Register for WAPL!

You’re invited to join us at the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) Annual Conference at the Osthoff Resort from April 27 - April 29, 2026! This year’s conference theme is "Library As A Test Kitchen". Registration is now open - be sure to sign up by March 23 to take advantage of early bird rates! This year's conference features: Choose from 36 dynamic breakout sessions! Featuring a networking reception with hors d' oeuvres and a cash bar, Pizza Making Cooking Class, At the Movies with Librarians*, and Friday Afternoon Tea and Library Tour at the Elkhart Lake Civic Center. Opportunities to network with your library colleagues. Expert keynote speakers including past WLA President Kris Turner, Bobbi Newman, Debby Waldman and Lindsay Starck. Invest in your professional development and bring valuable information back to your library. To learn more and register, visit the conference webpage.  *WLA would like to thank the sponsor for the At the Movies with Librarians Session!

                    

Re-thinking Registration Webinar

Re-thinking Registration (IFLS webinar)   

Wednesday, March 20, 10-10:30 am  Register

Do you spend a lot of time creating and maintaining spreadsheets for registration? Does staff spend extra time finding and checking names on registration forms? Do you find yourself wondering why you are collecting names, phone numbers and other information? Do you even use that data? In an attempt to make her job and her co-workers' jobs easier, Kathy Larson (River Falls Public Library) has completely gotten rid of spreadsheets that track Summer Reading Registration and 1000 Books before Kindergarten Registration. If you are interested in ways to continue to count the numbers but are sick of spreadsheets this webinar is for you, and just in time for summer program planning!

Register

Note: because this webinar is shorter than one hour it will not count as a contact hour for the purposes of director certification.

This offering is also on the IFLS calendar.  Can’t come at that time?  No worries, you can look for the recording on the IFLS website:  https://iflsweb.org/knowledge-base/ifls-webinars-workshops-quicklinks/

Registration for WLA 2019 in Wisconsin Dells is NOW OPEN!

That's right, you read that correctly!  

Registration for WLA 2019 in Wisconsin Dells is NOW OPEN! 

Connect, learn, tour circus world... Plan your conference stay now!

Register for the conference using the online form or printable form. Make your plans early, early bird special rates end September 16th.

Find information on sessions, events, and after hours activities on the WLA Conference webpage.

Read on for details on how to win a hotel room upgrade when you reserve a room at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells...

Registration highlights:

Request to be matched with a Conference Connector or  volunteer to be a Conference Connector.

Register for the free preconference: “So You Want To  Talk About Race” with Ijeoma Oluo. Space is limited!

Browse the full list of programs and featured speakers to plan your conference stay.  Pssst! The WLA Conference Committee is developing an app to make your conference experience a breeze. Stay tuned…

Join us for fun local events!, including

Tour of the Circus World's Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center

Tour of the Devil's Lake Lavender Farm and Lunch

Upper Dells Boat Tour 

Hotel Room Upgrade Drawing

Register before the early bird deadline of September 16 AND book your room at the Kalahari Resort and you are AUTOMATICALLY entered into a drawing to receive a FREE ROOM UPGRADE for the entirety of your stay on the conference dates! Don't wait, get your name in the hat now!

Book your hotel room: https://book.passkey.com/e/49887542 

Register for the Conference & activities: http://bit.ly/WLA19registration 

~Your WLA Conference Committee

WLA Early Bird Registration ENDS Monday!

Monday, September 25th is the deadline for Early Bird Registration for the WLA Conference.

Save $45 or more by registering now.
And, register now to get the chance to win a $50 gift card to Double Cut Charcoal and Grill (at the Kalahari).

Don't Wait.
Don't Hesitate.
Save Money.
Register Today.

The Great Registration Debate

Our guest blogger today is Amanda Struckmeyer, a YSS member from the Middleton Public Library.

In our Youth Services department, we’ve gone back and forth on asking patrons to register for programs.  If we require registration, it creates more work for our staff and fosters a possibly stressful situation for families who might not plan as far ahead as we do.  On the other hand, if we don’t ask for registration, we have no idea of how many participants to expect, which makes preparation tricky.  We’ve finally settled (for now!) on this system:

·         If we’re serving food at a program, we ask for registration.  This allows us to buy the appropriate amount of goodies, and it gives us a chance to ask about food allergies.

·         If seats are truly limited, we require registration.  An example is our Dungeons and Dragons club, which is limited to ten ‘tweens.  We simply could not possibly accommodate more than ten. 

·         We don’t require registration for any programs that don’t involve food and are not truly limited to a specific number of participants.  This has made our lives- and the lives of our patrons- easier.  In preparing materials, we simply prepare more than we think we’ll need.  Chances are, we’ll have a chance to use any leftover materials again, either in a repeat of the program or something similar.  Many grown-ups who bring their children to storytimes have commented on how much they like our drop-in structure.  They appreciate the freedom to come as their often-changing schedules allow, and they enjoy not being tied to one particular day and time. 

Of course, this system is not perfect, but it works for us at this point in time.  One beautiful part of working at a public library is being able to constantly adjust and try new things to find out what works and what we can improve upon. 

April Workshops at IFLS

The Indianhead Federated Library System is hosting 3 amazing workshops in April, thanks to LSTA grants...

Thursday April 10: Define Normal: Succeeding with At-Risk Teens in the Library with Christy Mulligan and Maureen Hartman (at IFLS). For more information, see

http://www.ifls.lib.wi.us/Portals/0/ContinuingEd/Teen%20April%2010%202008.pdf. **For non-IFLS librarians, there will be a $7 charge for lunch**

Thursday, April 24: Advocacy as if Your Library Depended On It with Pat Wagner (at the River Falls Public Library). For more information, see

http://www.ifls.lib.wi.us/Portals/0/ContinuingEd/Advocacy%20as%20if%20Your%20Library%20Depended%20on%20It.pdf **For non-IFLS librarians, there will be a $7 charge for lunch**

Friday, April 25: One Hello at a Time: Building Community Friendships with Underserved Populations with Pat Wagner (at the Rice Lake Public Library). For more information, see

http://www.ifls.lib.wi.us/Portals/0/ContinuingEd/One%20Hello%20at%20a%20Time.pdf

Register now for the 2008 WAPL Conference!

Point and Click your way to the 2008 WAPL Conference registration form! Registration is open and detailed conference information, including full program descriptions, is available at http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/wapl/conferences/2008/index.htm.

The conference is being held at the *new* Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Stevens Point from April 30-May 2. The facility opened in December 2005 and offers many appealing amenities for conference attendees, including ample parking, spacious meeting rooms in close proximity to one another, and microwaves and refrigerators in every guest room.

David Ward, the President and founder of NorthStar Economics, is the keynote speaker. He will be discussing the results of the Wisconsin Public Library Economic Impact Study and the general climate of Wisconsin's economy.

Humorist Jay Rath, a Madison journalist, will be speaking at the luncheon on Thursday on the topics of creativity and the writer's backstage life. He's acted with Chevy Chase, written for MTV, drawn for Disney and has served on the staff at The Onion. Rath has worked nationally in multiple media and is the author of "The W-Files: True Reports of Unexplained Phenomena in Wisconsin," plus two similar books.

At the Friday luncheon Dick Bennett, former UW-Green Bay and Wisconsin men's basketball head coach, will be speaking about "The Rule Rather Than the Exception," a presentation on the athletic arena and how it consistently imitates life. Clintonville native Bennett has coached highly successful teams at UW-Stevens Point, UW-GB, Wisconsin, and most recently Washington State. He led the Badgers to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Final Four berth in 2000.

Breakout sessions will cover Intellectual Freedom for Children and Teens, the Experience of the Local Immigrant, WorkNet, Speed Training, and Strategic Planning, among other topics. Returning favorites include Notable Genre Books and a book discussion featuring Gary Warren Niebuhr, both sponsored by READ, (this year's discussion title is "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini), and Have You Heard About..., sponsored by MATS.

Hope to see you there!