Index
- Around the System
- Registration Now Open for Library Legislative Day 2025
- Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit Request Deadline Dec 20
- 2025 “Wild Wisconsin” Conference Registration Open
- WPLC Data Dashboard
- Grant Opportunity from Carnegie Corporation of New York
- Continuing Education Calendar
Around the System
Rio Community Library’s annual Christmas program was held on December 7. Santa brought holiday cheer riding in on a Rio Fire Department firetruck. Music was provided by the local handbell group, The Ding-A-Lings.
Registration Now Open for Library Legislative Day 2025
Join us in Madison for a day of advocating for Wisconsin libraries! This year's event will kick off with a briefing and breakfast at the Best Western Premier Park Hotel (22 S Carroll St, Madison, WI 53703), followed by visits with legislators at the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Once you register for this event, Library Legislative Day committee members will make appointments with legislators and develop the day's schedule for you. The schedule will be shared with attendees a few days in advance of the event.
Watch the WLA Library Legislative Day webpage for additional information as plans are finalized.
Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit Request Deadline Dec 20.
DPI is offering to supply interested libraries with FREE Dungeons & Dragons Essentials kits (to be used in library programming) as a part of an upcoming National Leadership Grant for Libraries project they are helping lead. The project is about developing 'best practices' for nationwide Games-based Library Services; more information about the grant project can be found here. The kits were donated to the grant project courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.
Requests for these kits can be in addition to kits given out to libraries at the recent WLA Annual Conference (i.e., if a library wanted more). It is recommended to request one kit per library. Library Systems are helping facilitate delivery of kits; DPI will ship boxes of kits out to Systems in the coming months, and we will then disseminate kits to requesting member libraries.
The DPI is asking that every library requesting kits as a part of this project should commit to helping with year #1 grant research by filling out this simple form: Participation in Research Assistance with Games-based Library Services Grant Project. They will be in contact in the coming months with surveys to be completed.
- Note:if your library already filled this form out when receiving a kit at WLA, there is no need to fill the form out again. The form should be filled out only once per library. If a library would like to help with the grant research without requesting a D&D Essentials Kit, they should also feel free to fill out the form.
If your library would like to request a Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit (or an additional one if you've already received one), please fill out this request form by Friday, December 20, 2024.
2025 “Wild Wisconsin” Conference Registration Open
Registration is now open for the 13th Annual Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference, a two-day series of webinars that will be held on January 22-23, 2025.
Fourteen sessions will be available in four different tracks, including Management, Marketing, Internal Communications, and Small Libraries.
The 2025 conference features a lineup of such renowned speakers as Cassy Leeport (Director, TLAM Program, UW-Madison), Brandi Cummings (Interim Director, Kenosha Public Library), Jim Robinson (Instructor, University of Minnesota), Carol Hassler (Access Services Librarian, Wisconsin State Law Library), Jamie LaRue (Director, Garfield County Public Library District), and many more.
WVLS Education Consultant and Conference Coordinator Jamie Matczak said this year’s conference offers something for everyone.
“We’re excited to bring back the “Small Libraries” track,” she said. “The Conference Planning Committee took a break from it for a few years and felt it was time to include it because Wisconsin is made up of many small and rural libraries.”
There is no cost to attend! Thanks to support from Wisconsin public library systems, along with the Department of Public Instruction, registration for this conference is free.
All fourteen conference sessions will be captioned and recorded if people are unable to attend the live webinars. Each webinar is worth 1 contact hour for public library certification.
For more information about the conference, contact Jamie Matczak at [email protected].
The Wisconsin Public Library Consortium data dashboard (https://wplc.info/dashboard) is available for review through December 2024. The dashboard is part of pilot project to generate interest and feedback for a potentially permanent dashboard that would feature data from public libraries throughout Wisconsin. Read more about the dashboard in the WPLC Dashboard Pilot: Training Materials, which includes a link to a video tutorial and practice exercises to familiarize yourself with the dashboard functionality.
As part of the pilot project, SCLS hosted a webinar on December 10th with Kim Kiesewetter, WiLS Data Analyst & Consultant and the dashboard's designer. The webinar recording is now available online.
After exploring the dashboard, please fill out the WPLC feedback survey to help inform the next phase of the project.
For any questions about the dashboard pilot project or the webinar, please contact Tim Drexler, [email protected].
Grant Opportunity from Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York announced a new grant opportunity that will invest $5 million in public libraries to support English language learning and youth programs in U.S. communities. The new initiative, Libraries as Pillars of Education and Democracy, will help public libraries deliver critical services that promote socioeconomic mobility, civic participation, and social belonging.
We are prioritizing libraries with existing programs in either of two areas:
- English language and literacy services for adults that improve English language proficiency and job readiness skills.
- College readiness and access activities that help teens improve their college preparedness by enhancing academic skills, supporting students in the college admission process, developing leadership and civic skills, and engaging families in the transition to college.
Learn more about our criteria for selection and complete our eligibility survey by January 10, 2025.