June 2026 Newsletter
Summer is a busy and exciting season for Ohio libraries! Whether you’re in the midst of summer reading, diving into new projects at your library, or pausing for summer break, we hope you’ll find opportunities to connect, learn, and be inspired in this month’s newsletter.
Director’s Desk: Celebrating OhioNet Staff
As I interact with members throughout the year, I frequently hear about the impact my OhioNet colleagues make through their dedicated service. Whether it’s supporting members in their day-to-day work, helping them stretch a dollar, creating community at our events, or tackling a project, there’s no shortage of evidence that the work we do matters.
Each June I take the opportunity to celebrate OhioNet staff with a small social gathering. This year, in addition to giving kudos to all staff, we celebrated two milestone anniversaries: Heather Ladiski (5 years of service) and Matt Polcyn (25 years of service). Read more about Heather and Matt’s work in this month’s Director’s Desk.
June Member Spotlight: Consortium of Ohio Libraries
Formed in 2012, the Consortium of Ohio Libraries (COOL) is a group of 10 independent public libraries located across Ohio who work together to better serve their communities through shared technology, collaboration, and support.
While each library serves its own unique community and maintains its own local identity, being part of a consortium allows members to share resources, exchange ideas, and work together on solutions that benefit both staff and patrons.
Read more about COOL and their work to support their communities – along with the OhioNet staff who help make it possible – in our June Member Spotlight.
Featured News: Ohio Library Employees Institute (OLEI) Event Agenda
We are excited to share the event agenda for the upcoming Ohio Library Employees Institute (OLEI) on August 11-12! Special thanks to all of our speakers for contributing their work and sharing their experiences with fellow OhioNet members.
This two-day event, hosted in-person at OhioNet in Westerville, is a reimagination of the Ohio Library Support Staff Institute (OLSSI). OLEI will honor OLSSI’s original mission of creating a space for library employees to experience professional growth, social networking, and community building.
View the full agenda for OLEI on our blog.
Featured Event: OhioNet Book Club
The next book our virtual book club will discuss is Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment by Daniel Coyle. This book explores how people and organizations can intentionally create environments that support connection, purpose, resilience, and wellbeing. Coyle blends research, storytelling, and practical insight to examine what helps individuals and groups truly flourish.
These two book club discussions will take place on July 15 (Session 1) and July 29 (Session 2). Click the dates to register for each session!
Featured Benefit: OhioNet Jobs Board
Looking for your next library job? Hiring for an open position?
OhioNet’s Jobs Board is one of the most visited pages on our website, attracting library workers and job seekers in Ohio and beyond who are exploring new opportunities. The jobs board features positions from libraries of all types, with new openings added regularly.
Hiring libraries can post job openings at no cost, making it easy to share vacancies with a broad audience of library professionals. Simply submit your position through our online form, and we’ll take care of the rest.
Whether you’re searching for your next role or hiring at your library, visit the OhioNet Jobs Board to explore current openings or submit a position today.
Featured Resource: Creativebug
Did you know all OhioNet members receive 15-20% discount off list price through our partnership with Creativebug? With this partnership, libraries can gain affordable access to Creativebug’s vast collection of thousands of craft and art tutorials at all skill levels.
Creativebug features include:
- Professionally filmed and edited content taught by art educators
- Public performance rights
- Support for in-library programming such as printables, tutorials, etc.
- Custom administrative portal with usage dashboard & personalized reports, promotional & training materials, and MARC formatted content for bibliographic record uploads
To determine pricing for your library and sign up for this resource, please email [email protected].
Announcements & Other News
- OhioNet will be closed Friday, June 19, 2026, in commemoration of Juneteenth.
- OhioNet will be closed Friday, July 3, 2026, in observance of Independence Day.
Member and Partner News
- Join us for the very first in-person National Maker Collective Conference 2026 on July 25, 2026 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m at the Greene County Career Center in Xenia, OH. This event is hosted by the National Maker Collective, an organization for makerspace people to find community, exchange ideas, tackle challenges together, and build relationships that strengthen the maker movement. Learn more and register to attend here.
- The Ohio Health Sciences Library Association (OHSLA) invites you to apply for the Bette Sydelko Scholarship. The scholarship may be applied to early career professional development/research projects, conference/workshop attendance, or college expenses to include tuition and books but must be used for the purposes of health sciences librarianship. Membership in OHSLA is required for grant eligibility. Not a current member? You can still apply and then join OHSLA before being awarded the grant. For questions, contact Judy Griggs, Chair OHSLA Scholarship Committee at [email protected].
- Calling All ALA Annual Conference Bound Librarians & Library Staff! The Thinking Money for Kids Librarian Summer Camp Pre-Conference Session is happening on Friday, June 26 at 8 a.m. If your library is looking for an effective (and fun) way to offer children’s financial literacy programming at little to no cost, this free ticketed session is one you don’t want to miss. Learn more and register here.
- Critical Hope & Self-Preservation in Contemporary Librarianship, a new course at the University of South Carolina School of Information Science, is now open for registration! Led by Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, MSLS, the six-week asynchronous course offers an introduction to the established Critical Hope framework and creates a community-of-practice pathway to reflective and intentional application in the Life-work of library students and practitioners. This course is open to LIS employees at all levels working in any library workplace. The course will run from June 22-July 30, 2026. Learn more here.
Have news to share with the OhioNet community? Email [email protected] to submit your newsworthy notes (maximum 100 words)!
