Tips and Info from DPI's September 4, 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 September 4, 2025 edition 

Hello All,  Check out these youth services resources and reminders!  Consider Joining a CSLP Committee  Collaborative Summer Library Program committees are the engine that keeps CSLP moving forward, and vibrant committees lead to a vibrant CSLP. That is why we invite all member library staff members to join a committee annually. Only through your input can we continue to improve.  Sign-ups for 2026 CSLP Committees are open until October 15. While the duties vary, committee obligations generally run for one calendar year. All committee work is done virtually, either through email, or through phone or online meetings. Attending the CSLP Annual Meeting is not required.   Each committee has different size and participation criteria. To help you decide which committee to volunteer for, please visit: https://www.cslpreads.org/committees/ to review the responsibilities of each committee. Most CSLP committees are open to all, however some have limited seats or require previous CSLP experience.  Applications are open Tuesday September 9 through October 15 - CSLP Committee Application form   Collection Management Confidence: Confronting Self-Censorship  Friday, October 3, 2025, at 1 p.m. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ree81uBATqWX8xd_IZx5nA  The surge of book challenges in recent years has amplified conversations about library policies and procedures.  Intellectual freedom issues have been the focus of staff trainings, discussed in public meetings, and debated in the news media.  With all the big talk about book bans, there's a quieter dialog happening about library staff self-censorship:  the conscious, subconscious, and even self-conscious choices about purchasing, displaying and doing programming with certain titles.  This judgement-free webinar will define self-censorship and explore ways to manage fear, bias, and tension as a public librarian today.  Presenters:  Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, Director, Cooperative Children's Book Center and Teresa Schmidt, Public Library Administration Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction  Understanding Teens – A Talking Teen Services Colorado State Library webinar series  Wednesdays, October 1st, 15th, and 29th, 2025 – 12 to 1 p.m.  Teens are important patrons in our libraries, with unique and evolving needs. In this series of webinars, we will share our approach in working towards welcoming, inclusive teen services by using staff training. Our goals with our staff training are to establish a base of empathy through better understanding of teens and their current experiences, and to offer practical strategies in working with youth. We will hold three sessions in this webinar series; each session will include working through a different part of the training. We will share our adaptable outline and references for attendees who would like to use the training in their own libraries.  Individual session descriptions are listed on each registration page.  Session 1 - Intersectional Factors   Session 2 - Biases and Stereotypes  Session 3 - Building Positive Relationships  First Day of School with BadgerLink Resources  Check out what the BadgerLink content providers have been up to this summer!  Library Card Sign-up Month – A Wisconsin Libraries for Everyone story  A testament to the power of libraries and the incredible people who make it happen.  Jeni Schomber  Public Library Consultant

Making Library Sign-up Month "More"

A recent post from NFLS' Nic News Weekly, Aug 29 edition, had a link to a super helpful blogpost: Rethinking Our Approach to Library Signup Month by Cordelia Anderson, a library consultant. Anderson proposes looking at all library card signup in a holistic way that can work year-round.

To read her great tips, please stop here.

Library Card Sign-Up Month - the WI Connection

Library Card Sign-Up Month is just around the corner. 

Did you know that the nation-wide effort supported by ALA began over 35 years ago when WI's own Jane Botham (Milwaukee Public Library's Coordinator of Children's Service who retired in 1998) as President of ALSC, the Association for Library Service to Children, took part in discussions to bring the project to fruition? During her time in ALSC leadership, through the combined efforts of the ALSC board and ALSC and ALA offices, this sign-up effort became part of a national movement to put library cards into the hands of as many children as possible.

You can join the fun with free press materials available through ALA. 

ALA writes: "Since 1987, Library Card Sign-up Month has been held each September to mark the beginning of the school year. During the month, the American Library Association and libraries unite in a national effort to ensure every child signs-up for their own library card. Throughout the school year, public librarians and library staff will assist parents and caregivers with saving hundreds of dollars on educational resources and services for students. From free access to STEAM programs/activities, educational apps, in-person and virtual homework help, technology workshops to the expertise of librarians, a library card is one of the most cost-effective back-to-school supplies available. How much money can you save?  Visit our Library Value Calculator to total your saving!" 

Stop here at the ALA website to download free public service announcements, ready-made social media posts; resources and more to make your sign-up month events flashy and easy to plan!

Tuesday Tips - A Library Card Sign-Up Month Win

Sam Jones is the Youth Services Librarian at the Beaver Dam Public Library. She shares tips to make your job easier in her Tuesday posts.

As a new librarian, I had the opportunity to accomplish two new things in my career this month. The first was to change our display case, and the second was to plan for Library Card Sign-Up Month. There are numerous ideas and ways to do both of those tasks. I've seen a lot of ideas on Facebook where displays track the progress on something, like a reading goal. I love the visual those displays give, so I began thinking about how I could incorporate something like that into our display. 

I ended up deciding that I would create a display where I would track how many library card sign-ups we had in the month of September. Since it was also about to be the fall season, I chose a tree. For every card, I added a leaf to the tree. I tried to check and add every day I worked, which I was pretty successful with. It was really fun to see the tree be empty then turn full at the end of the month. As of the 30th, we have 117 leaves on the tree. 

Another first for me was using a die-cut machine. I used the machine to make the leaves. It was super easy to use. and the leaves looked a lot better than they would have if I made them by hand. Are there some things I wished I did better in the display? Sure. But, overall, I am extremely happy with how it turned out. 

Did anyone else have any Library Card Sign-Up Month wins? 

Library Card Sign-up Month 2019: Toy Story!

Every September ALA and libraries celebrate Library Card Sign-Up Month.  This year Pixar and Disney's characters from the upcoming Toy Story 4 movie, including Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep, and Woody, will serve as the ambassadors of the celebration.  There are bookmarks, stickers, and posters currently available to purchase and later in the month we will see free library card artwork become available.  This should be a fun way to partner with schools at the start of their year and get library cards in the hands of kids everywhere.  To infinity and beyond!

Find out more at ALAnews HERE.