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.

Congratulations Monica Treptow

DPI's School Library Media Consultant Monica Treptow was recently named WEMTA 2024 Professional of the Year. WEMTA 2024 Professional of the Year. The award, presented by the Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), recognizes a member of the Association for their leadership and professionalism in the library, media, or educational technology profession in service to K-12 students, teachers, and the community. 

The announcement in Wisconsin Libraries for Everyone included the following information : "In their nomination, the group warmly reflected on Treptow’s amazing contribution to Wisconsin’s schools and librarians, “Monica has been a true leader in the field, bringing together experienced professionals, supporting those new to the role and providing fresh opportunities for continuous professional growth for everyone…. Whether facilitating a meeting of library and technology leaders from Wisconsin’s five largest school districts or working with CESA's to create connections across the most rural counties, Monica truly has impacted all corners of our state.”

We echo these accolades and are thrilled at Monica's award. She has been a tireless advocate and leader for school and public library collaboration on a local and statewide level. She works closely with her DPI public library consultant colleagues on many projects including the statewide collaborative group "Connecting WI Libraries" that supports school library and public library collaboration and networking.  

Congratulations Monica!

You can read more about her award here.

Connecting WI Libraries Program/Meeting

The Connecting Wisconsin Libraries group consists of representatives from DPI, WLA YSS and WEMTA. They meet bi-monthly to plan projects that support and benefit cooperation and collaboration among school and public youth librarians. This month, they are offering a panel discussion program with both school and public youth librarians exploring their respective responsibilities and services. It's a "don't miss opportunity for any interested WI youth librarian to join this free and open meeting/program!

The next Connecting Wisconsin Libraries meeting will take place on Thursday January 18th at 3:00 p.m. Please see below for the Teams meeting invite. 

Have you ever wondered what your school or public library peer does in their day-to-day work? Curious about crossover opportunities for collaboration and mutual problem-solving with library peers in your community? Join us for a panel discussion on "A day in the life of..." with school media specialists Anne Smith and Emily Zorea, and youth services public librarians Laci Sheldon and Tiffany Helgerson. Panelists will talk about programming, lesson planning, collection development, how workplace policies and procedures inform their decision making, and much more. There will be time for Q&A and we hope to have a robust conversation around how school and public librarians can support each other.

Please feel free to share this email message with your school and library colleagues. 

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 257 874 254 167
Passcode: 3JL4yy

Download Teams | Join on the web

Or call in (audio only)

+1 608-620-9781,,276812922#   United States, Madison

Phone Conference ID: 276 812 922#

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Learn More | Meeting options

 ~ Chris, Monica, and Jeni

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 

Are You Covid-Forged?

Heading into a time of increased cases of COVID and summer reading program business seems like a double whammy. While many, tired of the vigilance, stress and uncertainty, want the pandemic to just go away, the virus just keeps on doing what virus evolved to do - infect people who aren't prepared. So even if we have everything set for the summer, there is a strong possibility you will have to adapt what you have planned to make sure you, your co-workers and your kids and families stay safe. 

A recent ALSC blog post got me thinking about the fact we have all been forged or re-forged over the past 2+ years in how we provide service and reshift out and reshift in adapt to changing pandemic circumstances. With the more muted public health guidance, the fires are still hot and waiting for further forging that we have to navigate more individually. And you know, I believe we can do it.

To lift your spirits, read this blog  on the many ways we have adapted. It will help you remember and celebrate your many successes and prepare you for more to come! Stop here to read the post. [Five Things I Learned from Being a COVID-forged Youth Librarian. Warrenger, Krissy. ALSC blog. May 18, 2022]

Upcoming Virtual Workshop On School/Library Partnerships

The 2020 WVLS (WI Valley Library Service) Fall Youth Services Workshop will be held virtually on Thursday, Dec. 3, from 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Three public school librarians will give a brief tour of their space(s) and describe the realities of working in public school libraries, including responsibilities, schedules, challenges, and accomplishments.

• Learn the diverse needs of school librarians in the Greenwood, Merrill, and Tomahawk school districts.

• Leave with inspiration to further build connections and communication between school and public libraries.

• Have the opportunity to ask questions of the panelists.

Michele Green, WEMTA Past President, will represent Greenwood. Paula Norman will represent Tomahawk, who works in a K-12 building with three, separate library spaces. Anna Julson will represent the Bridges Virtual Academy in Merrill.

Register here.  Contact Anne Hamland at ahamland@wvls.org if you have any questions.

What Kind of Collaborator Are You?

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.

Supporting Collaboration Survey - The Results are In!

Beginning with interviews at the WLA Conference last fall and continuing with an online survey open through winter 2020, 90 public and school librarians shared their thoughts with Connecting Wisconsin Libraries about collaboration in their communities. It was encouraging to see that 95% of those surveyed had found an opportunity to collaborate with their public or school library colleagues. And, we were certainly not surprised to find that the greatest challenge to successful collaborations was finding the time to make the work happen.

Please view our infographic, What Kind of Collaborator are You?, to find out more about the data collected. You will also find some helpful hints for getting collaboration started in your community. 

We would like to thank all those who participated in the survey. The feedback has led to powerful conversations and great ideas for how to build our community moving forward. Look for more exciting opportunities to connect with your public and school colleagues in the near future.

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 Raquel Rand (WEMTA) .

Share Your Ideas about Collaboration & Help Connect Wisconsin Libraries!

Original post https://dpi.wi.gov/wilibrariesforeveryone/share-your-ideas-about-collaboration

Connecting Wisconsin Libraries

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 Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) and Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association (WEMTA) newsletters, as well as a fun blog post. 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, effective direction.

We began gathering feedback at the WLA Conference this past 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.” We had hoped to do a similar activity at the WEMTA Conference, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.

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 library collaboration looks like in our state and find more strategies 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.

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 connect with us.

WEMTA Conference Proposals Open

The Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association has opened its call for proposals for their 2020 annual conference! Held at the Kalahari on March 22-24th, this conference is a great place to share content relevant to our school media colleagues. What a great opportunity to both present and attend a youth library conference!

This doesn't just necessarily mean proposing sessions on collaborative or cooperative programs you might be doing with local school colleagues though. You can think outside the box and develop a proposal on programs (coding; makerspaces; pop-up programs; intergenerational programs) that would be just as successful at the school library as at the public library. You may be doing some deep work on building a more diverse or inclusive collection for a specific age level - sharing your strategies and discoveries would be a possible proposal. Booktalking; advocacy tips; weeding mightiness; effective planning strategies; coping with stress and using self-care strategies; and a host of other topics can all be easily adapted from public library youth services to school librarianship.

Some of the WEMTA-suggested session topics include: advocacy; coaching and professional development; coding; connection/collaboration, community outreach; culturally responsive instruction; digital citizenship; engagement; growth mindset; library management; literacy; makerspace; mobile devices; online tools; personalized learning; problem solving/critical thinking.


Stop here to submit your proposal(s).  The deadline is October 31st!  has been extended to Nov 17.

LSTA Grant Cycle Opens for School-Public Library Collaborative Grants

Have an idea in mind to work with a colleague at your public library or school library on a collaborative project involving Collection management with a focus on diversity, inclusion and equity or hands-on learning (including maker or computational thinking?

DPI, using $50,000 in LSTA funds, is ready to have you submit grants between Monday Sept 16 through January 14, 2020 on a rolling basis.

Want to know the full scoop? Just click here for all the details!