Advocacy Plan Outlined

NLA President Jeff Scott has determined that 2019 will be the ‘Year of Advocacy’ as the Nevada Library Association seeks to build support for Nevada’s libraries with elected officials and other groups. If you are interested in adding your voice to the strategic and vital conversations with Legislators and others, please contact either Jeff Scott or Joan Dalusung at Washoe County Library System.

1.    Post-November Election: Reach out to Elected/Library Groups/Education Groups

2. March 6, - April 10^th: Provide exhibits in Exhibit Hall of the Nevada State Capitol Building to demonstrate the value of State Library funded projects

3. April 7-13th: National Library Week

4. April 10th: Library Legislative Day

NLA 2019 Conference: Libraries Build Bridges

Nevada Libraries Legislative Day

Nevada Libraries Legislative Day will be on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Legislative Days provide opportunities for library representatives to travel to Carson City to meet directly with their state legislators. We had an amazing response from all of you across the state in 2017, which resulted in the passage of SB549 – an additional $500,000 that was distributed across our libraries for collection development, bookmobiles, workforce development, and emerging technologies. We hope to build on that momentum again this year!

Thus far in this session, we are keeping an eye on two bills. 

 ·         SB191, sponsored by Senator Joyce Woodhouse, requires each public school in a school district to establish and maintain a school library. This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Education on Feb. 18, 2019.

·         AB21, sponsored by the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs, authorizes a board of county commissioners in certain counties to appoint members of certain local governing boards under certain circumstances. This bill was heard by the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs on Feb. 18, 2019.

·         The budget for the Nevada State Library, Archives, and Public Record is scheduled to be considered March 7, 2019, in a joint meeting of the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. 

 We hope that you can send staff, Board members, Friends of the Library, or community library supporters to Carson City on Wednesday, April 10. The details of the day are still being worked out, and I will be touch with you ASAP when the schedule has been finalized. 

I anticipate a morning briefing in Carson City, library representatives seated with legislators on the Senator and Assembly floor, and an NLA sponsored lunch, where we invite the legislators and their staff to attend with us. This will also be a great day for you to make individual appointments with your legislators, which you will need to do on your own.

 If you are travelling from Southern Nevada, I would anticipate that you would need to take the Southwest 6:05am flight (#684) or the 7:20am flight (#1078), and would be able to return on the 5:10pm flight (#2172).  You have some flexibility on the return, depending on the meetings you schedule with your legislators.

 If you are considering sending representatives to Nevada Libraries Legislative Day, please let me know so I can begin pairings of attendees and legislators. 

 Thank you all very much, and I hope to see you on Wednesday, April 10! 

 Joan Dalusung

Assistant Director | Washoe County Library System

Support for Nevada State Library and Archives

MAKING SB 459 PERMANENT:

There are more libraries in Nevada than there are McDonald's. The funding the state provides through the state library reaches more communities than one of the biggest corporations in the world.

STATE LIBRARY SUPPORTS EVERY COMMUNITY IN NEVADA!

The State Library supports Bookmobiles, Workforce Development, Emerging Technology as well as Books and Materials. The Legislature passed SB 549 in 2017 which provided $500,000 to the state library for these initiatives.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

Funding created Virtual Reality Pilot project where libraries across the state supporting STEAM education. With programs such as Lifelique, students can dissect the heart of a frog, swim with sharks, and experience their world in an entirely new way.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Funding created the Nevada Job Center, a partnership with state workforce initiatives and local libraries. In Southern Nevada, libraries are merging with workforce development to create new service centers for job seekers. Patrons can look for jobs at One-Stops located in local libraries and access library databases such as Nevada Career Explorer a place to find not just a job, but a career you’ll love!

BOOKMOBILE SERVICES

This funded provided support to create new Bookmobile services and restore Bookmobile services in rural areas. Without this funding and support, these patrons would be unable to access library services.

BOOKS AND MATERIALS

Lastly, this bill provided funding for books and materials across the state tripling the funding support for books.

This year, we are asking for $1.5 million to support these initiatives and to make this funding permanent. We have made such tremendous progress in the last two years with generous funding from the state. We can do so much more with this permanent funding. We want to thank the legislature for its past support and hope that you will consider this funding in the future. All of Nevada’s residents depend on it. 

Online Learning…

Nevada State Library and Archives (NSLA) provides access to continuing education, including webinars, on a variety of topics. The NSLA website reminds us “Advances in information technology and expanding library user expectations require continuous education. The statewide continuing education program works collaboratively with Nevada libraries to address the need for continuous library education through planned, coordinated and varied statewide continuing education programs to hone staff expertise, foster professional development, empower library trustees, broaden public awareness and ultimately improve library services.”

Pop on over to https://nsla.libguides.com/continuing-education-2/home or go to the Nevada State Library and Archives >Library>Continuing Education, and see what you can learn—for free! 

Tod Colegrove Heads Nevada State Library and Archives

Patrick Cates, Director of the Department of Administration, is pleased to announce the appointment of Patrick ‘Tod’ Colegrove, PhD, MSLIS as the new Administrator for the Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records.

Colegrove comes to the State from the University of Nevada, Reno, where he has served as Director of the DeLaMare Science & Engineering Library since 2010. Colegrove, a fourth generation Nevadan, is a tenured professor with extensive leadership, planning, and management experience. Nationally, he serves on multiple library professional boards and committees across several library associations.

Colegrove earned his doctorate and master’s degrees in physics, working with researchers at the Hubble Space Telescope Sciences Institute. He worked for over fourteen years as executive-level management in high-tech private industry. Coming back to the University, he taught physics, astronomy, and honors courses for over a decade. After earning his master’s degree in Library and Information Science, he led the transformation of the DeLaMare Library into a vibrant hub of innovation and has become an internationally recognized leader in library transformation and impact. A product of rural Nevada himself, Colegrove credits libraries for the success he has enjoyed in his own career and is optimistic about their future. “Libraries change lives,” Colegrove said. “I look forward to connecting with and supporting that work throughout the state.”

https://www.facebook.com/nevadalibraryassociation/

Lyon County Library System Goes Virtual!

The Lyon County Library System consists of 5 libraries in Dayton, Fernley, Silver Springs, Smith and Yerington Nevada. We cover library services for 2,000 square miles of rural Nevada just east of Carson City.

Lyon County Libraries are now able to showcase Virtual Reality technology and demonstrate its real-world applicability! We will be developing drop-in events at each of our five branches. We will also be able to take the system “on the road” to community events.

In cooperation with XR Libraries, Lyon County Libraries are able to provide patrons one stop access to virtual reality. The programs that we will be doing with this VR technology are provided by Lifeliqe, and are specially customized to support STEM learning.

This program is supported by the Nevada State Council on Libraries and Literacy. Thanks to them Nevada libraries now have a robust continuing education opportunity to deploy virtual in our facilities. Partial resources for this VR initiative are provided by the Nevada State Legislature with funds from SB-549.

Submitted by Amy Geddes, Lyon County Library Director

A New Foundation for LCLS

Located east of Carson City, Lyon County covers more than 2,000 square miles in northern Nevada. From rural agricultural districts to bedroom communities of the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, the five branches of the Lyon County Library System serve a diverse, and rapidly growing, population of more than 54,000.

The Lyon County Library Foundation was recently formed to support the Lyon County Library System in serving these diverse communities. The annual operating budget of the Lyon County Library System is determined each year from limited county resources; the mission of the Lyon County Library Foundation is to supplement this limited budget in order to provide programs and major capital improvements to benefit all branches of the library system, and to improve library services countywide. Foundation funding will come from granting agencies and organizations as well as contributions from individual donors.

The major goal of the FY 2020 through FY 2024 Lyon County Library Strategic Plan is to establish a staffed bookmobile, with mobile technology and makerspace capabilities, for our rural areas not serviced directly (within 15 miles) of a branch.

The Foundation has already held two fundraising events. The next fundraising event, a grand, formal masquerade ball, will be held October 26^th at the Dayton Valley Golf Course. The Foundation plans for this bash to be an annual affair!

Submitted by Amy Geddes, Lyon County Library Director

Churchill County Library Receives Award

The Churchill County Library received the Best Marketing Award from the Fallon Chamber of Commerce at their 16^th Annual Awards and Appreciation Banquet on February 1, 2019. Award recipients were chosen by a vote from the community.

In addition to print marketing, the Library has been focusing on a more aggressive social media campaign for the past year.

Librarian Joe Salsman accepted the award on behalf of the Library.

Submitted by Carol Lloyd, Churchill County Library Director 

Las Vegas-Clark County Library District to Open New Branch

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District is proud to announce the grand opening of the beautiful, new East Las Vegas Library on April 25, 2019, located at 2851 E. Bonanza Road. The ribbon-cutting ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and the public is invited. The opening day celebration will feature activities and fun for all ages. This 40,000 sq. ft. building represents 21st century library design and is a milestone in the history of the East Las Vegas community.

Surrounded by 14 elementary schools, two middle schools, and three high schools, this new library will benefit thousands of young people by furthering their education. Customers will enjoy free WiFi, a Teen Zone, Tech Art Lab, and other hands-on tech opportunities; a Homework Help Center with free tutoring; a Toy Lending Library; and an outdoor play area. There will be over 1,000 programs per year in early childhood and parenting education; media production and makerspace labs; culinary and nutrition programs in our first-ever demonstration kitchen; STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) projects; plus English language, high school diploma, and citizenship instruction.

This new branch will also emphasize books and other popular materials in Spanish, including magazines and newspapers, plus bilingual resources for children. The multipurpose room is a large space available to enjoy educational lectures, personal and cultural enrichment, and social events. The public can rent this room for meetings, live performances, private parties, quinceañeras, and other special occasions.

Career services will be offered at the One-Stop Career Center, including computer labs, skills training, and employment programs. The One-Stop mission is to move people into good-paying jobs and help small businesses with start-ups and expansions.

From LVCCLD website…

Downtown Reno Library Gets an Update!