FRIDAY PROGRAMS

Friday, November 19, 2021

Friday, November 19 | 8:30 AM - 9:50 AM | Keynote Speaker

Felton Thomas, Jr.
Felton Thomas, Jr. was appointed Director of the Cleveland Public Library (CPL) in January 2009. During Felton’s tenure, CPL has maintained its “Five Star” status and been named a “Top Innovator” by the Urban Libraries Council for its use of technology and data to inform decision making. Felton’s vision for the Library is that of a strong leader in defining a more prosperous future for Cleveland by battling the digital divide, illiteracy, unemployment, and other community deficits with innovative programming and action at all branches. He has also launched a “Downtown Destination” campaign to reposition the Main Library for the 21st century and market its status as a major downtown attraction.

 

 

 

 

Friday, November 19 | Luncheon Speaker

Steven Wright

Steven Wright teaches both law and creative writing at UW-Madison. Professor Wright is a clinical associate professor and co-director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project. The Wisconsin Innocence Project seeks to exonerate the innocent and to train the next generation of legal leaders. Professor Wright has also taught first-year criminal law and appellate advocacy.

During his time with the Wisconsin Innocence Project, Professor Wright has participated in several exonerations including the exoneration of Daniel Scheidell and Sam Hadaway. He's also won cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
Professor Wright is also a lecturer in the creative writing program. His debut novel, the Coyotes of Carthage (Ecco, 2020) received strong praise from USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, Salon, and the Washington Post, which called the novel, “riveting…. Those who pick up the book get a view of how the sausage of today’s politics gets made…. And [Wright] does so with a ticktock pace and knockout prose.”

FRIDAY BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Friday, November 19, 2021
7:00 AM - 11:00 AM
KI Lobby South Counter		 Registration
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM

Keynote Speaker | Felton Thomas, Jr.

Famed author Malcolm Gladwell has written extensively about how industries are struggling with the evolution of complexity in our workplaces. He argues that institutions are challenged with the transition from organizational puzzles that can be solved to mysteries that continue to bewilder them. Libraries across our country and the world are transforming themselves from traditional spaces of learning to dynamic places of innovation and creativity. This transition requires not only visionary leadership but a recognition that the industry is being asked to solve very different problems from a decade ago. This presentation will introduce the participants to three distinct areas in which public libraries traditionally solved puzzles, but are now facing mysteries. Library leaders should understand and feel comfortable with each of these evolving areas. Participants will also learn how to transition their libraries into institutions better suited to fight the deficits in their communities’ using data.
10:00 AM - 10:45 AM

Providing Great Customer Service (During a Pandemic)
Jamie Matczak, Wisconsin Valley Library Service, Wausau
The last year and a half has turned library service (and our world) upside down. Libraries have been tested and have had to pivot services and programs like never before. While most library patrons are grateful for the services the library is providing, some do become frustrated with modified or limited service “because of COVID.” How do libraries provide the best service possible in these times of high stress? Learn ways library staff can feel confident in providing customer service strategies in uncertain times.
Transitioning to a Bookstore Model:  See Ya Dewey!
Katherine Freund, Little Chute Public Library; Aubrey Laux, Little Chute Public Library; Ashley Borman, Clintonville Public Library
The presenters will discuss the planning and implementation of transitioning a standard public library organization, with Dewey numbers and author names, into a bookstore model of organization. The Little Chute Public Library began transitioning all library materials to common language and gentrification with the goal of modeling the library after a bookstore. Once completed, all fiction items will be identified by genre and sub-genre and nonfiction items will be identified by topic, using common language, without the use of Dewey numbers.
“This Could Have Been an Email”: Examining Internal Communication Rituals
Ashley McHose, Lakeshore Technical College
Library professionals are in the business of access, but when it comes to organizing and communicating internal information we still fall short. Whether it is the never-ending email threads, the department training wiki that hasn't been updated since 1999, or your fifth mind-numbing meeting of the day, established workplace communication rituals often overwhelm, confuse, and even exclude certain library staff. In this program, break through the tangled web by critically examining the interaction rituals that hold us back from true communication while discovering strategies to make workplace communications more transparent, accessible, and inclusive for all staff.
Bite-Sized Strategic Analysis and Implementation
Linda Chosa, Brown County Library, Green Bay; Emily Rogers, Brown County Library, Green Bay
Strategic analysis got you down? Does implementing large-scale organizational changes seem daunting? Learn how Brown County Library (BCL) conducted a two-year internal assessment of services and staffing to create sustainable models across a multi-branch library. BCL employed time logs, usage data, and fiscal analysis to create a budget-conscious, future-focused, plan. Presenters will share the tools used in this analysis. New staffing and scheduling models were produced, hours and services were adapted for efficiencies, and strategic new positions created. Implementation of the plan was done in bite-sized segments, allowing for transparent communication, feedback, and an understanding of organization goals.
Building Partnerships to Serve English Language Learners at the Library
Trudy Lorandos, Verona Public Library; Stacey Burkart, Verona Public Library; Becky Fabrizio, Literacy Network
Imagine you moved to a country where you do not know the language and you have a desire to learn it. Where do you go? To your local public library! Libraries are ideal centers in our communities to help newcomers make connections, build careers, and achieve education goals. The Verona Public Library has been partnering with the Literacy Network for seven years providing free English classes to adults.  The panel will share what we have learned and discuss the importance of community partners.
Hot, Hot, Hotspots!
Kathy Setter, IFLS Library System, Eau Claire; Barb Krueger, Deer Park Public Library
Internet connectivity can still be a challenge for some people; availability, affordability, and speed all affect the digital divide. Enter the library, offering hotspots for checkout to help patrons get connected. Learn how the libraries in St. Croix County, Wisconsin got funding from the county for hotspots, what went into getting them ready to circulate, and the loan rules the libraries decided to use.
How Can I Advise Without Giving Advice?
Elizabeth Manriquez, University of Wisconsin Law School Library
Today in the United States, there is an enormous gap between the need for and availability of civil legal assistance for lower- and middle-income people. Libraries can help bridge this gap. In this session, the speaker will present tools to help public librarians navigate the legal research process, effectively utilize government information, and outline cost-effective databases available to non-practitioners. She will also discuss further training options available to public librarians and successful projects across the country developed to bridge the civil justice gap in the United States.
Notable Books Marathon
Jean Anderson, South Central Library System, Madison; Helene Androski, (Ret.) UW-Madison; Eliot Finkelstein, UW-Madison; Amy Lutzke, Dwight Foster Public Library, Fort Atkinson
The annual Notable Books Marathon features librarians from across the state discussing books from ALA's Notable Books List. In addition, the panel will highlight titles from the current WLA Literary Award Committee's Outstanding Achievement List. Come and find more books to add to your TBR list!
Teens & Tech – What the Heck! A Guide to Collaborative Teen Programming
Caroline Herfindahl, Ellsworth Public Library; Valerie Spooner, Rusk County Community Library, Ladysmith; Stacey Brown, Augusta Public Library; Jenna Gilles, Chippewa Falls Public Library
Staff from libraries of varying sizes will discuss how they formed a virtual YA programming collaboration to provide monthly programs for teens. Find out how and why the group was formed, and learn about the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. Discover tips and tools that helped with the planning process and develop ideas for starting and sustaining a collaboration with other libraries. The group will share stories, provide suggestions, and talk about how it adapted for summer programming as well as plans for the future of the collaboration.
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM 1:1 Community Interview Examples & Tips for Libraries
Laura Damon-Moore, WiLS, Madison; Martín Alvarado, Madison Public Library; Jon Mark Bolthouse, Fond du Lac Public Library
In this session, attendees will hear about three different case studies for using 1:1 interviews as an information gathering method in a library or other municipal setting: 1) to learn how people currently use a city service and how that service might evolve to better suit community needs;  2) to learn about the wider community’s and individuals’ goals and aspirations, and challenges they see or experience in order to inform a library’s planning process;  3) to tell a more complete story of a community’s history through 1:1 interviews.  Along with these case studies, session organizers will offer some best practices and practical tips for conducting 1:1 interviews to support these similar yet distinct information gathering efforts.
Leadership in the Time of COVID
Jeffrey Russell, Russell Consulting, Inc.
How do you lead your library in a time of uncertainty – where COVID continues to define how we do our work and engage with our community?  What actions can we take to find the “new normal” in a world transformed by this pandemic?  What capacities should we build in our employees to prepare for the challenges ahead?  Attend this session to learn the six competencies that leaders should develop in themselves, their employees, and their trustees to successfully navigate this age of uncertainty.  We’ll explore how developing these competencies will help your library define a clear path into the future.
Digital Programming: Engaging Social Media for Top Results
Morgan Mann, Door County Library, Sturgeon Bay
Learn how a small and mighty marketing department cultivates and maximizes contributions from staff, optimizing content for Facebook, FB Groups, Creator Studio, Instagram and YouTube, and uses software and apps to increase productivity.  See how production timelines and analytics can inform future endeavors for best results. The presenter will share success stories, tips for creating engaging digital programming, examples of marketing materials used to promote events, collections, and over-arching initiatives, and learned best practices from 2020-2021.
Educating the Educators: Libraries as Partners in Quality Wisconsin Early Child Care
Shawn Wolf, Kenosha Public Library; Erin Mendoza, Kenosha Public Library
Libraries are perfectly positioned to improve outcomes for early care and education providers and children they serve. Presenters will demonstrate the need for cost-free continuing education opportunities that help providers advance their professions and improve quality of care. Participants will learn how to work with various Wisconsin agencies that ensure quality of programs. Presenters will illustrate how the “Every Child Ready to Read” initiative and experience in youth services programming provide the foundation for high-demand workshop content.
Inclusive Cataloging - It's Time to Break Some Rules!
Gina Rae, Northern Waters Library Service, Ashland; Jackee Johnson, Northern Waters Library Service, Ashland
Libraries speak of equity, diversity, and inclusion, but does your library catalog reflect those values back to your patrons? Do they see themselves reflected in the cataloging vocabulary that you are using? Not if you are limiting yourself to the rules set by the Library of Congress! Learn how a cataloging team is navigating this idea one step at a time. Leave this session with the tools you need to stop saying, “We should,” and start saying, “We are!” They don’t have all the answers, but they would love to help you begin.
Update from OverDrive: Libby, New Content, Best Practices and More
Daiva Madjar, OverDrive
Learn what's new with OverDrive! As the digital shift accelerates, serving your community with ebooks, digital audiobooks, and digital magazines is more important than ever. Hear the latest updates in store for Libby, OverDrive's expanded magazine catalog, new access models, and Marketplace tools to maximize efficiency.
We Will Always Be Here: Teen Engagement with Wisconsin's LGBTQ+ History
Kristen Whitson, Author; Jenny Kalvaitis, Author; Jenny DeRocher, La Crosse Public Library; Linda Jerome, LaCrosse Public Library
Authors Jenny Kalvaitis and Kristen Whitson will share their experiences engaging teen participants while writing We Will Always Be Here: A Guide to Exploring and Understanding the History of LGBTQ+ Activism in Wisconsin. Writing for teens and relying on teen feedback – but written during a pandemic in which schools were closed and in-person workshops were impossible – taught the presenters valuable lessons about reaching teens where they are. Librarians Linda Jerome and Jenny DeRocher will share lessons learned in engaging with teen readers in discussions about We Will Always Be Here.
12:00 PM - 1:45 PM

Luncheon with Steven Wright
Sponsored by Arrowhead Library System and Lakeshores Library System

Steven Wright will discuss his novel, Coyotes of Carthage, which was a finalist for many awards and which received strong critical praise. Steven will sign copies of his book after the presentation.