ANNUAL LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY
The annual Library Legislative Day took place Tuesday, February 8. WLA members and guests representing over 70 Wisconsin libraries gathered at the Madison Concourse Hotel for a morning session featuring comments by Governor Tony Evers, Superintendent Jill Underly, and State Librarian Tessa Michaelson Schmidt. Each group had the chance to have a photo take with Governor Evers. Many thanks to our photographer, Steve Platteter with the Arrowhead Library System!
State Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma) and Representative Amy Loudenbeck (R-Clinton), both members of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance, were named Library Legislative Champions for their ongoing support for Wisconsin libraries, particularly throughout the 2021-2023 budget process. Thanks to their efforts, Wisconsin public libraries will benefit from an additional investment of $4 million state aid dollars for enhanced services in the areas of technology, workforce development and lifelong learning. A Special Recognition Award was presented to Senator Felzkowski’s legislative aide Stamena Ivanov.
Click here to view a recording of the morning session. Thank you to Mark Jochem and Vicki Teal Lovely from South Central Library System for making the recording possible!
Special thanks to the Library Legislative Day committee: Bruce Gay, Waukesha Public Library; Peter Loeffel, Wauwautosa Public Library; Nick Dimassis, Beloit Public Library; Jim Ramsey, Stoughton Public Library; Kris Adams Wendt, Wisconsin Valley Library Service; Nyama Reed, Whitefish Bay Public Library; Sherry Machones, Northern Waters Library Service; Steve Conway, Conway Consulting; and Hannah Bunting, WLA.
WAAL CONFERENCE CALL FOR POSTER SESSIONS, & LIGHTNING TALKS (Due 02/25/2022)
"Open Minds, Open Doors", the Wisconsin Association of Academic Libraries (WAAL) Conference will be held Wednesday, April 20 through Friday, April 22 at the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel in Brookfield. This conference offers a variety of opportunities to share new ideas!
Poster Sessions: Poster session proposals are welcome from all who have ideas to share with Wisconsin's academic library community. All poster presentations MUST be in a digital format (i.e., an image, a set of slides, a video) when submitted. If desired, presenters may also print their poster and bring it to the conference to be displayed in the conference center. Awards will be presented for Best Content and Best Visual Display. Submit a poster session proposal.
Lightning Talks: Don’t think you have enough information for a poster? The Planning Committee would like to give everyone the opportunity to present topics, no matter how small, through Lightning Talks! Each presenter should plan to speak for 5 minutes on their topic in a recorded video that will be posted to the WAAL conference website. Submit a lightning talk proposal,
Questions? Please contact Emylie Fossell at [email protected].
The planning committee looks forward to your submissions!
WAPL CONFERENCE CALL FOR PROPOSALS (Due 02/25/2022)
The Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) Annual Conference Programming Committee seeks program proposals for the next in-person public library conference to be held May 11-13, 2022 at The Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, WI.
We hope to offer a broad range of content from all areas of the public library world, so we welcome all library and library system staff, as well as students, trustees, and those involved in friends and foundation groups to submit proposals. Feedback suggests attendees are looking for programs on management, leadership, patron confidentiality, "boomer" awareness, patron apathy, technology, data-driven decision making, brand management and marketing, small library, genre and reader's advisory, and sessions for trustees and support staff. Other suggested topics include change management, grant writing, handling large donations, inclusivity, and dreaming big.
Special Interest Groups are encouraged to submit proposals and meeting/social requests.
Proposals for presentations, panels, workshops, demonstrations, participatory sessions, business meetings, and unit social events are welcome. Sessions will run 60 minutes in length with a maximum of four presenters - 45 minutes for the presentation and 15 minutes of Q&A. The deadline for submission is February 25, 2022. All submitters will be notified of their acceptance status by March 11, 2022.
Submit a session proposal.
INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP MEETING
Monday, Feb 28
11:00 A.M. - Noon
No registration required. Meeting link is below:
https://zoom.us/j/93914868388?pwd=ZzBlM1U1ZzEvRFp1dEorNjkrdkVzUT09
VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS WITH THE OUTREACH SERVICES ROUNDTABLE
All WLA members are invited to attend these upcoming presentations hosted by the Outreach Services Roundtable. Register to attend the presentations and/or to receive a link to the recordings.
Community Reads
Thursday, March 31, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m
Register here.
Planning a community read event for your town or campus might sound like an overwhelming project that requires a grant, community buy-in, and more staff than you have. Join us to learn how public and academic libraries of various sizes have planned and funded community read events and how you can adapt their ideas to work for your library.
Contact Jennie Fidler at [email protected] with questions.
Let’s Share: Bite-Sized Outreach
Wednesday, May 18, 11:00 a.m. - noon
Register here.
Not all outreach needs to be big! Learn about and discuss how different libraries have provided outreach services that are low cost and easy to execute. Share your own ideas in this short form by May 2. Examples include: complimenting book displays with relevant community resources, setting up a booth at community events, providing summer reading logs to existing outreach patrons, etc.
Contact Kelly Davis at [email protected] with questions.
BE A MEMBER, GET A MEMBER CAMPAIGN 2022!
We’re pleased to bring back the popular “Be a Member, Get a Member” campaign for 2022. Starting January 1, 2022, when you refer a new member to join the Wisconsin Library Association, both you and the new member will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a cash prize ($250 each). Learn more.
Thanks for helping to grow WLA in 2022!
NEWSLETTERS & BLOGS
- Association of Wisconsin Special Librarians (AWSL): Read the latest AWSL newsletter here.
- Wisconsin Small Libraries (WISL): Read the latest WISL Newsletter here.
- Youth Services Section: Check out these recent posts from the YSS blog.
