Apply now for the Nebraska Library Leadership Institute! This unique professional development opportunity is scheduled for August 5-9 at the St. Benedict Retreat Center in Schuyler. Librarians of all types (public, school, academic, and special libraries) are encouraged to apply.
Application Deadline: June 25, 2013
A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
Secrets From the Past by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Daddy’s Gone A Hunting by Mary Higgins Clark
Let the Dead Sleep by Heather Graham
Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler
The Chance by Karen Kingsbury
Loving by Karen Kingsbury
Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas
Starting Now by Debbie Macomber
A Higher Call by Adam Makos
Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman
Don’t Go by Lisa Scottoline
Sand Castle Bay by Sherryl Woods
Visit us on LibraryThing to see all the available audiobook titles. Call or email the Republican Valley Library System Office to borrow a specific book or to get an assortment every other month for your patrons
Sandy Wallick and Alice Boeckman offered some terrific tips for story times at the Children’s Services Workshop at the Grand Island Public Library yesterday. Sandy focused on story telling for preschoolers and Alice gave us insight on why we should have storytime for babies and how to go about it.
Here are some of the online resources they recommended:
Flannel Friday–http://flannelfridaystorytime.blogspot.com/
Kizclub–http://www.kizclub.com/
Virtual Vine–http://www.thevirtualvine.com/
Sunflower Storytime–http://sunflowerstorytime.com/
Center for Early Literacy Learning–http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/pgparents.php
Mel’s Desk–http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/
Kids’ Songs–http://www.kididdles.com/
What a great workshop on a beautiful day. Thank you, Sandy and Alice!
Hear “Casey at the Bat” read by NLC staffers—one line at a time. Inspired by Bob Barringer’s presentation at Big Talk from Small Libraries, and because April is National Poetry Month, and this is National Library Week, and, even if the weather isn’t cooperating, it’s spring, we decided to try out a group poetry reading. The technique could make a terrific library program—fun, funny, inexpensive, and involving lots of community members of all ages. We uncovered some unexpected thespian talent here at the Commission.
The Nebraska Regional Library Systems contracted with Susan K. Sapp, Attorney and Senior Litigation Partner with Cline Williams Wright Johnson & Oldfather, L.L.P. in Lincoln, to put together a template of a personnel policy for Nebraska libraries. The project was in response, in part, to the signing into law, LB470, which requires library personnel policies to be approved by their local municipality. We hope this will prove to be a guide for library boards and directors in reviewing policy and complying with federal and state requirements.
The handbook was compiled in August and the recording in November of 2012. Print copies of the sample employee handbook and a recording of Susan Sapp reviewing the handbook are available through Nebraska Regional Library Systems. You’ll note that the template provides ample space on the page for each segment to add specifics pertinent to your individual community. There are blanks to fill in and shaded areas that each library will want to address to make sure it complies with their policies and rules, e.g., vacation, sick leave amounts and accrual; contact people for FMLS leave, etc. Thus, each library will want to pay careful attention to the specifics. Policies can be modified to fit the culture of each library, e.g., dress code, time cards, etc.
Sharon Osenga, Director of the Meridian Library System, and I are offering two joint Valley Visit/Talk About It sessions for librarians to get acquainted with this resource before presenting it to their Library Boards. You may attend either session. Please call or email the RVLS Office to sign up. You will earn 2 Continuing Education Credits.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Grand Island Public Library
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Or
Friday, May 3, 2013
North Platte Public Library
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
If you wish, I am available to come to your library and work with you and your board to update (or create) personnel policies and an employee handbook.
We received a shipment of new audiobooks for the RVLS collection.
Stringer by Lou Cameron
Six Years by Harlan Coben
Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner
Family Pictures by Jane Green
Deadly Stakes by J.A. Jance
Dream Eyes by Jayne Ann Krentz
The Key-Lock Man by Louis L’Amour
Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
The man in 3B by Carl Weber
Visit us on LibraryThing to see all the available audiobook titles. Call or email the Republican Valley Library System Office to borrow a specific book or to get an assortment every other month for your patrons.
The responses are in and the results have been tabulated. If you would like to see the information we gathered with the 2013 RVLS Services Survey, click on this link. If you would like to suggest a program idea or make a comment about RVLS services, click on the “Leave a Comment” link at the end of this post.
Didn’t make it to the PLTS Spring Meetings this year? Click on this link to see our presenter, Carolyn Davidson Brewer, in a 10 minute video training. It is called “Why So Angry? Dealing with Upset People.”
Summer is just around the corner! Display vacation and travel books in an open suitcase. Here are 10 more display ideas for May.
Get Caught Reading Month
Celebrities appear in ads appealing to people of all ages to remind them of the joys of reading. Go to www.getcaughtreading.org for more information.
National Barbecue Month
Encourage people to start enjoying their grills early in the season. Display barbecue cookbooks along with a bag of charcoal briquettes and grilling tools.
Batman Debut (May 1, 1939)
Bob Kane created a new crime fighter for comic book fans. The caped hero was an immediate success. Display Batman memorabilia, books, and DVDs.
National Nurses Week (May 6-12)
A week to honor the outstanding efforts of nurses everywhere to strengthen the health of the community. This display could include fiction books that feature nurses or books on health-related topics.
James M. Barrie Birthday (May 9, 1860)
Best known for his play Peter Pan, which was first performed in 1904 and published in 1928. A small display at the circulation desk with a variety of versions of this popular story will encourage patrons to check them out.
American Red Cross Founded (May 21, 1881)
May would be a terrific month to sponsor a Blood Drive at the Library. Display Red Cross pamphlets leading up to the event.
Janet Dailey Birthday (May 21, 1944)
This popular romance novelist was born in Storm Lake, Iowa. Place a sign in the stacks with her books to draw attention to them.
Baseball’s First Night Game (May 24, 1935)
The first night baseball game in the major leagues was played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 2-1. Display baseball biographies, books about teams, and books and DVDs with coaching tips with a catcher’s mitt and baseball jersey. (I don’t recommend baseballs and bats in the library.)
Flower Moon (May 25)
The May full moon was dubbed the Flower Moon by Native American tribes of New England and the Great Lakes because by this time of year, flowers are everywhere. Prepare a colorful display with silk flowers and fiction books with flower names in the titles.
Indianapolis 500 (May 26)
This race is the world’s largest single day sporting event. Ray Harroun won the first Indy 500 on May 30, 1911 averaging 74.6 mph. Books about race car drivers and fast cars are sure to be a hit in the Children’s Area.
Bonus Nebraska Event Idea: Henry Fonda, Academy Award winning stage, television, and screen actor, was born May 16, 1905 in Grand Island. He began is acting career at the Omaha Playhouse. A film festival of his popular movies could be a fun event.
Library Trivia: On May 31, 1790, President George Washington signed the first United States copyright law. It gave protection for 14 years to books written by US citizens.
Daily Review