Northeast Kansas Library System

A request from the State Library:
You’ve got a lot on your plate as summer reading wraps up and you raise the sails for the school year to begin. If you can, will you help get the word out about Kansas’ 2026 Great Reads from Great Places, “Outdoor Farm, Indoor Farm” and “The Last Rancher”? Both books were chosen from among 2025 Kansas Notable Books. (See the 2026 Kansas Notable Books list here, https://library.ks.gov/ksnotablebooks.)

We’ve tried to make it easy for you and your community to dive into Great Reads from Great Places with:

bookmarks you can download, print, cut and share
posters to print and share
social media graphics
a sample social media post (below) and
a cool story about the Kansas-born artist (graduated from Wichita State University) who designed this year’s National Book Festival poster.
The current National Book Festival poster linked to download and print.
Authors will be available to sign books at the September 26 Kansas Book Festival at Washburn University, which is part of the National Book Festival’s “Festival Near You” initiative.
Links to all and more on the Great Reads page, https://library.ks.gov/KSGreatReads.

Website: Librarians: KS Notable Books Links for librarians to access services and resources within the State Library, Kansas library community and beyond. | State Library of Kansas

Library Card Sign Up Month is coming up in September! Vendors (https://www.shopjanway.com/lib-card-sign-up.html) as well as our professional organization (https://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/card) have lots of resources and cool gadgets and swag for you to use to encourage folks in your area to get a library card!

I know a few of you have done renovations recently, and Library Journal would like to hear about them:
Library Journal is collecting information about recently completed library construction and renovation projects for our annual Year in Architecture feature. Our records show that your library may have recently completed a construction or renovation project. If your institution completed or plans to complete a library construction or renovation project between July 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026, please tell us about it! The link below will direct you to our online submission form.
Share details of your project with us here - https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8894158/LJArchIssue2026
THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2026 See less

Looking for Clues: Readers Advisory for Mystery Lovers
Wednesday, July 8th at 1:00 PM CT

Presented by Lila Denning

Register for this training - https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8517764517548/WN_4c-x--47SxWXDwxrrj35HA #/registration

Join Readers’ Advisory expert Lila Denning for an hour of how you can develop your readers advisory skills to help readers looking for mysteries. You will learn what is a mystery and how it is different than other kinds of crime fiction. She will show how to help your patrons find their next great read by focusing on what appeals most to them including subgenre, theme, and other appeal factors.

As a result of this program, attendees will learn how to:

● Understand the basic features of a mystery as well as the major subgenres, appeals, and themes

● Identify resources for finding mysteries in a variety of subgenres

● Discover the major literary awards for mysteries as well as how they can help in your Readers Advisory efforts

● Learn titles and authors to get you started in your own investigation into the world of mystery fiction