To help libraries / organizations interested in possibly hosting a future KLAS Users' Conference, we created a planning guide to help explain the facility, logistics, and other needs for putting on the event. This document contains checklists and suggestions to provide guidance as you plan as well as historical information about previous conferences including attendance numbers and registration fees. Please let us know if you are interested in hosting a future conference and / or have any questions about the information provided.

• KLASUsersConferencePlanningGuide_-_2025-08-29.doc
• KLASUsersConferencePlanningGuide_-_2025-08-29.pdf

It's that time again! Join Jesse & Josh at 3 PM ET, Tuesday, August 19 for the next KLAS Administrators' Open Forum!!

Suggest topics of discussion:Serial batches and why they are hard, Serve Code Adjacent – nightly configuration for specific people?, or continuing the Code discussion from last time with Note Types.

The KLAS Admin Open Forum is held monthly via Zoom on the 3rd Tuesday at 3 PM Eastern / Noon Pacific. This is especially for KLAS Admins to have a place to share, discuss, ask questions, network, and more. Why reinvent the wheel when we can learn some great wheel designs from someone else?!

Jesse McGarity, VA, and Josh Easter, SD, host / moderate this monthly opportunity for KLAS Administrators' to come together online and discuss their experiences, issues, ideas, anecdotes, resources, etc. with KLAS Admins from other organizations. So, be sure to join them next Tuesday!

• What: KLAS Administrators' Open Forum
• When: 3 PM ET / Noon PT Tuesday, August 19
• Where: Zoom!
  • Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81583844348?pwd=JpWDArINdY5WHzYukWbnveYwaTEaqW.1
  • Join Instructions: https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/81583844348/invitations?signature=6ekw84yXLmVFDJs2L-pC5ju8gQtkieDeioIqblSJ1FA
    
    • Meeting ID: 815 8384 4348
      Passcode: 369429
• Who: ALL KLAS Administrators

Add this event to your personal calendar: 

Katy Patrick and Drea Callicutt presented a session at the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference discussing how to access and use the various training and reference resources Keystone provides for KLAS Users' including klasusers.com, the KLAS Users' and KLAS IRC Users' listserv, and more! Below is the recording of this session. If you have any questions or feedback, please email Keystone Customer Support ().

Calling ALL Instructional Resource / Materials Center KLASUsers! We invite you to join us for a KLAS IRC Users' Open Forum, the first of a quarterly series hosted by KLAS IRC / IMC Users for KLAS IRC / IMC Users. This free, online session will occur Wednesday, July 30 at 3:00 PM Eastern / Noon Pacific.

Katie Eromae, Arizona Instructional Resource Center, will serve as your user moderator, and Keystone staff will be available to answer questions / provide insight as needed. So, mark your calendar, bring your tips, tricks, feedback, insight, etc, and join us!

• What: KLAS IRC Users' Open Forum
• When: 3 PM ET / Noon PT Wednesday, July 30
• Where: Zoom! 
  •  Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84502027892?pwd=yHGjK9pBaTpiO0piU9PWYog4cxdXUR.1
  • Dial-in for Audio:  https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdrbsdfKJY
    • Meeting ID: 845 0202 7892
    • Passcode: 280450

Add to your Calendar: 

Instructional Resource / Materials Center staff who use KLAS are invited to attend the KLAS IRC Users' Meeting to be held on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 prior to the start of the 2025 American Printing House for the Blind Annual Meeting.

For any and all KLAS Users' who will be Louisville, as well as those at home, the hybrid KLAS IRC Users' Meeting for instructional resource / materials center (IRC / IMC) staff will be held at 1:30 PM Eastern in the Marriott Louisville Downtown Clubhouse and online via Zoom. The Zoom link will be posted to klasusers.com approximately one week prior to the meeting. For those attending in person, we will provide breakfast, coffee, tea, etc.

• What: KLAS IRC Users' Meeting at APH 2025
• Where: Marriott Louisville Downtown Clubhouse & via Zoom (link TBA)
• When: 1:30 PM Eastern / 10:30 AM Pacific Wednesday, October 15

This session offers KLAS IRC / IMC Users' a chance to meet with Keystone staff and other KLAS IRC / IMC users, learn about updates made to KLAS in the past year, and see / provide feedback on proposed future KLAS development and improvements. During the meeting, we plan to cover the following:

• Welcome & Introductions
• Updates on Keystone over the past year including new services and customers
• Demonstration of new IRC / IMC features and functionality in KLAS
• Q&A - open discussion of what you need / want from KLAS

Additionally, we value your input. Your shared experience helps guide future development of KLAS (especially for IRCs / IMCs). If there is anything in particular you want to ask about, or to have us discuss, please let us know.

It's that time again! Join Jesse & Josh at 3 PM ET, Tuesday, July 15 for the next KLAS Administrators' Open Forum!! 

Suggested topic of discussion for this month's open forum:

• Code Categories - Service Codes, Blocks, & Note Types

Other topics are always welcome.

The KLAS Admin Open Forum is held monthly via Zoom on the 3rd Tuesday at 3 PM Eastern / Noon Pacific. This is especially for KLAS Admins to have a place to share, discuss, ask questions, network, and more. Why reinvent the wheel when we can learn some great wheel designs from someone else?!

Jesse McGarity, VA, and Josh Easter, SD, host / moderate this monthly opportunity for KLAS Administrators' to come together online and discuss their experiences, issues, ideas, anecdotes, resources, etc. with KLAS Admins from other organizations. So, be sure to join them next Tuesday!

• What: KLAS Administrators' Open Forum
• When: 3 PM ET / Noon PT Tuesday, July 15
• Where: Zoom!
  • Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84640453029?pwd=qwC3QPAgfoSRaLcT3QnRzt4WmVQ3FV.1
  • Dial-in for Audio:  https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc9f7DzNSc
    • Meeting ID: 846 4045 3029
    • Passcode: 833489
• Who: ALL KLAS Administrators

Add this event to your personal calendar: 

They had such a great time last month they're gonna do it again! So, be sure to join Jesse & Josh at 3 PM ET, Tuesday, June 17 for the next KLAS Administrators' Open Forum!!

It is held monthly via Zoom on the 3rd Tuesday at 3 PM Eastern / Noon Pacific. This is especially for KLAS Admins to have a place to share, discuss, ask questions, network, and more. Why reinvent the wheel when we can learn some great wheel designs from someone else?!

Jesse McGarity, VA, and Josh Easter, SD, host / moderate this monthly opportunity for KLAS Administrators' to come together online and discuss their experiences, issues, ideas, anecdotes, resources, etc. with KLAS Admins from other organizations. Be sure to join them for the inaugural meeting next Tuesday!

• What: KLAS Administrators' Open Forum
• When: 3 PM ET / Noon PT Tuesday, June 17
• Where: Zoom!
  • Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84640453029?pwd=qwC3QPAgfoSRaLcT3QnRzt4WmVQ3FV.1
  • Dial-in for Audio:  https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc9f7DzNSc
    • Meeting ID: 846 4045 3029
    • Passcode: 833489
• Who: ALL KLAS Administrators

Add this event to your personal calendar: 

Something NEW is coming next week....the KLAS Administrators' Open Forum.

It will be held monthly via Zoom on the 3rd Tuesday at 3 PM Eastern / Noon Pacific. This is especially for KLAS Admins to have a place to share, discuss, ask questions, network, and more. Why reinvent the wheel when we can learn some great wheel designs from someone else?!

Jesse McGarity, VA, and Josh Easter, SD, are collaborating to host / moderate this monthly opportunities for KLAS Administrators' to come together online and discuss their experiences, issues, ideas, anecdotes, resources, etc. with KLAS Admins from other organizations. Be sure to join them for the inaugural meeting next Tuesday!

• What: KLAS Administrators' Open Forum
• When: 3 PM Eastern / Noon Pacific
• Where: Zoom!
  • Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84640453029?pwd=qwC3QPAgfoSRaLcT3QnRzt4WmVQ3FV.1
  • Dial-in for Audio:  https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc9f7DzNSc
    • Meeting ID: 846 4045 3029
    • Passcode: 833489
• Who: ALL KLAS Administrators

Add this event to your personal calendar: 

On the morning of Thursday, March 20 a business meeting of the KLAS Users' Group was held at the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis, IN as part of the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference. During the course of the meeting, KLAS Users' Group President Maureen Dorosinski presented proposed changes to the KLAS Users' Group Bylaws. The changes were then voted on and approved by those present. The documents below contain the most recently approved bylaws of the KLAS Users' Group as approved on Thursday, March 20, 2025.

• KLAS_User_Group_Bylaws_2025.docx
• KLAS_User_Group_Bylaws_2025.pdf

On the afternoon of Tuesday, March 18 staff of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) presented to staff of LBPD libraries as the staff of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) in collaboration with Keystone staff updated instructional resource center staff about APH's integration collaboration with KLAS as part of the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference. Here are the recordings of each session.

KLAS UC2025 NLS Update

 KLAS UC2025 APH Integration Update

Thank you to all the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference local hosts, speakers, and attendees as well as the Keystone Staff, KLAS Users Group Officers, Logistics Committee, and Program Committee, for making our second hybrid conference meaningful and memorable. Now, we'd like to ask our attendees, both virtual and in-person, to share you feedback about your conference experience. How did we do? What went well? What can we improve? All your opinions and insight will be used as we plan future events and conferences.

Please select the feedback form appropriate for your experience: 

• KLAS UC2025 Virtual Attendee Feedback Form
• KLAS UC2025 In-Person Attendee Feedback Form

March 17, 2025 – Keystone Systems, Inc. and Kansas Talking Books are proud to announce that Natalia Renfro is the recipient of the prestigious 2025 Julie Klauber Award. The Julie Klauber Award, presented by Keystone, is a national award that recognizes a library staff person who uses KLAS as part of their daily job functions and demonstrates outstanding dedication and service to library patrons who are visually impaired / print disabled.

Renfro, a valued team member of the State Library of Kansas’ Talking Books division, expressed her excitement and gratitude upon receiving the award. “Having the opportunity to collaborate and learn firsthand from experienced and knowledgeable KLAS users from across the country will allow me to incorporate new and innovative ideas into my work with Kansas Talking Books,” said Renfro. “I will better understand how KLAS and its resources can further the services and support we already provide for our valued patrons. I will also have the opportunity to meet people who are equally committed to working towards the goal ‘that ALL may read.’”

For Kansas Talking Books, Renfro’s recognition is a significant achievement that will benefit both the organization and its patrons. “Nataly receiving the Julie Klauber Award is an honor,” said Michael Lang, Director, Kansas Talking Books. “Her actions embody what we all strive for at the State Library and Kansas Talking Books—exceptional patron-focused service. This recognition not only highlights Nataly’s personal dedication but our division’s overarching customer service philosophy.”

As part of the award, Keystone Systems will provide Refro a trip to the 2025 KLAS Users’ Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana and will honor her during the conference’s opening general session on Monday, March 17. Lang emphasized the impact attending the conference will provide Renfro, “She will gain invaluable hands-on experience with Keystone staff and fellow KLAS users. “She’s going to come back from Indy with a number of new skills to better serve our patrons,” he added.

Renfro’s colleague, Maggie Witte, who nominated her for the award, echoed these sentiments. “It means so much and I’m so proud of Nataly to receive recognition for her dedication to ensuring patrons have the best library and reading experience with our accessible materials and services,” said Witte. “She works hard to assist our patrons solve their audio player issues with patience and compassion, and she constantly supports the efforts of other Kansas Talking Books staff to provide excellent service.”

Renfro’s passion for accessibility and literacy is deeply rooted in her personal experiences. “Having the opportunity to facilitate access to reading materials and resources for non-English speakers is a lifelong passion of mine,” she said. “Coming from immigrant parents has given me the opportunity to live this truth every day. Literacy is one of the few things in this world that leads to the betterment of the individual, and through each individual, to the community at large.”

As the recipient of the Julie Klauber Award, Renfro will continue her mission to expand access to library services and resources, ensuring that all patrons, regardless of language or ability, receive the highest level of support and service.

For more information about Keystone Systems please visit www.klas.com. To learn more about Kansas Talking Books and its services, please visit https://library.ks.gov/talking-books

About the Julie Klauber Award:

The annual Julie Klauber Award recognizes outstanding and dedicated library staff that work with KLAS in their daily job functions and provide exceptional service to their library and the community in the spirit of Julie Klauber. Klauber was a national expert and leader on disability issues. She served as the director of Talking Books Plus library in Suffolk County, NY, and authored several articles on library resources and services for people with disabilities.

About Keystone Systems:

Keystone Systems, Inc., a leading provider of accessible library software since 1983, provides software and service solutions to libraries with complex demands. Keystone developers have created a powerful, yet elegant library automation system (KLAS), which has the flexibility to meet specific needs of special, academic, and public libraries. For more information about Keystone Systems or KLAS, visit www.klas.com.

A brief tour of the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference Zoom Event is available below. Once you are registered, please make sure that you can access the event, and contact us if you need help (preferably before the conference begins). 

Accessing the KLAS UC 2025 Zoom Event for the first time:

1. If you registered by credit card, use your Zoom account log-in email address and password to log-in to the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference Zoom Event.
2. If you have are a Guest attendee or paid your conference fee via Invoice, you will be sent an email from "Zoom Events <>;" with the subject line "You are invited to register for 2025 KLAS Users' Conference" sent to the email address associated with your Zoom account.  The body of the email contains a link to "Register".
   1. You MUST use the "Register" link in the "You are invited to register!" email sent to your email address. The email will look like the image below.
      
   
   
   1. If you cannot find the email, please check your SPAM or JUNK folder.
   2. If it's not in your SPAM or JUNK folder and you need to have the email resent, please contact , and ask for us to do so.
3. Select the "Register" link from within the email. This will take you to the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference Zoom Event.
4. Select the "Register" link in the Zoom Event.
5. Select the appropriate ticket type (Ex: "Invoiced Virtual" = paying by invoice & attending virtually & "Virtual Guest" = guest virtual attendee), select "Continue", answer the registration questions, and then log into the KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event using your Zoom account email and password. 
   • If you don't have a Zoom account, create a free, basic one using the same email address where you received the "Your are invited to register" email here: https://zoom.us/signup#/signup
   
6. If you paid your conference fee via invoice but didn't send us the email address you use to log-into Zoom, you can't claim your ticket and CANNOT access the KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event. So, please send  the email address you use when you log into Zoom ASAP!

Accessibility Resources:

• Zoom Keyboard Shortcuts
• Other Zoom Accessibility information

Important Notes about the KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event:

1. You must log into the KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event with your individual Zoom account credentials. 
2. Session times based on your local time zone.
3. General Sessions will be in a webinar format and streamed directly to the lobby. Virtual attendees will be able to comment / ask questions via the chat function, but can't use their computer camera / mic.
4. All Breakout sessions will be in a meeting format in which virtual attendees can be on camera, use their microphone, and / or the Zoom chat function.

KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event Video Tour:

• Link to the KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event
  • If you don't see the "Join Lobby" link, be sure you're logged-in using your Zoom account credentials.

We'd like to introduce you to our 2025 Julie Klauber Award winner, Natalia Renfro, Kansas State Library Talking Books, and thought the best way to do so is by sharing the nomination we received for her. Maggie Witte, Kansas State Library Talking Books, described Natalia (Nataly) as "a hard, consistent worker who works well with the library team dedicated to making sure all of our patrons have access to the players and materials they need for a fulfilling informed and personalized reading experience."

Keystone Systems is honored to provide Nataly a trip to the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference, where she will be recognized during Monday's opening general session. An official press release will be published just before the award ceremony.

Nataly's Nomination for the 2025 Julie Klauber Award:

How do you know the nominee? Have you worked with them? If so, in what capacity?

Nataly started working for Kansas Talking Books in 2016 as one of our circulation clerks working closely with all of the staff and working as our machine for the last few years. I have worked with her in ensuring all of the books are found, creating No Due Date titles such as the Bible, helping patrons figure out issues with their DTBMs, and just as a team to ensure everyone has access to what they need.

What service(s) has the nominee done in the spirit of Julie Klauber?

Nataly ensures that patrons have access to our services by carefully managing the checking in and out, storage, and upkeep of the digital talking book players so patrons have as little disruption in their reading experience as possible. She is patient and supportive when patrons call with player issues, helping them check for errors if they can and/or getting replacement players in the mail as quickly as possible. When mail issues arise, she calmly works with patrons, other Kansas Talking Books (KTB) staff, and even the post office to see if the issue can be determined or to find a solution, if possible. She also helps patrons get access to audio-described movies, advocating for the addition of movies that meet their needs, circulating those movies when the patrons request, and making sure they are ready for the next patron. It is through her efforts that our patrons have access to informational and recreational materials and the playback equipment to access those items. She is also bilingual and assists our Spanish-only patrons to find and check out the books they like or adjust their accounts accordingly.

How do they affect your library/community and/or the KLAS Users’ Community?

She is always supportive of all the efforts of staff, assisting in any way she can. She is compassionate towards patrons, caring for their point of view. She helps the library circulation run smoothly with her efforts.

What are the nominees job responsibilities and how do they relate to KLAS?

Her job responsibilities are:

• maintaining the inventory of digital talking book players and check players in and out to patrons when they return them for maintenance or for other reasons using Equipment module;
  adding No Due Date materials, such as the Bible and other religious texts, using KLAS, ensuring there are always the religious texts patrons are interested available using the Circulation module;
• adding audio-described movie titles to the collection and maintaining that collection which she creates records for those titles in the collection and adds all the necessary metadata for them using the Catalog module;
• handles the readers advisory and circulation of audio-described movies to patrons who ask for them using the Patron module;
• assisting patrons with player issues or calling previous patrons or their family members to attempt to retrieve digital talking book players which she uses KLAS to look up accounts and make notes in the comments using the Patron and Equipment modules;
• assist Spanish-only patrons with their accounts by making changes to preferences or adding books to their service queues in the Patron module;
• assists in cataloging duties as available in the Catalog module.

From Maureen Dorosinski, KLAS Users' Group President:

There will be a discussion and a vote on the edits below, and for anything else about the bylaws the users would like to discuss, during the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference Users' Group Business meeting. This will be held during the last day of the conference, Thursday, March 20, 2025, This is a hybrid general session from 11:45 am-2:00 pm Eastern time.

1. Article VI, Vice-President: the sentence, "May be required to perform President’s duties if the President is unavailable." now says "The Vice-President may be required to perform President’s duties if the President is unavailable."
2. Article IX: the underline for Robert's Rules of Order extended past the word "Order.", this is fixed.
3. Also, Robert's needed an apostrophe "s", this is fixed.
4. Added to Article X: Minor revisions like the correction of typos, misspellings, or grammatical errors do not require the approval of the membership.

Current KLAS Users' Group Bylaws with above suggested edits:

• Klas_User_Group_Bylaws_Draft_2025.docx
• Klas_User_Group_Bylaws_Draft_2025.pdf

The Julie Klauber Award is one way we at Keystone Systems recognize the invaluable support that volunteers and staff provide to their organizations and their patrons. Each organization may nominate one staff member or volunteer using the nomination form at the bottom of this article. The EXTENDED deadline for nominations is Friday, January 31. The selected 2025 Julie Klauber Award Honoree will receive a trip to the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference to be held in Indianapolis, IN, March 17-20. More information about the award, nomination and selection process, etc, is below.

Who was Julie Klauber?

Julie Klauber was a national expert and leader on disability issues and was instrumental in helping develop Keystone's growing national presence. In 2012, Julie received the ASCLA Francis Joseph Campbell Award recognizing her work advancing library services for patrons who are blind and print disabled. Julie served as the director of the Talking Books Plus Library in Suffolk, County, NY and authored several articles on library resources and services for people with disabilities. Additionally, she created and maintained the newsletter Disability Resources Monthly and the corresponding website www.disabilityresources.org. Julie passed away on September 3, 2002 after a long, brave struggle with cancer.

A word about Julie Klauber from her former coworker:

Valerie Lewis sent the below email to the KLASUsers listserv in January, 2011:

It has been more than eight years since Julie passed away. Her name comes up every day.....truly, it does. I work with 5 other people who worked with Julie for many years. I sit in the office that was once hers. Her husband and sons are often in my home. I work with her husband Avery, to continue the important work that she and he started many years before I was lucky enough to meet them.

Julie was a librarian, but more she was the truest advocate for access to library programs, services and materials for all, particularly people with disabilities.

In addition to being the librarian for the sub-regional library that served Long Island, NY, Julie and her husband established a non-profit organization that provided information and referral resources for librarians, service providers and individuals living with disabilities.......long before and into the earlier days....of the internet.

Julie spent truly all of her time making sure that people with disabilities had access to information.....all information. She created partnerships with local and national corporations that brought assistive technology to local libraries. She created library resources in alternative formats and worked with libraries and librarians across the country, to promote accessible library services.

It has been my honor to be a member of the Julie Klauber Award Committee. It has given me the opportunity to read about lbph staff and volunteers who create new and innovative ways of making library materials, services and programs accessible to their patrons. Something still so difficult to do, even in these technologically advanced times.

You may think that the daily practices and procedures of operating a library for the blind and physically disabled are hum-drum and nothing out of the ordinary, but think again. It is through the work and creativity of each and every member or your organization, that people with disabilities have access to information....something we treasure so dearly and take so for granted.

On that note, we encourage you to think about how the wheels of your organization turn and who are the people turning it.

With warm regards,

Valerie Lewis, Director
Long Island Talking Book Library

Who can be nominated for the Julie Klauber Award?

Each KLAS library or organization may nominate one staff member or volunteer who: 

• Works with KLAS in their daily job functions.
• Has demonstrated outstanding service to their organization and / or their community in the spirit of Julie Klauber during their time with the library.
• Will appreciate and benefit from attending the KLAS Users' Conference.

Please use the below form to submit your nominee's info before end of business Friday, January 24.

What does the award recipient receive and how are they selected?

The selected Julie Klauber Award Recipient receives a trip to the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference to be held in Indianapolis, IN, March 17-20 and will be will be honored as part of an award ceremony held during the conference's opening general session the afternoon of Monday, March 17 including receiving a personalized plaque to commemorate their achievement. The trip includes one round-trip coach ticket on Delta Airlines from the recipient's nearby major city to an airport near the conference location and hotel expenses for a single occupancy for March 17-20. Conference registration fees are covered by Keystone Systems, Inc. and meals are provided by the conference. If the recipient needs / desires a travel companion, such a person may be accommodated at Keystone CEO James Burts' discretion. 

Award finalists will be selected from all nominated individuals by the 2025 Julie Klauber Award Committee including:

• Teresa Kalber, Colorado Talking Book Library, 2011 Julie Klauber Award Recipient
• Lisa Nelson, Utah State Library Program for the Blind and Disabled
• Pepper Watson, Oklahoma Library for the Blind, Accessible Instructional Materials Center
• Erin Pawlus, Arizona Talking Book Library
• James Gleason, Perkins Braille and Talking Book Library
• Andrea Ewing Callicutt, Keystone Systems, Inc.

James Burts, CEO of Keystone Systems, will then determine the 2025 recipient after consulting with all the finalists' supervisors.

Biographies of previous Julie Klauber Award Recipients are available at the Julie Klauber Award Winners page.

Julie Klauber Award Nomination Form

We've been getting quite a few questions and check-ins on the status of Institutional Acknowledgements, so I'm posting this as an official status page. In addition to getting the news out via the email listserv, this page will be updated as soon as the Institutional Acknowledgements are officially available.

Current Status: last updated 1/17/25

NLS is now ready to receive the Institutional Acknowledgement, and 7.8.24 has been released with the updated PIMMS sync. 

More info:

A guest post from Maureen Dorosinski, President, KLAS User Group, of Florida Division of Blind Services - Bureau of Braille and Talking Books Library

I was listening in on the last Reader Advisor meetup and when Alice said the NLS conference was “three weeks ago,” my heart bounced off the ground and back and I could not believe how time was slipping away.

I have been procrastinating on two writing projects and a presentation, but now it is critical that I get them done.

I start looking through photographs for the thousandth time, ones to send individually, use for the presentation, and this post. I look up and twenty minutes had gone by. I try again, looked up, and an hour had gone by. I try again, frustrated, and a whole weekend has gone by. I am truly crestfallen.

Where has my motivation gone? I think it could be once I share it, I am giving away a piece of it and it will be that much farther away. Despair grips me. Another week goes by.

I have a 14-foot display screen coming to the library for a slide show for the library staff. Time is ticking away and I am no closer. It’s TOMORROW. And my Google Photos for the week still sit at 990+ photos.

Once I write those final lines, clean up the album, present the last update, and name the folder, it is over. It gets put on a shelf, in a binder, into a computer folder. One more thing done. An ending. Closed. And I never want things to end.

How can I just…move on? Get things done?

One night, we all went to a reception in the Library of Congress Great Hall, where we listened to the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, and I was standing smack in the middle, right in front! I remember looking down and I was right on the edge of the compass rose seal in the middle of the floor- I got a little haughty and thought, I wore my jean jacket and sandals to the Library of Congress!

Then was abruptly humbled, with one upward glance, swamped by the grandeur of the Great Hall. Mesmerized by exquisite murals and ceilings, buttresses and arches, along the carved putti and cherubs lining the marble steps, with the columns and statues at every turn.

We had the opportunity to go to the Thomas Jefferson Library. His entire library recreated, displayed, and stretched out in a large, curved glass bookcase, and we could read the titles: The History of Philosophy by William Enfield, The Horrors of Slavery by William Ray, The Law of Charitable Uses by John Herne, and some works of Plutarch. To my utter glee, I found titles that were on the shelves, we can get them on Amazon or Google Books! We can read the same things he did!

A few of us even saw a Microsoft blue error screen on a display right outside the Jefferson library! (at the LOC!! Who would have thought…)

Walking around the Great Hall, I loved the fact that Poetry was the middle throne in the Poetry Gallery’s painted ceiling, with the words Architecture, Music, Sculpture, and Painting surrounding it. I had my architect husband Sean on a video call with me, so we walked that and another of the galleries ‘hand in hand’.

I found it amazing that the paintings of the words Home, Family, and Science seemed to be all right next to each other.

One of the inscriptions on the ceiling was, “Give instruction to those who cannot procure it for themselves.- Confucius”
This is what we do when we find books and get language learning materials, nonfiction books, and even programming. We are sharing instructions on how to do something for someone who wants what we can give to them.

Equally memorable on the trip were the unplanned things. I walked down a hallway after a meeting in the Madison building and found myself outside of the Performing Arts Reading Room and could not believe my luck. That there was such a place, of all the plays and reference materials! They even had a real card catalog, still in use.

In that area were the Sound Recordings archives, and they had an Edison record player, and the composer Rachmaninov’s desk! Just sitting there! I talked to the guys in the Sound Recording room, and it was funny, I overheard them having trouble looking things up in the LOC catalog. “Do I put the whole title in, and then click the drop down, or just use keyword?”

The next day I got my Library of Congress Reader’s card, and while time was short, I took advantage of an exceedingly high caliber research request of a previous patron, which was laying on a table: One Hundred Years of Comic Strips and another book with vintage strips like Little Orphan Annie and Blondie and Dagwood, Cathy, Dick Tracy…

Gathering in such an iconic place helps you realize YOU have a greater purpose in your work, and that it is something that is commemorated in the magnificent structures and collections of the LOC.

It takes three buildings to contain the greatness that is the Library of Congress. And by extension through NLS, we all can hold a piece of it as well in the work with NLS that we do every day.

It’s getting closer to the end of this piece, and I just don’t want it to end. I found the folder for the last conference I planned, and it’s like it never existed. I go back to Google Photos, and lose yet more time.

How do I hold on to it? I do not want it to ever end. When I do, it’s like it never happened. I looked a picture, and remember so many other little thigs I had forgotten. Am I doomed to putting it away, and forgetting it all?

That is certainly how it feels, but that’s not fact. The fact is we can carry the feeling with us every day, through remembering to follow through with meetings and projects we say we want to, even if it takes multiple Doodles to do so. It means calling, not just texting, that person that you could not believe it had been over a year since you had a true live conversation.

It means taking advantage of every new opportunity to connect with our fellow KLAS travelers and boil down what it means to you to be able to communicate it down to a few lines for your justification for the next conference. How about the KLAS Conference, in March 2025 in Indiana?

I think part of my reluctance to start and finish is that wondering if what I found significant will be of any meaning to anyone else.
At the end of the trip, I sent a message to Sean saying in part: “My visit was not long enough, my heart is too full to form words.” That could be the real reason I struggled to begin to write- my heart is just too full.

With love and memories,
Maureen Dorosinski, President, KLAS User Group

To support the new Parental Acknowledgement requirement from NLS, 7.8.22 includes a number of important changes.

1. When you update an individual Patron record - a value in the BirthDate field will now be mandatory.
2. When you update a Juvenile patron's Main tab, KLAS will ask for the Acknowledgement status and date received/signed.
3. The Acknowledgement is stored and updatable on the Preferences tab.
4. Juvenile patrons also need a Parent or Guardian Alternate Contact.
5. KLAS will be able to block Juvenile patrons without a positive Acknowledgement and a Parent/Guardian contact.
6. When Acknowledgement and Contact information have been entered or updated, that information will be sent to PIMMS.

Barring any last-minute problems, this update will be applied to all early release and auto-update customers for installation Wednesday, 10/02/2024. All other LBPD / Talking Books libraries are encouraged to schedule the update as soon as possible.

Read on for the full details on each of the above items.

1. Birth Date is now mandatory

To ensure that both KLAS and PIMMS can correctly identify juvenile patrons, the full date of birth is now mandatory for individual patrons. This will be in effect for new patron records, and for records being updated.

If a patron refuses to give their birth date, a value of 01/01/1900 should be used. 

2. Prompt for Parental Acknowledgement

On the patron Main tab, when any updates are saved to a relevant patron record, you will now be prompted to provide the Parental Acknowledgement.

Relevant patron records are:

• Patron Type: Any Individual patron type (PA, PJ, etc)
• Birth Date: Less than 18 years ago today
• Acknowledgement status: not already set to Yes

This prompt will have the options: Yes, No, or Not Received, and a field to enter the date that acknowledgement was received.

3. ParentalAck property

Once the prompt has been answered for a patron, the data will be saved for viewing or updates on the patron's Preferences tab (Alt-4) as the new property type "ParentalAck." 

The property will have fields Ack Answer (Yes, No, Not Received, or Not Applicable) and Answer Date.

If a No or Not Received later becomes a Yes, if a Yes is later rescinded, or the answer otherwise needs to be edited, that can be done here, along with providing the updated Answer Date.

4. Parent/Guardian contact preference

NLS needs to know the responsible party that provided the Acknowledgement. This person's name and email address should be saved as an Alternate Contact with a subtype of "Parent" or "Guardian" as appropriate.

If more than one such Alt Contact is on the patron's Contacts tab (Alt-2), the one responsible for answering the Acknowledgement must be designated as the "ParentalAck" contact preference (using the 'Add Contact Preference' gold star icon in the bottom right toolbar, or Functions menu - Add Contact Preference). 

If only one Alt Contact is on the record, the contact preference is optional. 

5. Block relevant patrons without the Acknowledgement

Once you are on 7.8.22 and indicate that you are ready to start blocking relevant patrons without the Parental Acknowledgement (or on the January 1 cutover date), we will apply the configuration to automatically apply the block.

Patrons that will be blocked are: 

• Patron Type: Any Individual patron type (PA, PJ, etc)
• Birth Date: Less than 18 years ago today
• Acknowledgement status: not set to Yes
• AltContact: no Parent or Guardian AltContact on file

If there are multiple Parents and/or Guardians on file but none are designated as the ParentalAck contact using the Contact Preference, the patron will not be blocked, but will be included on the PIMMS resubmit report for correction.

6. PIMMS Sync

The information in the ParentalAck property, the ParentalAck contact preference (or sole Parent/Guardian AltContact if no preference is set), and the full birth dates for all patrons will be now communicated to PIMMS. 

If you have further questions or concerns, please get in touch! As always, we'll be here making sure the transition goes as smoothly as possible.

Per your KLAS Users' Group Bylaws, KLAS Users' Group Officer transitions occurred on August 1, 2024. Now, your 2024-2025 Officers' and Committee Chairs want to have a chance to introduce themselves to you and answer your questions.

Are you interested in what being an officer entails / what role do they play in the users' group, and / or how your program, logistics or development advisory committee operates? This session was an opportunity for KLASUsers' to get answers to these these questions and more!

KLAS Users' Group Officers:

• Traci Timmons, Immediate Past President
• Maureen Dorosinski, President
• Josh Easter, Vice President
• Sara Zapatocky, Secretary

KLAS Users' Group Committee Chairs:

• Jesse McGarity, Program & KLAS Development Advisory Committee (KDAC)
• Maureen Dorosinski, Logistics

Starting Monday, March 17, 2025 Keystone Systems and the Indiana State Library, Talking Book and Braille Library Service come together to host the 2025 HYBRID KLAS Users' Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Below are all the resources and info you will need during your 2025 KLAS Users' Conference attendance:

• Conference Hotel: Embassy Suites Indianapolis Downtown
  • 110 West Washington St, Indianapolis, IN
• In-Person Sessions Location: Indiana State Library
  • 315 W. Ohio St, Indianapolis, IN
  • Indiana State Library Floorplans - PDF
• Online Sessions: 2025 KLAS Users' Conference Zoom Event
• KLAS UC2025 Overview Schedule - PDF
• KLAS UC2025 Agenda - PDF
  
• KLAS UC2025 Attendee Feedback Forms

2025 KLAS Users' Conference Zoom Event

• ALL conference attendees will use the 2025 KLAS Users' Conference Zoom Event throughout the conference. 
• The conference logo graphic to the right is a direct link to the KLAS UC 2025 Zoom Event.
• Important notes about the KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event:
  • Use your individual Zoom account credentials to log into the KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event.
  • Session times are based on your local time zone.
  • General Sessions will be in a webinar format and streamed directly to the lobby. Virtual attendees will be able to comment / ask questions via the chat function, but can't use their computer camera / mic.
  • All Breakout sessions will be in a meeting format in which virtual attendees can be on camera, use their microphone, and / or the Zoom chat function.

Using the KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event

• How to initially access & navigate the KLAS UC 2025 Zoom Event
• You will use the KLAS UC2025 Zoom Event to:
  • bookmark sessions, create a personal schedule, and export your schedule to your personal calendar
  • view speaker information
  • watch and join conference sessions virtually
  • access session slidedecks and handouts
  • chat with other attendees
  • get conference announcements and updates
  • watch session recordings after the event
  • and more!