Unbound from Northeast Kansas Library System

Lissa Staley, a Library Journal Mover and Shaker joins the podcast to talk about her career path as a community connections librarian at Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Tune to hear about her recent award and what it's like to be a community embedded librarian.

In this episode Anna and Dan chat with Gina Millsap, retired CEO of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Earlier this year Gina facilitated our annual NEKLS Trustee Training for our member public libraries. Listen along as we engage in big ideas for library trustees.

In this episode, Dan and Anna reflect on the NEKLS 2024 Spring Directors Institute with expert presenter Dr. Beth Wahler. Beth explores the 3 Es of Trauma, the rise of burnout in public services, and the importance of community-based program development. A special thanks to Beth for guiding us in addressing mental wellness in public libraries.

In this episode, Anna and Dan get to catch up with Derrick Larcom. Derrick is the Technology Specialist for Ottawa Library, the public library in Ottawa, Kansas. In 2023, on behalf of the library, Derrick submitted a proposal for the NEKLS Innovation Awards, a competitive grant program designed to help fund innovative approaches to library services and programming. Tune into to hear about the robotics program Derrick conducted utilizing the NEKLS grant.

Anna and Dan are back for a season 4 of the Northeast Kansas Library System podcast. In this episode we take a look at passive programming and interactive displays. Our guest, Liz Karstadt uses these "self-directed" programs to entice patrons to come to the library, and stay a while, even when there aren't big in-person programs going on.

In the season finale, Anna and Dan do their first clip show! Dan captured audio from the 2023 KLA Conference in Wichita, Kansas in early November, and today the Unbound hosts talk about some of the highlights. Thanks to Dawn Krause, Terri Wojtalewicz, Shanna Smith-Ritterhouse, April Hernandez, Jason Robb, Ollie the Robot, Erin Downey Howerton, Valarie Lamoreaux, Erin Verbick, and all of the KLA Conference committees that made this year's conference possible. Happy New Year – we'll be back in late 2024 with season 4 of Unbound!

Tonganoxie public library director, Max Wirestone, tells Anna and Dan about his foray into podcasting this past summer. In this episode, we also talk about mysteries, reading, and interviewing authors. Check out Max's podcast here: https://www.onebookmanyneighbors.org/blog

Anna and Dan chat with Dawn La Valle, Dawn is is the Director of the Division of Library Development for the Connecticut State Library and a Certified Strategic Foresight Practitioner. In October 2023, Dawn facilitated a workshop for NEKLS and our members on using Natural Foresight in libraries and in this episode we revisit this practice. Check out the LibGuide Dawn shares with us here: https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/home.

Anna and Dan pick up some storytelling tips from the best, Priscilla Howe! Priscilla is a former academic and youth services librarian who answered the calling to be a professional storyteller. Today we talk about Zoom, being an international storyteller, and, of course, libraries. Be sure to check out Priscilla's website to learn more: https://www.priscillahowe.com/.

Anna and Dan are joined by the former Emporia Public Library Director, Robin Newell. Today, Robin talks about library director and board relations, leadership training, and different avenues of learning and collaboration that professional organizations can provide.

Dan welcomes Lacie Griffin, Johnson County Library Collection Development Manager, and we get to learn about how collection development works in a large multi-branch library system. Also, Lacie lends her informed perspective on digital content, and how streaming services are problematic; you cannot borrow the Mandalorian from your library (though considering how season 3 is playing out, you may not want to). All this and more in our latest Unbound episode!

This time on Unbound, Anna and Dan chat with Autum Friedli, Public Services Supervisor at Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. Listen in to hear about the difference between reader engagement and readers' advisory, witches imprisoning librarians, knowing the collection "front, back, and sideways", community partnerships, NoveList, and TSCPL's The Bookmark podcast. Also, be sure to check out the new season of The Bookmark podcast for great reading suggestions: https://tscpl.org/books-movies-music/bookmark-podcast.

Unbound is back for a new season. In this episode we talk to librarian Alyssa LaRue, she does a little bit of everything at the Derby Public Library, teen services, marketing, yoga, and now adult services too! Tune in to hear about the awesomeness that is Alyssa.

Anna and Dan wrap up season two of the Unbound podcast and also the continuing education series on creating introvert-friendly libraries with best selling author and global speaker on introversion, Jennifer Kahnweiler, PhD. In this episode, our guest talks about the work she has done with introversion inclusion and how this might directly apply to libraries. We were not surprised to learn, in our recent workshops, that well over half of the participants from libraries self identify as being more introverted than extroverted, but unfortunately it seems our spaces and communication practices tend to favor the needs and preferences of extroverts. Learn more about Jennifer's work at https://jenniferkahnweiler.com/–we recommend taking the quizzes on the website to see how you and and your organization relate to introversion. Thanks to our very special guest for helping us become change agents! Unbound will return in the second half of 2023, thanks for listening!

Anna and Dan talk to Savannah Ball, librarian and independent consultant, about some of her favorite training topics like servant leadership and dealing with ambiguity. Thanks to Savannah for presenting at our 2022 Fall Directors Institute and joining us for this episode. Learn more about Savannah at peoplefirstlibraries.com. Savannah Ball has worked in libraries for 18 years. She has served in various customer service related roles in public libraries, and as the Consultant and Continuing Education Coordinator at the Southwest Kansas Library System. She is currently a division manager for the Wichita Public Library System in Wichita, KS. Savannah recently created People First Libraries to promote training that values and emphasizes the most important part of every library - the people in them.

Today on Unbound Anna and Dan meet with Scarlett Fisher-Herreman to learn more about the role of technical services in a large (for Kansas) urban public library. Yes, we talk about Covid and resources that Scarlett uses in her role. But we also get to talk about zoos and having a neighborhood beat. Scarlett is cool, your cool, let's spend another twenty minutes being cool together. Scarlett Fisher-Herreman is the Technical Services Manager at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. She leads of team of 15 staff responsible for acquisitions, cataloging, and processing of the library's physical and digital collections. A native of Omaha, Neb., Scarlett moved to Kansas to complete library school at Emporia State University and ended up staying for 20 years! Scarlett, her husband, and two teenage children enjoy community activities and keeping up on their Craftsman bungalow located near the library. In March 2022, Scarlett became a docent educator at the Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center.

Anna and Dan discuss early literacy and early childhood education with longtime educator and consultant Beth Fredericks. Beth will be the facilitator for the Kansas Early Literacy Symposium on Friday, April 14, 2023, a day long workshop for "childhood educators and library and museum professionals who work with families of children aged birth through Kindergarten and their families" focusing on: Engineering and Empathy – helping young children explore STEM concepts Mind in the Making – promoting and practicing executive function life skills Family Engagement – best practices, given a pandemic Beth is "the project director of the Museum's Race to the Top grant, and [has] more than twenty-five years of experience providing child care and elder care advice and guidance to companies and employees. [She] hold[s] a BA in Education and an M.Ed in Early Childhood Development, and [is] a frequent trainer and speaker about children and families." - https://bostonchildrensmuseum.blog/author/fredericksbcm/

Anna and Dan are at it again, and this time they are interviewing Bonnie McKewon from the State Library of Iowa. Bonnie provides a plethora of tips and resources that support the continuing development of public library trustees. Learn more about Bonnie below, and thanks Bonnie for being on Unbound! Bonnie McKewon is a consultant with the State Library of Iowa (Northwest District office in Sioux City) providing library management training and consulting for 92 public libraries in 14 Northwest Iowa counties. She conducts workshops and webinars for public library staff and boards on a wide variety of topics, from presentation pointers to formulating smart survey questions, from succession planning to encouraging tech savvy trustees. With an affinity for library board training, she has created many board education programs, including a webinar series titled “The Boardroom.” In addition, she has taught in-person workshops and online board development programs for South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. She has presented at PLA and ARSL conferences, the Iowa Library Association, the Nebraska Library Association, as well as presenting national webinars for WebJunction. Before joining the State Library, Bonnie was the Administrator of the Northwest Iowa Regional System and formerly the director of Spencer (IA) Public Library.

Anna and Dan learn more about data visualization from library consultant, Linda Hofschire. In this episode we get to know Linda, and talk about strategies and tactics to make reports and strategic plans tell the library's story with attention grabbing graphs and imagery. Pro-tip for libraries: start taking and saving photos at library programs with good lighting, and then use these in your marketing and social posts. Linda Hofschire has more than 20 years of experience conducting social science research and evaluation and providing training in-person and online. She directs the Research Institute for Public Libraries (RIPL), an initiative funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to provide data and evaluation training for library staff. She is also the Instructional Designer for the IMLS-funded project Embedding Evaluation in Libraries, and the Training Coordinator for Infopeople, the training arm of the Califa Group. Linda serves as the chair of PLA's Measurement, Evaluation, and Assessment Committee, and was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2017. She has an MA and PhD in Mass Media from Michigan State University, and an MLIS from the University of Illinois. She is passionate about making data accessible and meaningful to users.

In this episode Anna and Dan dive into librarianship from the MLS professor's perspective. Keith presented at the NEKLS 2022 Spring Directors Institute on performing a community assessment. Keith Rocci is an academic librarian with three advanced degrees. Keith is the Distance Education Library Department Head at Pima Community College. He has been in a library leadership role since July, 2015. He has taught at the undergraduate and graduate level since 2005. Since August, 2010, he has been teaching for Emporia State University. He also teaches for the EDU Department at Pima CC. He has written one book (Library Research Strategies, 2013) and has presented at three national library conferences: Internet Librarian, Computers in Libraries and ACRL. Learn more about Keith here: https://www.teachingdesigner.org/bio.html, you will be glad you did!

Anna and Dan meet up with two former NEKLS librarians to hear about the process they recently used to develop a new strategic plan for the Basehor Community Library. Update: Brenda is now the Staff Development Coordinator and the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. https://basehorlibrary.com/ https://elucidarelearning.wordpress.com/ https://www.nekls.org/

Anna and Dan catch up with guest Sarah Howard. Sarah is the Youth and Community Services Manager for the Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, Missouri. Highlights over the years include teaching classes for the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies (SISLT) graduate program at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the opportunity to serve on both the Newbery and Caldecott Award Committees. In this episode Sarah tells us about why family programs should incorporate song, diversity, and more. Much thanks to Sarah for helping Northeast Kansas Library System kick off season 2 of Unbound!

In the final episode of season 1, Anna and Dan meet up with Cindy McGuire, Programming & Marketing Coordinator at Leavenworth Public Library to talk about adult programming before and during the age of Covid 19.

Anna and Dan welcome Shelley O'Brien, NEKLS new Fundraising and Public Relations Consultant.

Anna and Dan meet up with Jennifer McCulley, Youth Services Coordinator at McPherson Public Library (Kansas), to talk about teen services.

Anna and Dan meet up with fellow NEKLS librarians, Robin and Jessi, to talk about the NEKLS 2021 Trustee Training workshop presented by Becky Heil.

Earlier this year, Anna and Dan met with some of the innovative staff from Louisburg Library in Miami County, Kansas. Thanks to Kiersten, Holly, Elizabeth, and Rusty for chatting with us about their maker program.

Earlier this year, Anna and Dan spoke with library trainer, Pat Wagner, for the inaugural episode of Northeast Kansas Library System's new podcast series.