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ALA Exhibits Excursion, June 24, 2023

Join us for a one-day excursion on Saturday, June 24, 2023, to McCormick Place in Chicago for a day at the exhibits of the American Library Association Annual Conference. New this year, the bus will start in Plover at the former Younkers Parking Lot (1800 Plover Road) with one stop in Madison at the American Center Park & Ride (5601 East Park Blvd.). 

The exhibits are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and exhibit passes cost $80 until March 31 and $100 from April 1 - June 16. Attendees are responsible for obtaining their own exhibit passes. Some exhibitors and vendors may offer free passes to the exhibits. CE grants may be available for exhibit passes.

The cost for the bus is $30. SCLS will invoice libraries upon request. Preference will be given to library staff (all types), library school students, trustees, and Friends group members.

Register here.

2023 Itinerary

• 6:00 a.m. *Depart from Plover-former Younkers Parking Lot (1800 Plover Road)
• 7:30 a.m. *Arrive at Madison-American Center Park & Ride (5601 East Park Blvd.)
• 7:45 a.m. Depart from Madison
• 9:30 a.m. Arrive at McCormick Place
• 4:00 p.m. Depart from McCormick Place
• 5:30 p.m. Belvidere Oasis (restroom & snack break)
• 6:45 p.m. Arrive at Madison-American Center Park & Ride (5601 East Park Blvd.)
• 8:30 p.m. Arrive in Plover-former Younkers Parking Lot (1800 Plover Road)

*Please arrive at the pick-up location 15 minutes prior to bus departure.

Arrival times are estimates depending on traffic, etc.

 

Spring Scholarships Available

SCLS is offering two* scholarships this spring and they both are for leadership events. First is the Lead the Way Conference provided by the UW iSchool Continuing Education Department. This event will be held on April 24 and 25 at the Pyle Center on the UW Madison campus. The scholarship will cover registration, transportation, lodging, and meals. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is April 10, 2023.

The Wisconsin Library Association is hosting its Leadership Development Institute (LDI) this year. This will be a six-month program with two in-person sessions and monthly virtual sessions. Applications for LDI are due to WLA on March 6, 2023. If you are accepted into the LDI program, SCLS offers a scholarship to help offset the costs of participating. The scholarship will cover the cost of registration, travel to the in-person sessions, and meals. The scholarship will NOT cover the cost to attend the WAPL or WLA Conference.

The SCLS CE Scholarship and Grant programs are funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Thank you!

*We'll have a WAPL Scholarship available as soon as registration opens for the conference.

Scholarships for Fall WLA Conference in Lake Geneva

Thinking about attending the Fall 2022 WLA Conference in Lake Geneva? SCLS is offering Continuing Education Scholarships for member library staff to attend the conference. This scholarship will cover registration, mileage, lodging, meals, and other costs to attend the conference. The WLA Conference is scheduled for November 1 - 4 at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa. There are seven (7) scholarships available for the fall WLA Conference and the deadline to apply is October 14, 2022.

The Scholarship program complements our existing CE Grant program. Applicants who don't receive a scholarship are encouraged to utilize CE Grant funds to offset the costs of attending a conference. The limit for in-state conferences has been increased to $300.

The SCLS CE Scholarship and Grant programs are funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Thank you!

WAPL Conference Scholarship Reports

SCLS provided scholarships for three member library staff to attend the WAPL Conference in Pewaukee this past May. Here are a few highlights from our scholarship recipients.

Darla Allen, director of the Charles & JoAnn Lester Library in Nekoosa, attended her first WAPL in a few years. Darla "really enjoyed the Dynamic Dozen with Cathryn Pescinski. In this program, she talked about the 12 low-cost items she always keeps on hand, and how she uses these items to develop imaginative and fun programs. We've already worked a few items and ideas into our Summer Reading Program." Darla also noted how good it was for her to sit in a room and enjoy the questions and the speakers and get new ideas. "I can't put a price on what that did for my mental health."

Cynthia Schlegel, Adult Services and Teen Library Assistant for the Stoughton Public Library was a first-time attendee at the WAPL Conference. Cynthia also attended the Dynamic Dozen program and said it "was the most beneficial session" she attended. In addition, Cynthia attended Reaching out for Outreach with Jennie Fidler and Kelly Davis. "I particularly liked the idea of providing photo booths at outreach or even in the library; I am going to set one up in the teen area for SLP. Some very practical tips on checking out materials while not in the building and good suggestions for reaching out to the schools. It never occurred to me to go to a school open house - it is now on my radar!"

Carolyn Seaver, director of the Albertson Memorial Library in Albany, attended WAPL for the first time in her role as director. Among the sessions Carolyn attended was Veterans in the Library. "There were great resources presented for getting information about starting a veteran’s group in the library and presenting programming that would interest veterans and their families. The biggest takeaway was how the library partnered with a patron with a passion. By helping to facilitate his “dream” the library was able to do some great programming with a partner who came up with the ideas and had the contacts, leaving the library with hosting and promoting. It made me think of the patron in our library with a passion for history. We have partnered with him for some programming, but he may be an underutilized asset."

The SCLS CE Scholarship program is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Thank you!

 

 

ARSL and Back in Circulation Scholarships Available

This year's Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) Conference is scheduled for September 14 - 17 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Early bird registration opens next Tuesday, June 14. If you're thinking of attending, consider applying for a CE Scholarship from SCLS. This full scholarship will cover one year's membership in ARSL, registration, transportation, lodging, and meals. One of the nice things about attending ARSL is that your registration includes five meals - this is a great way to get to know your fellow conference attendees. Apply for the scholarship by July 20, 2022, for the Early Bird registration rate.

If you're looking for something closer to home, registration for Back in Circulation Again from the UW Madison iSchool Continuing Education is now open. This conference is scheduled for October 3 and 4 on the UW Madison campus. SCLS is offering full scholarships for this conference which include registration, transportation, lodging, and meals.

Contact Jean Anderson with any questions about CE Scholarships or CE Grants.

The SCLS CE Scholarship program is funded in part with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

PLA Conference Reports

SCLS sent four of our member library staff to the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference in Portland, Oregon this past March. Here are a few of the highlights from our scholarship recipients.

Amanda Wakeman, Director of the Jane Morgan Memorial Library (JMML) in Cambria attended her first PLA Conference. Among the sessions she attended was "Teen Perspectives on Positive Youth Development." Amanda said: "I think I found this presentation so engaging because I know it’s something I need to work on at JMML. We haven’t really done much for teens and this session gave me a great place to start, which is engaging the teens and seeing what they would like. The presenter is the head of teen services in Denver Public Libraries however much of his presentation was a video of teens on his advisory board talking about what they want from their library and what they would like to see." As a result of attending the conference, Amanda plans to start Teen Advisory Board to meet the needs of the teens in the community. In addition, Amanda said: "Going to this conference was insightful and refreshing. I feel like I am going back to my library with a list of new ideas and plans that I want to implement."

Lynn Montague, Head of Youth Services for Sun Prairie Public Library, attended PLA for the first time since 2014. Among the sessions that Lynn attended was "Building a Dynamic World Languages Collection for your Multilingual Community." Lynn said that "One of my collection goals is to increase the volume and range in our children’s world language collection, so this presentation was very timely and informative for me! Their hands-on professional experience helped me to better understand why I’ve had some difficulties acquiring particular languages, and ways to solve this problem. I walked out of this presentation with several new vendors to investigate and consider, and ideas on how we can make this collection more visible and recognizable to everyone. I have already made a change in our current collection to make Children’s World Language more visible!" In addition, Lynn visited a lot of vendors in the Exhibit Hall to find explore options for furniture and fixtures for the upcoming expansion and renovation at the Sun Praire Public Library.

Emma Cobb, Head of Reference for the Verona Public Library, attended PLA for the first time in Portland. One of the sessions that Emma attended was "Diversity Count: An Audit Tool that Adds Up." Emma said "Last year I had my department work on a diversity audit of our adult fiction collection. The process was clunky, inefficient, and, in hindsight, not as effective as it could have been. Having a tool that was developed and fine-tuned by another library will help as we move forward with our second, hopefully, more successful audit." Emma plans to "redo the diversity audit, and using the data collected from that, set a diversity percentage goal for our adult fiction collection. While this goal could and should reflect the community, after attending sessions on diversity audits, I think our goal should more align with the diversity level of the school district versus just Verona residents, as the school district is more diverse."

Amy Sampson, Community Engagement Librarian from the Waunakee Public Library also attended PLA for the first time in Portland. Among the sessions that Amy attended was "Programming for Neurodiverse Adults." The program was presented by Carrie Banks and co-developed by Barbara Klipper. Amy said that "Banks walked through a list of 10 best practices for creating an environment more accessible for and responsive to the needs of neurodiverse patrons. Banks used humor and personal experiences to illustrate her points and connect with the audience. I appreciated how the list of best practices combined quick, tactical actions like offering fidgets during programs with long-term systemic changes like using Universal Design for Learning in program design or reviewing hiring and staff support practices to include neurodiverse adults in the library staff." Amy is already thinking of how to make their programs more accessible and welcoming by including some sensory tools, visual supports for content, and communication options like note cards for submitting questions.

The SCLS CE Scholarship program is funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Thank you!

 

 

CE Scholarship Recipients for the Fall WLA Conference

Congratulations to the first round of SCLS CE scholarship winners! The scholarships are for the fall WLA Conference being held in Green Bay from November 16-19. As part of the scholarship, each recipient will complete a report on their conference attendance and I'll share those reports here.

SCLS CE SCholarship recipients:

• Chris Baker, Adult Services Librarian at the Portage Public Library
• Courtney Cosgriff, Outreach Librarian at the Waunakee Public Library
• Andrea Halbersma, Director of the Lester Public Library of Vesper
• Lisa Thomas, Director of the Spring Green Community Library

The next round of scholarships is for the upcoming Public Library Association Conference in Portland (OR). The conference is scheduled for March 23-25, 2022. SCLS has two (2) scholarships available for the PLA Conference and you can apply here. The deadline for applying for the scholarship is January 7, 2022.

The SCLS CE Scholarship program is funded in part with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Thank you!

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

 

Continuing Education Scholarship Program

Thinking about attending the fall 2021 WLA Conference in Green Bay? Apply for the new Continuing Education Scholarship. This new program will cover most, if not all, of the costs of attending an in-person conference. There are seven (7) scholarships available for the fall WLA Conference and the deadline to apply is October 20, 2021.

In addition to WLA Conferences, there will be scholarships to attend other conferences like the ALA Annual Conference, PLA Conference, ARSL Conference, and more.

The Scholarship program will complement our existing CE Grant funds. Applicants who don't receive a scholarship are encouraged to utilize the CE Grant funds to offset the costs of attending a conference. The limit for in-state conferences has been increased to $300.

This new program is funded in part with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services which administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Thank you!

 

 

Equity in Action: Fostering an Antiracist Library Culture Course

Library Journal is offering the "Equity in Action: Fostering an Antiracist Library Culture" online course in autumn 2021.

South Central is partnering with Wisconsin Valley Library Service and NEWI to organize a group rate and can offer interested library staff a discount from 15% to 35% off the regular $245 per person course fee when you sign up using this form.

Read full details of the course. Key features:

• The interactive online course consists of live sessions that are bridged with online workshops, video lessons, assignments, discussions, and resources.
• Live sessions are 1-3 pm on Tuesdays September 28, October 5, and October 12; they will be recorded and available afterward.
• You will have access to all course content for six months after the course ends.
• Upon earning a certificate of completion, the course is eligible to count as 15 contact hours of continuing education.

The more people who join the group rate, the lower the per-person fee will be. Library Journal's group rate fee schedule:

# in our group	discount	your fee, based on # of people in our group
3 - 4	15%	$208.25
5 – 10	20%	$196.00
11 – 20	25%	$183.75
21+	35%	$159.25
NEWI will invoice SCLS (for SCLS member library staff) in mid-October for the discounted fee, which will be based on the number of people in our group who sign up.

NEWI will register you for the course, and in mid-October will invoice SCLS (for SCLS member library staff) for the discounted fee. SCLS will use CE Grant funds for the cost of the course.

Multiple staff at your library may sign up. Deadline to join the group purchase: 5 pm on Wednesday, September 8, 2021.

July 15, 2021 Update: SCLS will pay for up to five (5) course registrations per library. Libraries can register as many staff as they like to get the group discount.

 

 

Virtual Conferences

Like many of you, I've been attending a lot of virtual events. SCLS has hosted webinars for many years so virtual events are nothing new. Now, however, events that were normally in-person are being moved online like the recent American Library Association Annual Conference and the upcoming Association for Rural & Small Libraries Conference. I recently attended the Denver Public Library's Advancing Racial Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Symposium (more about that in a minute).

Here is a list of upcoming virtual conferences:

• United for Libraries Virtual: Trustees - Friends - Foundations, August 4-6, 2020. The cost for this conference is free for members or $49 for non-members ($99 for your full board).
• Library Advocacy and Funding Conference from EveryLibrary, September 14-16, 2020. The cost for this conference is $75 ($100 after August 14, $125 after September 4). For every Wisconsin librarian that registers, 25% of the registration fee will go to WLA.
• Computers in Libraries & Internet Librarian Connect 2020 from Information Today, September 21-25. The cost for this combined conference should be available later this month. 
• Association for Rural & Small Libraries, September 28-October 2, 2020. The cost for this conference is $50 for ARSL members, $65 for non-members, and $25 for Advocates (Trustees, Friends, and Foundations).
• Back in Circulation Again Conference from the Information School at UW Madison, October 19-20, 2020. The cost for this conference is $250.
• Lead the Way: Libraries at the Heart of Community Engagement from the Information School at UW Madison, November 16-17, 2020. The cost for this conference ranges from $56.75 - $225.

For SCLS member public library staff, you can use CE Grant funds to offset the cost of attending these conferences.

I mentioned the Denver Public Library's Advancing Racial Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Symposium earlier and wanted to tell you more about it. Originally, this was to be a relatively small (about 125 people) in-person symposium held in Denver, Colorado. When the pandemic changed everything, the planning committee changed this event too. The event grew into a three-day virtual conference with more than 1000 people attending. The recordings of most of the sessions are available for you to watch here. This was one of the best virtual events that I've attended. The organizers, especially Ozy Aloziem from Denver Public Library, did a fabulous job bringing together a wide variety of speakers and artists in a really thoughtful way and acknowledging the hard work that needs to be done around racial equity.

One thing I learned from attending DPL's Symposium is to treat attending a virtual conference like an in-person conference. While you may not be physically leaving your home office or library to attend, you owe it to yourself (and the conference organizers and presenters) to block out your calendar, turn off your email, and be present for the conference sessions. It's worth it!

Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay

Updated 7/27/2020 to add CIL & Internet Librarian conference.