Greetings:
Fall is here, and I hope you are enjoying it! I am nine months into my first year in Las Vegas, including my first summer. Wow, it was a scorcher, but I am somewhat used to toasty temperatures after a few years down south. I’m sure many of you share my enthusiasm for the change of season.
And this brings to mind the idea of change: it’s inevitable, so what happens when we embrace it? Our Library District has certainly experienced change, and I have as well, in moving to this exciting area and becoming your Executive Director. I’ve appreciated all of your support as we have forged new partnerships, created new programs, and reached out to thousands of new library fans.
In July, the Library District Board of Trustees adopted our Strategic Playbook 2026: All In To Win, which we have put into action over the past several months:
-
- Powerful Places & Platforms – Our collaboration with RTC has taken the library outside of our library branches. It provides anyone riding a bus in Southern Nevada, including visitors to our beautiful city, with the opportunity to enjoy our digital resources easily and for free.
- Powerful Partnerships – Our #GetCarded Challenge is becoming a year-round library card promotion and it is off to a great start. We are working with Library District partners to sign up their employees and exponentially grow our customer base. We kicked off with DISCOVERY Children's Museum, and so far have commitments from Mob Museum, City of Las Vegas Government, Las Vegas Urban League, Asian Community Resource Center, Las Vegas Artists Guild, Mystic Publishers, Aloha Nui Loa, and A Public Fit Theatre Company.
-
Powerful People – We want you, our valued customers, to be the most empowered people of all, by removing barriers to accessing the Library District's free services and resources. Our new circulation policy, passed by the Board of Trustees on July 8, goes beyond “fine free” by allowing us to improve your access. These initiatives include:
- Auto-Renewal – Your checked-out items that do not have anyone else waiting for them will be automatically renewed for you. This allows items to remain with you until you are ready to return them without fear of late fees.
- Instant eCard – Our Instant eCard has provided greater access to, and has increased check-outs of, our digital content.
- Amnesty Programs –Through the customer appeal process, additional fine and fee abatements will also remain in place so that catastrophic life events or financial hardship won’t prevent folks from receiving our essential services. If you need this assistance, please email us at patronappeals@thelibrarydistrict.org.
Additionally, we are proud to share with you that the Library District won the Las Vegas Book Festival’s 2021 Crystal Book Award, which honors organizations in Southern Nevada that advance the cause of literacy and demonstrate extraordinary literary achievement.
I know that you are as excited as I am to continue changing and evolving our great Library District in order to create wonderful, memorable experiences for our customers and visitors. Change is the only constant in life, and we are proudly leading the way among libraries as an agent for positive change.
November is National Novel Writing Month
Also, in celebration of National Novel Writing Month, or more commonly known as NaNoWriMo, I am excited to introduce our latest collection of FREE resources to help support our amazing community of writers here in Southern Nevada!
The Writers' Room
As part of our new partnership with the Indie Author Project, we have created The Writers' Room, a special page on our website that provides information, resources, tools, tutorials, and a sense of community for all self-published writers, authors, poets, graphic novelists, and anyone who loves filling an empty page with their original work. This dedicated page features our free online publishing tools where you can create, format, and submit your original work as an ebook to our new self-publishing collection, Indie Nevada. You can also find all of our upcoming free workshops, classes, and online resources to help you get started or finish your project!
Indie Author Project 2022 Contest
Keep an eye on The Writers' Room for more information about our upcoming statewide Indie Author Project Contest which will be held in April 2022. Local authors will have the chance to win cash prizes through our online resource BiblioBoard as well as national recognition for their work at the Indie Author Day Reception held each year in November.
Browse Indie Author Collections With BiblioBoard
Are you looking for inspiration? You can also check out ebooks from independent authors with no wait times! Enjoy instant access to our featured authors, top indie selections, Indie Nevada collection, and much more through BiblioBoard. Below is a selection of some of our featured titles. Just click on the cover to start reading!
NaNoWriMo can now be celebrated all year long with the Library District!
And in closing, I always like to share with you some titles that I think you might enjoy, below.
Sincerely,
Kelvin Watson
Executive Director
Add a comment to: Executive Director’s Blog: Playbook 2026 Update + National Novel Writing Month