I am a person who ALWAYS carries a book or my Kindle around with me.  Much like the cartoon character, Linus, from Peanuts, my book/Kindle is a sort of security blanket.  Even when I know I will not have a minute to read, I still absolutely have to have a book with me.  When other people are rummaging around trying to locate their keys in the morning, I am frantically making certain that I have my book!  I have read my book on many a bus, train and plane, standing in line at the DMV, sitting on a bench, sitting on the floor of a building waiting for a meeting to begin and on and on.  My reading has always been my way to de-stress and re-energize and so it gave me great pleasure to read the article from the Times Book Review on New Yorkers getting in some reading time over the past decades.  The notion of a book providing entrée into a space of solitude in the midst of our largest U.S. city is wonderful.  Today, a plethora of options for accessing a book makes it even easier to carve out that space. For a reminder of all the ways in which we get caught up in a book, take a look at the article, “Reading Around New York.”  The article combined with photos from their archives was part of the Times Book Review’s 125^th anniversary celebration.  In images of groups of people gathered on the front steps of the New York Public Library to those near the outdoor library at Bryant Park in 1938 to those in a bookstore or at the airport, people are shown reading among the throngs.  Yay libraries for providing all of us with the resources to create our own space amidst the crowds.  Together we are maximizing library potential.  Thanks and have a wonderful week!

Betsy Lantz
 

12/1/2021
Generational Learning Styles 101
12/1/2021
NEW-Special Libraries Network Meeting
12/7/2021
Creating Calm During Times of Stress
12/8/2021
MARCs of Quality: vetting bibliographic records
12/8/2021
NEW-Directors Virtual Networking Meeting-Focused on the Salary Survey
12/9/2021
Diverse, Equitable, Inclusive, and Accessible: Putting DEIA into Practice in Your Library
12/9/2021
Public Relations and Marketing Networking Meeting

Don't forget about CE @ a Glance.  A simple one-page flyer to share with your staff.

Check out the job postings at the new Jobline location on the website under Services.

You may be interested to know that the Licking County Law Library moved into the main location of the Licking County Library.  It was a win-win situation.  They now pay the library an annual rent and administrative fee for housing their computer and law materials.  The law library provides the subscription to Lexis Nexis.  The rent they are paying the library is less than the rent they previously paid for their own space and they no longer have to employ a part-time person to oversee the law library.

Special Libraries Network Meeting Wednesday, December 1st at 2 pm The December 1st Special Libraries Network Group meeting will focus on the current work and future of hospital libraries.  Michelle Kraft, Director, Cleveland Clinic Libraries, will present. Join your special library colleagues to share your successes and challenges.

Directors' Network Meeting - Focused on Salary Survey Wednesday, December 8th at 3 pm Here is an opportunity to talk with other directors about your experience with the NEO-RLS Statewide Salary Survey.  For this meeting we are also inviting human resource staff and fiscal officers.  This will be recorded. Penny Neubauer, Director of Ashtabula County District Library, will share how she has effectively used the survey data.  She will discuss the following: How the library is making changes based on the survey data How changes and the data were presented to the board

NEO-RLS E-Tech Kits Are Ready to Circulate! The e-tech kit reservation system is back up and operational!  Once again, the e-tech kits are available for check-out.  Please contact Ragan Snead, Continuing Education Coordinator, if you have questions about reserving a kit.  When requesting a kit or after using it, consider sharing your program idea with us by sending Ragan a video from your program or the marketing materials.  We would love to learn more about how you are using the e-tech kits.

2022 NEO-RLS Staff Development Week Information Coming Soon! We will be hosting our second virtual Staff Development Week the week of January 24, 2022.  Our theme will be “Staff Care as Community Care” with sessions focused on the importance of workplace well-being as the bridge between self-care and community care.  Complete program details will be available soon.  If your library is interested in attending the 2022 Staff Development Week, please contact Melissa Lattanzi, Continuing Education Coordinator by December 15th.

Proposals Wanted The State Library of Ohio is soliciting proposals for a comprehensive evaluation of its five-year Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) program, as required by Section 9134( c ) of IMLS’ authorizing legislation.  The RFP is for an evaluation that will highlight effective past practices, assess the efficacy in implementing the stated activities, assess the impact that the expenditure of LSTA funds has had on the Ohio library community and their users, as well as include a draft of the next five-year plan.

ODNFest Missed attending ODNFest and want to catch up? Our recorded sessions are now available on YouTube, including a link to the Change the Subject documentary, too. See you next year!

Food Justice and Libraries Team Vittles, an Ohio-based, librarian-led project to spread the word about food justice and libraries, uses advocacy, outreach, and social networking to spotlight the library’s role in eradicating hunger.   In conjunction with a website redesign, Team Vittles is seeking photos of Ohio libraries’ food distribution initiatives to include on the website and possibly in future webinars or conference presentations.

Once again, it is time for every Ohio public library system to complete E-rate forms for OPLIN, specifically a Letter of Agency (LOA) and a Form 479. In some cases, we may also need a form reporting off-premises use of your OPLIN connection.
 
All libraries are required to submit these forms to OPLIN annually, regardless of whether or not the library itself participates in the E-rate program.
 
The process for submitting these forms is as simple as we can make it. From any library computer, go to https://oplin.org/erate and follow the instructions there. (You must be in the library to access this site.)

 

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