Tips and Info from DPI's April 10 , 2025 Youth Services Newsletter

Jeni Schomber's DPI Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources is now in a cool new format!

The email newsletter is 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 April 10, 2025 edition.  

Hello All,

PBS Color Your World

• Check out this PBS Wisconsin Education Explore Your Way Calendar full of PBS Kids programming and activities resources for the CSLP Color Our World theme.  

National Library Workers Day & IMLS Update

• Message from Ben Miller, Director of Library Services: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIDPI/bulletins/3daf4b7
• Message from Dr. Jill Underly, State Superintendent of Schools, regarding upcoming opportunities to learn more about how federal and state dollars impact Wisconsin schools and libraries: Funding the Future Town Hall Flyer April 2025.pdf

Money Smart Week - Muehl Public Library (Seymour, WI) story 

• Through a collaboration with UW-Extension Outagamie County Money Smart week activities happened across public libraries last week. Our volunteer from the committee was Mia Peterson who works at Fox Cities Credit Union. She disseminated resources to families during a regularly scheduled story time on April 7, 2025. It was cool for children to walk away with banks to save their money in! For years, with my strong background in children’s literature, I have studied books that make sense for teaching money skills to young children. This year I hit the jackpot (ha-ha!) with a series of books that have positive messages about how to work with money AND have good stories. I highly recommend these! The series is Moneybunny, written and illustrated by Cinders McLeod. In each story carrots are the currency, and a bunny rabbit is the main character.

• This story was submitted by Elizabeth Timmins, Library Director and Programmer, Muehl Public Library

SEAL (Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries) Kit Reservations 

• These "program-in-a-box" kits feature books, interactive activities, and solar viewing instruments for either Youth or Multigenerational audiences. They also include printed materials aimed at helping public library staff feel more comfortable when talking about solar eclipses and solar science in general.
• There are a limited number of kits serving the entire state of Wisconsin. These kits are housed at South Central Library System (SCLS) to facilitate the quickest possible turnaround time.
• Click HERE to reserve a kit 

Have a great weekend!

Tips and Info from DPI's Feb 13, 2025 Youth Services Newsletter

Jeni Schomber's DPI Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources is chockfull of great resources. 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 are some of the highlights from the February 13, 2025 edition:

Money Smart Week (April 5-12, 2025) Kids Read Program

• Wow! All of the free books have been claimed!  
• The Money Smart Week Kids Read program, targeted at kids ages 5 to 8 years old, is an enjoyable way to introduce financial responsibility to youth through programming at your library. You can still participate in Money Smart Week by doing programing using a copy of Deena's Lucky Penny from your library collection. 

Teen Inclusive Internship application

• The Department of Public Instruction has opened the competitive application process for $2,500 grants for up to seven Wisconsin Libraries to fund library internships for local high school juniors or seniors to be completed between June 1st, 2025, and August 31st, 2025.
• Each library will be awarded up to $2,500 to recruit and hire an intern, in compliance with applicable nondiscrimination laws and minor workers laws, and in collaboration with the library’s human resources and finance staff.
• The application period is open and will close at 4 p.m. on Friday, February 21st. The informational webinar presentation slides and scoring rubric are available for your review and can also be found on the DPI Youth Services webpage under the Teen Inclusive Internship Program dropdown menu.

Play Make Learn Annual Conference

• Call for Proposals - You can visit our website here to learn more and to access the application. The deadline to submit is March 7th, 2025 
• REGISTER HERE. You can view the different registration rate options at that link; Early Bird Rates are currently being offered.

WebJunction - FREE content for public libraries in Wisconsin

• Rooted in connection: Libraries designing for belonging and community 
• Despite living in an age of unprecedented digital connectivity, people are feeling the increasing effects of loneliness and isolation. These challenges extend beyond individuals, weakening the health, resilience, and trust of entire communities. The U.S. Surgeon General’s 2023 report, Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation, reveals that loneliness can harm our health as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. While the impact is profound, there are clear and achievable solutions within our reach. Read how libraries can bring intentionality to designing programming and services that deepen engagement and create environments where everyone feels they belong. 

WebJunction - Embracing Neurodiversity: Cultivating an inclusive workplace for neurodivergent staff

• Tuesday, March 4, 2025 ◆ 2:00 pm Eastern ◆ 60 minutes 
• Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/embracing-neurodiversity.html  
• Work environments that are made up of people who think differently bring more ideas and perspectives to the table. In fact, research consistently shows that diverse teams are better at problem solving, are more innovative, and are more effective. As our workplaces become more diverse, it becomes everyone's responsibility to learn how to embrace differences. In this webinar, you will gain an understanding of the term 'neurodiversity' and learn about the strengths of those who are neurodivergent. In addition, attendees will learn about ways they can support inclusion of neurodivergent colleagues to help create a more supportive and welcoming environment for all. 

Ask Me Anything: Youth and Teen Services

• Do you have questions about serving youth and teens at your library? I'm here to support you! Ask me anything about best practices for programming, engaging with children and families, collection development, and more. Your insights and questions are invaluable, so don't hesitate to reach out on the Ask Me Anything form. 

Have a great weekend!

 

Tips and Info from DPI's Feb 6, 2025 Youth Services Newsletter

Jeni Schomber's DPI Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources is chockfull of great resources. 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 are some of the highlights from the February 6, 2025 edition:

Money Smart Week (April 5-12, 2025) Kids Read Program

• The Money Smart Week Kids Read program, targeted at kids ages 5 to 8 years old, is an enjoyable way to introduce financial responsibility to youth through programming at your library. Each family attending a Money Smart Week program gets to take home a FREE copy of this year's book Deena's Lucky Penny, written by Barbara deRubertis and illustrated by Joan Holub.
• The deadline to order books is Friday, February 28, 2025. To order your FREE copies, visit https://tinyurl.com/mthdpzrz
• Visit Money Smart Wisconsin for more information. 

Free for All documentary celebrates public libraries (WebJunction)

• Imagine having an easy way to engage your library patrons in a conversation about the importance of your library. That’s the idea behind Free For All: The Public Library, an exciting new documentary premiering on PBS Indie Lens this April.
• Libraries across the country are invited to screen this film in their libraries and take advantage of turnkey educational resources, including booklists, an engagement guide, and more. Librarians can watch an informational webinar and complete this form to host a screening event in your community. You can also watch a preview here. 

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 

Big Opportunities for Small Libraries: IMLS Launches New Special Initiative

The Institute of Museum and Library Services has launched a new special initiative, Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries (APP), and is accepting grant applications now through February 25, 2019. This new funding opportunity is designed specifically to strengthen the ability of small and rural libraries, archives, and related organizations to serve their communities, and awards sizes range from $10,000 to $50,000.

Three categories of APP grants are available to applicants:

• Transforming School Library Practice: School libraries support learning and the development of critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration skills. IMLS is interested in furthering how school library professionals can serve as integral instructional partners to classroom teachers. Grant projects could include programs and services that prepare students for success in college, career, and life, or foster early, digital, information, health, financial, media, civic, and other types of literacies.
   
• Community Memory: Libraries and archives not only serve as stewards of our nation’s knowledge and collections, but also as trusted spaces for community engagement and dialogue. This project category centers on engaging local communities in the collection, documentation, and preservation of their local histories, experiences, and identities. Proposals could include events and programs to digitize materials related to community histories, such as photographs, artifacts, or texts, or oral history projects that involve community members in the documentation and preservation of local histories.
   
• Digital Inclusion: Libraries have an important role in promoting digital inclusion and increasing access to information, ideas, and networks. This category focuses on projects that support the role libraries play in promoting digital literacy, providing internet access, and enabling community engagement through civic data and civic technology. Grant proposals could include programs supporting broadband access and wireless networks to address the homework gap, increase small business development and entrepreneurship, or plan for emergency preparedness.

Find out more HERE.