The South Carolina Library Association and the Southeastern Library Association invites all library professionals, paraprofessionals, students, vendors, and friends to the 2018 Annual Conference in Greenville on October 31-November 2 at the Hilton Greenville. This year’s conference theme is Illuminating the Future! The focus is on highlighting the bright future of libraries, and how libraries are at the center of the future of the communities they serve. 

Staff from the South Carolina State Library received an in-depth tour of the Amazon Fulfillment Center in West Columbia on Wednesday, September 26, 2018. Attendees were able to see from start to finish how books are printed, bound, and shipped out all from under one large roof! It was quite an interesting tour, especially for library staff. 

Calling all aspiring writers! PalmettoPride is hosting a children’s book contest again. You write the story and PalmettoPride will publish the pages then pass out the published masterpiece to every elementary school in South Carolina this school year. Send PalmettoPride your book idea by October 22, 2018 for consideration. 

Here is the criteria to enter: 

Literacy 2030's focus for 2018-2019 is on grade-level literacy (Kindergarten-Grade 5). This webinar, held on Wednesday, October 3, 2018, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m., describes the trajectory of reading development from birth through age 8. Dr. Janice Gruendel and Keller Anne Ruble with the Institute for Child Success will describe key influences of Community Supports, High Quality Learning Environments, and Out of School Time and their impact on reading success.

Banned Books Week 2018 is September 23-29. It brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. Books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restricted in libraries and schools.

The South Carolina State Library encourages libraries across the state to actively prepare for Hurricane Florence. The Library provides a comprehensive online guide of federal, state, and other online resources for libraries to have ready for staff and patrons for a variety of emergencies when library holdings are in danger of destruction. The guide may be useful to schools and civic organizations. Please visit our Disaster Preparedness for Libraries Guide to begin your preparations today.

The South Carolina Digital State Documents Depository provides access to publications produced by state agencies and state-supported academic institutions. These publications provide citizens with crucial information about state government, including statistics, annual accountability reports, and data on a wide variety of topics related to the state.

The South Carolina State Library is pleased to introduce a new visitor sign-in process. LobbyGuard is a visitor management and front office automation system. LobbyGuard software and products are designed to increase building security and reduce workload on front desk personnel by using the self-service convenience of kiosk and smartphone-based applications. Visitors to the State Library who are accessing other floors can now check in at our Information Desk through the LobbyGuard visitor management system.