Weekly Digest: Gov Evers in Cumberland, advocacy, reminders and opportunities

by | Nov 10, 2022 | digest

Hello! This week’s packed!

Governor Evers Visits Cumberland

While visiting the Mainstreet Bounceback Grant recipients in Cumberland on Tuesday, October 18, Governor Tony Evers toured the Thomas St. Angelo Public Library. The staff informed the Governor of the library’s community programming and outreach services. Governor Evers met with patrons as well. The Norby family was excited to pose for a photo. (Copied from their newsletter. Great work, Thomas St. Angelo staff!)

  A happy couple holding small children next to smiling Gov. Evers

Ramp up your advocacy efforts!

If you don’t currently build advocacy into your library work schedule, now is a great time to start! 2023 is a funding year in Wisconsin, and even small advocacy tasks have impact. Watch for regular advocacy emails from Reb. Questions can go to John (thompson@ifls.lib.wi.us) or Reb (kilde@ifls.lib.wi.us).

Save the date: Library Legislative Day is Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

Two advocacy resources from IFLS

  • Advocacy 101 with Jim Tripp and Rebecca Kilde (presented earlier this year)
  • Coming up Dec 7: Session 3 of the Reluctant Library Advocate will be a recap of earlier sessions, pulling together advocacy tips and strategies, with an opportunity to share experiences. (Session 2 is next week, Nov 16. Contact Leah about space availability. langby@ifls.lib.wi.us)

Delivery Study and Reporting Form 

Reminder to please send in your delivery study form if you haven’t already! Email is the fastest route, but you can pop your study in the bins as well. Katelyn will be contacting libraries with missing forms starting Monday, November 14.  

Thank you everyone for utilizing the Delivery Reporting Form! This has made the handling of service issues far easier and streamlined. The form is currently located as an alert on the IFLS webpage, but with the decrease in issues the form will be moving to a new home. It will be exclusively located under the delivery tab on the website. On the IFLS website, click on the header “For IFLS Libraries”, then on the “Delivery” icon. Click the “Service Issue Reporting Form”button on the top of the page. You can also bookmark the form on your browser for fast access! The form will no longer be an alert on the website starting Monday, November 14. 

Any questions, contact Katelyn (noack@ifls.lib.wi.us).  

Money corner

Libraries Transforming Communities grants

Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities.

To be eligible, a library must have a legal service area population of 25,000 or less and be located at least five miles from an urbanized area, in keeping with Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) definitions of small and rural libraries.

ALA is now accepting applications for grants to be distributed over the next three years ranging from $10,000 to $20,000. ALA will accept applications from November 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023.

Participating libraries will first conduct community input-gathering sessions to assure that their work aligns with local needs. Libraries will be required to identify the primary audience they are hoping to reach (e.g., homebound seniors, children with autism, Deaf community members) and facilitate a community conversation with the impacted populations in order to guide improvement of the library’s services. Grantees would then use the funds to create services or improve their facilities based on the needs identified by their audience.

Penguin Random House Grants for Small Libraries

Through the generosity of Penguin Random House, we are pleased to announce this grant opportunity for small, rural libraries nationwide! This grant is available to libraries that meet both the IMLS definition for small libraries (a service population of 25,000 or fewer) and the definition for rural libraries (libraries located 5 or more miles from the nearest town of 25k or more). Applicants may request:

  •  One (1) monetary grant in support of a community-oriented project for up to $1,000.
    OR
  • An in-kind grant donation of up to $1,000 in equivalent value to support a circulating collection in your library.

Applications must be submitted by November 28, 2022. Notifications of funding decision will be sent to applicants by January 27, 2023. Funded projects must be completed by December 31, 2023. Project reports must be submitted by February 1, 2024.

The program will award grants to libraries that demonstrate a true need. Monetary grants are not limited to literacy and may be used for everything from library programming and books to resources like hotspots that help community members access important information. Libraries seeking support for digital collections should request a monetary grant.

ALA Survey (forwarded by John)

I hope you are all feeling refreshed and inspired after last week’s WLA Conference. While at the DPI booth, I spoke with a Reference Librarian who asked if I would share a survey with Wisconsin Library Systems.

ALA-RUSA (https://www.ala.org/rusa/) has a newly-formed subcommittee: User Services in Public Libraries. The charge of the subcommittee is to study, promote, and support the role of reference and user services in public libraries.

They have just put together a short survey to help identify needs and interests of reference workers in public library settings. It takes about five minutes to complete. Please feel free to share this with your member libraries. Your participation is greatly appreciated!Here’s the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScG9cIk-8LkxbQhpNouAU5o7FrxhTbCa5BixgtoGB-OLbCgTg/viewform

  • Jeni Schomber, Public Library Consultant jennifer.schomber@dpi.wi.gov
  • Library Services Team, Division for Libraries and Technology, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Coming up

On the IFLS calendar

  • Tue Nov 15th 10:00am – 11:00am: The Reluctant Library Advocate, Session 2 (contact Leah for availability. langby@ifls.lib.wi.us)
  • Wed Nov 16th 1:00pm – 2:00pm: Youth Services Virtual Check-In (School Age Kids)
  • Thu Nov 17th 10:00am – 11:00am: Webmaster Office Hours
  • Fri Nov 18th 10:00am – 1:00pm: MORE Directors Council meeting
  • Wed Dec 7th 10:00am – 11:00am: The Reluctant Library Advocate, Session 3

At Superior Public Library

The eleventh annual Lake Superior Libraries Unsymposium will be held in-person this year on Friday, January 13, 2023, from 1-4:30 p.m. at Superior Public Library in Superior, Wisconsin! We hope you’ll join us for an afternoon of conversation, collaboration, and connection! The Unsymposium is free and open to everyone.  Registration is open now!

What’s an “unsymposium,” you ask? At our Mid-winter Unsymposium, we turn the idea of a “conference” upside down! Rather than inviting speakers to talk about predetermined topics related to a specific theme, unsymposium attendees brainstorm discussion topics and then vote for their favorites!

You can suggest discussion topics when you register, or you can suggest them at the event. After collecting all of the suggested topics, everybody in attendance votes for their favorites, and then we break into small groups for discussion. At our Unconference, you determine the conversation!

Sign up for our mailing list, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or visit our website for updates.

  • When: Friday, January 13, 2023, 1 – 4:30 pm
  • Where: Superior Public Library, 1530 Tower Avenue, Superior, WI 54880
  • Registration: Now open!
  • Cost: Only your time!
  • QUESTIONS? Contact us!

You made it to the end of the email! Here’s your prize. Have a great weekend.

Send any submissions for weekly digest to Reb: kilde@ifls.lib.wi.us.