12 Month Planning Calendar
Paperwork, Documentation and Reports
- State Library of Kansas – Statistical Reports
- Loyalty Oath/Affirmation and Substantial Interest Statement (pdf) or (docx)
- Please see Forms
Contact Information
Librarianship
Statutory Authority of Boards
- Public Library Trustee Handbook – Revised 2015 (Section 8 deals with the Legal Responsibilities and Authorities of Library Boards)
Policies
Policies that are required by our Accreditation Process are:
- Appropriate Use of Online Services
- Budget and Finance
- Building/Meeting Room Use
- Capital Improvements
- Confidentiality of Library Records
- Continuing Education
- Emergency Preparedness & Disaster Recovery
- Equipment Use
- Gifts and Donations
- Intellectual Freedom
- Internet Safety
- Patron Behavior
- Patron Services/Circulation
- Personnel
- Public Services
- Selection/Collection Management
- Board Resolutions
- Surplus Property
- Use of Personal Devices in the Library
An example of a thorough set of policies can be found in the RCL Policies Handbook.
Board-Director Roles and Responsibilities
NEKLS Services
Regional Library Systems
In 1965, Kansas Statues K.S.A. 75-2547 and 75-2548 established seven regional systems to help local libraries provide library services to all citizens of the state. Through the use of joint planning and financing of library services, the systems improve existing library service and use what federal funding becomes available. Originally the systems only served public libraries, but over time their roles have expanded to include school, academic and special libraries. Each system adapts its service to the needs of the libraries it serves, therefore there are services offered in one area that are not offered in another, however, they come together to work with the State Library to develop goals and determine plans for improving library service throughout the state.
Joint Regional System Website
NEKLS manages the Joint Regional System Website, in conjunction with the other systems. Information on that site includes:
- Public Library Standards
- Cooperative Projects
- Record Retention Schedule
- State-wide Performer’s Directory
Grants and Accreditation
NEKLS Accreditation Standards and application forms are kept on the NEKLS site: nekls.org/forms/. That page also includes various grant applications, including:
- NEKLS Membership Application
- Library Development Grant
- Continuing Education Grant
- Mileage Reimbursement Grant
Consulting
NEKLS provides General, Library Development, Building, Technology and Youth Services consulting for our members. The Consulting page has links and details about the kinds of consulting NEKLS can do for your library.
Continuing Education
NEKLS offers a number of continuing education opportunities to members throughout the year. The latest calendar of events can be found on the Continuing Education page as well as links to past events (video archives and handouts are made available there) and descriptions of annual events that NEKLS hosts.
Technology Services and Support
NEKLS has a staff that can provide a number of services for member libraries, including, but not limited to:
- Consulting on Technology Plan development
- Managing software licensing and hardware purchasing
- Consulting on local network and Internet projects
- Providing computer and technology repair and support services
Collection Development and Resource Sharing
Next search catalog
The Next search catalog is a regional consortial catalog that is shared by most of the public libraries in the Northeast Kansas area. The latest information on the project can be found on the Next search catalog page on this site.
Interlibrary Loan
This section is being updated. Contact NEKLS office.
Courier Service
The state-wide courier services is managed from the NEKLS office. The Courier site has information on the service, forms for statistics, links to shipping labels and other information needed to send items via the courier, fees and charges, policy information and information on how to join the courier system.
Digital Content
The State Library manages econtent for the state of Kansas – information about the State’s econtent service can be found on the Kansas State Library’s Digital Book eLending site. Please see Forms for Digital Content Funding Table and Digital Content Allocation Form.
Group discounts and Collection Development Assistance
- Information about Group Discounts can be found on the NEKLS site. This information includes the types of materials we purchase as well as the most recent costs for many of those materials.
- Collection Development assistance involves consulting services from the NEKLS staff – weeding advice, collection management and materials purchasing are all areas in which NEKLS staff can help.