All the Reasons to Attend Wild Wisconsin Winter

 

Back for it's 15th year, the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference is coming up on January 21-22, 2026 with :

• 2 Days of Sessions
• Topic Tracks with 3 sessions per track: Management, Collection Development, Programming, & Smorgasbord
• Opening & Closing Sessions

Here are some of the many reasons you should carve out some time to attend:

1. It's free and virtual!

• It's easy to register, stop here
• Sign up for as many sessions as you would like! All sessions will be recorded and captioned.

2. There's lots for youth services!

• Managing Library Collections
• Wednesday, January 21 at 10:30 AM 
• Join Children’s and YA Consultant Kym Powe for an exploration of inclusive collection development via collection audits and sustainable weeding practices. This session will go beyond the basics to examine the full spectrum of library collections, with a focus on ensuring representation, relevance, and community connection

• Promoting Your Collection, Programs and Services with Better Book Displays
• Wednesday, January 21 at 2:30 PM
• Join Passive Readers’ Advisory expert Lila Denning for an hour of all the ways that you can promote your library’s collection with better book displays. Book displays are a fun, creative marketing technique that any library can use.  She will show you how to create book displays that will draw readers in and help them to find those titles that don’t get enough attention.

• RISE (Rally Incredible Simple & Easy) Programming
• Thursday, January 22 at 9:00 AM
• Looking to boost your programming calendar without burning out?  This high-energy, idea-packed session delivers a fast-paced mix of plug-and-play program ideas for children, family, and adults.  Walk away with at least 20 creative, cost-effective, and easy-to implement programs you can launch with minimal prep and maximum community impact, in addition to ideas about how to scale the programs up or down based on your library and community needs.

• Doing Nothing to Become a Better Human
• Thursday, January 22 at 9:00 AM
• The act of purposefully slowing down and doing less has been proven to boost creativity, prevent burnout, and promote the ability to cope with stress. In this session, you will learn about the benefits of doing nothing according to researchers, artists, and more. This session is based on a nationally recognized university course called “Doing Nothing,” and will explain how stepping away from technology and allowing yourself to be bored can encourage deeper thinking, increased empathy, and better overall health.

• No One Came to My Program: Recovering from Poor Attendance and Other Program Failures
• Thursday, January 22 at 10:30 AM
• When a program fails, it's easy to feel like a failure yourself - but there are ways to recover. Children's Librarian, Chelsey Roos, will discuss common types of program failures, what causes them, and how to regroup when something goes wrong. Attendees will come away with active strategies to build stronger, more flexible programs that can rebound even in the face of disaster.

• Stronger Together: Building Community Partnerships that Strengthen, Not Strain Library Programming
• Thursday, January 22 at 1:00 PM
• Truly impactful library programming partnerships go beyond surface-level collaboration—they are built on mutual benefit, shared purpose, and deep understanding of community needs. This webinar will guide library staff through the process of creating and sustaining community partnerships that are meaningful, strategic, and effective.

• Book Talk 101: Engage, Excite, and Empower Readers
• Thursday, January 22 at 1:00 PM
• As a librarian, you already understand stories—now it's time to share that magic! Learn to create quick, compelling, and irresistible book talks that captivate your audience in under a minute with Youth Services Coordinator, Terry Ehle. Whether or not you've read the book, you'll learn the skills to confidently present a title and make it come alive.

3. You could win a gift card!

• In honor of the conference's 15th anniversary, with 15 public library systems supporting it, there will be 15 giveaways of $15 gift cards to bookshop.org! 
• The more sessions you attend live, the more chances you have to win! Winners will be announced at Post-Conference Recap on January 27, but do not need to be present at the recap to win.

For more information and to register visit: https://www.wildwiscwinterweb.com/

Tips and Info from DPI's December 18, 2025 Youth Services Newsletter

 Jeni Schomber's DPI Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources is an email newsletter chockfull of great resources we've come to rely on. If you are a WI youth library staffer and you don't receive this weekly missive in your email inbox, please contact Jeni (jennifer.schomber@dpi.wi.gov) to be placed on the list!

Here is the December 18, 2025 edition:

 

 

Hello All,  Check out these library youth services resources and reminders!  2026 Programming and Activity Count Tracker  This workbook can be used to track programs and activities throughout the year, and prepare program, activity counts, attendance, and participation for Sections III and XIII of the Annual Report.  Visit Wisconsin Public Library Annual Report for more information.  Use BadgerLink for Readers’ Advisory  BadgerLink’s readers’ advisory resources can bring you up to speed on the best books of 2025.  View the Readers’ Advisory Story  Wisconsin Public Library Standards Steering Committee Work Begins  Read what topics led their first meeting discussion as they begin the review and revisions of the Wisconsin Public Library Standards.  View the Standards Story.  CSLP Annual Slogan (2029) and Theme (2030) Survey  The Collaborative Summer Library Program survey is open! Please take a moment to fill out the survey and make your recommendations for the 2029 Slogan (for the Nature theme) and the 2030 Theme.  This survey is open to all libraries in the country, so please feel free to share it with staff at your library.  The deadline to submit your recommendations is Monday, February 2, 2026.   Save the Date! CSLP Building Community Based Summers application opens soon!  The Collaborative Summer Library Program is excited to launch a third national cohort of Building Community Based Summers in Spring 2026.  BCBS is designed to help member libraries identify the “whys” behind their summer services, build strategies to engage community voices, and create and provide inclusive summer services for all members of their communities. The spring 2026 cohort will gather for online learning sessions once weekly for 6 consecutive weeks in March-April 2026.   There is no charge to participate. Applications will be open from Monday, January 5 through Monday, January 26, 2026.  2026 Wisconsin Public Libraries CE Topics Survey  Help shape 2026-2027 Continuing Education offerings for Wisconsin Public Library Systems!  Library System CE Consultants are planning continuing education events for spring 2026 through spring 2027, and they would love your input. Your feedback helps them offer training that truly meets the needs of public library staff in their systems, regions, and across the state.  Take the CE Topic Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DCDCWQ2  The deadline to complete the survey is January 15, 2026.  This will be the last Weekly Resources and Reminders email for 2025. The next one will arrive the week of January 5, 2026. I hope that you are able to find peace and joy in the upcoming Holiday season.   Jeni Schomber  Public Library Consultant  The DPI does not sponsor or endorse external resources or events. They are provided for your consideration only.  Contact: jeni.schomber@dpi.wi.gov

Storytime is essential

Photo by Alejandro Barba on Unsplash

"Storytime is essential." This quote from an article in The Horn Book  caught my eye recently as I was flipping through the magazine. When we're in the weekly grind of storytime, it's easy to forget that. It's easy to get stuck in the monotonous routine of  nursery rhymes, movement activities, picture books, and puppets. Every once in a while it's nice to be reminded of how important what we do is to the community we serve. 

I want to share a story with you about a time I was sweetly reminded of what we are truly doing when we serve the families we serve. There was a young girl, we'll call her Ann. Ann came to storytime every week, and never spoke a word. Her mother told me that she didn't speak any English, so they came to storytime to help her learn, and to have her be around other kids. For months they came and Ann would smile and bop along to music, but still didn't speak. One day about three months after they started coming, we were ending storytime with bubbles (as we always do) and Ann yelled out as loud as her little lungs would allow, "BUBBLES!" It was the highlight of my year. It was the first English word I heard her speak, and from there she just kept talking. 

Her family moved recently, but her mom wrote a card to the youth librarians before she went she left a card saying, "You are literally her first teacher and through your storytimes she learned a lot. Now she can read and always loves bubbles, thanks to you." What an incredible reminder of the impact we as librarians have on the kids in our libraries. 

Do you have a story to share about a time when you felt the love? A compliment someone gave you, or a time that you could see the difference you were making? Let's end 2025 sharing some of that love with each other!

[Storytime Hits. Peterson, Hannah. The Horn Book. January/February 2026.]

Teen Book Rec Templates

Rachel Strolle

Refresh your reader's advisory for teens with these awesome recommendation templates from Rachel Strolle. In a recent Teen Librarian Toolbox post, Rachel includes everything you need to create and update teen reader's advisory booklets at your library and some tips/tricks for how she does her booklets.  

To read the whole post and get access to the templates, visit: https://teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2025/12/02/read-rec-rachel-template-for-readers-advisory-booklets/.

[Read Rec Rachel: Template for Reader’s Advisory Booklets. Strolle, Rachel.  Teen Librarian Toolbox blog. SLJ. December 2, 2025.]

Six Seven

Photo by Haberdoedas on Unsplash

I'd like to share a story with you. Through a wonderful continuous donation, our library is able to invite every second grade student in our school district to come to the library for a field trip. They get a special wallet, can get a library card, spend an hour with us learning about the library, and hopefully leave with a few new favorite books. During one of these visits we had three classes visiting at once. Now, I was standing in front of the room, doing some quick math in my head to figure out how many students there were in the room. There were two classes with 23 students and one with 21. I proudly said to these kids, "there are 67 of you visiting the library today." They absolutely lost it! They spent a full minute doing the whole 6 7 hand thing. They were so fast, I didn't stand a chance. And, let me tell you, I don't think they'll ever forget that visit. Honestly, neither will I. 

In an article from Torrey Maldonado, he says, "my saying 'six seven' was a unifier." And, he's so right. The kids in that room were unified, and the fact that I just took it all in, unified me with them as well. Maldonado goes on to say, "using 'six seven' can take us into common ground with young people." He encourages adults to use it, and he himself uses it in both his teaching and writing. Could creating a connection with a child be as simple as this nonsense slang term? Maybe not, but it's a start. 

To read the full article from School Library Journal visit here.

[Not Gonna Lie, "Six Seven" and Slang Low-key gets Kids Attention. Campbell, E. December 8, 2025. pearlandrubys.slj.com] 

https://pearlsandrubys.slj.com/2025/12/08/not-gonna-lie-six-seven-and-slang-low-key-gets-kids-attention/

Crayola Hosts Creativity Week!

Photo from crayola.com

If you're looking for a fun and free way to inspire creativity, Crayola has an idea! Creativity week kicks off on January 26th. Libraries that register will have access to 7 days of resources ready for you to use to spark some creativity with your students or patrons. 

"Educators know that kids are naturally curious, and they need to put their imaginations into action. When we nurture children's creativity, we give them a boost to reach their full potential and embrace innovative thinking." 

Learn more about creativity week
here.

Tips and Info from DPI's December 11, 2025 Youth Services Newsletter

Jeni Schomber's DPI Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources is an email newsletter chockfull of great resources we've come to rely on. If you are a WI youth library staffer and you don't receive this weekly missive in your email inbox, please contact Jeni (jennifer.schomber@dpi.wi.gov) to be placed on the list!

Here is the December 11, 2025 edition:

 

Hello All, Check out these library youth services resources and reminders!  WiLSWorld Shorts: Take It Outside! Creative Library Programming in Outdoor Spaces  It might be cold outside now, but we’re dreaming of sunshine, story time under the trees, programs on the patio, and chalk art on the sidewalk!    Join us on Friday, January 23rd at 1:00 pm CT for a fun and inspiring webinar all about how libraries are using outdoor spaces to host creative, engaging programs.   Register to attend.   2026 Summer Teen Internship Informational Webinar  Registration for the DPI Bureau of Libraries Teen Internship informational webinar at 10 a.m., January 30, 2026, is open.  View the Teen Internship story on the WILibraries for Everyone blog.  Boosting Preschool Readiness: A Librarian’s Impact with PBS KIDS Resources  At Mead Public Library in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, families and children are getting ready for preschool – together. 2025 Wisconsin Librarian of the Year, Alison Loewen, developed the Ready, Set, PreK program designed for caregivers to help their children, and themselves, prepare for the first big day of preschool. The toolkit contains an activity book with activity suggestions, booklists, and more.   Interested in a FREE pdf of the activity book that you can use at your library? Fill out this PBS Wisconsin Education form and indicate in the notes field that you are interested in the Ready, Set, PreK Activity Book.   Talking Teen Services – Upcoming Webinars  Seeing Our Unseen Caregiving Youth – Tuesday, January 13, 2026,  at 12 p.m. CST - Caregiving youth who provide care for adults and/or younger children in their families, households, and communities often go unseen by professionals working in settings like public and school libraries. We ask “How do I get teens into the library?” instead of asking what responsibilities teens have at home that prevent them from visiting the library. During this session, our panel of experts and caregivers will help us learn more about how to better see these unseen young people.    How Could We Serve Caregiving Youth? - Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 12 p.m. CST - Through large and small group discussion, let’s come together to consider what shifts we could make to our spaces, systems, services, and programs that will allow us to meet some of the needs of caregiving youth and those in their care. From simple things we could change tomorrow, to big dreams with potentially big impacts on our organizations and communities, we can share in advancing our goal to serve all young people through our public and school libraries.  Participants may want to view the recording of the January 13th panel before this event for additional background information.  STARnet Science Across America  As America celebrates its 250-year anniversary, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and STAR Net have launched a new campaign to help libraries highlight the history of scientific achievement in our country, and the local connections to science in our communities. SCIENCE ACROSS AMERICA, the newest campaign from Spark of Science@ My Library, invites libraries to showcase local scientific advances and scientists, engage your communities with focused Community Dialogues, and host educational and inspirational activities that shine a light on the past, present, and future of science in our lives.  The deadline to apply is December 27, 2025. For more information, visit the STARnet Community blog post.   Jeni Schomber  Public Library Consultant  The DPI does not sponsor or endorse external resources or events. They are provided for your consideration only. Contact: jeni.schomber@dpi.wi.gov

Celebrate National Library Lovers Month with PBS Wisconsin

Did you know that February is National Library Lovers Month? It’s true! While PBS Wisconsin Education loves to collaborate with and celebrate the amazing learning happening in libraries and library programs all year long, they are excited to celebrate  library lovers month with a special workshop connecting PBS resources and library programming for school-age learners.

PBS Wisconsin invites all who work in or with a public library in Wisconsin in a role serving learners in grades 3-12 (ages 8-18+), to their PBS Loves Libraries workshop to connect with their team, with colleagues, and with free multimedia resources you can use. 

Workshop Details

    Date & Time: February 13, 2026, 12:15 PM - 2:30 PM

    Location: Fitchburg, WI (address to be shared in confirmation)

    Good to Knows:

• You’ll get to explore high-quality, free-to-use, multimedia resources made here in Wisconsin!
• You’ll get to chat with colleagues from public libraries in Wisconsin about their program ideas while enjoying coffee, tea, and cocoa! ☕
• You’ll leave with fun swag, connections, and info about resources you can plug into your library programming.

Interested in attending?  Fill out this form by February 2, 2026. 

Please feel free to contact Mia Forslund at mia.forslund@pbswisconsin.org with any questions about this opportunity!

The Genius Files: Will It Waffle?

Today's genius teen programming idea comes from Rebecca Van Dan at Eager Free Public Library... 

Photo from Amazon.com

Will It Waffle?! 

Based on the eponymous book, Will It Waffle by Daniel Shumski, Rebecca asked her Teen Advisory Board for ideas on what they wanted to try to waffle. 

Here's what Rebecca had to say... "The teens suggested some weirder things that didn't turn out, but it was still fun to experiment. We had 2 waffle irons going: one for savory, one for sweet. The book had some good recommendations to make some of the gooey stuff work like adding panko bread crumbs to the mac and cheese before waffling.  

The teens did suggest some things that would have been super messy—for 2 things that would have been super gooey, I responded they were welcome to try it, but then they'd be in charge of cleaning the waffle maker afterwards. (That made them brainstorm ideas how they could alter the recipe to be not so messy.)  They absolutely LOVED this program!"

If you have any additional questions on this fun program, feel free to email Rebecca!

Tips and Info from DPI's December 3, 2025 Youth Services Newsletter

Jeni Schomber's DPI Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources is an email newsletter chockfull of great resources we've come to rely on. If you are a WI youth library staffer and you don't receive this weekly missive in your email inbox, please contact Jeni (jennifer.schomber@dpi.wi.gov) to be placed on the list!

Here is the December 3, 2025 edition:

View as a webpage  /  Share     Hello All,  Check out these library youth services resources and reminders!  CSLP Swag Bag Winners!  Congratulations to Natalie (Slinger Community Library), Annette (Tomahawk Public Library), Kirbie (Deerfield Public Library), and Lara (Stephenson Public Library)!  Each library will receive Unearth A Story swag (pencils, bookmarks, stickers, and more!) courtesy of Collaborative Summer Library Program.  CSLP Newsletter  Check out the latest Collaborative Summer Library Program newsletter full of great information about the 2026 Summer Symposium (Thursday, December 4, 2025 - you can still register to attend!), new items in the CSLP shop, and the Color Our World Annual Survey Report.  Wild Wisconsin Winter Webinar Conference – Registration is open!  Registration is now open for the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference. This is a free two day virtual conference taking place on January 21st and 22nd. It includes two full days of informative sessions and opening speakers based on the tracks of management, collection development, programming, small libraries, and more!    Learn more about the conference and register for individual sessions here.  Friends of the CCBC Book Sale  Friday, December 5, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 6, from 8:00 to 11 a.m. The final hour on Saturday is a bag sale!  This sale includes thousands of new and gently used books for children and teens.  All proceeds benefit the Friends of the CCBC, Inc., which supports the work of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, a library serving pre-service and practicing librarians and teachers across Wisconsin.   Please visit https://ccbcfriends.org/book-sale/ for more information.  Space Science Institute: Science Across America  As America celebrates its 250-year anniversary in 2026, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and STAR Net are launching a new campaign to help libraries highlight the history of scientific achievement in our country and the local connections to science in our communities.   SCIENCE ACROSS AMERICA, the newest campaign from Spark of Science@ My Library, invites libraries to showcase local scientific advances, engage communities in a discussion about how local science is relevant to their lives with focused Community Dialogues, and host educational and inspirational activities that shine a light on the past, present, and future of science in our lives.   All materials are free to participating libraries. Learn more on the Application Page. We are looking for at least two libraries from every state and territory to participate.   Applications are due by December 27th, 2025.  Jeni Schomber Public Library Consultant  The DPI does not sponsor or endorse external resources or events. They are provided for your consideration only. Contact: jeni.schomber@dpi.wi.gov