Published 5/17/2022 2:14 PM CT
Congratulations to the newly elected members of the IHLS Board of Directors! Election results are pending board certification at the May 24 board meeting.
Published 5/10/2022 7:14 PM CT
The Cataloging Maintenance Center (CMC) received two children’s books by the author Mariah J. Tolson from Mississippi Valley Library District in Collinsville, Ill. Tolson is an East St. Louis, Ill. native who began writing books during the pandemic for her son, which produced Little Hands.
Published 5/4/2022 12:05 PM CT
The end of the school year is quickly approaching, and Illinois Heartland Library System's delivery service to schools for this 2021-22 school year will end Friday, May 20, 2022. Please remember to return any extra bags and tubs to your IHLS hub. If your students return items after the final pick-up, you can return them to any local public library. If your school will be conducting summer sessions and you would like library delivery, please...
Published 4/27/2022 12:17 PM CT
Once again, we are excited to bring to you the Illinois Heartland Library System Fiscal Year 2023 Draft Budget and Budget Narrative using OpenGov. OpenGov is a cloud-based budgeting tool that provides easy access to data and information for both staff members and library members like you. Each chart is interactive in such a way that you can hover over chart components to highlight them or you can click the chart to explore more data.
Additionally, we present you with our FY2023 Draft Operational Plan. The Operational Plan includes...
Deadline: May 20, 2022 by noon.
Published 4/27/2022 11 AM CT
The Reaching Forward South (RFS) Conference was held on April 8 at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign, IL. The RFS Conference is a professional development opportunity for library support staff from both central and southern Illinois libraries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first time in two years the conference was held in person. This gave the staff of the Cataloging Maintenance Center (CMC) the perfect opportunity to connect with library professionals to create awareness of the CMC’s offerings. CMC staff packed up their swag and set off on a mission.
Published 4/26/2022 11:31 AM CT
Swank Movie Licensing provides public libraries and certain other institutions with the licensing needed to legally show films from the major Hollywood studios in their buildings to engage and entertain patrons. There is also an exception to the license to use some films outdoors, with event approval, on library property until December 31, 2022!
By signing up for Swank Movie Licensing through this partnership with IHLS, your library will receive a discounted rate, giving you the best value in movie licensing and the ability to expand film programming for patrons.
Request a quote by June 14, 2022
Sign up by June 15, 2022
April 13 • May 11 • June 22, 2022
IHLS has partnered with the human resource experts at HR Source to bring IHLS members a series of webinars on important HR topics. Join us for one or all!
Published 2/25/2016 2:32 PM CT, Updated 4/12/2022 5:30 PM CT
Items can be delivered to your interlibrary loan patrons even faster with the IHLS Delivery On the Go service!
If you notice that an item you pull is for a library after you on your library’s IHLS Delivery route, you can help the receiving library’s patron get it faster by using the Delivery On the Go service—and others can do the same for you! The IHLS Delivery On the Go service enables qualifying items* to be delivered to the receiving library that very same day. Same route, same day.
Learn more...
Published 4/12/2022 4:45 PM CT
Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, the Illinois legislature has amended HB 0234 to require all public high schools to include a unit of instruction on media literacy and states the topics of instruction that are required. School librarians, with their focus on information and media literacy, should be a part of the conversation happening in schools around Illinois as to how this requirement will be implemented. Stay ahead of the curve and read up on HB0234, and contact the Illinois State Board of Education for more information. Also, please don’t hesitate to contact Leah Gregory, our school library member liaison, for further resources.
Published 4/12/2022 4:15 PM CT
Congratulations to the 2022 recipients of the State of Illinois' School District Library Grant!
Each year, the state legislature authorizes grants of up $0.885 per pupil, with a guaranteed minimum grant award of $850 per public school district. The grant award is based on funds appropriated by the General Assembly using student enrollment numbers as of Sept. 30. Grant applications are due annually on Oct. 15.
If you work in a public school library whose district is not on this list, or if your public school district has never applied before, please reach out to Leah Gregory, our Membership Coordinator School Liaison. She'll help your library claim your school district's grant for next year.
- Allendale CCSD #17
- Altamont CUSD #10
- Alton CUSD #11
- Anna-Jonesboro CHSD #81
- Arcola Community Unit School District #306
- Argenta-Oreana CUSD 1
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Published 4/8/2022
Illinois Heartland Library System is issuing a request for information (RFI) as the first step in the procurement of an automated materials handling system (AMHS) for use in its Edwardsville, Ill., location. The Edwardsville location serves about 150 libraries, of which 120 libraries use the SHARE (Polaris) integrated library system. The annual volume of shipping is about 1 million items per year. We seek to automate sorting to increase efficiency at member libraries and IHLS and streamline the efforts of our warehouse workforce.
Published 3/29/2022 10:51 AM CST
When the Groff Memorial Library, in Grayville, Ill., recently secured a donation of local history and genealogical materials from S & R Media, LLC, the library director, Kathleen Rister, contacted the Cataloging Maintenance Center (CMC) to ask if they would assist in cataloging this donation, now known as The Navigator Collection.
Published 2/22/2022 2:22 PM CT
It has come to our attention that libraries that signed up for Google Apps using the free tier for libraries have received notice that Google Marketplace, the replacement product for Google Apps, will not honor the free tier that many libraries use today. Don’t worry! There is hope, a free option is still available; but for some libraries, it has been a little bit of a chore. We will walk you through the process and offer help, if needed.
Published 2/16/2022 9:39 AM CT
Illinois lawmakers have introduced bills in both the Illinois House and Senate that, if passed and adopted into law, would require publishers to offer libraries who purchase e-books with public funds (i.e. library patrons' tax dollars) with equitable pricing and purchasing terms. This would mean they wouldn't be able to charge libraries several times more than it would cost someone to buy the e-book at list price, as is current practice. Other states have introduced similar legislation. To learn more, check out the resources here. Then, follow ILA's Legislative updates for information on the bills and how to garner patron support.
Published 1/5/2022 10:20 AM CT, Updated 1/31/2022 6:08 PM CT
New Library Issues Resource Page: Censorship and Book Challenges
In light of the recent challenges, including organized challenges, to materials in school and other libraries, Illinois Heartland Library System has developed a Censorship and Book Challenges resource page. Read IHLS's statement of support for school libraries and AISLE. Then, check out these resources on book challenges and intellectual freedom in school and other libraries.
Published 1/14/2021 4:26 PM CT
The 2022 Illinois Public Library Annual Report (IPLAR) survey is now open. Each public library is required to submit the IPLAR 60 days after the library's fiscal year-end. Public libraries were sent an email on Jan. 3 that explains this year's new questions. Added by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Public Libraries Survey (PLS), these new questions, provide more detailed reporting for the programming section including live virtual programming and age-specific group programming of all types.
