Director Briefing - August 28, 2023

2023 Summer Reading Survey from Suzanne

Last week, an email was sent to all Youth Services Staff and Directors with 2023 Summer Reading Survey information and form. (You can access the form here.)

Please submit your answers by Friday, September 22, 2023. Only one survey per library should be submitted. A copy of your responses will be automatically emailed to you upon completion; please save this information for your Annual Report to New York State.

Email Suzanne with any questions.

OWWLDAC Meeting - September 14, 2023 at 10 AM

Jessica D. and I are working on adding items to the OWWLDAC (formerly PLSDAC) agenda for September 14. Let us know if there is anything you would like to include. The meeting will be hybrid. The in-person location will be Walworth-Seely Library. I will send the Zoom information with the agenda once that is set.

News from Libby on Digital Magazines

Libby will soon introduce the following enhancements to how users discover and enjoy magazines:

• One tap to read: When a user discovers a magazine anywhere in the app, they can open it and start reading with one tap, generating a checkout for your library.
• Streamlined access: Instead of appearing alongside ebook and audiobook loans, magazines will be moved to a new dedicated section of the Shelf summary, called the Magazine Rack. From the Magazine Rack, users will see the latest issue of their magazine subscriptions and any other issues they choose to keep. This will help users find their favorite magazines in one convenient place.
  • Note: To save space on a user’s device, magazines are not automatically downloaded for offline use. Instead, users can manually choose which issues to download.
• Easier subscriptions: Users can subscribe to magazines via a new, convenient Subscribe option from magazine search results and title details pages. When a new issue is released, it will automatically be added to the user’s Magazine Rack and generate a checkout for your library.
• Improved discovery: From their Magazine Rack, users can navigate to the Newsstand, a new view of a user’s recently opened issues and other popular magazine titles in your collection.

Watch this brief video for a visual overview of one-tap magazines. These updates will be released in the coming weeks, and we will follow up once live.

The Great Give Back Registration

The OWWL Library System will once again coordinate a system-wide Great Give Back service project this October, collecting personal care items to support community members experiencing poverty, financial hardship, and/or homelessness. Each library should choose the organization or location for these collected items based on their library community, such as local food distribution sites, little free pantries, community closets, schools/educational groups, etc.

Information about this year's project and the registration form can be found on OWWL Docs. So far twenty-one libraries have signed up! The deadline to register is Friday, September 8.

Note: Participation in the system-wide project is voluntary, and libraries that already have a dedicated service project for The Great Give Back should feel comfortable continuing with their plans.

NYLA Annual Conference

Registration for the NYLA 2023 Annual Conference & Trade Show is open. This year's conference will run Wednesday, November 1 through Saturday, November 4 in Saratoga Springs. The Early Bird Deadline is September 1 so act soon if you want to save some dollars!

Click here for more information including registration, accommodations, programming, and schedule.

This Week in OSC Audits

Below is a rundown of the OSC audits and the lessons learned for libraries and policies to review.

Audit	Key Findings	Takeaways for Libraries	Policies to Review
Town of Homer – Non-Payroll Disbursements (2023M-63)	Segregate the duties or implement compensating controls relating to non-payroll disbursements. As a result, checks and balances over the powers and duties of the Supervisor and Town Clerk (Clerk) were not established. Establish procedures to detect and prevent duplicate payments from occurring. Conduct or ensure an annual audit of the Supervisor’s records and reports was performed, as required.	Segregate duties with money and make sure internal controls are in place. Be sure to have an annual audit.	Audit/Review Schedule Claims Audit Process
Chatham Central School District – Financial Management (2023M-11)	Annually appropriated over $1.3 million of fund balance they did not need or use to finance operations; therefore, taxpayers were taxed more than necessary. On average, annually over-estimated appropriations by $3.2 million (9.9 percent). Maintained four reserves totaling $6.6 million without demonstrating they were reasonably funded. For example, the Unemployment insurance reserve has about $747,000, enough to pay annual claims for 14 years. Workers’ compensation reserve has $1.4 million, but the average annual workers’ compensation expense is $79,756.	Have a reserve policy that outlines the purpose of all reserve funds. Set a realistic budget that covers annual operating expenditures and reserve funds so unnecessary funds are not collected.	Reserve Funds
Village of East Syracuse – Board Oversight of Cash Receipts and Disbursements (2023M-79)	The Treasurer performed nearly all aspects of the cash receipts and disbursements processes, and the Board did not establish sufficient compensating controls to help ensure cash was safeguarded. The Board did not review, or designate anyone to review, bank statements and canceled check images, bank reconciliations and bank transfers, or compare receipts with deposits to help ensure cash was accounted for and records were accurate. The Board did not ensure any Village officials reviewed and certified all payroll payments to provide assurance employees received accurate pay. The Treasurer paid 49 claims totaling $258,182 without the Board’s audit and approval.	Implement procedures for monitoring cash receipts. Library Board must review and approve all claims.	Claims Audit Process
Ulster Board of Cooperative Educational Services – Network User Accounts (2023M-42)	Disable 17 unneeded network user accounts, including seven former employee accounts and 10 accounts not used by active employees, that had last log on dates ranging from November 2016 to December 2021. Review and disable 76 potentially unneeded user accounts, including 34 shared accounts, 31 service accounts, eight vendor accounts and three service accounts.	Email support@owwl.org when an employee leaves your library so we can disable their account. Update vendor accounts as employees leave or join the library staff.	Data Security Personnel

Rerun - High Priority: Windows 10 Computers End of Life from Kelsy

The following email applies to desktop computers. Stay tuned for an email about laptops at a later date.

Did you know that Windows 10 is reaching its End of Support in October 2025? That may seem far away, but it will be here before we know it. End of Support means that Microsoft will stop releasing important security updates for Windows 10 computers, leaving them vulnerable to malware and other cyberattacks.

Some computers currently running Windows 10 may be eligible to upgrade to Windows 11 for free. It's important that eligible computers are upgraded to Windows 11 and ineligible computers are replaced by November 2025.

Ineligible Computers

Below is an image of five desktop models that are ineligible for a Windows 11 upgrade. They include:

• Any HP EliteDesk
• Dell Optiplex 3010
• Dell Optiplex 3020
• Dell Optiplex 7050 (please note that the Dell Optiplex 7050 and 7060 look very similar; the 7060 models are eligible for a Windows 11 upgrade. Check the front of the tower for the model number)

Click here for a full write-up and picture of computers.