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By KLA Former, 09/07/2011

Have you spent any quality time with The Atlas of New Librarianship by Dr. R. David Lankes?  Maybe you’ve heard about this thought-provoking book on Twitter or caught his closing keynote last year at the “ebooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point,” Library Journal/School Library Journal Virtual Summit?  If so, then you know why we are so excited to announce…

Dr. Lankes is the Keynote speaker at the 2012 Kansas Library Conference, April 11-13 at the Hyatt Regency Wichita in Wichita, Kansas!

If you are interested in being an Exhibitor at the Conference, information is available online.  Questions may be directed to Mickey Coalwell (mcoalwell @ nekls.org).

Conference details are coming soon, but you can start the process by becoming or renewing your Kansas Library Association membership!

Heather Braum, Technology Librarian for the Northeast Kansas Library System and huge Atlas fan, created this promotional video for your viewing enjoyment:

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By Royce, 08/21/2011

Hello Everyone!
I thought I would take some time this morning and fill everyone in on how things are going with the Kansas Library Association.

One of the most significant changes has been the addition of our new Executive Secretary Lisa Beebe. Lisa has been in the office for about a month now and has been getting up to speed on the workings of our organization. If you have questions about your membership Lisa is the person to contact. Here email is: Kansaslibraryassociation@yahoo.com.
Lisa will be working with our Treasurer Candis Hemel, Cimarron City Library, to track KLA finances and to keep us on budget for the upcoming year. We are happy to report that finances are in good shape and we are fiscally prepared for the year ahead.

Advocacy is an important issue for KLA members and nonmembers in the Kansas Library community. We take advocacy very serious and are fortunate that we able to have the services of our Legislative Liaison Jennie Rose. Jennie has been an asset in keeping us informed about upcoming issues in the Kansas Legislature. Jennie also works with our Governmental Affairs Committee to work on strategies and things to look out for in the upcoming legislative sessions.

Speaking of the Governmental Affairs Committee. We are happy to have our new Committee Chair Gail Santy, from CKLS, working with this group. When members give us feedback on the work of our organization, the ability of our organization to advocate for libraries as a group is one of our member’s top priorities. I have known Gail for a few years now and her enthusiasm for Kansas Libraries and libraries in general is something that will be beneficial to our association this upcoming year.

Next to Advocacy the biggest draw for members in our association is our annual conference. Surveys from the past three conferences show that approximately 96% of those people who attend conference find the experience valuable enough to attend again. This year we have as our Conference Planner Mickey Coalwell, from NEKLS and current Vice President, working on our upcoming conference April 11-13, 2012 in Wichita, KS. Mickey has already begun putting a team in place to conquer the workload that goes along with putting a conference together. Mickey is working closely with current 2nd Vice President Cathy Reeves, from Dodge City Public Library, and myself to insure that this conference will be the best one so far.

Conference planning is something the association takes seriously and this year the KLA Council voted to reinstall the Futures Committee to work on the pre-planning elements that are essential to future conferences. Past President Emily Sitz, from SWKLS, is the Chair of this committee and has been working on future locations and times for our conference. Having worked with three conferences since becoming an officer of KLA, Emily is exactly the person we would want to take on this challenge.

I say challenge because conference planning involves years of planning before the event even starts. Conference typically takes place in the first or second week of April, but in 2013 the conference will be taking place in the Fall. This change was not made lightly. There was much discussion amongst the Executive Committee and the KLA Council about this change, and it is our collective agreement that this will be an adjustment that will be beneficial to our members and the Association.

One of my goals for the Association this upcoming year is to enhance and improve the communications. With the help of our Secretary Cindi Hickey, State Library of Kansas, we hope to facilitate meetings that make it easier and more cost affective for our Council members to attend meetings and make the decisions that move our organization forward.

Communication in our organization is enhanced by the collective work of a number of people. First and foremost is Sharon Moreland, from NEKLS, who is the person who makes our website an asset for members and nonmembers. Sharon was instrumental in migrating the KLA website to a WordPress based site that can be updated quickly and more often.

This year we also have a new Publications and Promotions chair. Gregg Winsor, from Johnson County Libraries, has been working closely with our new Membership Chair Kim Fenton, also from Johnson County Libraries. When you combine the efforts of these two fine librarians with that of Newsletter Editor Ericka Brunson, Manhattan Public Library, you have a team that is prepared to do some great work.

There are many groups and individuals in the Kansas Library Association and in the Kansas Library community that make it fun to be a librarian in Kansas. I hope that you will consider being a member of our organization. More information on joining can be found at: www.kslibassoc.org.

I look forward to the year ahead and serving you as President.

Royce Kitts
President
Kansas Library Association

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By KLA Former, 07/07/2011

Royce Kitts convened his first KLA Council meeting today in Lawrence and together the group worked through a number of issues, such as:

• Approving the Consent Agenda – Minutes from April 2011 meeting, committee reports, Section/roundtable reports, State Library of Kansas Board candidates and financial reports
• Ratifying the Standing Committee Chair Appointments
• Reviewing and approving the 2011-2012 Budget
• Hiring of an Executive Assistant
• Discussing the Bylaws revision process and extension
• Approving a contract for KLA Office space
• Hearing from the Futures Committee with the 2013 Conference location and date, and
• Discussing a Conference Planning manual, hearing a legislative update, and a reviewing the short-term strategic plan.

Update: Minutes from April Meeting Now Available at Council :: Minutes.  We are discussing if draft minutes can be posted prior to Council approval.  Stay tuned…

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By KLA Former, 06/29/2011

Interested in a fantastic professional development opportunity?  Learn more about the MPLA Leadership Institute:

Dear colleagues,

We all know good professional development opportunities are hard to find. You read the session summary, you check out the presenter, you arrange for time to attend, you pay your registration fee, and you hope for the best. More often than not, the session ends up being not quite what you imagined, the presenter was having an off day, the attendees are so-so and you’d rather have had lunch alone. You get back to the office with a couple of handouts and ease back into the old routine. Not much has changed, but at least you got away from the office for awhile.

I want to make sure you are aware of an excellent professional development opportunity that was created just for you! The MPLA Leadership Institute was initiated in 2002 as a way of “growing” leaders for both MPLA and our member states. MPLA desired to help shape the future of libraries, and to fulfill its mission of “providing educational training and growth opportunities for all persons engaged in library activities in the region to enhance their skills and professionalism.” MPLA recognized the need to ensure that libraries in its member states were able to remain “competitive” with more populous areas of the country.

To date there have been seven MPLA Leadership Institutes, each with its distinct personality, thanks to the incredible mix of participants and mentors. It’s very likely that you know one or more of these folks (several of ‘them’ are receiving this email!), or at least know of them through their work or participation in MPLA or State Association activities. It’s also very likely that if you were to ask them about their experience with the Leadership Institute, they would tell you it was one of the top (if not the top) professional development experiences they have had. I’ll admit to being biased (having attended in 2002), but I don’t believe I’m exaggerating.

There is no denying that times are tough. Professional development (even excellent professional development) may seem like a luxury rather than a necessity. MPLA has worked to keep the costs down, but it does cost the Association to offer 30 participants an opportunity to work with a trainer of Maureen Sullivan’s caliber (not to mention President-elect of ALA!) at a decent place in a nice, MPLA-centralized location. Not to mention opportunities to share experiences with four outstanding MPLA mentors selected for their professional expertise and demonstrated leadership! We have recently received a generous sponsorship from Jerry Kline, founder of Innovative Interfaces and SkyRiver, which will provide core funding for the Leadership Institute going forward.

Good professional development opportunities are hard to find. But here at MPLA, we’re coming to you because we can all but guarantee a busy, reflective, social Leadership Institute professional development opportunity that will stay with you throughout your career. It will be challenging. Think of it as Library Leadership Boot Camp or Immersion; four long days of active participation – listening, discussing, reflecting – learning. If this is what you have been looking for, we just need you to do your part and apply.

For more information visit the MPLA Leadership Institute site. The application will be available online from July 1st to November 1st. The cost will be $550 for MPLA members, and $650 for state association members without a current MPLA membership.

Thank you and good luck!

Dan Stanton
Co-Chair
MPLA Leadership Institute Committee