A Note from the Executive Director
As we head into the heart of winter here in Northeast Ohio, and the second half of NEO-RLS’s fiscal year, we wanted to share a quick update on how our 2025–2028 Strategic Plan is moving along and what we’ve been working on lately. Our focus continues to be on increasing awareness of NEO-RLS services across the region and strengthening collaboration throughout the state.
Over the past few months, we’ve built a stronger presence at library conferences, rolled out an email welcome campaign for new members, and launched member-driven message boards to support our Active Learning Communities. These efforts are already making an impact, with growing engagement and new connections across our network. Looking ahead, you can expect more opportunities to connect directly with NEO-RLS staff and help shape our programs and services, along with a clearer, more accessible website and an improved membership portal. As always, we remain dedicated to serving our members and creating meaningful ways for you to engage. Please take a moment to read and share our full Winter 2026 Strategic Plan Progress Update. Stay warm and have a great day! Ragan |
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| Still Seats Available
Join us for our Adult Summer Reading Program: Unearth a Story on Thursday, February 12th! With just two weeks remaining seats are going fast! Please register today, you don't want to miss this great event backed with ideas, programs, and so much more. Not to mention time to network with your peers! Click this for more information and to register.
Check out the photos below from yesterday's Teen Summer Reading Program: |
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2026 Choose to Read Ohio Toolkit Now Available
The 2026 Choose to Read Ohio program cycle officially kicks off this month with the release of readers' toolkits for the 2026 CTRO booklist, which features 20 notable titles for all ages and reading levels. As with each CTRO program cycle, the booklist includes five books each for young children, middle grades, teens, and adults, and encompasses fiction and nonfiction and a variety of geographic and cultural interests.
Ohio librarians, teachers, and other book experts help to select the CTRO booklists. They consider quality and reader appeal, but also how well each book lends itself to group discussion, caregiver/child conversations, library programs, and classroom activities.
To support and encourage classroom use, book discussion groups, library programs, and other activities to bring readers together around books, the CTRO Advisory Council creates a readers' toolkit for each CTRO book. CTRO toolkits feature author biographies, discussion questions, activities, and resources to engage curiosity and explore themes in depth. Toolkits for all 195 books selected to CTRO since its inception in 2009 are available for free download on the CTRO website. Starting with the 2025 CTRO booklist, toolkits are now being published as webpages instead of PDFs for accessibility and findability.
Download and print the 2026 CTRO booklist here.
Choose to Read Ohio spotlights Ohio authors and illustrators and promotes reading across Ohio. Started in 2009 by the State Library of Ohio and the Ohioana Library with the Ohio Center for the Book and Ohio's libraries, CTRO celebrates the bounty and diversity of published literature by Ohio authors and illustrators and invites Ohioans of all ages to read and enjoy books together.
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Call for Poster Proposals: Midwest Archives Conference - Society of Ohio Archivists Joint Annual Meeting
The 2026 Program Committee invites poster proposal submissions on all aspects of archival practice and research, as well as on topics from allied and related fields. The Program Committee seeks a diverse slate of presenters, representing a variety of personal and institutional backgrounds, perspectives, and voices. We seek to foster a culture of inclusion in the MAC-SOA program and encourage submissions from students, new professionals, first-time presenters, and those from allied professions. Membership in MAC and/or SOA is not required to present.
Poster presentations will be onsite only, and at least one author must be present. See the full call at https://ohioarchivists.org/annual-meeting-call-poster2026/.
To submit a proposal, please fill out the MAC 2026 Poster Proposals Submission Form. Proposals are due by 11:59p CST February 8, 2026. The deadline will not be extended.
For more about the conference, see the meeting website: https://www.midwestarchives.org/2026-annual-meeting About the host: Founded in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, The Ohio State University sits a few miles north of downtown Columbus. A city unto itself with an enrollment of more than 65,000, Ohio State is known for its top ranked academic programs in engineering, agriculture, and business, its world class research endeavors. |
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| Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library Homeschool Teens Explore Vet Careers At a recent Homeschool Teen Career Exploration: Veterinary Careers program hosted by Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, teens were given a tour of the Lake Humane Society facility where they learned about careers in veterinary medicine, nonprofit development, and shelter care. They met some furry patients, learned how to do sutures, and made enrichment activities for the dogs, cats, and small animals. See photos from the event on WEPL's Facebook page.
Email our Marketing & Engagement Coordinator Jill at jill.grunenwald@neo-rls.org if you have a story from your library you want to share. |
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