Tips and Info from DPI's May 28, 2026 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 May 28, 2026 edition:

Weekly Resources & Reminders

Hello All,  The following content is shared as provided by the organization. The DPI Bureau of Libraries does not sponsor or endorse external resources or events.

 

University of Wisconsin-Madison Free Summer Webinar Series  The UW-Madison Information School’s annual free webinar series is returning this summer! One-hour webinars (Mastering Job Interviews, Canva for Public Libraries, and more!) Thursdays (July 9, 16, 23, and 30) will take place from 12 to 1 p.m. (CDT) and will be recorded. Sign up for one or all four. Registration is now open.

 

STARnet Artificial Intelligence Education and Utilization in Public Libraries Survey  Please consider completing STARnet’s brief survey about Artificial Intelligence Education and Utilization in Public Libraries survey. Results from this survey will inform future direction for STARnet programs and training, as well as a potential pre-conference webinar at the 2027 American Library Association Conference. Please follow the link to access the survey.

 

Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) Newsletter  Check out the latest CSLP newsletter full of great information and resources, including the 2028 Vendor and Artwork survey, partnership spotlight with the IDEA Squad, the Dan Santat Summer Storytelling Challenge, manual highlights, and more!

 

Jeni Schomber Public Library Consultant Contact: jeni.schomber@dpi.wi.gov

Free Webinars from UW-Madison

Logo from UW-Madison

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Free Summer Webinar Series

Registration now open!

UW-Madison's annual free webinar series is returning this summer! We are excited to announce a line-up of four one-hour webinars taking place in July. All webinars will occur live 12:00-1:00 PM CDT and will be recorded. Sign up for one or all four!

Mastering the Library Job Interview for New Professionals

July 9, 2026

Design for Everyone! Teaching Canva in the Public Library

July 16, 2026

Curriculum Analysis for Instruction Librarians

July 23, 2026

 “Bigger Than the Day’s Work”: Building Libraries and Creating Librarians at the Wisconsin Library School, 1906-1938

July 30, 2026

Find more details and register on our website.

Registration closes at 3PM the day before each webinar. You will receive a link to watch the webinar the week before it airs.

Questions? Contact us at ce-info@ischool.wisc.edu.

News of Note from the CCBC

At the recent State Youth Services System Liaisons meeting, CCBC Director K.T. Horning shared the following news:

• The CCBC has had several in-person visits from groups of teachers, university students, and librarians this fall, including book selection groups.  If you want to schedule book selection, you can sign up here.

• CCBC Intellectual Freedom Information Services Coordinator and Librarian Extraordinaire Megan Schliesmann has worked with Monica Treptow at DPI to compile a list of resources  in response to the current challenges and public attacks against books for children and teens taking place nationally and around our state.

• CCBC Shorts will be offered from 9:00-9:30am in the Spring of 2022 on Feb 2, March 16, April 20, and May 18. Past presentations are archived and available on the CCBC’s website. Check South Central Library System's calendar page to register for these free programs..

• Due to COVID, we have not been scheduling in-person outreach visits yet; however, the CCBC librarians will be doing two online presentations highlighting CCBC Choices 2022, sponsored by South Central Library System:
• Great New Books for Birth through Grade 5 (March 31, 9:00-10am)
• Great New Books for Older Children and Teens (April 7, 2022)

• CCBC Choices will once again be published in a digital-only version, and will be available in March (paper shortages, distribution, and cost have been huge factors). Hope to go back to paper in 2023.

• De Anza Williams, a new faculty member in the UW-Madison iSchool, visited the CCBC in November, soon after moving to Madison in October.  She has a public library youth services background and for many years worked as young adult librarian and then a manager at the Nashville Public Library.  She also has a strong background in diversity, and did her doctoral research on the depiction of African American boys in young adult literature. She will teach courses in the iSchool in Children’s and Young Adult Literature, Multicultural Literature, Public Libraries, and Library Management, among other things. 

Spotlight on the CCBC

[Note: Time for a COVID-19 break to take time to appreciate a wonderous resource and staff from WI!!]

The most recent quarterly issue of On Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin- Madison's publication for alumni and friends of the University, has an excellent article on the CCBC. You get  some of its history as well as information on its ongoing work and staff.

It's a great way to celebrate the 2020 CCBC Choices and the amazing work of this Wisconsin gem.

Power Up Conference: Call for Proposals

Do you have ideas about management and leadership in Youth Services? UW-Madison, School of Library and Information Studies is pleased to offer Power Up, a brand new conference to share your exciting ideas! Gretchen Caserotti, Library Director at Meridian (ID) Library District, is kicking off our conference as the keynote speaker. The conference will take place in Madison, Wisconsin on March 30-31, 2017 and will be accepting proposals until July 31, 2016. Topics may include, but are not limited to: strategic planning, collaborations, ethics, leadership pathways, advocacy, mentorship, managing change, work/life balance, staff motivation, and innovation. Youth services librarians and staff from all over the country are invited to attend!

Please submit a 200-250 word description of your proposed session to Meredith Lowe, mclowe@wisc.edu, by July 31, 2016. Sessions at the conference will be one hour (45 minutes of presentation, 15 minutes of discussion).

Panel presentations are accepted. All selected sessions will receive one complimentary conference registration and a discount for staff members they wish to join them at the conference.

DARE to Explore Language On a Whole New Level!

On the UW-Madison campus something linguistically magical is happening!  At the Memorial Library, from November 2 - December 30, 2015, you can explore the many varied ways American use their language to communicate.  Focusing on DARE (the Dictionary of American Regional English), the exhibit explores how "there are many thousands of differences that characterize the dialect regions of the U.S."

DARE serves as a reference work that documents words, phrases, and pronunciations that vary from one place to another across the United States.  Drawing on face-to-face interviews as well as an extensive written material cache, the collection details the variations in American dialects from colonial times to the present.

Not near the Madison area?  You can explore the exhibit online from the comfort of your desk chair by visiting http://www.darewordscount.com/

Spring Continuing Ed Courses through UW-Madison SLIS

Looking for some continuing education opportunities. Perhaps consider some of these courses offered through UW-Madison's School of Library and Information Studies.

• Connecting Teens with the Best in New Teen Lit
  February 14 - March 27
  $175
  1.8 CEUs/18 LEUs
  
  
• Core Elements of Children's Services
  February 28 - May 7
  $350
  2.8 CEUs/ 28 LEUs
  
  
• Graphic Novels in the Library
  April 4-29
  $95
  1.4 CEUs/14 LEUs