Partnerships Matter

Image by kp yamu Jayanath from Pixabay

A recent blog post by YSS board member Valerie Spooner at the IFLS library System's Keeping Up with Kids blog is a true winner. Valerie, Ladysmith's Youth Services librarian shares her experience with the Rusk County Youth Council (RCYC), a coalition she is part of that focuses on drug and alcohol prevention, as well as general health and wellness for youth in Rusk County.

Because of this partnership, amazing things happened at her library! To read about what happened, please click here. [The Power of Partnerships. Spooner, Valerie. IFLS Keeping Up with Kids blog. October 29, 2024.]

School Public Library Collaboration/Networking

 From DPI's Jeni Schomber's weekly Youth Services Weekly Reminders and Resources Updates 4/4/24:

Connecting Wisconsin Libraries is a networking group of school and public libraries that meets quarterly to facilitate collaboration with WLA stakeholders and WEMTA stakeholders, and to foster collaboration between school and public libraries on a statewide level.

               

                Click here to join us for our next meeting on Thursday April 25^th at 3 p.m.

 

                Mary Ellen Graf from TeachingBooks will be presenting: 

Powerful Partnerships: Schools, Public Libraries, & TeachingBooks 
Collaboratively support readers at home, school, and the public library with TeachingBooks. Learn how to create and share reading lists, integrate TeachingBooks resources into school and library visits,      and cross-promote library programs and school literacy initiatives.

Rhinelander Serves as Food Wagon Location

The following was seen in the August 2023 WVLS System newsletter

The Hodag Food Wagon is a community effort in Rhinelander that relies on partnerships among the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry, the YMCA of the Northwoods, and the UW Extension FoodWIse program. It is open and free to all children and youth with the goal of providing a little extra nutritional support during the summer when food insecurity for kids can increase.

This year, the Rhinelander District Library serves as the host site. Library Director Virginia Roberts said this partnership seemed like a natural fit when the site from last summer could no longer host.

"People equate the library with positive things,” she said. “We are connecting with people just as the Rhinelander Food Bank is.  We've also had a number of people get library cards because they are making a weekly trip to the food wagon.”  

The partnership is a win-win for both the library and the pantry.

"Partnering with the Rhinelander District Library is such a good fit. Kids can participate in the summer reading programs and access the services of the library. The food bags provided through the partnership contain healthy, kid-friendly foods,” said Courtney Smith, Rhinelander Area Food Pantry Associate Executive Director.

The Hodag Food Wagon started on July 6 and will run until August 24. In response to results of a recent community survey, it is available during evening hours from 4 pm to 6 pm to better serve the community.

Virginia said the set up for the program is convenient for the library.  The library promotes cards and programs to people who visit the Wagon, and eventually, a table for library card sign-ups will be outside.

"This year the library is supplying tables so there is more room for the food bags,” she said. “If it rains, the bags can be distributed inside the library. There were 103 bags given out the first week, and 130 during the second. There seems to be a larger response this year from working families seeking to make their finances stretch.” 

To learn more about the Hodag Food Wagon, contact Courtney Smith at the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry at 715-369-7237 or visit rhinelanderareafoodpantry.org.  

Apply for WiLS Ideas to Action Grants

WiLS Ideas to Action Fund 2023 application period opens April 3

It's time to start putting your ideas down on paper because the WiLS 2023 Ideas to Action Fund application period opens on April 3rd!

The WiLS Ideas to Action Fund provides grants of up to $5,000 so member organizations can bring their project ideas to life. The program aims to encourage partnerships and collaborations among WiLS members and with community partners, support innovative and exploratory new work, and seed the development of processes, methods, or resources that can be used by other WiLS members.

Wondering if your project idea is a good fit for the Fund? Check out the details on WiLS' website, read about the projects they've funded since 2018 here, or drop them a line at information@wils.org.

Thanks to the  Nicolet Federated Library System's Nic News Weekly March 24, 2023 edition, for this tip!

Supporting Our School Colleagues

A recent Teen Services Underground blog post reflected on the importance of school and public library collaboration. It's also a call to action to support our school colleagues at this time.

Stop here to read the post. [School and Public Librarian Partnerships Are a Beautiful Thing. Ingaham, Jenna. Teen Services Underground. August 15, 2022]

Speaking of beautiful partnerships, Connecting WI Libraries (a collaborative group of youth librarians from DPI, WEMTA and WLA) created the infographic below a few years ago that is worth sharing again. If you are hesitant or confident in reaching out to your school or public colleagues, this graphic has suggestions to help you!

Find the full infographic with survey results here.

Connecting WI Libraries image

Just Wondering - Teacher Collections

This post by Manitowoc (WI) Public Library Youth Librarian and YSS Board Member Susie Menk explores policies and services for educators. And she's wondering....what do you think? 

Image by AzamKamolov from Pixabay

My library offers teacher collections and teacher cards.  We have a good working relationship with our teachers and we extend this privilege to them as an extra benefit.  Teacher cards allow teachers to automatically check out books for 8 weeks.  They don’t have to worry about returning after 3 weeks or trying to remember to renew books after only 3 weeks.  We just let them have them for 8 weeks immediately.  

We also prepare collections of books for teachers.  Teachers let us know how many books (up to 50 items), what grade level or what reading levels they are looking for and we gather them together into a collection.  Then teachers have two options: collections can be picked up in the youth department or if the teacher is at a local public school, our delivery van can pick up the collection from the library and drop it off at the school for them.  Collections can be returned by delivery van as well.  Teachers are responsible for getting their collections from the drop-off point at their school and returning both the items and the bins they come in.

Teachers can request a variety of materials including books, magazines, toys, flannelgraphs, concept kits, audiobooks and music CDs.  While we do loan out DVDs, teachers only get movies for two weeks, not the full eight weeks because of high circulation for those items.  Manitowoc Public Library also has classroom packs of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) kits available for teacher use.  STEM kits include some type of technology toy plus instructions and ready-made activities that are easy to use in classrooms.  

Teachers in our community get quite a few perks at the library, but we receive benefits in return as well. We partner with our teachers to help enhance their classroom materials.  Teachers in turn are great about connecting with us and bringing their classes to the library or inviting us to present at their evening parent events.  

What does your library offer educators?  What ways do you partner with educators?

What is WECCP?

Do you know about this great library/literacy partner? 

WECCP is the acronym for the WI Early Childhood Collaborating Partners. 

According to their website: "WECCP was started in 1994 and focuses on collaboration among diverse early childhood partners and exists now as a 'braided' funding effort among three state agencies:

• Department of Public Instruction (DPI),
• Department of Children and Families (DCF) and
• Department of Health Services (DHS)

The WECCP website serves as the collaborative source of information on issues of cross-sector interest, state initiatives, and research-based practices. Regional Collaboration Coaches have been in place since 2004 connecting, building and sustaining cross-sector systems around the state and regionally. In July of 2018 transition to a new outreach structure will begin with the anticipation of the structure being in place by the fall of 2018. This new structure will continue the work of the Regional Collaboration Coaches and support ongoing cross-sector professional development and improvement activities."

The state is divided into three regions and regional coaches hold periodic meetings to share helpful information about early childhood programs, resources and research with collaborating partners working with young children across the state. Both Leah Langby and Anne Hamland, youth services system consultants, have recommended this important collaboration for libraries. They stress how much they have learned and the important connections they have been able to foster to serve their communities and families more effectively.

The collaborative has a listserv you can join to stay updated. The regional coaches also host periodic meetings to update partners and foster discussion of services and programs around the state. To join the meetings, please contact the regional coach in your area or stop by WECCP's website. 

Here is a recent email from Tiffany Swain, the NE region coach to give you an idea of the scope and content of the meetings:

"Good Afternoon Northeast Region!

Save the Date for the next Regional Collaboration Team/ NE PDG Work Group meeting!

Thursday September 23, 2021 12:30-2:30 via zoom (look for a calendar invite soon)

 

Here are a few of the resources discussed at our May 7^th meeting.

·       General PDG page https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/childcare/pdg

·       PDG Newsletter  https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/index.php/childcare/pdg/newsletters

·       Article about Brillion – Ariens Co https://www.thebrillionnews.com/post/kindercare-education-coming-to-brillion

·       Head Start PPP America open enrolment

·       Door County United Way Town halls

·       Office of Children’s Mental Health (fact sheets & Thermometer)

·       Well Badger Program

·       Farm to ECE  

·       Breastfeeding friendly practices

·       First 1,000 Days Wisconsin Child Find Campaign

·       Free Registry Coupons

·       Emergency Broadband Benefit

JUST ANNOUNCED!!
DCF is launching two new programs to provide financial incentives to the child care workforce and access to technology

• Workforce Retention and Recognition Stipend Program
• Technology Access Program

Tiffany Swain

WECCP Early Childhood Content & Outreach Specialist

4K and 4K Community Approach

Email - swaint@cesa5.org

Phone - (608) 617-9709"

Tips on Building Partnerships

ALSC (The Association for Library Service to Children) recently created a wonderful infographic/checklist to help you in your partnership building work. From planning to managing to evaluation partnerships, this project will help guide you to success as you embark on - or continue - community partnerships.

This last project of ALSC's Building Partnerships Committee (which is being sunset) is a worthy and lasting tribute to their mission. You can read all about and find a link to download the infographic here.

"Creating Community Fun" Programs - Going the Extra Mile

Today's guest post is from Children's Librarian Annette Miller at the Tomohawk (WI) Public Library 

I want to share how reaching out and making connections can lead to something a little extra-special.  

I had been struggling with how to provide programming during the pandemic and library closure and wanted to be sure about how to move forward before just jumping into a virtual storytime just for the sake of doing so.  I really miss the kids and families and I wanted to find a way to connect with them and provide an activity, but not just virtually.  

In late April,  I came across a Facebook post (in Storytime Underground) by Tanya Savitsky of the Ringtown Area (PA) Library.  She had placed "green sheep" all around her community because she loves the book "Where is Green Sheep?" by Mem Fox. She wanted to give the families something to do during this time.  I loved the idea but want to develop it a bit more.  I emailed her to ask a few questions She was so excited that her program had made its way to northern Wisconsin!  

I decided that I would choose a book to read on Facebook live and then add the non-virtual component of placing something out in the community to look for after the story.  I chose the book "Dragon was Terrible" by Kelly DiPucchio and Greg Pizzoli.  It's such a fun book and a wonderful tie-in with the summer library theme, too.  This program will be kind of a kick-off to our summer program.  

Next, I wanted to be sure I wasn't doing something illegal, so I just thought I would email Kelly DiPucchio to ask her permission to use the book and make copies of the dragon and see what happened.  She emailed me back right away and was so excited and so kind!  She also told me that she felt there wouldn't be an issue with the publisher because of the changes that have taken place during this time. Her only request was that I contact the illustrator, Greg Pizzoli.  After all, he did create the dragon.  

Well, he was just as excited and just as kind!  They both want me to share pictures after the event!  Now that I had those connections made, I went to City Hall to be sure there were no ordinances against putting the dragons out.  I want to place them primarily on city property where families can easily walk to find them and to promote these areas of the city as well.  They were fine with it (one will be placed near City Hall of course!).  

The final connection was when I shared the story on Facebook live and invited families or anyone who wants to go out and search for the dragons.  I am encouraging them to share pictures to our Facebook page.  In all these years (18 today!) I have never thought to email an author to simply ask a question.  It's just a great example of what reaching out can do and what connections will be created as a result.  We'll see what happens next week!  Like I said at the beginning, the reason I wanted to share this is because I hope it will inspire others to take a chance and reach out!

Creating Community Fun YSS blog COVID-19 series

• Mini-Golf Reader’s Cup  9/25/21
• Beep! Beep! Honk if you have Bingo!    9/1/21
• Letters to Guinea Pigs  8/18/21
• Stuffed Animal Fun for Everyone  7/13/21
• Pet Show and Tell  4/17/21
• Campfire Storywalk 3/10/21
• Outdoor Storytimes 1/17/20
• Family Trivia Night  10/7/20
• Flipgard, Fanfare and Friends: River Falls Celebrity Storytime  9/21/20
• Tie Dye Masks  8/24/20
• Summer Book Picnics  7/13/20
• Engaging Kids Outdoors  7/10/20
• Downtown Story Stroll    6/5/20
• Book nCover Double  6/8/20
• Going the Extra Mile 6/15/20 
• Summer Storyteller     6/16/20

Reach Out and Read Partnership

A recent blog post from DPI's Tessa Michaelson Schmidt at the WI libraries for Everyone blog focuses on Reach Out and Read. 

As Tessa writes: Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit that champions the positive effects of reading daily and engaging in other language-rich activities with young children. Reading together promotes healthy brain development, furthers language acquisition, and helps families build meaningful bonds." 

Noteworthy in the post is a heads-up on a great  short webinar on how libraries can partner with local health care providers featuring Terry Ehle, YSS member and Children's Librarian at Lester Public Library in Two Rivers. In addition two short webinars will fill you in on the great work of Reach Out and Read.

Read more here.

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) .

Collaborative Story Times: Fun for All and All for Fun!

Story times are a staple of library programming. 

I know I'm preaching to the crowd in terms of the importance of story times, so rather than spout out facts, figures, and heartwarming tales, I instead offer up a suggestion for another type of story time to consider adding to your rotation: collaborative story times.

Last summer, the fabulous Emily Sanders of Barrett Memorial Library in Williams Bay and I decided we wanted to hold a collaborative story time at a local park, a venture we lovingly dubbed Sunshine & Stories.  We had so much fun with this program, we decided to offer it again this summer!

First things first, we needed to find a location that was equidistant to both our libraries, allowing for easy access for both sets of patrons.  After finding a location--Community Park in the Town of Delavan--we made sure to reach out to the Parks & Recreation Department.  While pop-up story times are wonderful, we wanted to make this a regularly occurring event and thought it common courtesy to make the Parks Department aware of our intentions and get their approval for our event.  (Not only did they approve, but they also included our events on their electronic signage!  Woo!)

As it should be with any collaborative effort, all the promotional materials--whether it be social media, newsletter, website, or physical poster--contained the names of all the entities involved in the program.  Additionally, the images and designs utilized by both libraries were identical, as it was important that the patrons see this as a truly collaborative effort.

One of the many fantastic benefits of a collaborative story time is the opportunity to play off each other's energy and utilize materials that embrace dialogue!  The Elephant & Piggie series by Mo Willems, the Ballet Cat series by Bob Shea, Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein, Big Bunny by Rowboat Watkins, Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and Be Quiet! by Ryan T. Higgins are just a few examples of stellar multi-reader story time options.

Another benefit?  Partnering with other agencies!  You gain the opportunity to reach an audience you may not have had access to before, not to mention the sense of community and camaraderie created when working as a team.  While nearby libraries are an option, you could also consider reaching out to schools, government agencies such as your community's police and/or fire departments, or local businesses about forming a story time partnership program.

Collaborations can be intimidating, but don't let that stop you!  They offer you the opportunity to provide services to a wider base of patrons, create a sense of community, and make connections.  Hello there, win-win-win!

Collaboration Between Public & School Libraries: Partnering for Summer Reading Success

The ALSC blog had a post about something I'm excited to have happening in Wisconsin - collaboration between public and school libraries. School Library Connection has the free webinar presented by Jen C. Cannell and Mary Fellows on their site. You can access the webinar titled "The Perfect Equation for Summer Reading Success: School + Public Librarians" HERE for ideas on partnering to keep youth reading all summer long.

Imagination Library and Reach Out and Read: A New Community Partnership

Guest Post: Claire Parrish, Public Services Director, Rice Lake Public Library

Last fall, RLPL was approached by the Rice Lake School District about starting the Imagination Library program here in Rice Lake. The representative from the district had the idea that since the district, RLPL, and Lakeview Medical Center were already working on Reach Out and Read, now would be a great time to get off the ground with Imagination Library.  We thought, why not?!  Combining our efforts for both projects has created a strong community partnership between three staples in our community and has put more books into the hands of young kiddos, so it’s really been a win-win for everyone involved.

                                                       

If you’re unfamiliar with the two programs, Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit where medical providers give out books at wellness visits from infancy to when the child starts school. The trained doctors also encourage families to read aloud every day and provide additional early literacy tips to caregivers.  In Rice Lake, we are going a step further by providing any siblings who are older than five free books at those wellness visits and setting up a little free library in the waiting room at the clinic.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that sends books every MONTH to a child from birth to five, no matter the family’s financial background. Family’s simply need to register their child, if the program is available in their area, and books will start arriving in about 8 weeks. The financial side of things is covered by a local agency and parents never have to worry about cost. The books are selected by Imagination Library staff, and are age appropriate and high quality books. Dolly Parton is my hero!

How do we make it work?

The school district has recruited high school students to present to area groups, such as Kiwanis, to ask for financial donations to support both programs.  The hope is that most area groups will add the donation to their yearly budget. The Rice Lake High School Student Council also held a book drive, gathering hundreds of books to be given to kids through the Read Out and Read program. So, if you have the chance, utilize high school student groups for any kind of fundraiser/outreach in your community.  We can stand in front of people and ask for money until we are blue in the face, but having two high schoolers stand up and make a passionate argument for why this program is important will motivate people to pull out those checkbooks.

Lakeview Medical has set up the reading nook area in their waiting room and keeps the book case constantly filled with books. They also were more than happy to have several of their doctors trained though Reach Out and Read.  Volunteers are stepping up to help with Imagination Library work as well, entering child registration forms into the database and collecting the forms for area daycares.

RLPL has done a lot of the promotion of both programs and our Friends group serves as the fiscal agent for the Imagination Library.  We have redirected book donations from the public to Reach Out and Read and purchased furniture to help make the reading nook at the hospital more kid friendly.  We have also presented to area service organizations on both programs and are working on finding grants, like the Dollar General Literacy grants, to help support the programs in years to come.  

The whole process meant a lot of meetings to get things off the ground, but once we got the high school student groups involved, things really fell into place.  We now have regular monthly meetings to submit our Imagination Library registrations and to discuss any other needs with either program.  We continue to schedule presentations with service organizations and get the word out about the program.  Our first order was placed in March, and we are thrilled that 102 kids in the Rice Lake area will be receiving their first book in the mail in April!  It’s our hope that in the next year or two we can expand the range of Imagination Library to neighboring zip codes, getting more books into the hands of young children.  

Libraries Rock! How to be a Rock Star in Your Community

There's still time to register for this workshop coming up Tuesday, January 16 from 1-4 pm at the Jack Russell Memorial Library, 100 Park Avenue in Hartford.

Sue Abrahamson, Children’s Librarian (Waupaca Public Library) & Youth Services Liaison (Outagamie Waupaca Library System) will share stories and strategies for rejuvenating library reading programs.  Participants will leave with…

• A clear sense of purpose along with tips on communicating to library stakeholders
• Relationship building techniques for staff and patrons
• Understand how partnerships can help you work more effectively
• A plan to refocus energies on programs year-round
• Courage and willingness to change

Be open · Say “Yes!” · Connect 

This program is sponsored by the Southeastern Wisconsin public library systems: Arrowhead Library System, Bridges Library System, Kenosha County Library System, Lakeshores Library System, Milwaukee County Federated Library System, and Monarch Library System.

Libraries as a No Hit Zone

Post by Leah Langby

As many of you may remember from a blog post late last year, the LaCrosse Public Library has recently been working with Gunderson Health, a major healthcare provider in their area, to promote public places as No Hit Zones.  I was very intrigued with this idea, and happy to attend a session about it.  Dana Johnson and Dawn Wacek discussed the concept of the No Hit Zone: making it clear that hitting of any kind is not tolerated in the library, and stepping in with assistance before situations escalate to the point of violence.  They talked about the way they have discussed this branding change with library staff and patrons—particularly those who believe that corporal punishment is an effective and important discipline tool.  Pro-tip:  you probably won’t change anyone’s opinion about the merits of corporal punishment in one conversation, but you can make a strong case for having behavior standards for your public space.  Finally, they discussed ways that the No Hit Zone is like The Wakanheza Project, which emphasizes the challenges of parenting in public, and empowers staff to step in to support parents or others in the moment to diffuse situations that may otherwise escalate.

There are lots of resources available on the No Hit Zone website.  And if you are intrigued by The Wakanheza Project, contact your library system, because there are probably people in your area who are willing to share resources and ideas about it, based on a train-the-trainer session held five or six years ago.

Check out other WAPL youth program reports from the April 27-28 conference (links will be highlighted when published):

• It's Not Just the Facts, Ma'am!": Creating and Marketing a Dynamic Youth NF Collection - Marge Loch-Wouters
• Flip the Children's Space: A Face-Lift for Kids - Susan Queiser, Patricia Becker
• STEAM Programming on a Budget: Planning High Interest Programs to Engage Families and Youth - Emily Zorea
• Teach and Be Taught - Teens in the Library - Emily Sanders
• YSS Leadership Meeting
• Return of the Notable Books Report - Leah Langby etal
• Sound Learning: Read-Alongs Enhancing Literacy Development - Sharon Grover, Jamie Swenson
• All Play Literature Engagement for Public Libraries - Ashlee Kunkel, Valerie Edwards

Stop here at the WAPL conference website for all the session handouts and slidedecks.