Newsletter
August 2022
Last chance! Register for the
2022 NEFLIN Annual Meeting
Have you registered for the 2022 NEFLIN Annual Meeting? The cost to attend is $45.00 (includes a catered lunch) and you must register by Friday, September 2nd!

When: Friday, September 16th, from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
What happens at the Annual Meeting?
So much good stuff! You'll hear annual reports from the NEFLIN staff, which will keep you up-to-date with all that NEFLIN has been up to and what we are planning for the year ahead. We'll present awards to some outstanding NEFLIN members and celebrate their achievements and service. And we'll enjoy an engaging keynote presentation, "Transformational by Design", delivered by Jamie Larue, Executive Director of the Garfield County Public Library District.
You'll also have a slate of breakout sessions to choose from, including highlights of the 2021-22 Innovation Projects, information about the upcoming COOP Project, a panel session about NEFLIN's Management Training Institute, and a presentation by Dr. Lisa Montgomery, Community Support Advocate for the Brevard County Public Library System.
More about our Keynote Speaker
Our keynote speaker this year is Jamie Larue, a frequent workshop, library staff day, and library association presenter. He has also served as a facilitator, last-minute panelist, moderator, and master of ceremonies for everything from debates to awards dinners.
Jamie has been the director of the Douglas County (Colorado) Libraries, widely known as one of the most successful and innovative public libraries in the nation.

Jamie has also been the Executive Director of both the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, and the Freedom to Read Foundation. In 2014, he embarked on a career of writing, speaking, teaching, and consulting. In May 2022, he returned to the public library. He is currently the Executive Director of the Garfield County Public Library District in Colorado.
New On-Demand Training Options
Library 2.0 featuring Dr. Steve Albrecht
First, we brought you Ryan Dowd's Librarian's Guide to Homelessness course. Next came tons of eResource tutorials. Now, NEFLIN is happy to announce the latest addition to our On-Demand collection: Library 2.0 featuring Dr. Steve Albrecht.

Dr. Albrecht covers a number of topics through pre-recorded webinars, primarily on safety, security and customer service. We are starting with 38 recordings, but the collection will grow as future webinars are recorded.
Most of the recordings are around an hour long, and of course, you can track your progress as well as your Niche Academy history at your leisure. 

Don't forget the other awesome content available through Niche Academy. If you haven't looked at the resources before or it's been a while, poke around and see if some of the other offerings may interest you. There's something for nearly everyone there!  

For access to any of these resources, follow this link and create an account.
Be a part of this year's Silent Auction!
We invite you or your library to donate a basket to be auctioned off at this year's Annual Meeting. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Jim Morris Continuing Education Fund.
To Contribute:


Don't have time to donate a basket and would like to make a tax deductible donation? Click here.
Congratulations, MTI Graduates!
Congratulations to our 2021-22 Management Training Institute graduates!

The MTI participants have just completed an 8-month deep dive into management skills and are now returning to 8 different library systems to put those skills to work. We will miss seeing these folks every month, but we are excited to see what they do with all they have learned and experienced!

Interested in participating in the MTI? Don't miss the MTI panel at this year's Annual Meeting!
Pictured above are:
(front row, L-R) Ash Vaught (UF); Sakuna Saengow (UF); Heather Webb (Marion County Public); Kelsey Groth (Jacksonville Public); Nanette Entriken (Suwannee River Regional); Katie Jackson (Clay County Public)

(back row, L-R) Robin West-Rogers (JPL); Yuri Blackburn (JPL); Aaron Neff (JPL); ; Julie Cannavino (Nassau County Public); Jonathan Sandbach (JPL); Lena McNeer (Volusia County Public); Michael Clark (facilitator); Jessica Kelly (Marion County Public); Josiah Cook (Suwannee River Regional); Heather Chalmers (Flagler County Public); Kate Zakharov (JPL)

Not pictured: Jorge Perez (Volusia County Public)
Featured Webinar:
Video Game Tournaments at Your Library

It’s one thing to ask, “What is a video game tournament?” but the more important question is, “What does a video game tournament mean for my library?” In this webinar, we will answer both questions. Running such a tournament at your library has the potential to be a personally rewarding and statistically successful endeavor, especially as a program aimed at teens. Tournaments are shockingly easy to facilitate if you know what to expect. After this webinar, you will!
Meet the Trainer: Josiah Cook
Josiah Cook is a Library Aide II at the Live Oak branch of the Suwannee River Regional Library System. He grew up in libraries and spent his teenage years attending every program he could and serving as a teen volunteer on a regular basis. Now, he’s flipped things around and is the one running the teen programs at that same library. He takes pride in providing quality, memorable experiences for his patrons and wants to help others do the same. 
Innovation Project Spotlight
For the last few months, we've been highlighting the 8 NEFLIN member libraries who are recipients of a 2022 Innovation Project Award. These libraries all submitted their innovative ideas to the NEFLIN Board, who then awarded up to $10,000 for each winning idea. All of the libraries are working now to put their projects into action, and at the NEFLIN Annual Meeting on September 16th, they will share their progress and results.
Our next highlighted winner is Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Hunt Library. Their project is to launch a university-wide open textbook press using the PressbooksEDU platform
The project will establish an open press hosted by Hunt Library that is user friendly, accessible, and includes valuable educational tools like integration with Canvas, multimedia, and interactive activities. ERAU is a unique institution, specializing in niche STEM subjects. Finding high quality and affordable materials can be a challenge. By implementing PressbooksEDU, faculty can create high-quality materials at no cost for students without sacrificing effective teaching tools. Further, the materials created will be openly available for the greater educational community and students in perpetuity.
Virtual Reality @ JPL
Our thanks to Kim Williams Odom of Jacksonville Public Library's South Mandarin Branch for sharing her experience with the Virtual Reality Equipment she recently borrowed from NEFLIN's Equipment Loan program!
"Thank you, NEFLIN!

On 5/26, we borrowed the VR Gaming Equipment Package (5 machine sets) from NEFLIN. During the month of June, we had a practice session for interested staff at SOM, and 3 drop-in activities for the public. The drop-in activities were scheduled as an additional opportunity for participants of the Teen Game Night Drop-In. Teens, their parents and younger siblings all engaged in a variety of training and more advanced play opportunities. 
Additionally, I discussed our success at the Assistant Library Supervisor -Youth Meeting and heard great interest from the University Park Branch (UPK). We worked with the University Park Branch to introduce their staff to the package so they could decide on future use. We received positive feedback from all of our staff, including the following from one UPK Customer Experience Associate--- "The VR equipment works like a charm. Had a small bit of trouble figuring out the controllers but after that it was amazing."
Feedback from our teen and youth participants included: This is insanely cool, I love this, Can we keep it, This is great (several versions of this sentiment).

Feedback from parents was encouraging. They enjoyed playing with their children. They enjoyed trying something new. They were thankful to be included in the fun. They were grateful that the library had access to this kind of experience. One commented that 'there is always another reason to love the library'. A parent also commented about the Table Tennis game that 'it was so realistic, quite a workout and absolutely fun'. A parent who chose to remain an onlooker said 'Girl, you are having a ball over there!'"
These training opportunities have been funded in part under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Florida Department of State, Division
of Library and Information Services.
For FY2021-22, the total state and federal budgets for NEFLIN's programs are $676,872. 41% of the total costs ($276,872) are supported by federal funds, and 59% of this program ($400,000) is supported by state funds.
Jenny Eason | Member Services Coordinator | NEFLIN
2233 Park Avenue, Suite 402, Orange Park, FL. 32073
904.278.5620 | www.neflin.org | jenny@neflin.org