Stand Up for WI Libraries

 from WLA Newsletter 3/21/25

2025-20257 State Biennial Budget Process: A Chance to "Stand Up" for Wisconsin Libraries

WLA members play a prominent role in advocating for state library aid funding.  We'd like to extend an invitation for you to get involved - and all you have to do is show up and stand up!   WLA is advocating for several items in the proposed 2025-2027 state budget, including an increase in public library system aid and cost-to-continue increases for core library services including BadgerLink, Newsline for the Blind and state resource contracts for the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library, AutoGraphics and inter-library loan access to Milwaukee Public Library and UW-Madison collections.      For more background on the 2025-2027 biennial budget process, please click here.  For a list of 2025-2027 JFC members and the libraries in their districts, click here.   Mark Your Calendar! Public Budget Hearings   Starting April 2, four public budget hearings with members of the Joint Finance Committee will take place in locations around the state.  Each session will take place from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.   The LD&L members listed below as site captains will coordinate participant recruitment and messaging, provide more detailed orientation, and select one or two speakers for each location.   All WLA members are invited to attend these public hearings.  Literally standing in a group behind your colleagues who speak earns them 5 minutes of testimony time (as opposed to only 2 minutes allotted for testimony by a person standing alone). WLA attendees who are constituents of one or more JFC members earn extra smiles!  Please get in touch with the site captains if you are available to attend one or more of the following hearings.   Plan to arrive at the site by 8:30 a.m.   Wednesday, APRIL 2 – Kaukauna Kaukauna High School, Auxiliary Gymnasium (Door AA4) 1701 County Road CE, Kaukauna 54130 WLA Site Captains: Bradley Shipps bshipps@owlsweb.org Rebecca Scherer rscherer@mcls.lib.wi.us Tracy Vreeke tvreeke@nflsoffice.org   Friday, APRIL 4 – West Allis Wisconsin State Fair Park, Exposition Center (Parking at Gate 4) 640 South 84th Street West Allis, WI 53214 WLA Site Captains: Steve Heser steve.heser@mcfls.org Pete Loeffel ploeffel@wauwatosalibrary.org Bruce Gay bgay@waukesha-wi.gov   Monday, APRIL 28 – Hayward Hayward High School Auditorium 10320 Greenwood Lane Hayward, WI 54843 WLA Site Captains: Katherine Elchert kelchert@northernwaters.org John Thompson thompson@ifls.lib.wi.us   Tuesday, APRIL 29 – Wausau Northcentral Technical College Center for Health Sciences – map/parking 1000 W. Campus Dr. Wausau, WI 54401 WLA Site Captains: Kris Adams Wendt kawendt@wvls.org Marla Sepnafski msepnafs@wvls.org

Stealthy Book Promos for Teens

In a recent blog post from YALSA's Hub blog, Megan Nigh provides suggestions on stealthy ways to entice teens to books. She writes: "Getting books into your library is one half of the equation, but the other half is getting them into the hands of your teens. Handselling can be effective, but we can’t always be there for every teen looking for their next read. So how do we engage and entice teens to pick up a book? Check out some ideas that worked for us!"

Please stop here to read the full post [Passive Book Promotion to Teens. Nigh, Megan. The Hub blog. March 21, 2025.]

Call for Your Youth Services Stories

At the YSS Board meeting on Friday, March 21, WLA Executive Director Laura Salser encouraged us to be strong advocates: "Youth Services Librarians always have wonderful stories, so I encourage you to share them now." In that spirit, we re-share the original letter from our WLA President Kathrine Clark and Library Development and Legislation Chair Peter Loeffel on the current situation at IMLS and how you can help by telling stories of how youth services have a positive impact in your community.

March 18, 2025

Greetings, WLA Members

Late last week, President Trump signed an Executive Order involving the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and other federal agencies. Original White House Executive Order

There are still unanswered questions about this order and its potential impact on federal funding for libraries nationally as well as here closer to home.

While we wait for the IMLS to release its plan of compliance with the order, WLA leadership and its Library Development & Legislation (LD&L) Committee are communicating with our partners at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, leaders within the 15 public library systems around the state, other state library associations, and the American Library Association. We will share more information as it becomes available to us.

What can you do now? A very positive thing you can do is to share a story with your federal elected officials about how Wisconsin libraries have a positive impact in your community. If possible, the story should illustrate libraries' support for literacy, school success, employment and workforce development, disaster recovery, services for veterans, etc. Let your elected officials know that federal funding helps libraries deliver essential services and ask them to protect funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Unique personalized communications using the online congressional office portals linked below will have a much greater impact than auto-signed petitions and identical pre-written statements. Your approach should be reflective of WLA's ongoing thoughtful, politically neutral legislative advocacy campaign supporting state library aid in the 2025-27 budget.

Wisconsin U.S. Senators
Senator Ron Johnson
Senator Tammy Baldwin

Wisconsin Congressional Delegation (Find your representative)
1st District - Bryan Steil
2nd District - Mark Pocan
3rd District - Derrick Van Orden
4th District - Gwen Moore
5th District - Scott Fitzgerald
6th District - Glenn Grothman
7th District - Thomas Tiffany
8th District - Tony Wied

If you have questions, please contact WLA Executive Director Laura Sauser at sauser@wisconsinlibraries.org.

Thank you for your support of Wisconsin's libraries.

Katharine Clark
WLA President

Peter Loeffel
LD&L Chair

Join the 2026 CLEL Bells Committee!

If you're interested in lively, collaborative, in-depth discussions about early literacy, CLEL Bells is the place for you!

Be part of advocating for quality children’s books that support early literacy. The English CLEL Bells Committee is recruiting new members for the 2026 award season!

What are the CLEL Bells? One of the two early literacy book awards from CLEL, the English CLEL Bell Awards are an annual recognition of five high-quality children’s books that provide excellent support of early literacy development in young children ages 0-5. The five winners are selected from a shortlist of 25 honored titles.

Come join the committee! Here’s more from our members:

• “Be prepared to fall more in love with children's books.” 

• “Do picture books have a place in your heart and your work space? They fill mine!” 

• “Get ready to think critically about early literacy and lean into great conversations.” 

• "I couldn't have had this experience at my library."

• “Where else can you dissect books with the lens of early literacy and storytime?” 

  
  

Apply now for the 2026 English CLEL Bells Committee. The application closes on March 28, 2025. All applicants will be notified by March 31, 2025.

Please contact clelbellawards@gmail.com with any questions.

Best regards,

Mary Ann Lawler

Chair, 2026 English CLEL Bells Committee

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Once or twice a month on weekends, YSS posts round-ups of ads that are sent to us or that we come across. If you have a position opening up and would like to see it on the YSS blog, please forward the job ad link/descriptions to the YSS blog at the email address listed in the header above the day's blog post.

Here is a late March listing:

North Shore Library       Youth Services Librarian

North Shore Library has an opening for a full-time youth services librarian with a special emphasis on programming for ages 0 to 18.  The Library serves approximately 27,000 residents of Bayside, Fox Point, Glendale, and River Hills in the northern suburbs of Milwaukee, and is a member of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System.  

We provide a competitive salary, benefits, and a collegial work environment where a sense of humor is a must.  The Library anticipates moving to a new facility in Bayside within the next year.  

Complete posting information is on our website.  Please submit your cover letter, resume, and three references to Haley Samuelson at haley.samuelson@mcfls.org by March 31, 2025 for consideration.  

Go to www.northshorelibrary.org/employment for more information.

Rhonda K. Gould, Library Director

North Shore Library, 6800 N. Port Washington Rd.

Glendale, WI  53217

rhonda.gould@mcfls.org     414-351-3504     northshorelibrary.org

Tips and Into from DPI's March 20 , 2025 Youth Services Newsletter

Jeni Schomber's DPI Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources is now in a cool new format!

The email newsletter is 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 March 20, 2025 edition. Happy Spring Equinox!

Hello All,

CSLP Manual Highlight - Chapter One - Getting Started

• The CSLP (Collaborative Summer Library Program) Manual is packed full of Color Our World programming ideas curated by member libraries across the country and is a great resource for embarking on a journey of art and creativity this summer! 
• Chapter One provides best practices about Early Literacy (The Five Practices, Virtual Storytime Tips, and Bilingual Storytimes), Bilingual/Spanish Programming for All Ages, Outreach to Spanish-Speaking (or ESL) Communities, Teen Programming, and so much more!
• Check with your Library System Youth Consultant for the code to access the manual.

Katherine Applegate Color Our World Writing Contest

• Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author, is the CSLP 2025 Summer Reading Champion!
• This summer parents and guardians of budding storytellers ages 8 to 12 are invited to enter the Color Our World Writing Contest. Entries are open from June 1 through July 31, 2025. 
• Read more about how your library can participate!
• The below materials are available as digital assets to print or share in newsletters:

• Katherine Applegate Summer Reading Poster 
• Color Our World Writing Contest Flyer
• Color Our World Writing Contest Bookmarks

WebJunction - Embracing Neurodiversity recorded webinar

• Embracing neurodiversity: Cultivating an inclusive workplace for neurodivergent staff
• Presented by Renee Grassi, Accessibility Consultant and Librarian

BadgerLink Bulletin

• TeachingBooks Early Literacy Toolkit - read the story here
• Teach Britannica educator resources - read the story here

National Library Week 2025: Drawn to the Library!

• Whatever draws you in, the library has something for everyone. Celebrate National Library Week, April 6 - 12, 2025.
• Visit https://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek for sample press releases, social media graphics, posters, bookmarks, and more!

Have a great weekend!

Jeni

Ask Jbrary Crowdsources Answer to Kids Tearing Down Felt Pieces

 

The marvelous Jbrary blog periodically asks readers to share their solutions to storytime conundrums.

In the most recent query, someone asked:

How do you get kids to stop running up to the felt board and tearing down the pieces in the middle of storytime? I’ve been trying to use felts but I get so defeated! I know the babies and toddlers aren’t doing it to rain on my parade, but it makes me feel like it’s a pointless. There’s gotta be tips and tricks from seasoned librarians who can help me out! 

Lindsey asked for suggestions from her readers and got lots of great ideas.

Please stop here to read the crowdsourced tips! [Kids Tearing Down Felts. Krabbenhoft, Lindsey. Jbrary blog. March 17, 2025]

Join the Library Makers Community

The Library Makers community is for people who run services and/or programs for library staff, past or current, or individuals who work with libraries, who have an interest in makerspaces and maker programming. Our community is inclusive, diverse and filled with hope and positive energy! Whether you are just starting out in the world of making or you have been at it for years, you are in a small library or big, you have a dedicated makerspace, a maker cart, or just maker programs, this is the place to collaborate and connect.

To keep Library Makers members engaged and to continue to bring value to LM, we need help from our members. We are looking for volunteers to provide leadership (in big ways and small) to keep LM growing and evolving as an integral part of the maker movement.

What’s in it for you? LM leaders say that they:

• Gain skill professionally (presenting at conferences, being tied to a nationally recognized initiative, learning new skills)
• Appreciate the time spent collaborating with colleagues across the country at various types of libraries (rural, urban, university-based, etc.)
• Love having their input matter and show up in how things change within the community that can affect the larger library field

There are four committees to choose from:

• Community building
• Sustainability
• Leadership Team
• Events & Programming

Election Information
The self-nomination form opens March 1 and closes March 31. Candidate profiles and interest statements will be shared April 25. The general election will run May 1 through May 15.

Join us in shaping the future of Library Makers—get involved in our committee elections and help drive our community forward!

Sarah French (she/her) 

Programming & Makerspace Librarian 

Irvin L. Young Memorial Library 

431 West Center Street 

Whitewater, WI 5​3190 

office: (262) 458-2782 

www.whitewaterlibrary.org 

sfrench@whitewater-wi.gov 

CCBC’s Megan Schliesmann to Retire

The CCBC shared the following news. In a time of transitions, we congratulate Megan and thank her for leadership, mentorship and insightful work at the CCBC over the years! 

Megan Schliesman to Retire After 32 Years at the CCBC

Posted on March 17, 2025

At the end of the UW-Madison spring semester, Megan Schliesman will retire from her role as Assistant Director/Librarian at the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC). Megan began her career at the CCBC in July of 1993 following her 1992 graduation from the UW-Madison School of Library and Information Science (now the iSchool). In addition to her work managing many administrative aspects of the CCBC, Megan’s talents as a writer and keen reader solidified her capacity as an expert in literature for children and teens. Megan has co-authored CCBC Choices, the CCBC’s annual best-of-the-year list, since 1993.

Over the years, thousands of Wisconsin librarians and teachers have benefited from Megan’s insightful recommendations of new, high-quality, and diverse titles. A well-known and respected speaker, Megan has presented at countless Wisconsin conferences for professional organizations, such as the Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association, the Wisconsin Library Association, and the Wisconsin State Reading Association. Webinars, radio shows, and in-person workshops are also venues where Megan’s book recommendations have been a valuable resource, in addition to innumerable tours and presentations given at the CCBC to preservice teachers and librarians and other UW students. 

Megan’s impact has been felt beyond the borders of Wisconsin. Nationally recognized as a speaker and leader, Megan has been actively involved with the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) throughout her career. Megan served as the co-chair of the ALA/ALSC 2022 Morris Seminar, chaired the Children’s Literature Legacy Award Committee (née Wilder), served on the ALA/ALSC 2005 Newbery Award Committee, and more.

Megan Schliesman’s name is synonymous with the topic of intellectual freedom as it relates to the right to read in Wisconsin schools and libraries. Since 1978, the CCBC has provided free, confidential, and unbiased intellectual freedom information to librarians and teachers facing challenges to children’s and young adult materials around the state of Wisconsin. Megan has managed the CCBC’s Intellectual Freedom Information Service since 2002. She has been as much of a champion for strong policies and procedures as she has been a confidential consultant to professionals dealing with complicated book challenge situations. One of the most significant contributions Megan has made to the CCBC’s Intellectual Freedom Information Service is the development of the What IF… Forum. A place to ask questions before (or when) a challenge occurs, the online question-and-answer forum helps teachers, school and public librarians, and others in the library and education fields to think through what IF principles look like in practice. This free resource is emblematic of Megan’s creativity in responding to the needs of professionals in the field.

Megan’s retirement will leave a sizable hole in the heart of the CCBC staff, a small and highly collaborative unit. Megan’s talent with the written word, penchant for thoughtful documentation, sturdy leadership and reliability, research skills and resourcefulness, and passion for identifying and recommending the very best in books for children and teens will be deeply missed. In addition to being a brilliant librarian in service to the state of Wisconsin, she is a tremendous colleague and friend. 

The transformative power of a book in the hands of a young reader cannot be overstated, and in her decades at the CCBC, Megan has said that nothing brings her greater joy than to assist an adult with finding a book that they are excited to share with a student or child. 

To honor Megan’s career, please consider making a secure, tax-deductible donation to The Ginny Moore Kruse Intellectual Freedom Fund to help sustain the CCBC’s work in the area of Intellectual Freedom.

To share a personal note or offer best wishes, please contact CCBC Librarian Merri Lindgren at mlindgren@education.wisc.edu.

Aiee! Storytime Meltdowns

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

Anyone can have a bad day - even toddlers. When the bad day coincides with storytime, what are some strategies to help keep the storytime going and help the child and parent cope with the meltdow, Recently Jaime Eastman on the ALSC blog shared some ideas.

Jaime writes: "Meltdowns. While we hope they won’t happen at the library, we know they probably will. Ask any storytime veteran: at some point, screaming, crying, or some other manner of meltdown will visit your storytime. What can you do? Today, I’m sharing five tips from my own storytime experience."

Stop here to read her tips. [Meltdowns: Expecting the Unexpected in Storytime. Eastman, Jaime. ALSC blog. March 2, 2025.]