Hello World Tech, Youth & Summer reading

Big Library Read

A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey is now available in Libby and on your library's OverDrive website at no cost to you.

Patrons have unlimited access to the ebook and audiobook until July 27th – with no waitlists or holds. The Big Library Read (BLR) book club is a great way to bring the community together through reading and discussion.

More Overdrive

The 2023-2025 Social and Emotional Learning collection is going live today, July 19, in your Libby digital reading collection. This book bundle has been donated as part of OverDrive’s Everyone Reads program, which provides your patrons with no-cost, always-available titles to boost your community’s access to digital books.

The section is located in the Kids & Teens collection: https://salon.overdrive.com/library/youth

Google Analytics

If you are using google analytics on your library website, you will need to update the Site Kite Plugin. As of July 1st it stopped collecting data but the plugin recently update and can now use Google G4 analytics. If you need assistance with this I would be happy to help.

Why is the change happening?

Privacy has been a big concern for consumers over the last few years and users' awareness of their privacy online has been increasing. The result of this has been changes in the law like GDPR in Europe and ITP.

As we move into a cookieless world, Google has created GA4 with privacy front-of-mind. GA4 operates across platforms (web and app) and does not rely exclusively on cookies. It uses event-based data modelling for its measurement.

What will change?

There is a lot that will change but for us not too much. The main difference is we used to have to build out Tags and put them on our sites to see outbound clicks. Now:

• Page scrolls when a user hits 90%
• Outbound clicks
• Viewed search results page
• Video engagement for embedded YouTube videos

The Great Give Back

Is your library interested in being part of The Great Give Back this year?

In previous years libraries have:

• Bancroft, Eat, Read and Be Scary; ​
• Clifton Park, Stratton VA Medical Center & The Albany VA Fisher House; ​
• Crandall, Feminine Hygiene Product Drive and MoonBee Workshop. Helping women and girls at home and around the world; ​
• Easton, Warm Hearts and Warm Toes; ​
• Galway, Sewing Open House at the Galway Public Library; ​
• Galway, Make Cards for Soldiers to Send Home Drive; ​
• Greenwich, Warm Hearts and Warm Toes; ​
• Schuylerville, Fall Food Drive; ​
• Stillwater, Pet Supply Drive.

Other ideas might be:

1. Literacy

• Storytimes enacted by teens
• Offer Book Buddies programs
• Read-a-Thon (all ages)
• Book-related crafts
• Design bookmarks

2. Animal Welfare

• Make cat/dog toys
• Craft pet beds
• Host a clean towel/supply drive
• Create “Thank you for adopting” kits that shelters can give to adopters
• Hold a pet food drive
• Have a pet adoption fair

3. Services for the Elderly

• Partner with local adult homes and make seasonal decorations, door decorations, or something else they are in need of
• Host an entertainment event (music, movie, dance) for seniors
• “Thank a Senior Citizen” cards

4. Environment / Beautification

• Clean up a park, trail, local cemetery, the library grounds, etc.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle crafts

5. Homelessness

• Make mats out of plastic bags
• Put together clean up kits from a supply drive

6. Food / Hunger

• Decorative place mats for local soup kitchens
• Collect “Food for Fines” - volunteers can sort donated food

7. Veterans

• Thank a Veteran letters for Veterans Day
• Craft patriotic ribbon pins to give away
• Create no-sew blankets and donate to a veterans’ home

8. Other

• Blood drive
• Book drive – volunteers can help sort donations and donate to local organizations (jail, adult homes, shelters, patrons can swap books)
• Book sale to benefit the library
• Contact local Boy Scout/Girl Scout troops for their involvement in community service efforts
• Create birthday party kits

You don't need to have a plan yet but the RSVP is just looking for those that are interested in participating.

Need More Info

AN INTRO TO THE GREAT GIVEBACK

THURSDAY, JULY 27TH 2PM ZOOM

The Great Give Back is a day for public libraries to shine as a community hub by inviting community members to participate in meaningful service-oriented experiences. Join us at this webinar to hear how The Great Give Back began, its impact, see examples of projects from around the state, and get a glimpse at the resources available to those that participate!

Bilingual Spanish/English Solar Science Kits

This NASA@ My Library offering will provide 30 public libraries in areas with a large percentage of Spanish speakers (or patrons of Hispanic/Latinx descent) with a Solar Science kit meant to support the October 2023 and April 2024 eclipses, and other astronomy/solar science activities. The draft kit list is as follows:

• 4.5" Dobsonian Telescope with solar filter and moon filter
• 2 SunSpotters
• Materials for "Moon Bear's Shadow" Activity
• "Sorting Games" Activity
• "Eclipse Soundscapes" Citizen Science Tools and Activities
• GLOBE Eclipse Citizen Science project: Postcards + Taylor 1441 digital thermometer

All items will be bilingual Spanish and English. Applications are due July 30th.

Apply today: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GKRFPN6

New Overdrive Content

We've add new titles to the some of the eBook book lists:

• There are new Spanish Picture books and a slew of graphic novels.
• We all add many new titles to the Early Literacy Book list, you can view the book list here: https://salon.overdrive.com/collection/184552 There are new books on storytime ideas, early literacy programming, learning through movement, sign language, speech, and drawing.

Webinars

The SALS calendar has been updated with upcoming webinars for August-November that might be of interest. Visit here: https://salsblog.sals.edu/calendar/ Upcoming webinars include info on AI, Construction projects, climate change

Smoke in the Summer: Supporting Families in Wildfire Season

If a blanket of smoke has settled upon your community, simple programs and robust collections can help.

https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2023/07/smoke-in-the-summer-supporting-families-in-wildfire-season/

ReadSquared

NASA is taking the first step in the next era of human exploration with the Artemis spaceflight program! In ancient Greek mythology, Artemis was the goddess of the Moon and twin sister to the sun god Apollo. Much like NASA’s Apollo program, which took humans to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the Artemis program will take humans, including the first woman and the first person of color, back to the Moon and prepare us for traveling to Mars and beyond for the first time.

To celebrate this exciting endeavor READsquared has collaborated with Starnet to share educational activities that teach about space travel, the Moon, and Mars. These four new missions are available to import directly into your READsquared site and include multiple activities such as:

• Explore Mars
• Learn How to Draw Artemis!
• How Does the SLS Rocket Fly?

PLA releases first Public Library Services for Strong Communities Report

Key findings include:

• The majority of public libraries (68%) offer elections services, such as voter registration, ballot drop-off, or serving as a polling place.
• Virtually all libraries (99%) have summer reading programs for children, teens, and/or adults to support learning outside of school.
• 78% of libraries offer job and career services currently and 24% have workforce development programs.
• 17.5% of libraries have at least one type of mobile programming facility, including bookmobiles, cybermobiles, and mobile job centers.
• 98% of public libraries have at least one type of partnership with an external organization (e.g., K-12 schools, government entities, and non-profits).
• 40% of library buildings have not undergone major renovations in over two decades (since 2000 or earlier).
• Half of libraries (50%) have special designations for emergencies, serving as cooling/warming centers in extreme temperatures, distribution centers during public health emergencies, and/or centers for community members and first responders during disaster recovery.

Le Petit Prince Turns 80

The Little Prince turns 80 this year, and the author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry would have turned 123 years old on June 29th. We explore what makes this hand-drawn world so compelling even now, and how the Little Prince has made his home in the Library's collections.