KLASUsers Group

It’s happening; the first in-person KLAS conference since 2019! I am looking forward to traveling to Nashville this summer for A Perfect Tenn: KLAS UC2023 and I hope to see many of you there. We know not everyone can travel and are happy to be able to offer an online option for those who can’t. But if you’re sitting on the fence about which one to choose, I’m here to offer a gentle nudge toward the face-to-face option with my top five reasons to attend the UC2023 in person.

1. Hands On Sessions: Have you checked out the proposed schedule for this conference yet? Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each start with a two-hour hands-on training block that is only available on site. I’ve been to an in-person training with Keystone staff and can guarantee you’ll walk away with something new.
2. Meet Keystone Staff: Speaking of staff, getting to know the Keystone staff and drilling down into the nitty gritty of KLAS with them is a fantastic learning opportunity.
3. Spark New Ideas: I always come back from a conference ready to implement big changes. From my recent experience, that list hasn’t been as long with online conferences. The conversational nature of an in-person conference seems to inspire more ideas than the online format, where I find myself drawn away from my computer screen to take care of day-to-day tasks.
4. Networking: Meet your peers from across the country. Learn how they do things. Find new ways to use KLAS. Get recruited for a committee. Enjoy the opening reception with great food and entertainment! I’m really excited to tour the Tennessee School for the Blind and learn about the services they provide to their students.
5. Share Your Expertise: This one is a cheat. You can share your knowledge with the KLAS Users’ Group in either format. Whichever you choose, we want to hear from you. You can help make this an extraordinary learning experience by sharing your expertise and creativity with colleagues from other organizations and libraries! Submit your proposals on the KLAS Users’ website.

Whether attending in person or online, early-bird registration closes on April 30. Make your plans soon to save some money. Visit the registration page for details.

Last week we announced the creation of a new KLASusers IRC listserv. This week, we want to share / remind you of the various ways KLAS Users can connect with one another, and how to subscribe to each:

1. KLAS Users listserv
2. KLAS IRC Users listserv
3. KLASUsers.com discussion forum
4. Comments on KLASUsers.com articles

KLASusers listserv

The KLASusers listserv is open to any and all KLAS Users, whether you're a library director, an IRC inventory clerk, a member of your organization's technical support staff, or anyone else who uses KLAS. Keystone staff typically send out our Weekly Wrap-up to this listserv every Friday which includes info about new articles and forum posts on KLASusers.com, MARC record updates, info about the current KLAS release, upcoming webinars and other online training opportunities, etc.

User discussion is also welcome and encouraged! However, please remember: Replies will go to the entire listserv. To reply only to the sender, use the "reply to sender" link in the email footer.

The easiest way to get signed up for the listserv is via the KLASUsers listserv subscription page, or you can send a list of names and email addresses for your organization to .

KLAS IRC Users listserv

Last week we shared info about our shiny, new KLAS IRC Users' listserv. We hope any and all instructional resource / materials center staff who use KLAS will subscribe to this more focused e-list. We will share the KLAS Users' Weekly Wrap-up to it which will contain both IRC and non-IRC related information to it (including the latest release, so you can stay up-to-date), but otherwise it be strictly IRC-relevant communications. If you haven't already, be sure to sign-up ASAP via the KLAS IRC Users' listserv subscription page.

User discussion is also welcome here, so long as it is IRC related.

KLASUsers.com Discussion Forum

Our discussion forums have been an integral part of KLASusers.com since it's launch. The benefits of the forums over listservs for sharing information include threading, the ability to subscribe only to desired areas, and a more easily browse- or searchable archive, compared to searching your inbox for an email you remember possible getting at some point. We encourage you to post questions, ideas, resources, and suggestions to the forums. Available categories for posts are based on the different KLAS modules, various parts of the KLAS User community (Ex: RA, IRC, AT, KLAS Novices, etc.), and even Keystone services.

Anyone can read the forums, but you must be signed into klasusers.com to create a post or reply. To request a klasusers.com account for yourself or a new staff member, please send an email to  and include the following:

• Full Name
• Desired Log-in Name
• Email Address
• Name of Library / Organization

KLASUsers.com Article Comments

Did you know that if you reply to an article on klasusers.com, it will automatically become a forum post that Keystone staff and other users can view and respond to? Yes, you do have to be logged into klasusers.com to post a comment or question, but it's a great way to get clarification on a post, share your insight or feedback, or start a conversation relating it.

Staff of Network Libraries for the Blind and Print Disabled using KLAS met for a virtual session on Wednesday, December 2 during the Online National Library Library for the Blind & Print Disabled's 2020 online national conference. Below is the PowerPoint presentation Keystone shared in both .PPTX and .PDF formats and the notes from the meeting as taken by Erin Pawlus, Secretary, KLAS Users' Group:

• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 - PowerPoint
• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 - PDF
• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 Notes - MS Word
• KLAS Users at NLS 2020 Notes - PDF

We're so happy that we got to see many of you in person again at this year's NLS Regional Conferences!

The slide deck used in each of the regional meetings is now available for download:

• KLAS_Users_at_NLS_Regional_2023.pptx

We hope to continue the conversation, and see you all again soon.

Per the KLAS Users' Group Bylaws, upon the vacancy of an officer position an election must be held to replace the officer. As such, we are now conducting an election for the office of President of the KLAS Users' Group. Please meet your candidate for the open Users' Group President position, Traci Timmons!

A link to vote for President will be sent to each KLAS organization / library's designated representative in the near future.

KLAS Users' Group President Candidate

Traci Timmons, Managing Librarian, Washington Talking Book & Braille Library

Biography:

Traci Timmons joined the team at the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) in the spring of 2022. She has been a librarian in special and academic libraries for more than twenty years. She was drawn into the LBPD world because her son is dyslexic, a patron of WTBBL, and she saw firsthand the incredible work these libraries do. Prior to joining WTBBL, Timmons was the head of libraries and archives at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) where she was the administrator for SAM's ILS, EOS.Web. She has also worked at the University of Washington Libraries, the University of South Florida Libraries, a large accounting firm library, and was a web developer for several software companies. She has an MA in Art History from the University of South Florida and an MLIS from the University of Washington.

Statement of Goals:

I have enjoyed my, albeit short, stint on the KLAS Users Committee as Vice President and want to continue my work through the President role. I'm excited about the KLAS Users' Conference--A Perfect Tenn: KLAS UC2023--in July in Nashville and would relish being part of the team that makes it a truly memorable conference. I am the KLAS administrator at WTBBL and have really come to appreciate, even more, how KLAS uniquely addresses the work of LBPD and IRC libraries, and how the KLAS Users Committee supports this great vendor-libraries relationship. I am a strong manager, advocate, collaborator, and problem solver--and will continue to bring those qualities to the role of President. Thank you for your consideration!

Hello KLAS Users from Jen Buzolich, KLAS Users' Group Vice President!

On behalf of your KLAS Users Group Officers, we hope this message finds you, your friends and families, safe and healthy during these unprecedented times! Here in California, it is hard to believe that we have been out of the office since March 16! Our team, like many of yours, has been practicing our flexibility and adaptiveness as we figure out new ways to go out about our daily tasks and support our patrons!

As we move forward, please remember the KLAS community is here to support you! The Key Notes Blog will be featuring guest writers sharing about how their organization is responding to COVID-19. Also, be sure to check out KLASusers.com to hear what our BTBL and IRCs have been doing during this time, get some great tips and tricks for working remotely, or even cook up a new dinner recipe! Read below for more news and notes within the KLAS community:

• An IRC Roundtable, hosted by Kathy Segers of the Tennessee Instructional Resource Center took place last week. Kathy demonstrated how she and her team use KLAS to conduct their annual APH census, followed by open discussion time. Having the time to collaborate as an IRC group surrounding KLAS allows us to work and learn from each other! We are looking for another IRC to host the next IRC Roundtable. Hosts can plan a specific topic or have an open forum for discussion. If you have questions or are interesting in hosting, please reach out to Drea.
• David Perrotta from NLS sent out an e-mail regarding referral code updates to the listserv, and several librarians responded. Each library is determining the best way forward to adopt the new standardized referral codes from NLS. If you haven’t yet read the message from David, please check it out and bring your comments or questions to the NLS Forum on KLAS Users at http://klasusers.com//forum/nls .
• On May 19 starting at 1pm EST, Keystone will be hosting Users’ Group meetings. These sessions will provide an overview of the new features of KLAS, updates from Keystone, and even some organization-specific breakouts. More information will be coming!
• This summer the current KLAS Users’ Group officers will end their current terms and shift into their new roles. This leaves a vacancy for the Vice President role and elections will be conducted to identify a new candidate. If you are interested in serving in this capacity, please reach out to Drea. The role of the Vice President is a one-year term, followed by a one year term as President and one year as the Past President role.

I wanted to take some time today to write about a group of our users' that I get to spend more time with than most -- our KLAS Users' Group Officers. In the nearly 18 years I've worked for Keystone, I've had the opportunity to collaborate with a number of different persons and personalities who y'all selected to fill these positions. I've facilitated in-person and online elections, been the Keystone representative to committees they lead as the chair, watched as the Users' Group became more fully involved with and proactive about helping to create and produce programming at the Users' Conference and now beyond. I've seen the Users' Group Bylaws evolve and a whole new officer cycle was instituted last year. We're now in the first election under this new model, and I'm excited at the prospect of having someone new with whom to plan and work.

With that in mind, I'm taking this opportunity to thank you all for teaching and inspiring me. Officers Meetings are places where we get the hard work done, but also connect with one another and sometimes have a good laugh. I know that the personal relationships I've established have led me to better understand the challenges you face in your day to day operations. I've even been lucky enough that I now call some of y'all friends. Keystone and KLAS are here to support you, but you're also here to support us. Your input as officers, committee members, presenters, and even conference attendees helps shape the future of what we're doing so we can better serve you and your patrons. Thank you.

So, now it's time for the Users' Group to select a new Vice President who will become your President in a year's time. No matter who your nominees are and final selection is, I welcome them and hope they will also gain from their experiences working as part of this group as much as I have. To help everyone better understand what role they are stepping into, I asked our current KLAS Users' Group Vice President to share some insight into her duties and responsibilities over the last year. This is what Jen Buzolich, California Department of Education Clearinghouse for Specialized Media & Technology, shared:

For me, the role of the Vice President has primarily been about learning how the Users' Group functions and our roles in supporting all KLAS users and helping to bridge the users and Keystone. I have appreciated being able to bring a voice from the IRCs, while at the same time learning more about the DTBLs. Having balanced representation in the Users' Group between the two groups has been, in my opinion, very beneficial. 

Therefore, I ask you to take some time to read over the bios and statements of purpose from your nominees for KLAS Users' Group Vice President once they are published and seriously consider who you want to become your new Vice President and eventual President. They will help shape your experience as a user, the future path of KLAS and Keystone, and be part of a great group of individuals who have shared and learned much from one another in the act of serving your KLAS Users' Community.

I hope you are all well and in good spirits. It is my honor and privilege to announce that Michael Lang of the State Library of Kansas, Talking Books Service will serve as KLAS Users' Group Vice President for the 2020 - 2021 year. Please join me in congratulating Michael on this new and exciting endeavor. Michael will officially step into this role on August 1, 2020.

Thank you to all that voted!

Best Regards,

Chandra Thornton
KLAS Users' Group President

I am excited to share a new online effort to bring IRC / IMC users of KLAS together for idea sharing, feedback, and networking. Jen Buzolich (Vice President, KLAS Users' Group) and Cyndi Reimer (Chair, KLAS Development Advisory Committee) will host an online IRC Roundtable in a similar vein as KLAS Users' Conference Birds-of-a-Feather sessions. We invite you and any other staff from your organization that can attend to do so. Below is the info on how to join as well as the agenda the first Online KLAS IRC Roundtable.

KLAS IRC Roundtable

Date: December 11, 2019

Time: 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern / 10:00-11:00 AM Pacific

How to Join:

Platform

WebExMeeting link: https://cde.webex.com/cde/j.php?MTID=md36b8ee4733665d86f257e65a81895ca

Meeting number: 924 810 855

Password: FBkjNPbr

Join by Phone

1-8663901828 Call-in toll-free number (ATT Audio Conference)

1-2167067075 Call-in number (ATT Audio Conference)

Access Code: 631 177 4

Agenda:

1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Favorite Features
       a.    Participants will be asked to each share out about one of their favorite features of KLAS and speak to why it is so.
3. Future Planning
       a.    What might IRCs like to see out of these sessions in the future? How often would IRCs like to see virtual meetings such as this?
4. Web Ordering
       a.    California will provide demonstration of how we use this KLAS feature and open up for dialogue.
5. Closure

We hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving and look forward to any and all who can join us on December 11!

Are you looking forward to the next in-person KLAS conference? Or would you prefer to keep things online? Either way, I have some hopeful news: planning for the 2023 KLAS Users’ Conference is underway and picking up steam!

Barring still more “unprecedented events,” UC 2023 will be held July 17-20, 2023 at the Tennessee School for the Blind in Nashville, TN. For those who can’t attend in person, we are looking into options for hybrid sessions, and plan to offer as much of the conference to you as possible. To facilitate this, we will likely be changing up the conference schedule, allowing in-person-only, hands-on content to occur in the mornings, and hybrid sessions to occur in the afternoon (when they will be reasonably timed across more time zones). Our goal is to ensure those attending in person get as much value for their travel as possible and provide a valuable experience for those who can’t join us in Tennessee, while ensuring both groups will be able to justify the expense to their funding agency.

While we do not yet know what the registration fees will be, we will try to keep them as low as possible and still deliver a quality conference. Our top contender for the conference hotel has quoted us a nightly rate of $179 / night, which is below the 2022 government rate. We are researching transportation options to get everyone from the hotel to the school and back, and catered-in lunches will help keep daily meal costs reasonable. For online attendees, a minimal registration fee will help cover whatever equipment or software costs we incur to bring the afternoon sessions to you.

Helping us to close in on the specifics, we just completed a site visit, checking out what has changed at TSB since 2019, investigating possible reception venues and caterers, and making sure the hotel is up to par.

We have excellent Programming and Logistics Committees assembled who are digging into all the challenges of our first hybrid conference, as well as all the usual conference minutiae, but of course we need your help as well. How many people should we expect in-person or online? What precautions need to be in place to ensure everyone’s health and safety?

Have a look at our proposed conference schedule, read on for a few teasers from our site visit, but also don’t miss completing our Pre-conference Planning Survey. With so much uncertainty, change, and opportunity for an amazing new conference format, we need your input this year more than ever!

Site visit photos: 

Allen Huang, Director of the Tennessee Instructional Resource Center, shows us the school's atrium, which is excellent for general sessions with its comfortable chairs, large projection screen, and monitors set up to mirror the front screen. 

The school librarian shows Keystone staff Katy and James their conversation area, which is a good fit for casual networking or just decompressing between conference sessions.

The hotel has plenty of hang-out space split between the interior lobby and the outdoor courtyard. The pool will be a welcome amenity come July, and there is an indoor gym, hot breakfast, all-day coffee, and a bar. There are a couple restaurants and convenience stores within walking distance, or biking distance on one of the hotel's bicycles. 

James and Katy trying out the food at a possible reception venue, Monell's at the Manor, which is a family-style restaurant in a historic mansion. If we move forward with this venue, we would have exclusive access--only Users' Conference attendees and restaurant staff would be present, and there is a ton of room to spread out and for air to circulate. They serve fantastic Southern food in a unique and fun environment.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak preview! As we get further along planning the conference we'll have more to share, but for now, please tell us about your plans and preferences by answering the Pre-conference Planning Survey!

We have an important update about KLAS UC 2021: finalized registration costs are now available! Our first online KLAS Users' Conference will occur June 7-10, 2021. Check out the "2021 KLAS Users' Conference Take 2 blog post for the proposed conference schedule.

Conference registration costs are:

• $25 for Individual attendees
• $50 for small groups (2-5 persons)
• $100 for large groups (6-10)

An organization can purchase whatever combination of individual, small, and large group registrations makes sense for the number of staff they want to attend. For example, a library could purchase one small group and one large group registration for a total of $150 to cover up to 15 attendees.

Conference registration fees will go towards the conference platform and video streaming services. This is not intended to be a profit-generating event! That said, the math on this kind of thing is difficult. The per-attendee cost of the event will vary significantly based on how many attendees we have, and while we have a lot of experience budgeting for and operating an in-person conference, an online conference is new to us. If we find that we undershot on the registration fees, Keystone will cover the additional costs. If we end up generating a little extra, it will be used towards the next conference.

We have been working hard to plan an online conference just as worthwhile as an in-person one, with convenience and a lower cost to make up for a lack of local cuisine and charming wildlife (I’m not the only who misses those lizards that were all over Palm Beach...right?). These registration costs will cover the technology needed to make attending sessions, presenting, and networking with your fellow attendees easy. And the group rates will hopefully allow libraries to take full advantage of the absence of travel costs and allow more staff members than ever to attend. 

Call for Session Proposals

If the low registration costs and/or group rates do open the door for you... please consider not just attending, but presenting as well!

Now that the registration costs are finalized, we have reopened the Call for Session Proposals until Friday, March 26.

Anyone is welcome to present, so don’t feel like first-time attendees or KLAS rookies need to sit it out. Everyone has something they can share with their fellow users!

Presenting online has its own challenges, but it has its benefits as well. You can use own equipment that you are already comfortable with. You don't have to project across a loud room or struggle with jet lag, and you can even have your dog, cat, or spouse handy for moral support.

We will provide all presenters with an optional template for PowerPoint, information and training on the conference platform, and practice sessions if you want to test your connection. You also have the option of pre-recording your session if you prefer! If you’d rather not be on-the-spot, you can record your presentation in any video editing software, and send us the recording to “broadcast” during the scheduled time. Attendees will be able to view the pre-recorded session together, with you answering questions or joining the discussion in the text chat.

You are welcome to ask a friend to present with you, gather a few coworkers for a group discussion, or request Keystone provide a “KLAS Expert” to back you up. You could also facilitate a discussion during a Birds of a Feather session on anything from Reader Advisory Services to the APH Census. It’s okay if you don’t know all the details of your presentation yet: proposals can be as vague or specific as you’d like. Our excellent Programming Committee can always work with you to fine-tune things as needed.

This year’s Programming Committee chair Erin Pawlus says: “Presenting has been a positive experience for me – I enjoy sharing tips and tricks on my favorite KLAS functions like the Reader Services Queue, and I often learn a thing or two from the other attendees. It’s very collaborative. Since we are going virtual this year, those who typically are unable to attend the in-person conferences will also be able to share their stories and successes, and make valuable connections with others in the KLAS community at the same time!”

If you have any questions or concerns about presenting, please feel free to contact Erin Pawlus () or me ().

No need to be shy! If there’s something you’d like to share with your fellow users, please fill out the Session Proposal form.

This week's KeyNotes blog post is a guest post from KLAS User Development Advisory Committee Members Jesse McGarity, Virginia Beach Public Library Accessible Resources and Services and Barnaby Camp, Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.

Thank you to everyone that responded to the KLAS Development and Advisory Committee (KDAC) survey. Of the 69 respondents, 88.4% worked for a Library for the Blind and Print Disabled (LBPD), 10.1% for an Instructional Resource / MaterialsCenter (IRC / IMC), while the remaining 1.5% identified as a School Library / Association / Other. The sample included librarians, reader advisors, BARD administrators, and other professionals. The purpose of the survey was to identify to KLAS developers the improvements or updated features that were the highest priority for users.

94% of respondents said they used the patron module daily, with the book search as the most used function, while 68% used the catalog module with heading maintenance as the most mentioned. Some users wished the search function would use Boolian operators. The highest priority for all respondents was to add an "Undo Function" for accidental merges in heading maintenance, restoring both headings to books and likes/dislikes to patrons. Next, was the ability to mark items previously marked as lost as something else (e.g., Lost-Returned) when returned, clarifying their status. Following, was to add a button that transfers current search parameters from "Find" to a query set in another window, enabling quick toggling through book records for copy/pasting subjects when "Title" exists in multiple formats.

There was a strong interest from IRCs for linking a related patron record as a 'contact,' ensuring that changes to preferred contact information on that record are reflected in the primary record. The most highly ranked potential update for LBPHs was checking the PIMMS database for existing patrons with the same name and birth year when adding a new patron record. Other high-priority improvements for LBPHs included allowing composite subject likes/dislikes for patron preferences, allowing users to sort orders by the last status date, and creating a new order type to send cartridges to patrons that don't count against their cartridge limit (the NSCutoff), also the ability to account for multiple medium/reading level situations on the same patron/institution record, for example to allow for “Large print - K-3," "Braille - 4-7," "Digital books - 8," all on the same account and to allow libraries to retain pre-bundled duplication orders .

Finally, in the open “red stapler” section, several respondents identified arranging series order in the service queue as one of their more tedious tasks. The question was asked on what would be the best way for KLAS to handle series. The majority preferred option B, which sends out the earliest book in a series that is not marked "Has/Had" and positions it relative to other books in the same series in the queue.

Thanks again to everyone who responded!

Mark your calendar and start making your plans for March 17-20, 2025 to join us as Keystone and the Indiana State Library, Talking Book and Braille Library come together to bring the KLAS Users' Conference to Indianapolis, IN!! More info will be coming soon, so be on the lookout.

As we’re getting close to a number of positions on our KLAS Users’ Group committees and Board of Officers, I wanted to take some time to say, “thank you.”

(Yes, we’ve done this before—but it’s important.)

I’ve been there! I was on the Officers Board and the Conference Programming Committee for several years while I was working for the Illinois Talking Book Outreach Center, and I remember what an inconvenience it could be to have committee work or board meetings on top of my regular Reader Advisor duties. Now that I’ve been on both sides, though, I can really see how important it was that I made time for it.

To all of our current (and exiting, and incoming) officers and committee members: I see you showing up for meetings even when it feels like your patrons are crawling out of the woodwork with requests. I hear you asking thoughtful questions and sharing your ideas even when you’re tired and not sure you’re on the right track. And I thank you for it, because I know how much you are bringing to the Users’ Conference, and through it, to your fellow users’ understanding of KLAS, their ability to serve their patrons, and their relationship with Keystone.

Even beyond the conference, our active community of users guides Keystone—including future development, where we allocate our time and resources, and how we communicate. That happens in planning and at the conference, but also when users take their questions and concerns to the Officers Board to share with us, in our discussions with KDAC, in survey responses, and more. We rely on you to make all of that happen, and you make us better and better, every year.

So one last, heartfelt, Thank You.

And to anyone out there who is considering getting involved: Your voice matters! We’d love to hear from you.

With the KLAS.com revamp successfully launched, we’ve started planning and looking ahead to reorganizing and redesigning KLASusers.com as well.

It’s important to us that this site can serve as a valuable resource for you, as well as a place where the user’s group can come together and collaborate on common issues. The appearance of the site isn’t as important... but we do want it to be pleasant to look at. A much higher priority is that the revamped KLASusers be easy-to-navigate and convenient to use (for all of our users—accessibility will be absolutely required in the revamp). Finally, if we’re able to add in some new features to facilitate user interaction, that’s a big plus!

We have our ideas about how to achieve all of this, but we want your feedback. Drop by Drea’s recent forum post to let us know what you’d like to see in a revamp, if there’s anything you don’t want us to change, or if you have any thoughts or feedback on our ideas below. We hope to hear from you!

A couple of examples of what we’re hoping for in the revamp:

Our current plan is to fold the current Documents and Recordings sections together into a Knowledge Repository (maybe just called "Resources"), so you can find all of the how-to information, downloads, and other "good stuff" without needing to know what format the resource is in. Of course, this section especially will need good indexing and searching.

Another change we’re aiming for is for users to be able to log in from any page and stay on that page rather than being redirected to their profile. This should make it a lot more convenient to access restricted content.

We’d also like to be able to include comments sections on articles, so it’s easy for you to ask questions or provide feedback on blog posts and resource articles without needing to switch to a forum post or email.

A lesser (but still high) priority is for the new version to be easier for Drea and I to administer. That won’t be as apparent to you, but it will help us get new content up on the site quickly. Right now, handling recordings can be especially tricky, so we hope the new site will allow us to more easily post new recordings in a way that will allow you to view them on the site itself and maintain a proper level of security for library-specific recordings that may include patron data.

So how does all that sound? Anything else you want us to be thinking about or try to address in the revamp? Please drop by the forums (since we don’t have that comments section yet) and let us know!

From Merriam-Webster.com:

Definition of FOMO
plural FOMOs
informal : fear of missing out : fear of not being included in something (such as an interesting or enjoyable activity) that others are experiencing

Do you have klasusers.com FOMO?

Well, here are some tips to make sure you see all the latest articles and posts...

All the latest Key Notes

To see all the latest Key Notes blog articles click on "Key Notes" under the Main Menu. The page sorts the newest post to the top.

A link to "More / Older Articles" is available at the bottom of the page. You can also navigate through older posts using the page navigation links (Page 1, Next, End, etc.) also located at the bottom of the page.

Keeping up with Discussion Forum posts

Subscribing to Specific Discussion Forum Threads

At the top and the bottom of every discussion forum thread, you will find the 'Subscribe' button. Pressing this button subscribes you to that topic so that any responses to that topic will generate an email notification to your email address stating that a new post has been made along with a link directly to said post for your convenience. You will notice the button now reads 'Unsubscribe' indicating that you are subscribed and pressing the button again will remove your subscription to that thread. Remember that you can also manage your subscriptions in your profile.

Favouring a Discussion Forum Thread

Another way of gaining visibility of threads you want to keep an eye on is set them as your 'Favorite'. This will place an obvious indicator, such as a star, beside the topic name of the thread so that it will stand out in the forum list of topics. After you "Favorite" a post, you will notice the button now reads 'Unfavorite' indicating that the post is already one of your favorites and pressing the button again will remove it from your favorites. This is a great way to get visibility on multiple topics that you wish to watch without getting spammed by email subscriptions. Remember that you can also manage your favorites in your profile.

Finding all the most Recent Discussion Forum Topics

If you quickly want to find ALL the latest discussion forum posts, you can navigate to the "Recent Topics Tab". This is the second available tab on the forums whether you are logged in or not. Here, you will see all of the most recently posted topics with the newest available first.

Subscribe to a Discussion Forum Category via RSS Feed

From Lifewire:

Instead of checking back every day to any particular site to see if it's been updated, RSS feeds give users the ability to simply subscribe to the RSS feed, much like you would subscribe to a newspaper, and then read the updates from the site, delivered via RSS feeds, in what's called a "feed reader."

Check out their "What Everyone Should Know about RSS Feeds" article to learn more about what an RSS feed it, how to subscribe to one, and suggestions for different RSS readers.

Now, use the RSS Feed button to subscribe to the Discussion Forum Index Page to have ALL the newest posts sent to you in your RSS Reader.

OR, use the RSS Feed button at the bottom of a community, category, or thread to subscribe to those that interest you most.

 So, there's no reason suffer from klasusers.com FOMO by employing just a few of the above tools.

Hello, KLASusers! Although we are in an off-year between full KLAS Users’ Conferences, we still want provide opportunities for you to keep up-to-date on KLAS New Features, provide feedback and development requests, and network with each other. With that in mind, just like our last non-conference year, we are working with the Programming Committee to facilitate monthly webinars and will be hosting a “bite-sized” mini-conference this summer.

This began with last month’s Keystone-presented webinar on Cataloging for Duplication, and will continue following a pattern of one LBPD user-presented, one IRC user-presented, and one Keystone-presented webinar per quarter.

APH Roundtable Webinar

For this quarter’s IRC webinar, we have a Roundtable on the APH Census, with discussion on how you go about the census process and how KLAS can better support that work. That roundtable is scheduled for Tuesday, February 22^nd, at 3pm Eastern Time, and will be moderated by Jared Leslie, Director of Media and Development at the Foundation for Blind Children in AZ, along with Sally Shreck, Specialized Media Coordinator at the Maryland School for the Blind IRC, and Allen Huang, Director of Accessible Instructional Materials and Outreach Services, and Kathy Segers, Educational Consultant, at Tennessee Resource Center for the Visually Impaired. We hope you’ll be able to join in, learn from their approaches, and provide your own perspective!

Connection details will be posted about one week before the webinar.

Save the Date: KLAS Mini-Conference

Like 2020’s mini-conference, we plan to take an afternoon in early May to share Keystone Updates and KLAS New Features. This year, we are also adding a second afternoon, which will include a Users’ Group Meeting to review and vote on a bylaws change, and a few user-led Birds-of-a-Feather sessions.

We plan to stagger IRC, General, and LBPD content as much as possible to ensure you get as much out of this as possible with the least time investment. While the exact schedule is still to be determined, we currently have the week of May 9^th(the week before the NLS Conference) earmarked for our two-day, bite-sized, online mini-con.

Admin Training

While broader webinars and networking events are great, sometimes you need a more specific, hands-on, deep dive into KLAS and how to make it work best for your specific situation.

A fantastic way to do that is to join us for Administrator’s Training! 

This year’s dates for Admins at LBPD libraries are:

• June 6-9, 2022
• September 12-15, 2022

We want to host a session for IRC Admins as well, but we need you to help us set the dates! If you can commit to a session, please let us know so we can work with you to set up dates.

Our Online Administrator's Training article has more info about training structure, pricing, and a link to register. Because of the significant time investment needed from Keystone staff to host Admin Training, we will need at least two confirmed attendees for any session to proceed.

Hoping to learn something new or touch base with Keystone staff? We've got some great training and networking opportunities on the calendar, with more in the works! Let's take a look at what we have coming up:

Online KLAS LBPD Administrator Training - March 27-30

The next online session of KLAS Administrator training for staff of Libraries for the Blind and Print Disabled will be held the afternoons of March 27-30. If you act as the KLAS Admin for your library and have never taken (or it's been a long while since you've attended) KLAS Admin Training, we encourage you to join us!

This training is done via Zoom, sessions are recorded and provided to attendees for later review, and allows you to get down and dirty in parts of KLAS aimed to help you improve service for your patrons and give you the knowledge to better support your staff and library as they use KLAS. Cost is $600 / attendee and each must have the authority to change records and policies for their KLAS system.

Find out more and then register for a session via these articles:

• Online Administrator's Training
• Administrator’s Training – What to Expect

E-Braille Circulation Roundtable - Date TBD

During the year of a KLAS Users' Conference, the Program Committee focuses their efforts on eliciting sessions for and building the agenda for the conference, instead of offering an online program every month. However, we still aim to host one webinar each quarter (other than the one in which the conference takes place) to address more timely concerns and help keep everyone in-touch and up-to-date. 

For our first quarter offering this year, we're seeking panelists for a Roundtable discussing the best ways to prepare for the NLS refreshable braille devices and manage E-Braille circulation. The session will be scheduled based on panelist availability.

If you want to participate, please contact our session organizers, James Gleason at Perkins Library and Katy Patrick at Keystone Systems. We'd also love to hear what questions you might have, topics you want to see discussed, or tips you have to share!

National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled Regional Conferences

We're excited to have the opportunity to again attend NLS conferences in person to see and connect with you. Keystone will send two staff members to each of the three regional conferences this year. In addition to hosting the KLAS Users' Meetings, we hope to attend conference sessions, be available for informal discussions, and learn about your challenges, new initiatives, and more!

Dates / times of each KLAS User meeting:

• WesternRegional NLS Conference - Wednesday, April 26, at 5 PM
• Northern / SouthernRegional NLS Conference - Wednesday, May 3, at 11:30 AM
• Midlands Regional NLS Conference - Tuesday, May 16, at 2 PM (tentative; final schedule pending)

2023 KLAS Users' Conference - July 17-20

This one's a no-brainer, but you know we can't help it. This is the biggest opportunity we've had for in-person training and networking since our 2019 conference and it will offer even more ways to connect with other KLAS Users' since it's our first HYBRID conference! The KLAS Users' Program Committee and Keystone staff are working hard to plan learning experiences for all types and levels of KLAS Users.

We hope you will help us make it excellent by joining us in-person or online, submitting an in-person or virtual session proposal, or sharing a session topic suggestion! 

More conference info:

• KLAS UC2023: Preliminary Conference Info
• KLAS UC2023: Call for Session Proposals
• 2023 Conference Session Ideas Forum Post - reply with your suggestions or requests for session topics!

We hope to see you soon at one of these training & networking opportunities!