President’s Message
December 2017

"Hello everyone! My name is Soraya Silverman-Montano and I am ecstatic to serve NLA in this new capacity as incoming President. A little bit about me: I have been working in public libraries for over 15 years, starting as a Teen Volunteer and now as a Youth Services Department Head for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. I am unbelievably grateful that I've found something I am so passionate about as a career but also as a part of my identity. It is such incredibly fulfilling work that we do as library professionals and I couldn't see myself anywhere else.

I've seen firsthand, across the entire state, how passionate, compassionate, and dedicated we are as library professionals, as is further shown by your involvement in NLA. I hope to make this year a rewarding experience for our membership and aim to restructure NLA as a whole.

My focus is recruit members looking for a new challenge to fill in open roles we have in the organization, to revitalize committee responsibilities and to offer more professional development opportunities throughout the year. It's a hefty overarching goal but I feel that together, tapping into the energy and passion we all have, we will achieve great things.

If you have an interest in serving NLA in a new or different role, keep an eye out in the next week or so for the call for open positions. If I can answer any questions you may have, please feel free to email me at NLAPresidentSorayaSilverman@gmail.com.

Thank you all for being a part of NLA! I am so excited to work with everyone and am very much looking forward to building our 2018 team!"

NLA Annual Conference follow-up

NLA’s Annual Conference was the place to be in October to enjoy some of the finest scenery, best conversation and greatest opportunities to network and learn in all of Nevada Library-land. Starting with the Pre-conference offerings and lasting all the way to the last session, this was one for the books.

The opening speaker was the CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is a really cool museum and archive. They couldn't possibly struggle like libraries, because everybody loves music, Right? Wrong. They were losing users left and right.

After watching their usage dwindle slowly for years, the RRHF realized they had to do something to survive. They began using analytics and tools to really learn about the users. The eye-opener was learning that they had the wrong audience in mind all along; their power users were a completely different demographic than they had assumed. Really knowing their users and who actually had a stake in the museum helped the RRHF focus services and programs in ways that built their audience, and ensured their survival as an institution.

There’s something to take away from that.

Because it was a joint conference with MPLA, the saying ‘bigger is better’ certainly applied. We benefitted from meeting colleagues from other states, more speakers, and a wider selection of sessions. And, since the setting was Lake Tahoe, we had a gorgeous location to enjoy when we left the conference. The weather also cooperated, and stayed absolutely beautiful the entire time.

If you didn’t make this conference, you missed a great one, but never fear—there will be another in a year. Seriously, though, the opportunity to learn from colleagues, to meet and talk with people in libraries like yours, facing situations like yours, is invaluable. If you get the chance to go to the NLA conference next year, take it! You never know what you’ll learn. And if you go, share what you learn with colleagues and double the value.

Ed.

Food for Fines

Throughout November, all of the locations of the Washoe County Library System, including the Second Judicial District Court’s Law Library and Family Division Self Help Center, were accepting Food for Fines. In lieu of paying fines, patrons could bring cans or boxes of non-perishable food in to libraries, and support efforts to combat hunger in the community. Donated food went to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and Project MANA.

Staff Day in Henderson

On Friday, October 13^th, Henderson Libraries hosted Staff Day at our Green Valley Library. 92 staff members were present and participated in a variety of sessions including round table discussions, fun with science programming, diversity training, tai chi classes, meditation, CPR training and more.

Happy Birthday, Paseo Verde!

In August Henderson’s Paseo Verde Library turned 15! We enjoyed a party with our library staff, trustees, community members, and local elected officials – including Henderson Mayor Debra March, City Councilwoman Gerri Schroeder, and Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, among others!

We also celebrated with library partners – including our Friends of Henderson Libraries, Henderson Libraries Foundation, the Clark County Nevada Genealogical Society (who provide genealogy help at our Paseo Verde Library), The Coffee Press (who operate a small coffee shop at our Paseo Verde Library), and our Reading with Rover Friends. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate the library’s presence in this neighborhood for the past 15 years!

Shared by Marcie Smedley, Executive Director, Henderson Libraries

CARD ART

To celebrate National Library Card Sign-Up Month in September, the LVCCLD launched their first-ever Library Card Design Contest. Entry categories were: Children 0-11; Teens 12-17; and Adults 18+. Designs were posted online, and patrons voted for their favorites. Winning designs (pictured below) will appear on cards beginning in February.

CIMA Fall Caucus Report

The Nevada Caucus of the Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists held its annual fall meeting on Monday, October 16th, 2017. The meeting was in conjunction with the 2017 Joint-Conference of the Nevada Library Association (NLA) and the Mountain Plains Library Association (MPLA). The CIMA program was a pre-conference activity, held at the Hard Rock Hotel Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada.

The ½ day program began with a luncheon for conference attendees, creating a networking opportunity for anyone working with archival or digital collections. The meeting included presentations and discussions concerning “Digital Collection Projects and Activities in the State of Nevada”. Participants shared their experiences working with digital projects and explored digital resources within the state.

Emily Lapworth and Cory Lampert from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas presented “What Happens in Nevada...Gets Digitized! Ramping up Capacity for Large-Scale Digitization Efforts.” They gave updates on two key statewide digitization initiatives at the UNLV Libraries, the LSTA-funded “Raising the Curtain: Large-Scale Digitization Models Project” and the “National Digital Newspaper Program”. They discussed the challenges, workflow approaches, and timeline for deliverables as well as engaged the participants in discussion about successful collaborative approaches to statewide projects.

Amy Hunsaker and Dana Miller from University of Nevada, Reno presented “Wolf Pack Collaborations and Collections.” They focused on the values and workflows that allow departments to collaborate for better name authority control of unique Nevada names in digital collections. They also offered an overview of collaborative digital projects at UNR.

Jeff Kintop of the Nevada State Library, Archives, and Public Records presented “Digital Collections on of the State Library and Archives.” He highlighted recent publications produced by state and local government agencies covering a range of topics such as agriculture, healthcare, wildlife, and law; and featured in the Historical State Publications Collections.

The CIMA program concluded with follow-up discussions and a summit meeting of Nevada’s Digital Collection Institutions. Topic of discussions included: the new State Library strategic planning efforts; the 5-Year State plan 2018-2022 that governs LSTA funding; statewide newspaper digitization; and other potential collaborative projections, grant-funding opportunities, and other regional efforts. The Caucus Meeting concluded with a commitment by the state’s institutions to relaunch Nevada’s Digital Collections Advisory Board, and a verbal commitment by Jeff Kintop to pursue funding and sustainable infrastructure for a statewide Digital Collections online portal.

In attendance were Lena Rieke, Elizabeth Manriquez, Liz Moore, Cory Lampert, Amy Hunsaker, Michael Frazier, Karen Stewart, Emily Lapworth, Dana Miller, Katherine Rankin, John Stevens, Jeff Kintop, Cynthia Laframboise. In addition, CIMA was an exhibitor at the library conference, and made several informational contacts at the CIMA booth throughout the week. The 2018 Nevada Fall Caucus will be in the Las Vegas area.

The Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists is a professional organization established to promote cooperation and facilitate the exchange of information among individuals, groups, and institutions in the intermountain states and adjoining areas who are interested in the preservation and use of archival, manuscript, and rare book materials. For more information, visit: https://cimarchivists.org/

Contributed by Michael Frazier, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

ISSN 1094-6918

Editor: Tam Anderson
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A Quarterly Publication of the Nevada Library Association