What Kind of Collaborator Are You?

In the spirit of work at the national level through ALA’s State Ecosystem Initiative and the new Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit done through collaborative efforts of AASL, YALSA, and ALSC, WEMTA, WLA, and DPI are working together to support and foster communications and collaborations among Wisconsin public and school librarians in order to better support the communities we serve. Each quarter we will share a resource, strategy, or example with you that could be used as a talking point in your community. Please use these ideas to initiate or continue to build relationships with public and school librarians.

Supporting Collaboration Survey - The Results are In!

Beginning with interviews at the WLA Conference last fall and continuing with an online survey open through winter 2020, 90 public and school librarians shared their thoughts with Connecting Wisconsin Libraries about collaboration in their communities. It was encouraging to see that 95% of those surveyed had found an opportunity to collaborate with their public or school library colleagues. And, we were certainly not surprised to find that the greatest challenge to successful collaborations was finding the time to make the work happen.

Please view our infographic, What Kind of Collaborator are You?, to find out more about the data collected. You will also find some helpful hints for getting collaboration started in your community. 

We would like to thank all those who participated in the survey. The feedback has led to powerful conversations and great ideas for how to build our community moving forward. Look for more exciting opportunities to connect with your public and school colleagues in the near future.

This message brought to you through the collaboration of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and DPI School and Public Libraries. If you are interested in working on future tidbits or have other suggestions for collaborations, please contact Marge Loch-Wouters (WLA) or Raquel Rand (WEMTA) .

Back to School Collaboration

In the spirit of work at the national level through ALA’s State Ecosystem Initiative and the new Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit done through collaborative efforts of AASL, YALSA, and ALSC, WEMTA, WLA, and DPI are working together to support and foster communications and collaborations among Wisconsin public and school librarians in order to better support the communities we serve. Each quarter we will share a resource, strategy, or example with you that could be used as a talking point in your community. Please use these ideas to initiate or continue to build relationships with public and school librarians.

When thinking beyond Summer Reading Program promotion, how often are we public librarians in the schools? How often are we school librarians present in the public library? Finding simple strategies to engage throughout the year can foster better relationships between school and public libraries that benefit the entire community. What’s our first step? Know our contact at the school/library so that you have a go-to person for communication and collaboration!

Ways to break the ice:

• Set up a breakfast meeting to chat, share information and learn about each other
• Stop by and visit the school library or public library and chat with colleagues; get to know their space
• Ask how you can help your colleague
• Invite a school or public library colleague along for a road trip to the CCBC to look at books or attend a book sale

Ways to engage: 

• Public and school collaborative library presentations at school faculty meetings and/or public library staff meetings throughout the year (Key: Keep it short!)
• Sharing important dates in advance (testing; big programs for either organization; closed dates; etc)
• Co-teach a library resources class during a professional development day 

Extending engagement:

• Offer to do a program for your public library and promote it with the kids at your school
• Offer to lead a story time/author study at the school and/or public library
• Offer to come to classes during Poetry month or at another time to do mini-popup booktalks
• Consider developing a mutual event (literacy night; reading carnival; book club; cooperative winter reading program) and plan it together

The key is to open the conversation, listen, and see where opportunities lie to strengthen service to families in our communities. Anytime is a great time to start collaborating with our peers in the public or school library!

This message brought to you through the collaboration of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and DPI School and Public Libraries. If you are interested in working on future tidbits or have other suggestions for collaborations, please contact Marge Loch-Wouters (WLA) or Micki Uppena (WEMTA) .

We Are Warriors Fighting Summer Slide

In the spirit of work at the national level through ALA’s State Ecosystem Initiative and the new Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit done through collaborative efforts of AASL, YALSA, and ALSC, WEMTA, WLA, and DPI are working together to support and foster communications and collaborations among Wisconsin public and school librarians in order to better support the communities we serve. Each quarter we will share a resource, strategy, or example with you that could be used as a talking point in your community. Please use these ideas to initiate or continue to build relationships with public and school librarians.

Click here for Full Size Graphic

We all know “summer slide” can affect school-age children during the summer months – especially children who lack access to books. Schools and public libraries are powerful partners to help engage kids both prior to and throughout the summer.  Summer learning, summer reading, opportunities for discovery, experimentation and exploration are all ways libraries can support youth and families during vacation time.

Here are a few ways to collaborate between school and public library peers and support kids in their summer learning adventures:

• Work with your schools to create a summer lunch site for children at the public library. This an opportunity to present both active and passive programs for families to engage in while at the library. There are several libraries that have already put this in place, i.e. Neenah Public Library, T.B. Scott Free Library (2019 will be their first summer).

• Create summer learning adventures with kids at the public library– and include not just active programs but passive programs that families can engage in any time they come to the library: STEM programs; coding; discovery stations; literacy areas (word games; puzzles; challenges; scavenger hunts).
• School library collaborative ideas focused ideas/conversation starters:

• Can we schedule a library card sign-up day, either before the end of the school year, or during open house evenings at schools in August/September?
• Can we schedule time to promote our public library summer reading programs before the end of the school year?
• What kind of STEM/Makerspace/Coding Clubs do you have? We would like to compliment the learning with continued opportunities throughout the summer at the public library.
• What type of summer school programs are happening at your school? We would like to compliment the learning with continued opportunities throughout the summer at the public library.

If you’re looking for more information on summer learning/reading, here are two organizations with great resources:

• The National Summer Learning Association offers online resources, research, and practical tips related to summer learning and preventing summer slide.
• Summer Matters is a California organization that provides research and tools on preventing slide that are relevant nationwide. Check out their Learning Recruitment Guide and follow the Twitter hashtag #whysummermatters  to keep the discussion going.

This message is brought to you through the collaborations of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and DPI School and Public Libraries. If you are interested in working on future tidbits or have other suggestions for collaborations, please contact Marge Loch-Wouters (WLA) or Michele Green (WEMTA) .

Partnering with Our Schools

In the spirit of work at the national level through ALA’s State Ecosystem Initiative and the new Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit done through collaborative efforts of AASL, YALSA, and ALSC, WEMTA, WLA, and DPI are working together to support and foster communications and collaborations among Wisconsin public and school librarians in order to better support the communities we serve. Each quarter we will share a resource, strategy, or example with you that could be used as a talking point in your community. Please use these ideas to initiate or continue to build relationships with public and school librarians.

The Wisconsin School Digital Library Consortium (WSDLC) and the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) are two, fun, easy-to-use ways to promote year-round literacy with students when they use school and public libraries. The WSDLC, launched in January 2018, provides digital audio and ebooks to over 130,000 students in over 100 districts across Wisconsin. The WPLC, which was used as a model for WSDLC, provides a collection of over 77,000 digital and audio ebooks to Wisconsin residents through their public libraries. The WSDLC has three collections to serve elementary, middle and high school students that contain a total of over 7,000 copies of over 4200 unique titles. These collections are available to schools and districts at a low cost, which is covered by district Common School Funds, to help provide equitable access to digital materials throughout our state. The content and platform for the WSDLC is provided by OverDrive, and access is made easy through the Sora App.

The Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) provides e-content to patrons through the WI Digital Library via the Libby App, so why should public librarians become familiar with the WSDLC? And, why should school librarians learn more about WPLC? Because these resources provide great opportunities for public and school library partnerships!

• Both the WPLC and WSDLC use the same vendor and the apps for each audience are similar. There is no need for training staff or patrons.

• There are lots of materials available during the summer within the WSDLC. The wait time for titles is minimal, so this helps keep the reading momentum going with students when they are not in school and prevents “summer slide.” Also, the Sora app makes it easy to track and reward reading progress with a badging system, as well as allowing the ability to curate summer reading lists.

• Many of the school-age patrons in public libraries will already be familiar with the look and feel of the WSDLC collections; however, they may not know they can access the titles at their public library, too.

• School librarians can benefit from helping students access the WPLC because it effectively extends the list of available digital resources for students and faculty without needing additional training.

• By working together to cross promote these resources, both schools and public libraries gain potential users for their collections. Even more importantly, you provide valuable connections between the lives of children in and outside of school.

For more information or questions regarding WSDLC or WPLC, please connect with your school or public librarian, or reach out to WiLS.

This message is brought to you through the collaborations of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and DPI School and Public Libraries. If you are interested in working on future tidbits or have other suggestions for collaborations, please contact Marge Loch-Wouters (WLA) or Michele Green (WEMTA) .

This Message Brought to You by WLA and WEMTA!

In the spirit of work at the national level through ALA’s State Ecosystem Initiative and the new Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit done through collaborative efforts of AASL, YALSA, and ALSC, WEMTA, WLA, and DPI are working together to support and foster communications and collaborations among Wisconsin public and school librarians in order to better support the communities we serve. Each quarter we will share a resource, strategy, or example with you that could be used as a talking point in your community. Please use these ideas to initiate or continue to build relationships with public and school librarians.

HOW TO GET STARTED WITH ASCHOOL/PUBLIC LIBRARY COLLABORATION

There are many ways that we can initiate partnerships and networking with our school and public library colleagues. One excellent way is capitalizing on already existing national efforts with high visibility and support materials. To get started or refresh your collaborations, the Public Library and School Library Collaboration Toolkit, developed by AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation, suggests: “The American Library Association (ALA) hosts various initiatives relevant to both school and public libraries, offering opportunities to partner and share resources:   

• ALSC’s Every Child Ready to Read initiative is relevant for preschool and elementary schools, as well as public libraries year-round
• Teen Read Week and Teen Tech Week are national celebrations that occur annually
• National Library Week is held every April, which is also School Library Month
• September is Library
• Card Sign-up Month
• Additional ALA events occur throughout the year

If you have already planned activities, consider suggesting a joint flyer that promotes opportunities at both locations. Joint promotion shows patrons that the public library and school library are extensions of each other. Promoting each other’s events is a simple way to start a partnership and can evolve into co-hosting events.”

You can find more information about hosting collaborative events in the Toolkit (pp 22-33). Both WLA and WEMTA value the partnerships of all type of libraries. There are several of these partnerships happening around the state right now! Want to share how you have partnered and potentially be spotlighted in an upcoming Tidbit? Fill out THIS FORM and share your ideas!  

This message brought to you through the collaborations of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), WisconsinLibrary Association (WLA), and DPI School and Public Libraries. If you are interested in working on future tidbits or have other suggestions for collaborations, please contact Marge Loch-Wouters (WLA) or Michele Green (WEMTA).

This Message Brought to You by WLA and WEMTA!

In the spirit of work at the national level through ALA’s State Ecosystem Initiative and the new Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit done through collaborative efforts of AASL, YALSA, and ALSC, WEMTA, WLA, and DPI are working together to support and foster communications and collaborations among Wisconsin public and school librarians in order to better support the communities we serve. Each quarter we will share a resource, strategy, or example with you that could be used as a talking point in your community. Please use these ideas to initiate or continue to build relationships with public and school librarians.

INTERNET DISCOUNT FINDER

Digital equity has become an urgent issue as schools assign more and more of their students with personal, mobile devices to access classroom materials and productivity tools, however, 20% of Wisconsin households do not have access to the internet. For many children and adults, the public library is the only source of internet access outside of the school day where these devices can be used.

The Internet Discount Finder, created by the Wisconsin Public Services Commission, can help low-income households find discounted internet service. Discounts are as deep as 80%. Schools and public libraries can play a critical role in promoting the Internet Discount Finder, to help all of their students and library users get internet access at home.

The Internet Discount Finder is not just for households with students. It is designed to help *all* Wisconsin families and residences get internet access. Check out this blog post for more details and this slide presentation for helpful PR ideas to spread the word to your families

Schools and public libraries both can play a huge role in getting this information out to our families and communities. Let’s work on this together!

This message brought to you through the collaborations of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and DPI School and Public Libraries. If you are interested in working on future tidbits or have other suggestions for collaborations, please contact Marge Loch-Wouters (WLA) or Michele Green (WEMTA) .