Index
- Register now for Creativity & Aging workshop
- Building community through SLP collaboration
- Tech Days program proposal deadline extended to June 29
- Member/Staff News
- New titles added to SCLS Professional Collection
- WPLC updates Digital Library website & resources
- ALA accepting ‘Great Stories Club’ grant applications
- NEH Infrastructure & Capacity grants available
- Continuing Education Calendar
Register now for Creativity & Aging workshop
SCLS is working with other library systems and the Division for Libraries and Technology (using LSTA funds) to present a workshop called Creativity and Aging: Arts Education for Older Adults. The workshop will be presented on July 24 in Brookfield and again on July 25 in Dodgeville. (more information & registration)
In this full-day training, Lifetime Arts will introduce librarians to the Creative Aging field by providing in depth information on current research that underpins best practices, as well as the history and background of the field, different areas of practice, and the cross-sector nature of the work. Participants will have an opportunity to analyze and evaluate their own ideas about aging and how that informs their work with older adults, and they’ll also learn about several exemplary organizations that actively engage the lifelong learning model in their older adult arts programs.
The workshop will introduce social engagement techniques that support building community amongst the participants but also intentionally lead to art making and learning. Further, the live training will provide structures and tools so that the participants can begin to plan their own programs and utilize these resources to implement Creative Aging programs.
The training will use experiential workshops, PowerPoints, tools and resources, discussion and active participation by the participants so that they will be well equipped to share their knowledge and learning with their colleagues.
Lunch is included at no cost, but please include any dietary restrictions in your registration. If you choose to bring your own lunch, please indicate that in your registration and know that your lunch will need to be self-contained (no refrigerator or microwave available). Attendees’ mileage will also be reimbursed.
Building community through SLP collaboration
by Christina Makos, Youth Services Librarian
Spring Green Community Library
The River Valley School District spans 13 townships and four villages (Arena, Lone Rock, Plain, and Spring Green) located in four different counties (Sauk, Iowa, Richland, and Dane), and is one of the larger geographic school districts in Wisconsin (296 square miles). Hundreds of students attend four elementary schools, two public and two private. So many readers to reach! (Pictured at right during this year’s presentation to students, Christina Makos played the role of a geologist and Brittany Sorg was a rock star)
Three public libraries provide services to the students of the Valley -- Spring Green and Plain withinin SCLS and Lone Rock in the Southwest Wisconsin Library System. In the past, each library has presented its summer library program to the schools in its towns. As the district consolidates the students from four public elementary schools into two buildings (Plain and Spring Green), the need to inform all of the students of Valley-wide activities has become more important.
This year the youth services librarians at Spring Green and Plain decided to collaborate on efforts to reach all of the young readers through a combined summer library program calendar and presentation. We reached across system lines to include Lone Rock because we wanted to be able to support the River Valley community as a whole. It took many, many emails, phone calls, and meetings to get all of the details just right.
In early May, Christi Makos from Spring Green and Brittany Sorg from Plain presented the summer library program to the students with a fun and rockin' song-and-dance presentation that highlighted events at all three libraries and the importance of summer reading. During those visits the students were given the triple library calendar to take home and plan their summers. The combined calendar has been praised by parents whose children have friends in the other communities.
Parents are now able to plan for the various programs that their children can attend anywhere in the district. The students are excited to go to the different libraries for all of the fun events with their friends. And of course, the librarians are excited to promote all of the wonderful library programming that our neighbors are offering. The hope is that this and future collaborations continue to strengthen the River Valley community and encourage students to read.
Tech Days program proposal deadline extended to June 29
Do you have a tech tool that makes library work easier, a technology program or service that draws adults, teens or children into your doors, or cool apps you’ve found or created for library use? If so, consider sharing it with your library colleagues at Tech Days East this September!
All topics related to the intersection of technology and libraries are welcome! Possible ideas include, but are not limited to: gadgets, emerging trends, apps, innovative tools, social media, coding, e-content, privacy, makerspaces, Google services, and teaching tech to patrons. Presentations could also focus on serving specific audiences (preschoolers, tweens, teens, older adults, people who require specific services, etc.) This list of suggested topics is not meant to limit your creativity!
Each afternoon breakout session at Tech Days East lasts one hour, which you can fill with 45-60 minutes of content, or your presentation can be 15 minutes in length and we will group it with other short subjects. You may do a presentation by yourself, or bring together a team. All presenters will receive a complimentary lunch and mileage reimbursement.
You can pickany or alldates and locations for your presentation:
- Tuesday, Sept. 25at Fitchburg Public Library (Dane County)
- Wednesday, Sept. 26at Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve (Outagamie County), or
- Thursday, Sept. 27at Franklin Public Library (Milwaukee County)
Complete the Tech Days East presentation proposal form at www.surveymonkey.com/r/cfp-TDE2018 and tell us what you'd like to show and share. The deadline for proposals has been extended until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 29, 2018.
There is no charge to attend the 2018 Tech Days East workshop series, thanks to sponsorship by these institutions: Winnefox Library System, Outagamie-Waupaca Library System, Manitowoc-Calumet Library System, Nicolet Federated Library System, South Central Library System, the Southeastern Wisconsin (SEWI) library systems -- Arrowhead Library System, Bridges Library System, Kenosha County Library System, Lakeshores Library System, Milwaukee County Federated Library System, Monarch Library System -- and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
For more information, contact Joy Schwarz, Winnefox Library System, at [email protected] or 920-236-5218.
The Columbus Public Library has hired Meg Kaster (right) as its new Youth Services Director. A recent graduate of the UW-Madison iSchool, Kaster spent the last few years working in youth services at other local libraries in Sun Prairie, Madison, and Deerfield. Prior to that, she taught English at Deerfield High School. When discussing her career change, Meg said, “My favorite part of teaching was chatting with teens about the books they like, and as a librarian I get to do that all the time.” In addition to helping children and teens find the perfect book, Meg said programming is an area she’s excited to explore. “I’m really eager to continue the amazing programming and community engagement already present at the library, and to bring my creative flair to the mix to create some incredible programs for kids, teens, and families.” Welcoming the new hire, Columbus Public Library Director Cindy Fesemeyer said, “Meg brings an interesting mix of talent for kids of all ages, from newborns to school age kiddos to teens. I can’t wait to see what she has up her sleeve for the Columbus community.” As Youth Services Director, Meg will be responsible for maintaining the collection of children and teen materials at the library, as well as planning programs. “Teen programming is an area I’m passionate about,” Meg said. “Pair my background with the staff’s knowledge of local teen interests, I think we can come up with some really cool events.” Meg said she looks forward to attending and putting on community events to get to know the people and the town of Columbus. Keep an eye out for her in the 4th of July parade!
Tana Elias of Madison Public Library has been selected to participate in the Public Library Association’s Inclusive Internship Initiative, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). She will introduce students from diverse backgrounds to careers in librarianship. Through a summer-long mentored learning project, library mentors and interns will engage with multiple facets of library life, from administration to programming to user services. Interns will have opportunities to connect with one another, and learn from mentors across the country. The overarching goal of the Inclusive Internship Initiative is to introduce students from diverse backgrounds to careers in librarianship. For more information about PLA's Inclusive Internship Initiative, visit: https://apply.ala.org/plinterns/. You can read more about the awards at Wisconsin Libraries for Everyone.
Madison Public Library (STEM Learning by Students for StudentsandMaking is Storytelling), Marshall Community Library (Community STEM Challenge), and Monona Public Library (Connecting through STEAM) are among 15 Wisconsin libraries awarded grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) for joint school and public library projects based on the workshop topic. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction hosted "Connect and Create Workshops for Public and School Librarians" in Marshfield May 7 & 8. The theme for the May 7 workshop was “Students as Creators: Connecting through STEM, Maker, Coding, and Hands-On Learning.” The theme for the May 8 workshop was “Students as Community Members: Connecting through Books, Collections, and Perspective Sharing.”The focus of this LSTA project is two-fold: 1) Explore the two distinct, relevant topics for libraries serving youth and 2) Foster collaboration between school and public library staff.
New titles added to SCLS Professional Collection
The following titles have been added to the SCLS Professional Collection, which is available to staff at member libraries.
- Library Spaces and Smart Buildings: Technology, Metrics, and Iterative Design edited by Jason Griffey
- Library Services Design: a LITA Guide to Holistic Assessment, Insight, and Improvement by Joe J. Marquez and Annie Downey
- Privacy and Security Online: Best Practices for Cybersecurity by NicoleHennig
- How to Stay on Top of Emerging Technology Trends for Libraries by DavidLeeKing
- The Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness: an Empathy-Driven Approach to Solving Problems, Preventing Conflict, and Serving Everyone by RyanDowd
- The Dysfunctional Library: Challenges and Solutions to Workplace Relationships by Jo Henry, Joe Eshleman, and Richard Moniz
- Mentoring A-Z byJulieTodaro
WPLC updates Digital Library website & resources
The new website of Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) resources for the public is available at http://widigitallibrary.org/.
In addition to the services you already know about (Pressbooks, the Wisconsin Author Project, SELF-e, and OverDrive) you'll see that BiblioBoard Library is also included on the new site. All resources in BiblioBoard Library are immediately available for unlimited simultaneous use (no holds), and authentication is done via geolocation so there is no need for patrons to log in to access the resources. This new e-content library contains a number of collections:
- BiblioBoard Access: international resources and rare materials from smaller organizations that openly share their digital artifacts around the world.
- BiblioBoard Core: a historical database covering a wide range of topics -- including Literature, Philosophy, History, Geography and Science in subject anthologies and over 14,000 full-text eBooks and over 24,000 pieces of primary source content.
- Indie Wisconsin: a showcase of Wisconsin independent and small press fiction and non-fiction authors.
- The Library Journal Selects Collections: aggregations of top-notch selected submissions from SELF-e from around the country in General Fiction, Mystery/Thriller/Horror, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, and Young Adult.
- Popup Picks: a collection of the best ebooks and other digital media from around the world including hand-curated, award-winning titles of all kinds from leading expert librarian curators. Every four months, there is a brand new collection of titles!
WPLC hopes you and your patrons enjoy these new collections and they hope the website helps your community understand and better use these resources available to them. WPLC will also be working with libraries and systems to add MARC records for BiblioBoard Library to catalogs.
WPLC also has some resources to help spread the good news;
This information can also be found on the WPLC website.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, just send an email to [email protected].
ALA accepting ‘Great Stories Club’ grant applications
Do you love reading and want to help young people in your community love it as well?
The American Library Association (ALA) is accepting applications through July 9 for the Great Stories Club, a grant program in which library workers lead book club programs with underserved teens.
Working with small groups of teens, grantees will host reading and discussion programs for up to four thematically related books -- chosen by librarians and scholars to resonate with reluctant readers struggling with complex issues like academic probation, detention, incarceration, violence and poverty.
Up to 150 libraries will be selected. All types of libraries are eligible, as long as they work in partnership with, or are located within, organizations that serve under-resourced youth. Read the full project guidelines.
Choose ONE or BOTHof the following themes:
- "Empathy: The Cost of Switching Sides" (View the titles for this theme)
- "What Makes a Hero? Self, Society and Rising to the Occasion" (View the titles for this theme)
Benefits include:
- 11 copies of each of the selected titles (10 to gift to participants, one for the library collection)
- Travel and accommodation expenses paid for one library staff member to attend a project orientation workshop in Chicago. (Libraries selected to implement both themes may be assigned to attend only one workshop)
- Additional training, resources and support
Visit apply.ala.org/greatstoriesfor full project guidelines and to apply online (deadline July 9, 2018). For more information, contact ALA's Public Programs Office at [email protected].
NEH Infrastructure & Capacity grants available
The mission of this Challenge Grants program is to strengthen the institutional base of the humanities by enabling infrastructure development and capacity building. Awards aim to help institutions secure long-term support for their core activities and expand efforts to preserve and create access to outstanding humanities materials. Applications are welcome from colleges and universities, museums, public libraries, research institutions, historical societies and historic sites, scholarly associations, state humanities councils, and other public and nonprofit humanities entities. Programs that involve collaboration among multiple institutions are eligible as well, but one institution must serve as the lead agent and formal applicant of record.
Through these awards organizations can increase their humanities capacity with funds invested in a restricted, short-term endowment or other investment fund (or spend-down funds) that generate expendable earnings to support and enhance ongoing program activities. Eligible activities include the documentation of cultural heritage materials that are lost or imperiled; the preservation and conservation of humanities materials; and the sustaining of digital scholarly infrastructure.
For more information, visit www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/infrastructure-and-capacity-building-challenge-grants.