If you have news about your library that you’d like to share with other IFLS library staff, send Reb an email at kilde@ifls.lib.wi.us

Grant$

Gov. Evers Announces $50 Million in Grants Available for Local Community Development Projects Statewide,

Proposals due October 31, 2025. To be eligible for a grant, organizations must secure funding from non-state revenue sources covering at least half of the total project cost and be ready for construction. Due to anticipated high demand, project awards will be capped at $2 million.

• Additional information about the Non-State Grant Program, including guidelines and application procedures
• An online version of this release

Final Round: ALA Libraries Transforming Communities

The American Library Association invites applications from small and rural libraries for the fourth and final round of funding of the Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities grant, which is anticipated to be the final round of funding. The initiative will offer $3.5 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities. 

The opportunity is open to libraries serving small and rural communities in the U.S. and U.S. territories. To be eligible, a library must be located in an area that’s more than, or equal to, five miles from an urbanized area and with a population of 25,000 or less, in keeping with Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) definitions of small and rural libraries.

In March 2025, ALA announced 300 libraries selected for round three funding. View the full list of grantees awarded.  The list of past awardees includes several IFLS libraries, including:  Balsam Lake, Clear Lake, Colfax, Stanley, Ellsworth, Fall Creek, Frederic, Hammond, Milltown, Phillips, Plum City, Ladysmith, and Osceola (In case you are curious, this is over 2 percent of all the grants!  That’s pretty good odds!)

Apply online for funding from September 11, 2025, to December 11, 2025. Up to 300 libraries will be awarded in this application period. Interested applicants can register for a pre-application webinar on October 1, 2025 at 1:00 pm CST. Libraries that have been awarded in previous rounds of funding are eligible to apply. Note that prioritization will be given to applicants not previously awarded.To see what previous LTC: Access grantees have done with grant funding, see the case study page on the ALA website.

• Libraries selected will receive $10,000 or $20,000 to support costs related to their community engagement project; virtual training to assist project directors in developing their community engagement, facilitation, and disability service skills; a suite of online resources developed to support local programs; and technical and project support from the ALA Public Programs Office throughout the grant term.
• Libraries chosen to participate in LTC: Accessible Small and Rural Communities will first conduct community input-gathering sessions to assure that their work aligns with local disability community needs. Libraries will be required to identify the primary audience they are hoping to reach (e.g., older adults with mobility disabilities, children with autism, Deaf community members) and facilitate a community conversation with the impacted patron group to guide improvement of the library’s services. Grantees will then use the grant funds to create services or improve their facilities based on the needs identified by their audience.

From ARSL

• Infinite Sums Rural & Small Libraries Cohort Grant Program. Applications now open through September 30, 2025 Fifteen library workers will receive a $10,000 grant, and will host community-wide events for patrons of all ages on Pi Day, Infinity Day, and Fibonacci Day in 2026. Cohort members will  participate in monthly virtual training sessions and attend two in-person gatherings.
• Become a member of ARSL to get their curated, regularly updated compilation of grant opportunities relevant to small and rural libraries—exclusive to ARSL members. Delivered monthly on the first Thursday. Access a comprehensive range of resources specifically designed for small and rural libraries.

Updates to Libby Holds Suspensions

New in Libby and on OverDrive library websites: a simplified hold suspensions process. Now, users no longer select an end date for a hold suspension. Instead, they’ll manually unsuspend a hold when they’re ready for it.

Existing holds will see a notice letting them know about this change on their Holds screen. Users who don’t have holds will see the updated behavior next time they submit a hold.

• If a user misses their hold on its first delivery, it’ll be suspended until they unsuspend it. It no longer unsuspends automatically after 7 days.
• Holds will be canceled if they’re suspended for 365 days in a row.
• The term “Deliver Later” has been replaced by “Suspend.” Now, any time you want to delay getting a hold – before or after it’s delivered – you’ll suspend it.

Libby Help and OverDrive Help have been updated to reflect these changes. The hold-suspension videos on the Resource Center will be updated soon. Here’s their FAQ page: Hold Suspension Updates – OverDrive Resource Center

Get involved beyond IFLS

Public Library Standards Revision: Volunteers Still Needed: Deadline is Friday!

Go to the DPI website for details and application link.

Ryan Dowd survey

Have you been participating in the webinars, watching recordings, or taking the core training tutorials for Ryan Dowd’s Homeless Academy? They are looking for suggestions for improvement and ideas for future topics.  If you want to weigh in, you can find the member survey here: CLICK FOR MEMBER SURVEY.

New on the IFLS calendar

Space to Grow:  Assessing Future Library Building Needs

Tuesday, October 7, 1-2 pm Register heee

Learn about the revised Space Planning Outline, a tool to help libraries translate their service goals and long-range plans into a general estimate of the space needed to achieve these goals.  The webinar will offer an introduction to the revised Space Planning Outline, including more information on the relevance and limitations of the Outline as a planning tool for Wisconsin public libraries. Presenters Deb Haeffner, Building and Design Consultant with South Central Library System; Teresa Schmidt, DPI Public Library Administration Consultant; and John Thompson, System Director and Building Consultant with the IFLS Library System, will share examples of how to use the Outline and its companion worksheet to evaluate library space needs.  This webinar is a part of the Wisconsin Library Building and Spaces Project and a recording of this webinar will be available there after the fact.

September 27 – Library card order deadline.

Complete this form whether you want to order or not Details are on the form. See Reb Kilde’s 9-12 email to directors.

Highlights on the IFLS Calendar

Collection Management Confidence:  Confronting Self-Censorship

October 3, 1-2 pm REGISTER HERE

The surge of book challenges in recent years has amplified conversations about library policies and procedures. Intellectual freedom issues have been the focus of staff trainings, discussed in public meetings, and debated in the news media. With all the big talk about book bans, there’s a quieter dialog happening about library staff self-censorship: the conscious, subconscious, and even self-conscious choices about purchasing, displaying, and doing programming with certain titles. This judgement-free webinar will define self-censorship and explore ways to manage fear, bias, and tension as a public librarian today.

Presenters:  Tessa Michaleson Schmidt, Cooperative Children’s Book Center and Teresa Schmidt, Public Library Administration Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

This webinar provides 1 contact hour for public library director certification.  It will be recorded and captioned and will be available to registrants and by request for one year.

NOTE:  This webinar is part one of a two-part series!  Join us for Part 2, Opening Up About a Quiet Practice:  Self-Censorship in Collection Development on October 9 from 1:00-2:15!

Youth Services Check-in

I invite you to celebrate the first day of fall with a Summer Debrief Youth Services Check-In on Monday, September 22, 1:00-2:15 pm!  We will be joined by some of our neighbors from the Wisconsin Valley Library Service area, and will break into breakout rooms for robust discussion. We’ll share successes and challenges, reflect on what worked (and what didn’t), and explore how our goals for summer reading can shape planning for the future.    REGISTER for this check-in and you’ll get a link to join.

Coming up

• Open hour to work on your website and ask questions: Thu Sep 18th 1:00pm – 2:00pm
• Building Powerful Support Networks for Libraries, Part 1: Thu Sep 18th 1:00pm – 2:30pm
• Using Headings in Divi: Thu Sep 18th 2:00pm – 3:00pm
• MORE Directors Council meeting: Fri Sep 19th 10:00am – 12:00p
• Youth Services Check-In (IFLS and WVLS)–SLP Debrief: Mon Sep 22nd 1:00pm – 2:15pm
• IFLS Board of Trustees meeting in Glenwood City: Wed Sep 24th 12:30pm – 2:00pm
• MORE Catalog webinar: Thu Sep 25th 11:00am – 12:00pm

Bonus vids: Do Facebook events work? and just in case anybody else is low-key obsessed with the Downton Abbey movie’s costumes.