. Part of that whole new social networking thing people have been talking about. So now instead of just seeing someone’s name on discussion board posts, you get a chance to be their ‘friend’ and get to know more about them. It lists my place of work, my position, and things that interest me out there in library land.

I love it.

Oh and the new Kansas section of webjunction rocks!

So please go check it out, they put a lot of work into, and although there are some bugs now….they won’t be there forever.

Live long and prosper.