Monday Briefing - April 5, 2021

A Library Podcast with Ron and Suzanne

The episode where Ron and Suzanne talk about Conflicts of Interest.

Unemployment Fraud

There have been a significant number of identity theft cases involving unemployment recently. As of late February, the Department of Labor has identified over 425,000 fraudulent unemployment benefit claims during the past year. If you or someone you know received unemployment information, make sure you follow up with it, someone could be trying to claim unemployment on your behalf. The State has put out information on an identity verification tool to help with fraud.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of a new identity verification tool, ID.me, to fight unemployment benefit fraud and help New Yorkers with bona fide claims verify their identities and receive benefits faster. The Department of Labor has identified over 500,000 fraudulent claims and stopped over $6.4 billion in payments to criminals since the start of the pandemic and distributed over $70 billion in legitimate unemployment benefits to 4.2 million New Yorkers since March 2020.

In addition, the Department of Labor is also bolstering its anti-fraud efforts by launching a new web page to provide New Yorkers with a step-by-step guide for protecting their identity from cyber criminals.

Source: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-launch-new-id-verification-tool-fight-unemployment-fraud-speed

The Department of Labor Report Fraud website is also a good resource.

Evergreen Upgrade 4/21-4/22 from Dan, Kathryn, and Bob

We'll be upgrading to Evergreen 3.6 after 9 pm on Wednesday, April 21. The first day on which Evergreen 3.6 will be available for staff use will be Thursday, April 22.

Wondering what's new? Catch up by reviewing the notes and slideshow from the last OWWLUG meeting, and make sure to mark your calendars for another Evergreen 3.6 review session at 2pm on Wednesday, April 14. Please email evergreen@pls-net.org with any questions!

RRLC Library of the Year Award

RRLC has recently released its nomination form for the 2021 Library of the Year award. It would be great if one of our libraries were in the running. Feel free to share.

Do you love your library?

Tell us why your library is special to you and nominate your public, school, or academic/ special library as a RRLC 2021 Library of the Year, during National Library Week, April 4 – 10!

Learn more and nominate your library here!

National Library Week from ALA

National Library Week 2021: Welcome to Your Library

The theme for National Library Week (April 4-10, 2021), “Welcome to Your Library,” promotes the idea that libraries extend far beyond the four walls of a building – and that everyone is welcome to use their services. During the pandemic libraries have been going above and beyond to adapt to our changing world by expanding their resources and continuing to meet the needs of their users. Whether people visit in person or virtually, libraries offer opportunities for everyone to explore new worlds and become their best selves through access to technology, multimedia content, and educational programs.

More information can be found on ALA's website.

In Case You Missed It

Employment Assistance Program: Taking Matters into Your Own Hands!

There are several ways to access your EAP benefits and services – our counselors and coaches are always available. But many people like exploring resources privately on their own. Our Self-Help Resource Center is designed for just that, with over 25,000 webinars, expert articles, tools, tutorials, trainings, and video resources. You and your eligible family members can log in and explore at will.

Simply log in to www.theEAP.com/TotalCare-EAP. Here’s just a small sampling of what you’ll find:

• Family Issues: Parenting and Family • Elder and Child Care Resource Locators • Domestic and Workplace Violence Resource Center • Pet Resources
• Health and Wellness: Cancer, Diabetes and Other Illnesses • Health Assessments • 700+ Health Videos • Nutrition • Fitness
• Money Matters: Personal Finance and Education • Financial Assessments and Tutorials • Debt and Debt Restructuring • 150+ Financial Calculators • Home Ownership and Mortgages • Taxes and the IRS
• Legal Concerns: Wills & Forms • Legal Information and Templates • Landlords & Tenants • Divorce & Child Custody • Retirement & Elder Care
• Mental & Behavioral Health: Emotional Wellbeing and Resilience • Articles and Videos on Personal Problems • Stress • Grief and Loss • Depression • Trauma
• Self-Improvement: 100+ Personal Improvement Webinars • Lifestyle Savings Benefits & Discounts • Over 8,000 Personal & Professional Development Trainings

Book Discussion from Stacey Wicksall

If you are interested, Macedon Public Library is having a book discussion of Sarah Dessen's book, Just Listen. April is Sexual Assault Awareness month and this discussion will help to increase awareness locally. Here is a description of the program: https://owwl.libcal.com/event/7616722

I am inviting all interested libraries to let their patrons know about this program. If your patrons register for the program, I will send you this statistical information for your records.

533 million Facebook users' phone numbers and personal data have been leaked online

A user in a low-level hacking forum on Saturday published the phone numbers and personal data of hundreds of millions of Facebook users for free.

The exposed data includes the personal information of over 533 million Facebook users from 106 countries, including over 32 million records on users in the US, 11 million on users in the UK, and 6 million on users in India. It includes their phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and, in some cases, email addresses. Source: Business Insider

These are the types of security concerns we have been paying close attention to at the System. Every week we ask ourselves what we can do to limit the potential for a data breach. It is important to keep in mind the type of information we collect, how we use it, and how we secure it.

Reruns

Action Requested: Plan of Service Questionnaire

The Pioneer Library System is currently drafting its 2022-2026 Plan of Service and we are asking for member library input on the areas contained in this questionnaire.

Please take 10-15 minutes to suggest priorities in the different areas below. These suggestions will be considered when drafting our upcoming Plan of Service.

Click here for the current Plan of Service.

Click here for the questionnaire.

Action Requested: Budget Kit Questionnaire

To keep the Budget Kit as effective as possible, we are asking directors to review its contents in terms of importance so we can determine what should remain and what should be dropped. Below is the link to the full Budget Kit, please review then answer this questionnaire.

Budget Kit 2019-2020