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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.

PLA Updates

Registration is now open for next year's Public Library Association Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference runs from February 25 - 29. I attended my first PLA Conference back in 2008 when it was held in MInneapolis and I was hooked. I've attended every one since then. While it's still a big conference, I find it easier to make connections and new friends at PLA. Everyone attending has something in conference - Public Libraries.

Want to attend PLA and need some financial help? PLA is offering 15 scholarships to attend PLA. There are three broad categories for the scholarships - library school student, early career librarian, and library support staff. If you fall into any of these categories, apply! You never know - you just might win one! And, if you don't, never fear. SCLS has CE Grants that can help offset the cost. SCLS member public library staff are eligible to apply for up to $400 for an out-of-state conference grant.

PLA also offers a number of awards and grants. Nominate yourself or your library for one - deadline is December 6, 2019.

And, lastly, October is Health Literacy Month and PLA has a variety of free tools and resources to help librarians help their patrons navigate the complex world of health care, insurance, aging, and more.

 

Upcoming FREE webinars

There are a several of FREE webinars and events coming up that I wanted to let  you know about.

First is from PLA and OCLC and is called "Public Libraries Partner to Respond to the Opiod Crisis". This webinar is part of a National Leadership Grant that PLA and OCLC received to study communities where the library is addressing the opiod epidemic along with facilitated discussions with library leaders and other government and community organizations. The first in a series of webinars, this one takes place on October 30 from 2-3 p.m. Central Time and you can register here.

Library 2.0 is hosting the third Library 2.019 virtual mini-conference on October 30 from 2 - 5 p.m. (Central Time). The theme for this mini-conference is Emerging Technology and you can register here. Earlier mini-conferences were on "Shaping the Future of Libraries with Instructional Design" and "Open Data." Both of those mini-conferences were recorded and posted on YouTube.

Next is LibraryCon Live! from Library Journal. This all day, free, virtual event runs from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on November 6 and is described as "A virtual festival for book nerds, librarians, and fans of graphic novels, SF, and fantasy." One of the sessions focuses on how to host a ComicCon style program at your library. More information on the program can be found on the Program tab.

Want more FREE webinars? The Wyoming State Library maintains a Training Calendar that you can view anytime (time are listed in Mountain time). You can also download and subscribe to the calendar.

Happy Learning!

Image by Harish Sharma from Pixabay

WAPL Conference Registration Open

This year's Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) Conference is from May 1 - May 3 at the Central Wisconsin Convention & Expo Center in Rothschild (just south of Wausau). Registration is now open.

Here are a few highlights from this year's exciting lineup:

• Poster Sessions featuring topics such as TEACH program, Leadership Development Institute, and Conference Orientation
• Luncheon with Michael Perry!! on Thursday
• Programs on Escape Rooms, Genealogy, Movies, Grant Writing, and much more
• Jessie Vieau, Madison Public Library, is the Friday luncheon speaker - one of SCLS's own!

For SCLS libraries, remember that your library is eligible for CE Grant funds to help your staff attend this - or other conferences.

I hope to see you there!

PLA 2016 Highlights

Wisconsin was well represented at the Public Library Association Conference in Denver last week. Next Tuesday, April 19 at 10 a.m. several of us will be sharing some of our experiences and we'd love for you to join us.

You'll hear from Cindy Fesemyer, Director of the Columbus Public Library; Wendy Rawson, Director of the Fitchburg Public Library; Leah Fritsche, Director of the Deerfield Public Library; Katharine Clark, Adult Services Librarian for the E.D. Locke Public Library in McFarland; and Holly Storck-Post, Youth Services Librarian at the Pinney Library in Madison.

Register here! The webinar will be recorded if you're not able to join us live.

ARSL 2015 - Rockin in Little Rock

I attended my first ARSL (Association of Rural & Small Libraries) Conference this past week in Little Rock. This conference has been on my wish list of out-of-state conferences for a while and I'm glad I had the opportunity to attend this year.

The first two sessions I attended were on PLA's Project Outcome. I've read about this project and know that Shawn  has been talking about using outcomes in her planning process. As I was listening to this program, I kept thinking about how our libraries could use these surveys to help share your story with your boards, municipalities, and community. I've contacted Project Outcome about signing up as a system and will pass along information when I get it.

The lunch keynote was Josh Hanagarne, author of The World's Strongest Librarian. His talk was very inspiring and if you haven't picked up his book, I encourage you to read it.

There was also time to walk around Little Rock and I saw this Book Exchange phone booth and had to share with you. Love the new use for an old phone booth!

Next up was a customer service program. As this is a topic that we always need refreshers on, I'm always looking for new speakers. Key takeaway was STACKS = Service Excellence. Serve with a smile, Take the extra step, Accept ownership, Create the experience, Know the library, Say thank you.

One of my favorite sessions was with librarians from the Lincoln Parish Library in Ruston Louisiana. Their program was called the Readers' Advisory Socialite and they talked about several of the ways they highlight their collection using Pinterest and Goodreads.  You may be hearing more from them next year!

Another excellent session was Too Much Information!! Managing Digital Overload with Crystal Schimpf. You may remember that name as Crystal presented Digital Literacy for Everyone last April as part of our TechDay workshop. Managing digital overload is something I always need help with and there were several new tools she shared (I'll write about those in my next TechBits post).

Last, but not least, was a presentation called "No, We Really Do Want You To Check These out!!!" by Heather Hays from the Bentonville Public Library. Not only did Heather talk about displays, cross promotions, and revamping their reference department, she talked about the success of the board game programming in their library. Another speaker and program to watch for in 2016!

 

Thanks to Jamie Matczak for this picture from our walks around Little Rock - and yes, we did walk across the bridge!