The 2020 application period for the WiLS Ideas to Action Fund is open!

WiLS encourages your ideas that are collaborative and have the potential to benefit other organizations in the state and beyond. Has our current unpredictable world made you think of a new way to get work done? Did you hatch a good idea that you’d like to implement? Or maybe you have a project that has already been successful and you’d like to scale it up? Apply for project management support and up to $5000 from WiLS in a short and simple application process. 

The deadline to apply is June 1st.

Read more about the program, eligibility, and selection criteria on the WiLS Ideas to Action website.

Attached is an infographic from one of the iSchool professors, Rebekah Willett. She is part of a research project that put this together for families. Feel free to share it widely!

Please also read  ​Materials Quarantine: No More than 24 Hours Needed, per CDC Epidemiologist, provided by WI Libraries for Everyone on March 31, 2020.

Below are the headlines from the 04/03/2020 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• Library Card Registration, Renewal and Digital Services Available to Community
• Supporting Parents and Caregivers of Young Children
• Wisconsin PBS Stations' At-Home Learning Launch
• Collaborative Summer Library Program Newsletter
• CCBC Choices: Great New Books Webinars
• Recollection Wisconsin Digital Projects Toolkit & other Digitization Professional Development Opportunities
• Events Canceled or Postponed

“InfoSoup digital services are open to you even while (libraries) are closed,” said Evan Bend, Library Services Manager with the Outagamie Waupaca Library System (OWLS). Individuals that don’t have a library card with InfoSoup can sign up for one online and library staff will contact them with a temporary card number and pin that will allow access to all the InfoSoup digital resources.

An InfoSoup library card grants patrons access to digital resources for all ages such as ebooks, audiobooks, digitized magazines, newspaper archives and genealogy research. All resources are absolutely free with a library card. Learn more at www.infosoup.info/digital.
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To register for a card, simply complete an online application at www.InfoSoup.org/selfreg. Library staff will follow up with each applicant with a library card number and PIN to access the library’s online resources.

​Learn more about the Recollection Wisconsin Digital Projects Toolkit and other professional development opportunities for digitization projects here.

Due to the COVID-19 closures, CCBC Librarians are presenting their Great New Books presentations as webinars this spring:
 
April 8 from 9 - 10 a.m.: Great New Books for Birth - Grade 5

• Join CCBC librarians as they highlight some of the books in CCBC Choices 2020, the most recent edition of the library's annual best-of-the-year list, for children from birth through grade 5.  A copy of  the CCBC Choices 2020 booklet may not have reached you prior to the COVID-19 closures; you can access the citation list of Choices 2020 titles here.  

April 15 from 9 - 10 a.m. Great New Books for Older Children & Teens

• Join CCBC librarians as they highlight some of the books in CCBC Choices 2020, the most recent edition of the library's annual best-of-the-year list, for older children and teens in grades 6-12.  A copy of  the CCBC Choices 2020 booklet may not have reached you prior to the COVID-19 closures; you can access the citation list of Choices 2020 titles here.  

There will be no CCBC Shorts in April. The next scheduled episode of CCBC Shorts will be on May 13.

Below are the headlines from the 03/06/2020 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• Additional Funding for Wisconsin's Digital Library
• Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grants: Apply by March 31
• Library 2.0 Webinars with Dr. Steve Albrecht
• Remote & Online Services to Children (Webinar Recording)
• Learning While Away from the Library
• Ancestry Library Edition: Remote Access Available while Libraries are Closed
• Wisconsin Newspaper Archive Expanded to Include Entire Collection while Libraries are Closed
• Online Storytime Resources
• For Libraries Offering Online Storytimes
• Events Cancelled or Postponed
• NFLS Librarians' Advisory Committee Meeting: April 3

Learning something new can be a diversion from the news; you can go to the NEWI list of free webinars to find online continuing education opportunities in which you can participate while your library is closed and you shelter in place. Most sessions are 60 minutes long, and are provided – at no charge to you – by associations, agencies, companies, and library systems.
 
Here are webinars related to COVID-19; click on a title to register:

• Pandemic Mini-Conference: Libraries Stepping up to Serve the Needs of Communities in Crisis (4 webinar sessions) – March 26
  • Self-Care During A Crisis: Breathe, Think, And Grow
  • Why and How to Promote Your Online Services During the Quarantine
  • Serving Patrons In A Crisis
  • Preparing Your Digital Branch for Increased Use
• Public Libraries Respond to COVID-19 series of 4 webinars:
  • The Current Landscape – March 26
  • Successful Ways to Work Remotely – April 2
  • Managing Stress and Anxiety – April 9
  • Innovative Solutions in Times of Crisis – April 16
• Coronavirus Frauds and Scams: What You Need to Know – April 8

 
Need a break from pandemic news? Here’s a sample of webinars on other topics; click on a title to register:

The following information comes from Mark Jochem, Workforce Development Specialist at South Central Library System.

Lots of information and resources are coming across the wire. WiLS has created this continually-updated list of them to serve as a reference point for its members. If you would like to see something added to this list, let WiLS know at information@wils.org.

Click Here to Access WiLS' List of Information Resources

Following are the introduction and topics in the latest Libraries Transform newsletter.
Click here to go directly to the Libraries Transform newsletter.

Looking for a little direction as you work from home? What a great time to engage in virtual professional development activities.
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System and State Continuing Education Coordinators are always working hard to bring you fresh content on a wide variety of subjects pertinent to our profession.

> > Here’s a point of entry for professional development opportunities on lots of different subjects.

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For Immediate Release
 
Thursday, March 19, 2020
 
NICOLET FEDERATED LIBRARY SYSTEM TO OFFER INCREASED SUPPORT TO SYSTEM LIBRARIES AS MORE MOVE TO ONLINE DELIVERY SYSTEMS IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 CONCERNS
 
GREEN BAY –  With the majority of its system member libraries turning to online services and closing their physical locations in accordance with federal, state and local orders to reduce the spread of the pandemic coronavirus, Nicolet Federated Library System (NFLS), Bellevue, WI, will temporarily suspend its delivery services to member libraries.
 
In addition, in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, NFLS offices in Bellevue, WI will close Friday, March 20, 2020, until further notice. Employees will work from home, monitoring the situation closely while providing the highest level of service to its member libraries.
 
These decisions were made in consideration of, and in accordance with, Emergency Order #5 issued by Governor Tony Evers that, among other things, prohibits mass gatherings of 10 or more people. The Division for Libraries and Technology (DLT) has determined that libraries fall within this Emergency Order.
 
NFLS is the facilitator of inter-library loan and delivery services for borrowed books and library materials to and between its 42 member libraries in Northeast Wisconsin.  At present, most of these libraries have closed their physical locations.  According to Tracy Vreeke, Director of NFLS, "It is important at this time of uncertainty for NFLS to offer increased support to our member libraries as they make the decision to provide online versions of these materials and resources available through a variety of different mediums.”
 
“In a time when all must do their part to reduce the spread of a global pandemic, NFLS staff is ready and willing to help librarians with continuing education, and provide member libraries with the resources they need to help them meet the increased demand for online materials in a timely and effective manner,” Vreeke said.
 
As more information becomes available, NFLS will work with member libraries to determine the best course of action for implementation of a proper time frame for restoration of inter-library delivery services.
 
NFLS libraries will remain open online: Please contact your local library for current library services. A list of NFLS libraries can be found online at https://www.nfls.lib.wi.us/libraries.html. Future announcements will be posted on the libraries’ web and social media sites.
 
About the Nicolet Federated Library System:
The Nicolet Federated Library System (NFLS) is a state-funded organization assisting 42 member public libraries in providing better services to the people of northeastern Wisconsin since 1976. NFLS' public libraries span eight counties: Brown, Door, Florence, Kewaunee, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto and Shawano.
 
NFLS is third largest of the 16 public library systems in the state and is organized under the WI Dept. of Public Instruction. Each system is governed by an independent board of trustees and funded by state aids to carry out the service requirements set forth in Chapter 43 of the Wisconsin Statutes.  For more information, go to:  https://www.nfls.lib.wi.us/
 
Media and other inquiries, please contact: Tracy Vreeke, Nicolet Federated Library System Director at tvreeke@nflsoffice.org

Remember to be on the lookout for any fraudulent COVID-19 emails. If you have any suspicion at all, it's better to Google an organization and go to its website than to click on a link.

Here is a good article from Consumer Report’s site that goes over the situation and provides great suggestions for avoiding scams:  https://www.consumerreports.org/phishing-vishing/how-to-avoid-coronavirus-phishing-scams/.