[OPLINLIST] NEO-RLS News: Customer Simulation Survey, Many New Programs Added & More

Wed Dec 18 14:16:02 EST 2024

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A Note From the

Executive Director

We’re excited to partner with Aegis 360 to design a customer service simulation specifically for library staff, and we need your help! This innovative simulation will enhance customer service skills and prepare staff for a range of interactions from routine to challenging.

We’re also exploring ways to use this simulation in future continuing education, consulting services, and even as a possible vendor discount to maximize its value to our member libraries.

To make this simulation as impactful as possible, we’re gathering real-life customer service stories from libraries like yours!

We’re looking for:

  *   Positive experiences: Moments when staff went above and beyond to assist a patron.
  *   Challenging situations: Instances where resolving an issue was particularly difficult.

Tell us what happened and how you, your colleague, or your team responded. Your stories will help us create realistic scenarios that reflect the unique dynamics of library customer service. By contributing, you’ll be playing a key role in shaping a training tool that empowers library staff to provide exceptional service while addressing the specific needs of library communities.

Please click this survey link <https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349826507&mm=111967560683> to provide your scenarios.  

Thank you for helping us bring this project to life!

Ragan

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It's Almost 2025 and We Have Many Events to Choose From

January

HR and Legal Update: Recent Changes in the Law and Trends Impacting Public Libraries (I)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349827729&mm=111967560683>

1/8/2025
Children's Summer Reading Workshop: Color Our World -More Details Added<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349828951&mm=111967560683>

1/9/2025
;What Does it Mean to be Anti-Racist? (A)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349830173&mm=111967560683>

1/14/2025

Strategic Leadership (I)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349831395&mm=111967560683>

1/22/2025

Going the Extra Mile: Making Your Library ADA-friendly Instead of ADA-compliant (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349832617&mm=111967560683>

1/23/2025

Top 24 Titles of 2024 (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349833839&mm=111967560683>

1/28/2025
NEW-Ohio Web Library - Hidden Gems and New Ways to Think About OWL Resources (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349835061&mm=111967560683>

1/29/2025

Teen Summer Reading Program: Color Our World<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349836283&mm=111967560683>

1/30/2025

February

Success in Programming for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (DD)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349837505&mm=111967560683>

2/4/2025

Foundations of Conflict Management<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349838727&mm=111967560683>

2/5/2025

Full Spectrum Communications for Libraries - How MessageBee Enables and Enhances Patron Communications<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349839949&mm=111967560683>(F)

2/6/2025

Leading from the Middle: Managing Up and Down Simultaneously (I)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349841171&mm=111967560683>

2/12/2025

Adult SRP: Color Our World (I)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349842393&mm=111967560683>

2/13/2025

Canva Essentials: From Ideas to Designs (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349843615&mm=111967560683>

2/18/2025

NEW-Understanding Race and Racism (I)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349844837&mm=111967560683>

2/19/2025

Building Joy-Centric Libraries: an Experiential Approach (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349846059&mm=111967560683>

2/20/2025

NEW-Understanding the Basics of Microsoft Excel (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349847281&mm=111967560683>

2/27/2025

March

NEW-How to Develop a Staff-Led Diversity Campaign:
Leading Community Change Through the Library(F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349848503&mm=111967560683>

3/6/2025
Cultivating Your Resilience to Avoid Burnt Out: Managing Stress, Appreciation Inequalities, and Workload Demands (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349849725&mm=111967560683>

3/12/2025

NEW-Two Perspectives on Legal Reference Services (I)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349850947&mm=111967560683>

3/13/2025

Checking out Software Licenses: Expanding Equitable Access and Maximizing License-Use Efficiency (I)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349852169&mm=111967560683>

3/19/2025

-Emergency Preparedness Stations: Staff Readiness in Emergency Response Situations (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349853391&mm=111967560683>

3/20/2025

NEW-April

Sharpening Your Excel Skills (I)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349854613&mm=111967560683>

4/8/2025

The Adult Programming Equation (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349855835&mm=111967560683>

4/9/2025

Quiet Leadership:
Foster your identity as an introverted or quiet leader to inspire beyond words (F)<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349857057&mm=111967560683>

4/17/2025

[View Full Calendar]<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349858279&mm=111967560683>

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NEO-RLS Newsletter Returns January 8th!

Our newsletter will take a brief break for the holidays but will return on Wednesday, January 8th, 2024. We wish you a joyous holiday season and look forward to connecting with you in the new year!

Thank You for Returning Your 2025-2026 Letters of Intent!

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted their 2025-2026 Letters of Intent! Your continued partnership ensures that we can deliver the services and support your library needs. If you haven’t had a chance to return your Letter of Intent yet, there’s still time! Please submit it by December 31, 2024.

If you have any questions or need a copy of your letter, don’t hesitate to reach out to
ragan.snead at neo-rls.org<mailto:ragan.snead at neo-rls.org>.

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CSLP Slogan/Theme Survey

Each year the Collaborative Summer Library Program seeks feedback from library staff in Ohio and across the country for future summer slogan and theme suggestions. Now is the time be heard! Please complete this brief survey https://forms.gle/wL3Bmyc1Bg4dxuuY7<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349859501&mm=111967560683> to suggest a slogan for the 2028 theme of Mythical Creatures and a fresh new theme for 2029.

Some tips for developing themes and slogans:

Adaptable for all ages

Translatable into Spanish

Culturally sensitive and thoughtful

Avoid puns and wordplay

Catchy, memorable, concise

Inclusive, accessible, applicable across settings

For a list of previous themes and slogans go to: https://www.cslpreads.org/themes-and-slogans/<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349860723&mm=111967560683>. Please share your suggestions via the survey<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349859501&mm=111967560683> by Sunday, February 2.

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E-Rate December 2024 Updates

Begin Your FY 2025 Bidding If You Haven’t Started – If you have a contract that needs to be rebid or seek Category 2 funding for FY 2025, be prepared to file a Form 470. How do you know if you have to bid? Here’s a reminder:

1) If a service is covered on a Month-to-Month basis (meaning no contract exists – these are mostly cable modem-type services) AND your services do not qualify for the CABIO bidding exemption<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349861945&mm=111967560683>;

2) At the beginning of any new contract. Note: If you posted a Form 470 in a previous year and then signed a multi-year contract that expires on or after June 30, 2026, you are not required to file a Form 470 for FY 2025.

3) If you’re upgrading service and the upgrades and associated prices are not included in the original contract.

Extending an Existing Contract for FY 2025 - If your original contract includes (finite, not open-ended) voluntary extensions and you wish to exercise one of those extensions for FY 2025, be certain to notify the vendor in writing of that decision before the Form 471 is filed. USAC will ask for a copy of that written notification during PIA review, so be sure to retain evidence of that notification.

Spam/Robo Bids – We have all experienced receiving spam or “robo” bids when filing the Form 470. We have raised our concerns about these bids with USAC on multiple occasions, and they have provided the following guidance/requirements and advice for language to include with your Form 470 or RFP:

“All bids received should be retained during the competitive bidding process. Disqualification factors can be applied to bids received that do not meet minimum bid requirements, do not include site- or project-specific details, and/or are not responsive to the applicant’s requests. Applicants may include language in their FCC Form 470 narrative or request for proposal (RFP), such as, “SPAM and/or robotic responses will not be considered valid bid responses and will be disqualified from consideration.” By doing this, applicants can disqualify bids based on this factor. The decision to disqualify any non-responsive bids should also be memorialized and retained to demonstrate compliance with the E-Rate competitive bidding rules.”

FY 2025 Form 471 Window Dates—The Form 471 window filing dates have not yet been announced. We expect to have the dates before the holiday break, and they will be very similar to previous years, which is that the window will open mid-January and close mid-late March. The Form 470 deadline will determine the Form 470 deadline. I will provide Form 471 webinars in late January/early February, and conduct both Category 1 and Category 2 sessions. So, watch for the training dates.

Do You Have Category 2 Funding Remaining? Don’t forget that FY 2025 is the 5th and final year of the current 5-year Category 2 budget cycle! To view your remaining C2 budget for FY 2025, use USAC’s C2 Budget Data Tool at https://opendata.usac.org/E-rate/E-Rate-C2-Budget-Tool-FY2021-/8z69-hkn7<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349863167&mm=111967560683>. Use the filter on the right side of the page to select your BEN. Unused C2 budgets will not roll over into FY 2026, but a new C2 budget cycle will begin on 7/1/2026.

FY 2024 Form 486s – The Form 486 deadline is 120 days from the FCDL date or the service start date (typically July 1st), whichever is later. If you file your Form 486 after the original deadline, you must also file an appeal with USAC to request that the Service Start Date be adjusted to 7/1/2024 so you don’t lose any E-rate funding. If you requested Internal Connections, a one-time purchase, and the purchase/installation is completed after 7/1/2024, be sure to update the date when filing the Form 486.

Off-Campus Wi-Fi Hotspot Eligibility and Calculator – Although there is some uncertainty about how the incoming administration will regard off-campus hotspots, schools, and libraries that need this service should proceed with their plans but consider signing contracts that are contingent on receiving an E-Rate funding commitment. USAC has created a helpful hotspot budget calculation tool to help schools and libraries determine the maximum amount of funding they may request each funding year at: https://opendata.usac.org/stories/s/d5st-k49w<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349864389&mm=111967560683>. Also, USAC has extensive resources related to this new initiative at: https://www.usac.org/e-rate/applicant-process/before-you-begin/off-premises-wi-fi-hotspots-summary-overview/<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349865611&mm=111967560683>.

EPC Log-in Errors and How to Resolve - In the last few months, many have reported they are continuing to receive the following error message when logging into EPC after they go through multi-factor authentication: “AuthSDKError: Unable to parse a token from the URL”. To overcome this error, try the following:

1) Clear your cache and allow third-party cookies.

2) Press and hold the ‘CTRL’ key on your keyboard. While holding the ‘CTRL’ key, press the ‘F5’ key once to perform a hard refresh.

3) After receiving the error, enter this URL, which often takes you directly into EPC without requiring a new authentication: https://portal.usac.org<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349866833&mm=111967560683>.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at lorrie.germann at education.ohio.gov<https://mms.neo-rls.org/ct.php?lid=349868055&mm=111967560683>.

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