It’s group supply order time!

It is time for the annual group supply order. Please return your order form by end of day Wednesday, February 19. Please refer to Sarah’s email from January 30, which included complete instructions and details.

There are also some surplus supplies available on a first-come, first-served basis. Sarah sent that email and spreadsheet out on January 31.

Sarah’s happy to answer any questions you have (szymanski@ifls.lib.wi.us), or submit a HelpDesk ticket. The group purchase calendar is on the website.

400 of your stories going with us to Madison on Tuesday

Well done! This is a reflection of the high level of services you offer to your community members, and their enthusiastic support and engagement. We’re delighted to share this with our elected officials! As soon as Reb finishes putting all those comments in a publication, she’ll make it available as a PDF.

A fun opportunity

Shared by Laura Turpin (St. Croix Falls Public Library). 

Illinois-Indiana and Wisconsin Sea Grants are collaborating to create engaging, place-based activities aimed at enhancing Great Lakes literacy among elementary students in grades 3-5. We are in the early stages of development for this endeavor and want to ensure that what we develop meets your needs. As such, we are seeking feedback from 3rd-5th grade educators (formal or non-formal) and school librarians on what resources would best help them seamlessly incorporate Great Lakes literacy into their classrooms and programs. Our goal is to develop a standards-aligned product or program that integrates science, social studies, or art with literature.

If you are interested in joining us for a one-hour virtual feedback session in late February or early March, please fill out this Google form. If you know an elementary teacher or librarian who might be interested, please forward this message on.

Spotlight on resources

Don’t miss this webinar!

Leah had the opportunity to see the presenter Shelley Harris at the Power Up Conference in Madison last spring.  She is engaging, passionate, and very practical, and Leah highly recommends the two webinars she will be presenting!  Great for every size library, you’ll come away with suggestions for how to make your library work for the whole community, including folks with disabilities.  Relevant for any time of year, and especially when thinking about summer programming!  Look for the follow-up webinar specifically focused on programs coming up on March 12.

• A Community for All:  Disability Inclusion in Libraries
• February 19, 1-2:30 pm
• Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ErjJPmIlRLGTZSlwsx3uTQ#/registration

“When children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read, or when the images they see are distorted, negative, or laughable, they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in the society of which they are a part.” (Rudine Sims Bishop)

This is also true for community settings! To best serve patrons with disabilities, we need to understand their community, culture, and needs. Together, we will

• build a foundation of disability knowledge
• explore disability experiences,
• learn how to provide safe and inclusive spaces,
• consider how to serve patrons through our collections without causing harm.

Although the examples are youth focused, they can be adapted for any age. Please contact Leah (langby@ifls.lib.wi.us) with requests for accommodation by January 30. 

Presenter Shelley Harris, MLIS, is a children’s librarian in Oak Park, IL with a passion for early literacy, serving and celebrating the disability community, and exploring technology. She has a younger brother with a rare genetic syndrome who has used AAC for almost 30 years, which inspired her to earn a Bachelors in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She previously worked as a 1:1 paraprofessional with deaf and autistic children and has helped program her brother’s communication devices for decades. Everything she has learned from these experiences is funneled into creating inclusive and engaging library services and spaces for disabled kids and tweens, and helping families connect with services in the community. She can often be found practicing storytime songs with her black lab, Bingo.

Supplies 1.5 contact hours for library director certification.  Will be recorded and captioned.

Blog Spotlight: Connect to Mental Health Programming

Leah had a heart-breaking conversation with a library director this week who was reeling from a two recent local deaths from suicide, and looking for resources for potential programming to help her community address significant mental health concerns.  Lots of communities are facing this crisis, and I thought that some of the information I gathered for her might be useful to others. Read the whole blog post.

Wild Wisconsin recording of the week

The Small Spaces, Big Opportunities webinar with David Vinjamuri left attendees excited about practical and easy-to-implement changes they could make to show off their collections better and increase circulation.  One attendee from a very small library commented that she implemented some of his suggestions from an earlier appearance and saw their circulation triple! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly recommended.

The recording is available upon request, you can fill out a form to access it here:  https://www.wildwiscwinterweb.com/david-v-recording.html

Coming up on the calendar

I had a heart-breaking conversation with a library director this week who was reeling from a two recent local deaths from suicide, and looking for resources for potential programming to help her community address significant mental health concerns.  Lots of communities are facing this crisis, and I thought that some of the information I gathered for her might be useful to others.

In addition I want to call attention to the Winter Wellness Fair that the River Falls Public Library developed, which included the panel presentation “Empowering Student Well-being: Insights from the Front Lines of School Mental Health.”   You can watch it here on the Library’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdUWItnJIHQ

Other organizations you can partner with for potential programming:

NAMI Wisconsin: 

• They have quite a few programs and support groups that are available online!  Some of the offerings are longer classes (that meet several times). They also have a one-time program called Ending the Silence that is geared especially towards middle and high school students.  https://namiwisconsin.org/support-and-education/presentations/nami-ending-the-silence/  It is available virtually, too:  https://ets.nami.org/
• The local chapter is NAMI Chippewa Valley:  https://www.namicv.org/ and they have support groups, etc.

QPR/Suicide Prevention:

• Question, Persuade, Refer is a 1-hour evidence-based suicide prevention training You can find QPR instructors near you on the site:  https://qprinstitute.com/.  There are quite a few in our area.  IFLS hosted a QPR training for library staff several years ago.
• To find other potential local partners, check out Prevent Suicide Wisconsin

Mental Health First Aid

• There is also Youth Mental Health First Aid!  5-7 hour course.
• Link to general website:  https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
• It looks like a lot of the courses are available virtually.
• UW Madison Extension also has some options:  https://health.extension.wisc.edu/mental-health-first-aid/
• Wisconsin Safe and Health Schools Center has some options for Youth Mental Health First Aid, schools/communities can apply for training:  https://www.wishschools.org/resources/youth-mental-health-first-aid.cfm

 

What’s up with long Libby holds?

Are you or your patrons wondering about long waits on Libby holds? NPR Podcasts recently posted a YouTube video-short about this issue: Why is your Libby hold taking so long? How can you be “in line” to borrow a digital library book? – YouTube

Start of tax season

IRS announces Jan. 27 start to 2025 tax filing season; agency continues historic improvements to expand, enhance tools and filing options to help taxpayers. This information is also available in Spanish and Chinese.

Welcome to new IFLS staff

Please welcome two new MORE Database Specialists, Alyson Jones and Julia Reid. You can find them on the IFLS staff directory.
 

Marketing notes

Somerset’s was better than Reb’s

Giving credit where it’s due!

Library Love Story update

We’re at 253 stories collected with 30 libraries represented! Wouldn’t it be great if we had 300 stories from 100% of our library communities? Anything submitted before February 5 will go to Madison with us.

• Look at the Google sheet (automatically updated)
• Look at the Excel spreadsheet updated today
• Look at the PDF as of today

What the heck, Meta?

Reb put together some thoughts and strategies in a Marketing Monthly Extra.

MORE’s top fives

Here are MORE’s most checked-out titles of 2024, in a few categories:

Adult fiction

1. The Women by Kristin Hannah
2. The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
3. The Teacher by Freida McFadden
4. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
5. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Adult Non-fiction

1. The Anxious Generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness by Jonathan Haidt
2. Oath and Honor: a memoir and a warning by Liz Cheney
3. The Demon of Unrest: a saga of hubris, heartbreak, and heroism at the dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
4. Killers of the Flower Moon : the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI by David Grann
5. The Boys in the Boat: nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

Movies

1. Oppenheimer
2. Barbie
3. Wonka
4. Indiana Jones and the dial of destiny
5. The hunger games: The ballad of songbirds and snakes

Children’s books

1. Guinness world records
2. Dog Man Unleashed by Dav Pilkey
3. Dog Man: Twenty thousand fleas under the sea by Dav Pilkey
4. Dog Man: The scarlet shedder by Dav Pilkey
5. Dog Man: Lord of the fleas by Dav Pilkey

On the calendar

This means spring is coming, right?

Announcing FREE Gardening Webinars and Activities from nationally known and Wisconsin-based gardening expert and author Melinda Myers for all Wisconsin Public Libraries to use in 2025. Melinda hopes you can incorporate any or all of the following programs into your 2025 Library programming calendars. If you have any questions, please contact Diana Paul at diana@melindamyers.com. Look for more information soon coming via WisPubLib! 

Three Gardening Webinars with gardening expert & author Melinda Myers

Your Library can host a watch party on the dates below or schedule it after the live webinar date and play the recording. If you host a live watch party on the dates below, your patrons will be able to submit questions live and get them answered by Melinda at the end of each webinar. You can also let your patrons know they can individually register for the webinars if they’d prefer to watch them at home.

• April 2, 2025, 6:30 p.m. CT – Webinar: Container Gardens for Sun and Shade Register for this free Container Garden webinar * download the Container Garden poster
• May 7, 2025, 6:30 p.m. CT – Webinar: Vertical Gardening Register for this free Vertical Gardening webinar • download the Vertical Gardeningposter
• June 4, 2025, 6:30 p.m. CT – Webinar: Attracting Hummingbirds Register for this free Hummingbird webinar • download the Hummingbird poster
  

Three Gardening Projects with gardening expert & author Melinda Myers

Melinda Myers will provide a video and activity guide for each activity to our libraries that want to incorporate them into their 2025 programming. Consider hosting groups at your library to do these activities together. Your library can also use these activities for your summer reading programs (ie: activity guides can go in summer reading take-and-make kits, etc.) or your library can link to these activities where patrons can download the activity guides to do at home. A web page (created by Melinda Myers) will house the videos and activity guides which can be downloaded and printed or shared digitally.

• April Activity:  From Seed to Your Container or Garden
  Starting plants from seeds indoors allows you to jump-start the season, save money, and grow varieties unavailable from the garden center.
• May Activity:  Create a Vertical Garden from Repurposed Items
  Planters mounted to walls, fences, or other vertical structures add color and growing space where needed. Create your own from old pallets, used pots, discarded blue jeans, and more.
• June Activity:  Inviting Nature’s Insect Managers into the Garden
  Hummingbirds not only help pollinate our plants, but like most birds, supplement their plant-based diet with insects.  Keep them and beneficial insects safe by working with nature to manage insects in the garden.A special thanks to We Energies for sponsoring this program to make it possible. 

Keep up the great work getting Love Stories!

New on the website

Library Love Story QR code

Reb added a QR code that links to the Library Love Story form to the Toolkit article. QR codes are most useful on print material where people are likely to have their phone and don’t have access to a computer.

I can tell when you promote this because a little flurry of responses come in. You’re doing a good job promoting this! Please keep promoting it right up to the February 5 deadline. If you want to see comments, they’re in this spreadsheet.

An easier way to find the IFLS Staff Academy

We added this information to the Continuing Education page and the Article Index. You’ll find a button that takes you directly to the IFLS Staff Academy on the For Librarians page.

Hosted on Niche Academy, the IFLS Staff Academy is full of short tutorials about things you need to know:  Using MORE and Sierra, Interlibrary Loan, Library Ethics, Youth Services, Collection Development, Trustee Development, and Administration.  It is also where Ryan Dowd’s famous Homeless Academy lives.

The IFLS Staff Academy supplements material on the Article Index. Where appropriate, Niche Academy videos are linked from the relevant article.

You will need to create an account to access most of the content. Be sure to use your library email. 

Take a look, more content will continue to be added!  If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Leah.

Coming up

Annual Report workshop change of location

Because IFLS will be getting new flooring we decided to move the locale for the January 30th Annual Report Workshop to Fall Creek!

Alzheimer’s and dementia

Ryan Dowd: How to Work with People with Dementia and Alzheimer’s, February 13, 1-2 pm Register

• Symptoms of dementia and how it impacts the brain
• Communication “Do’s” and “Don’ts” when talking to someone with dementia
• Tools staff can use and how to “redirect”

Note:  This webinar is available to all public library workers in Wisconsin thanks to sponsorship by the Department of Public Instruction Public Library Team, with funding assistance from the Institute for Museum and Library Services.  A recording of this session will also be available on the IFLS Staff Academy , where you can watch other archived webinars and also the core training.  If you don’t have an account, you will need to start one using your library email address.  Let Leah know if you have any questions!

On the calendar

 

 

14 free, high quality webinars created especially for Wisconsin public library workers, it must be the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference!

I’ve highlighted four super-practical webinars that will enhance any public library worker’s job are below, but check out the whole great line-up and register for one or all of these webinars.  All will be recorded for later viewing, each one provides one contact hour for public library directors.  There are tracks in Management, Readers Advisory and Reference, Small Libraries, and Internal Communications, as well as opening and closing sessions.

Never Too Much: All About Romance In and Out of the Library January 22, 1-2 pm
When it comes to romance it is easy to become overwhelmed with all the choices. Different titles, different authors, different subgenres, different formats and that’s just with frontlist titles. When you add backlist titles, or changing trends, it can seem an exhaustive task. Let’s demystify the genre together and learn to fall in love with learning about this popular genre.

Legal Reference: Sources and Strategies  January 22, 2:30-3:30 pm
Librarians can be at the front lines of the legal system. Join the Wisconsin State Law Library for an overview of our favorite sources for answers to frequently asked legal reference questions. Survey sample questions and answers for family law, landlord/tenant, estates and wills, civil and small claims cases, and more. Learn about print, database, and online sources, and how the Wisconsin State Law Library’s website and services can be used to optimize your legal reference services.

Small Spaces, Big Opportunity – Reorganizing to Increase Circulation  January 23, 9-10 am
How can you reorganize your space to increase circulation and serve patrons better?  And do it on a tight budget? Or with no funds at all? Join New York University professor and author of “Library Space Planning: A PLA Guide” David Vinjamuri for a lively discussion of space organization and merchandising in small spaces. Advice and examples from small libraries around the country on how to declutter, reorganize and improve circulation will be offered. (David’s presentation at last year’s WAPL conference got rave reviews from many IFLS library workers!)

Sparking Community Connections: Rural Library Partnerships  January 23, 10:30-11:30 am
Learn the basics of partnerships, what they look like for rural public libraries, their benefits for the library and the partner, tips for building successful partnerships, and ideas for who to approach and how.

The Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference is a FREE 2-day conference for library workers in Wisconsin on January 22 and 23.  Fourteen different high quality webinars on a variety of topics. All are recorded, but it is extra-fun to attend live!   I’ll be sending a few highlights every day until the conference, but be sure to check out the whole line-up at the WWWWC Website!

Looking for tips for public speaking, advocacy, or difficult conversations? 

Crucial Conversations on Thursday, January 23, 1-2 pm
There is no denying that how you deliver a message can often be just as impactful as the message itself. Join this session to hear lessons learned while navigating difficult community conversations during an ongoing global pandemic, civil unrest, negative national attention, and book challenges. In this presentation, you’ll gain strategies for difficult communication, including how to develop messaging, empower and support frontline teams, and activate community advocates. Discover the significance of transparency, empathy, and authenticity in your messaging while examining challenging scenarios facing libraries today.

Embodied Communication on Thursday, January 23, 1-2 pm
Too often, when we’re speaking in front of colleagues, peers, or stakeholders, our nervous system engages in the fight-flight-or-flop response, leaving us anxious and tongue-tied. We know what we want to say, but our body gets in the way. During this hour-long session, you will learn ways to recognize this stress response and then dismantle it using both physical and verbal techniques. It’s time to step out of your own way and harness your personal power to get your point across with skill and ease. Key takeaways include: the importance of acknowledging the moment at hand, discovering the gifts it holds, ways to release counterproductive judgment, social engagement techniques, and more.

 “Thank you for coordinating this incredible fun conference, jam-packed with info and resources.  It has been for several years one of the highlights of my winter work life.” (an enthusiastic participant)