Foundations of Wisconsin Librarianship Workshop

Registration is now open for the Foundations of Wisconsin Librarianship: Essential Skills for Library Media Specialists and Public Library Staff Serving Youth workshop. 

Photo from dpi.wi.gov

This workshop is specifically structured to be most beneficial to public library staff newly (three years or less) serving youth in Wisconsin libraries and introduces essential skills, resources, and strategies for working in public libraries and collaborating with school libraries. Attendees will be joined by school library media specialists, with time set aside for each group to convene separately, focusing on their institutional role. The groups will also join together to begin networking and building relationships for future collaborations.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is hosting this workshop at Hotel Marshfield, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, from 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4, through 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2026. There is no registration cost, and most meals will be provided. Attendees, or their library, will be responsible for mileage, two nights lodging, and one evening meal. Participants who successfully complete the full workshop will receive a $100 stipend. 

Space is limited to 25 public library attendees.

Tentative Topic Sessions:

• Resources Spotlight (collection development)
• Programming 101
• Early Literacy, Brain Development, and Storytime 101
• Compassion Resilience
• Building Community Based Summers
• BadgerLink for Public Libraries
• Games and Play Learning

Registration will close on Monday, May 4, 2026. Participants will be notified of their attendance status by May 11, 2026, and they will need to confirm their attendance by May 20, 2026.

Public Library & School Library Collaboration - Feedback Needed!

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.

Looking for Your Feedback - Supporting Collaboration Survey

Almost two years ago a small group of librarians started thinking about the great things happening with public and school libraries and wanted to find a way to both promote these efforts and encourage even more collaboration. We began with great conversations and created this “Tidbit” column, which has become part of the WLA and WEMTA newsletters. Now, as we look toward the future, we are looking to all of our colleagues throughout Wisconsin to participate and help channel our group’s energy in the most productive, and effective direction.

We began gathering feedback at the WLA Conference this fall where we interviewed and surveyed people who visited our table in the exhibit hall, which was hosted by the Department of Public Instruction. As a way to say thank you, each participant received a sticker proudly announcing, “I’m Connecting Wisconsin Libraries.” In March, we hope to do a similar activity at the WEMTA Conference. 

Since not everyone is able to attend these conferences, and we truly want to hear from as many public and school librarians as possible, here is a link to our survey. Please consider filling it out so that we can get a clearer picture of what public and school collaboration looks like in our state and begin to find ways to overcome some of the challenges that may be standing in our way. We will be analyzing the data and sharing the results of these surveys in spring of 2020. 

Thanks, in advance, for sharing your thoughts with us. And, if you want that super awesome sticker for your laptop or water bottle, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Monica Treptow, School Library Consultant, Resources for Libraries and Lifelong Learning, 2109 South Stoughton Rd, Madison, WI, 53716.

This message brought to you through the collaboration 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 Micki Uppena (WEMTA) .

Reflections of a Public Youth Librarian Turned School Librarian

For those of us looking for Emily Zorea, late of Brewer Public Library in Richland Center, never fear. She has transformed into a school librarian for the Ithaca School District's K-12 school. 

Emily shares some important comparisons and reflections on the similarities and differences between the worlds of a public youth librarian and a school librarian in her return to her blog Sowing Seeds Librarian.

Read all about it here in her latest blog post School and Public Librarians: Warriors for Literacy.

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.

Common Core Standards

As librarians, it is important for us to acknowledge shifts in education standards and how they might affect the way students find and engage with information at the library.  The Common Core State Standards Initiative has become a large part of the education realm, meaning that as librarians, we should have a solid understanding of the standards.
A wonderful resource for understanding Common Core is corestandards.org.  The site allows you to explore the standards from a basic walk-through of the highlights to an in-depth reading.  A great tool for building non-fiction and fiction collections that will complement the work being done in schools!