Hello World Tech & Youth Services

Adventures in AI Challenge!

This challenge, created by the Libraries and Artificial Intelligence Committee, is designed to introduce you to some of the most popular AI tools and help you feel confident using them in your work.

Also, if you complete the challenge you will receive 2hr Continuing Education Credit

Join the Challenge

News From Around the State (Youth Services)

I had a meeting with youth services consultants from across the state earlier this week and I'd like to share a few of the topics covered.

AI

One library system mentioned that a book they ordered through (edit: this was Ingram not Baker & Taylor) Baker & Taylor turned out to be an AI-generated picture book. They were unaware of this until the book arrived and they noticed that many of the images had typical AI-generated anomalies, such as strange hands and multiple eyes. It was also noted that the majority of these AI-generated books are non-fiction picture books.

Here is a blog post detailing some of the inaccuracies https://sonderbooks.com/blog/?p=42630

Autism

Smokey Bear

Rules for using the Smokey Bear Costume: https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/finalsmokeyhandoutsacessibleforweb.pdf

I'm not 100% clear on this but I believe you can schedule a Smokey Bear costume through the DEC. It was mentioned that if you want to be prioritized, mention that your program promotes outdoor safety or campfire safety: https://dec.ny.gov/about/contact-us/forest-ranger-rosters

Imagination Library

There was a discussion about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The NYS Legislature has approved $500,000 in grant funding for organizations, including library systems and libraries, to participate in the program. However, we are still waiting for more information on what participation will entail. Stay tuned for updates.

Love Your Library

NYS approved 100k distribution of the Love Your Library funds for summer reading, but we are still awaiting our allocation notification.

Other:

The Adirondack Family Book Festival is scheduled for August 17, the schedule looks awesome: https://adirondackfamilybookfestival.com/

Summer Reading Posters

Posters Have Arrived!

Summer Reading Posters have arrived and should be in your delivery shortly. Please return the cardboard tubes

NLS Summer Reading Program 2024

Come on a summer adventure with the National Library Service/NLS! The national Summer Reading Program for Talking Book and Braille Library patrons, runs from June 24 to August 9, 2024. The program is a celebration of reading, learning, and fun for all ages. This year, there are three scheduled online events and additional activities that readers can enjoy at their own pace.

Find out more here.

Updates

Niche Academy

There have been some new additions to our shared academy.

  • Staff Development--Intro to Discord & How to Create a Newsletter
  • Websites--Intro to HTML & CSS
You can access Niche Academy here.

Calendar

The SALS' calendar has been updated after briefly being removed. https://salsblog.sals.edu/calendar/ There are a few event next month that focus on NOVELNY and some of their new databases.

Early Childhood Symposium--From the Brooklyn Public Library

The dates that have already passed are recording for those that are interested.

These recordings are only available for a short period so they might not all be available at the moment.

Overdrive Diversity Audit

For those who are curious, I asked Overdrive to run another diversity audit. You can view the results using the button below.

Overdrive Divesity Audit

Annual Dinner

For those of you who were unable to attend the annual dinner, we had a really nice slide show of all the member libraries. You can view it here: