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Montana Library Network News

This newsletter serves a biweekly digest to consolidate and archive events and news from various library directed outreach from the Montana Library Network within the Montana State Library. This newsletter will go out on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. 

Bon Voyage, Commissioner Arlitsch! 

Please join us in congratulating Commissioner Kenning Arlitsch on his new exciting endeavor with Central European University in Vienna that will begin in August. Although this means that Commissioner Arlitsch will be leaving MSU, as well as MSL's Commission, we look forward to the amazing things that he will do in his new position. Thank you Commissioner Arlitsch for your service to the Montana library community!

Please read the MSU Press Release for more details on Commissioner Arlitsch's departure. Please note that Commissioner Arlitsch will continue to serve on MSL's Commission until his departure in August.

Montana Legislative Districting Update

The Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission will be reviewing and drawing maps that will assign Montanans to 100 House districts and 50 Senate districts. These maps will affect how people are represented in the Legislature from 2024 to 2034. To share information about this important process and why it matters to your patrons and communities, please see the Ready, set, MAP MT article from 6/7/22.

Public Library Standards - How to Fill Them Out

This year public library directors and their board chairs have been receiving the Standards forms through DocuSign  - thanks to those who have completed them already!.

For the remaining libraries here's a reminder on the process:

You will receive an email from Genevieve Lighthiser/DocuSign. Click on the link in the email to be taken to DocuSign. You will see a pdf form and will be asked to select yes, no, or automatic deferral for each standard. 

If your answers are only yes or automatic deferral, you will receive a second email from DocuSign after you finish the first step of providing your status on each standard and clicking “FINISH”. That second email will allow you to sign the Certification Statement on the last page. It will then go to the email of the board chair who will need to sign it through DocuSign. Once everyone has signed the document, you will receive a copy for your records.

If you need to request a deferral (different from the automatic deferrals already granted by the Library Commission due to the revised standards taking effect July 1): Please select no for any standard(s) that you do not meet. You will be able to explain why and share your plan for meeting that standard. The document will then go to Jennie Stapp, State Librarian, for review. She will respond. The system will then send you her responses for you to review. When you are ready, you can electronically sign the document through DocuSign. It will then be emailed to your board chair who will electronically sign it in the same way. You will then receive a copy for your records.

If you have an earlier email but click the link and get a "link expired" message don't panic - the system is set to automatically resend a new link.

Please verify your board chair's email address in ASPeN so the process can be completed. Or, contact your consultant with the information.

The deadline to complete the standards is July 25, 2022.

Reminder: Okta Account Set Up for ASPeN Sign In and Access

The Montana State Library is now using Okta instead of ePass for authentication into our web applications, including ASPeN.  On Tuesday, all ASPeN users should have received an activation email from noreply@okta.com with the subject “Welcome to Okta!” This email includes a link to perform the final setup steps of your Okta account, which you will then use to to sign in to ASPeN with the red button on the right side of the screen.  The email from Okta will look something like this:  If you miss the 7-day window to activate your Okta account, we can send you a new activiation email. Contact MSL support at MSLServiceDesk@service.mt.gov for assistance with this or any other issues logging into ASPeN with Okta.

Montana Memory Project News

New Plans Loaded to Yellowstone National Park Maps and Drawings

This week we uploaded over 100 new high resolution images to the Yellowstone National Park Maps and Drawings collection. These detailed scans include blueprints for buildings in the park, as well as site plans for different areas of Yellowstone.

Jim Annin Photo Collection

Over the past month, in conjunction with hard working volunteers, we have been adding new content to the Jim Annin Photo Collection. This collection from the Museum of the Beartooths has a strong focus on people and families from Stillwater County from the early homesteading era, through the middle of the 20th century. The photo descriptions are highly detailed, in many cases serving as a mini-biography of the subjects. We hope you will visit the collection and take a look at the photos and stories of these Montanans.

New Collection on Montana Food History We have just migrated a collection from our old MMP website, the Montana Foodways - Richland and Roosevelt Counties collection. This unique set of items includes images of cookware from 100 years of Montanans, as well as recipes and cookbooks. We hope you will check it out!

Continuing Education News

Lifelong Learning News

CSLP Social Media Toolkit Need some summer social media inspo? Check out the 2022 CSLP Social Media Toolkit! You will find #OceansOfPossibilities, including plug and play posts, graphics, font suggestions, virtual meeting background, social media cover photos and more in one convenient spot. And remember, the Toolkit is a living document, with more posts added all year round! CSLP Social Media Toolkit Link (Google Folder) Don’t forget to follow CSLP on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram: @CSLPreads. You can also join the 2 official Facebook groups from the CSLP page. You are also welcome to reshare any posts from the MSL Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts to your library's social media accounts. CSLP PSA Full PSA English Youtube link Full PSA Spanish Youtube link The "base" files are available for your libraries to add their own logo or text if this is something they are interested in doing. These files can be found in the Online Manual. Hashtags: You can tag your social media posts with these hashtags, and also explore other posts from libraries all over the country! #OceansOfPossibilities #CSLPreads Additional Programming Ideas, Resources, & Supports CSLP’s Summer Symposium recordings & slides Summer Food Service Program – No Kid Hungry  CSLP Inclusion Webinar Recordings CSLP Partners - Resources and Support

2025 and 2026 CSLP Slogans and Themes

For the next part of the slogan decision process, CSLP will be announcing listening sessions in August for member libraries to give feedback on the final list of 2025 slogans, as well as preview the options for the 2026 themes. These slogans and themes will be voted on at the Annual CSLP meeting, which CSLP state reps will attend in September. Stay tuned for more information on the August listening sessions!

Ready 2 Read Rendezvous 2022 Exciting news! The 2022 Ready 2 Read Rendezvous will be in-person in Lewistown, MT from October 21st - 23rd! The schedule workshop and speakers are TBD, but more information will be forthcoming hopefully in June. If you would like more information on the Ready 2 Read Rendezvous, please look at the 2019 schedule and information webpage, as the 2022 Rendezvous will be similarly formatted.  Please feel free to reach out to Amelea Kim at akim@mt.gov with any questions, and excited to see you all in Lewistown in October!

Montana Library Resources

This section is a list of resources that may be of interest to the general Montana library audience. Feel free to contribute to this section of the newsletter by sending things to Amelea Kim at akim@mt.gov.

General Resources

• Free eBooks and Resources from the Brooklyn Public Library - Books UnBanned: Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is launching a new campaign today, titled Books UnBanned, to help teens combat the negative impact of increased censorship and book bans in libraries across the country. For a limited time, young adults ages 13 to 21 nationwide, will be able to apply for a free eCard from BPL, unlocking access to the library’s extensive collection of eBooks. Read more at the Brooklyn Public Library Website!
• FOCUS June 2022 Issue
• Crossroads Library Learning Newsletter from Webjunction, June 2022 Issue
• Montana Historical Society Thursday Talks: MHS hosts a weekly Thursday night program on a variety of topics, and there are two programs remaining before their summer break! Programs are presented live in Helena, but anyone can watch the live stream on YouTube if they are elsewhere! Please see the program information below. You can also find more information about the Thursday Talks and other public programs on the MHS Public Program website. 
  • Thursday, June 23, 4:30 p.m. Home Waters: A Chronicle of Family and a River with John N. Maclean Home Waters is a beautiful story of four generations of the Maclean family and their love of the Blackfoot River. Join John N. Maclean as he shares the true stories of the characters fictionalized by his father, Norman Maclean in A River Runs through It. The stories are full of life, love, fishing, and loss. John N. Maclean will also be available for a book signing after the presentation.

  • Thursday, June 30, 4:30 p.m. "So Hard to Die: Mystery of Meriwether Lewis's Death" Talk and book signing by Drs. Dave and Marti Peck Co- Sponsored by Montana Military Museum Meriwether Lewis, commander of the famed 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition, returned home from this perilous journey with every hope of a bright and productive future. Yet within three years, the thirty-five-year-old Lewis was dead in a lonely inn along the Natchez Trace in rural Tennessee, the victim of two gunshots. Various medical and psychological theories have been proposed by historians and others to account for his mysterious death, which was originally reported as a suicide. Join authors Drs. David and Marti Peck as they draw on their professional backgrounds as a physician and a clinical psychologist to provide an in-depth analysis of the various theories that still swirl around Lewis’s death.

Children and Youth Services Resources

• Gaming for Good: How Games Can Support Social-Emotional Learning Webinar from edWebinar on 6/20/22: You can click on the link for a full description of the webinar, as well as watch the recording.

Grant Opportunities

• National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) Awards Available: If you are interested in providing health information services at your library, consider checking out NNLM's grant awards. These grants provide support for public libraries that assist with consumer health information, and are a great way to implement any health related ideas you might have. Check out the awards for Region 4, which Montana is located in.
  • NNLM Grant Awards

New Database Resource: HeritageQuest Genealogical Database

All public and tribal libraries have access to the HeritageQuest genealogical database through December 2022! Please contact Cara Orban (corban@mt.gov) to set up access for your patrons. This service is paid through American Rescue Plan Act funds in partnership with Missoula Public Library, who holds the contract.

Did You Know?

This goes out to our directors! Do you know what to do in ASPeN when you get a new employee? These guides can help you add a position, update the information about a position, update information about your library, record and report federation expenses, and even add an image of your library.

Calendar of Events

June/July/August

Click on the image below to see the coming months and register for upcoming events.

Image of events calendar - linked to calendar of events

See all MSL topics on our News feed at https://msl.mt.gov/about/news