Courier best practices

Please remind staff that put items in courier:

• Only use removeable tape when attaching paperwork to materials. We’ve received reports of regular tape being used, which can damage items.
• If an item includes paperwork, it is appropriate to use one rubber band around the item to prevent paperwork from falling out.

Leadership Development Institute

The Wisconsin Library Association will be accepting applications from July 7-28 for the 2025/2026 Leadership Development Institute.   The institute:

• Runs from November 2025 through June 2026, with a mix of in-person and online sessions (online sessions will be recorded to fit your schedule).
• Facilitated by seasoned professionals from in and outside the library sector
• Covering topics like effective leadership, collaborative decision-making, project management, building a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, and more
• Building relationships and connections with a cohort of people from around the state in a variety of library types and sizes

Cost:  $545 for members, $620 for non-members

If this sounds excellent but you are reluctant to apply because of finances, you can apply for a scholarship from IFLS to help you with the costs.  Please note, there are limited funds for scholarships, and limited spots in the LDI.

You can apply for an IFLS scholarship by July 11:  https://forms.office.com/r/wbxZWU9W3n Applicants will be notified of their status by July 15, and will still have to apply for a spot in the Leadership Development Institute.  IFLS will reimburse the library for costs.

If you have questions, please contact Leah.

Public Records Notice: it’s required

Does your library have a posted notice? Did you know it is required? If you don’t have one now it is time to post your notice.  Below are the requirements and an example from Milwaukee Public Library. 

Here’s an excerpt from the Wisconsin Public Records Law Compliance Guide:

Records Policies

An authority (except members of the legislature and members of any local governmental body) must adopt, display, and make available for inspection and copying at its offices a notice about its public records policies. The authority’s notice must include:

• A description of the organization.
• The established times and places at which the public may obtain information and access to records in the organization’s custody, or make requests for records, or obtain copies of records.
• The costs for obtaining records.
• The identity of the legal custodian(s).
• The methods for accessing or obtaining copies of records.
• For authorities that do not have regular office hours, any advance notice of intent requirement to inspect or copy records.
• The identification of each position that constitutes a local public office or a state public office.

Here is an example of a public records notice from Milwaukee Public Library.

Trustee Training Week: Aug 18-21

Maybe there’s a way you could integrate this great content into your board meetings. I made a printable pdf if that works better for you to share the information.

Wisconsin Catalogers Repository | A platform for Wisconsin public libraries to collect a baseline of best practices and standards

June 30 is the end of our 3-year LSTA Cooperative cataloging grant. We’ve created best practices for cataloging in public libraries. The grant has allowed us to gather lots of data from our systems, offer training on authority control and using MarcEdit, fund systems in establishing relationships with authority control vendors, fund small programming projects to create automated bib records and a cataloging app. We are also finishing up best practices for database maintenance standards and shared local subject and genres recommendations. It’s been an amazing group of smarty pants to work with. All of our recommendations are/will end up on https://wicatalog.org/

Passport update

Yes, you can allow participants to request a code by email. Mark that on your tally sheet in the phone area. Sorry I forgot to add that. Not many people take advantage of it, but those that do appreciate the opportunity. Thanks!

On the Calendar

• Just added: Teenagers Part 1: How to Manage Problematic Behavior (Homeless Academy), Thu Jul 10th 1:00pm – 2:00 pm
• Spotlight: Small Spaces, Big Opportunity–Reorganizing to Increase Circulation (in Amery), Tue Jul 1st 9:30am – 3:00pm