Tips and Info from DPI's May 8 , 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 May 8, 2025 edition  

Hello All,

Foundations of Wisconsin Librarianship Workshop

• Registration is at capacity for the Foundations of Wisconsin Librarianship: Essential Skills for Library Media Specialists and Public Library Staff Serving Youth workshop. If you are still interested in attending, please contact me directly at jeni.schomber@dpi.wi.gov to be placed on a waiting list.
• This workshop is specifically structured to be most beneficial to public library staff who are new (three years or less) to serving youth in Wisconsin libraries and will provide an introduction to essential skills, resources, and strategies for working in public libraries.
• The three-day in-person workshop will be held at Hotel Mead, in Wisconsin Rapids from 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday July 29 through 2:00 p.m. on Thursday July 31, 2025. There is no cost to attend and most meals will be provided. Attendees, or their library, will be responsible for mileage, two nights lodging, and one evening meal.

BadgerLink Bulletin

• Learn how to find book reviews in trusted library publications in trusted BadgerLink Resources. View the full story.
• An updated Britannica School-Early Elementary webinar recording is now available on the BadgerLink Training Page. View the full story.  

Flight Path: a New Project for Libraries

• In honor of World Migratory Bird Day (May 15th) STAR Net and Tangled Banks Studios are proud to announce Flight Path, a new project for public libraries focused on bird conservation and science.
• Flight Path invites you to swoop into a robust suite of materials to create engaging and educational events that give your communities the opportunity to learn about local and regional birds, and to become local science explorers themselves.
• Learn more and apply today.

YALSA Symposium Status Update

• While YALSA leadership is exploring the future possibilities for delivering Symposium content, there will be no YALSA Symposium in fall 2025 or fall 2026. The YALSA board and staff will continue discussing details related to future YALSA opportunities with other partners.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month - News from Sesame Workshop

• Sesame Workshop works to help children build a foundation of emotional wellness by being kind to themselves, practicing gratitude, and staying healthy in mind and body.
• Whether you are helping a child manage the ups and downs of daily life, or cope with big feelings such as grief, you can use our resources to help little ones notice, understand, and name their emotions.
• Explore the resources

Have a great weekend

International Children's Literature Event

Join us at the Madison Concourse Hotel on December 6-7 for the 2024 International Children's Literature Event - Stories of Separation and Belonging: Exploring Migration, Partition, and Displacement. This workshop is open to K-12 pre-service and current educators, librarians, and children's literature enthusiasts. Within our theme, experts will place special emphasis on using graphic novels with middle-school learners. The first 40 registrants will receive free books from our featured authors: Adrian Lysenko (Five Stalks of Grain) and Alexandra Diaz (Santiago's Road Home). 

Our workshop is scheduled for 9 am-4 pm on Saturday, December 7. A new addition to our program - participants are encouraged to join us for a special film screening at 6:30 pm on December 6. We'll watch the animated film Home is Somewhere Else. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for both the film screening and all-day workshop.

This workshop is sponsored by the Wisconsin International Resource Consortium and UW-Madison Libraries and funded by grants from the Department of Education. A registration fee of $25 is requested to help subsidize the food costs. Click here to register!

Scholarships for 1 night hotel accommodation are still available. Please email wirc@iris.wisc.edu for more information.

We hope to see you in Madison on December 6 and 7!

Dr. Andrea Fowler (she/her)

Assistant Director, Center for South Asia

University of Wisconsin-Madison

203 Ingraham

1155 Observatory Drive

Madison, WI 53706

608-890-2847

Solar Eclipse Workshops in WI

Hello All,

Two solar eclipses are coming to North America – an Annular Eclipse in October 2023 and a Total Solar Eclipse in April 2024 – and it’s time for public library staff to get ready!

 

Thanks to a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and a supplement to the NASA @ My Library project, the Space Science Institute’s STARNET team is providing solar science in-person training workshops in Wisconsin this fall.

 

The in-person workshops will prepare and empower public library staff to facilitate meaningful solar and space science programs for their patrons that build curiosity, knowledge and inspiration. Attendees will receive hands-on training on operating solar telescopes and other methods for direct and indirect solar viewing, best practices for developing and facilitating STEM programs, and how to engage with community partners and library-specific digital resource networks. Attendees will also be able to sign up for free solar eclipse glasses to distribute to their communities in advance of both eclipses! These workshops will use materials from the circulation kits (one designed for younger audiences and the other designed for multi-generational audiences) and will highlight best practices in using those materials but the strategies, activities and resources shared during the workshop will be useful to attendees whether they have access to a circulation kit or not.

 

Libraries will be able to reserve one of four circulating kits to use for programming. More details on how to do this will be coming soon.

 

The workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and lunch will be provided for participants. Please register for ONE WORKSHOP ONLY using one of the registration links below.

 

• L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire on Tuesday, September 19^th
• Fond du Lac Public Library in Fond du Lac on Wednesday, September 20^th

 

Library staff serving all ages are encouraged to attend. The workshops are limited to 35 participants each so be sure to sign up right away.

 

Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions.

 

 

Jeni Schomber 

Public Library Consultant 

Library Services Team 

Division for Libraries and Technology 

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction 

608-266-2749 

jennifer.schomber@dpi.wi.gov 

School and Public Libraries: What You Need to Know workshop

 From Jeni Schomber:

This summer, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is planning a two-day in-person workshop on August 1^st and 2^nd – School and Public Libraries: What You Need to Know. This workshop will provide an introduction to essential skills, resources, and strategies for working in school and public libraries.

On the first day, new school library media specialists and public library staff new to serving youth will work separately, focusing specifically on their role in each institution. In the evening, the groups will join together to begin networking and building relationships for future collaborations. On day two, guest presenters will address the full group, including speakers from CCBC, PBS, and Beanstack.

There will be no registration fee for this event and space is limited to 50 public library staff attendees. Priority status for registration will be given to public library staff new (five years or less) to serving youth in Wisconsin libraries.

Tentative topics for public library staff include:

• Collection Development Basics
• Programming 101
• Childhood Development and Early Literacy

The workshop will be held at a central Wisconsin location (to be determined). As details are confirmed, further information regarding registration will be shared.

New Date for STEAM in Youth Services Workshop - April 24

Hello Everyone,

As promised, the WVLS STEAM in Youth Services workshop has been rescheduled to Tuesday, April 24th at the Wisconsin Valley Library Service Headquarters on the bottom level of the Marathon County Public Library Wausau location.

Same time, same speakers, same awesome experience!

Find the schedule for the day and register here!

Anne

Anne Hamland

Public Library Services Consultant Wisconsin Valley Library Service

715-839-5082 ext. 150 (Indianhead Federated Library System office)

#WisconsinLibrary