NFLS Blog

Please check the NEWI list of free webinars to find online continuing education opportunities you may attend from where you are. Most sessions are 60 minutes long, and are provided – at no charge to you – by associations, agencies, companies, and library systems. There’s a lot to choose from, so here’s a sample of topics that may be of interest to you.

Managing stress & building resilience; click title to register:

• Anxiety at Work: 8 Strategies to Help Teams Build Resilience, Handle Uncertainty, and Get Stuff Done  - 10am on Wednesday, June 8
• Beyond Resilience: A New Path to a Strong Culture - 1pm on Wednesday, June 8
• Compassion Resilience: Expectations from Self and Others - 9am on Friday, June 10
• The Relationship Between Personal Stress and Community Resilience - 11am on Monday, June 20
• How Emotional Intelligence Can Help You in the Workplace - 1pm on Tuesday, June 21
• Compassion Resilience: Compassionate Boundary Setting - 9am on Friday, June 24

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); click title to register:

• Inclusive Leadership for Social Impact - 10am on June 2
• Be Intentional, Not Identical: Creating DEI Strategies for the Library That Serves Your Community - 1pm on Tuesday, June 7
• I See a Library! Making Libraries More Accessible to the Visually Impaired - 9am on Wednesday, June 8
• Policies of Yes - 10am on Wednesday, June 8
• Ensuring Accessibility of Information Products and Services - 10am on Wednesday, June 8
• LGBTQ+ 101 - 9am on Tuesday, June 14
• Creating Healthier Productive and More Inclusive Workplaces - 1pm on Tuesday, June 14
• LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion - 9am on Tuesday, June 21

A sample of webinars on other topics; click title to register:

• Supporting Families and Young Children in Times of Fear and Anxiety - 1pm on Wednesday, June 1
• Info Lit 101 Part 3: Misinformation and Disinformation - 3pm on Thursday, June 2
• Instagram Basics for Libraries - 1pm on Wednesday, June 8
• How to Turn Real Events into Fantastic Fiction - 6pm on Monday, June 20
• From Numbers to Narrative: Getting from Data to a Visual Story - Noon on Wednesday, June 22
• Am I Doing This Right? Advice for First Time Managers - 1pm on Wednesday, June 22
• Classic Picture Books are Boring and What You Should Read in Storytime Instead - 1pm on Wednesday, June 29

Algoma Public Library was able to once again hold its Annual Easter Egg Hunt. Library staff hid many eggs (children were limited to five eggs, which held treats and small prizes), played some Easter-themed games, and had crafts available to work on either at the library or to take home with them.

​The library had a wonderful turnout, with approximately 140 participants coming and going within an hour period. This was definitely more than had shown up to any of the library's previous Egg Hunt programs.

Thanks to Cathy Kolbeck, Director at Algoma Public Library, for contributing to this post.

Brown County Library's goal for its National Library Week story collection campaign was to collect 100 Brown County Library stories to then be shared on social media, with donors, and be the focal point of library initiative campaigns.

​It also wanted to encourage patrons by giving them an incentive to win Brown County Library logoed items.

The library's multi-faceted campaign included:

Brown County Library's National Library Week story collection campaign collected 116 Brown County Library stories! Most of the stories were submitted through the online submission form and three random winners were picked and received a Brown County Library logoed tote bag and coffee cup.

The library is excited to start sharing these moving stories with its community. Its National Library Week story collection campaign was the most successful story collection campaign it's had so far. The library will use it as a building block for upcoming campaigns.

For an in-depth campaign recap, download the file below.

Thanks to Susan Lagerman, Community Engagement Manager at Brown County Library, for contributing the information for this post.

Nicolet Federated Library System (NFLS) offered Compassion Resilience Toolkit training for member libraries' staff in April.

The Compassion Resilience Toolkit offers information, activities, and resources for leadership and staff to understand, recognize, and minimize the experience of compassion fatigue, and to increase compassion resilience. The training also provided guidance on how to create cultural agreements to foster positive behavior and accountability within the organization.​

Participants were able to choose from one of three locations for a full-day training session led by trainers from Rogers Health, Rogers Community Learning and Engagement, and WISE (Wise Initiative for Stigma Elimination).

NFLS was pleased to be able to move the work of Compassion Resilience forward! It is important and timely work. As one of the participants put it, "this was exactly what I needed to be able to continue to love my job."

In June 2022, Dominic Frandrup will become the next Door County Library Director. 

Dominic has more than 20 years in the library field. While new to NFLS, Dominic is not new to the OWLSnet consortium. For almost 17 years, Dominic worked for the Waupaca Area Library, serving as Assistant Library Director for almost 10 of those years. For the last five years, he has served as the Director of the Antigo Public Library, a library with multiple branches serving Langlade County.

Dominic is currently reading Overdue by Amanda Oliver, and currently listening to Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie via Libby and Meshuggah's Immutable album when not listening to NPR.

Farnsworth Public Library started new partnerships with two local organizations this spring, leading to some wonderful events for the community of Oconto.​

First, the library reached out to the Bond Community Center about participating in their monthly Family Night events. While normally membership is required to attend events at the Bond Center or use their facilities, Family Nights are free and open to the public.

​The Bond Center typically picks a theme and then organizes activities for children, and makes the pool and gym facilities available. The library's first Family Night was in April, where library staff facilitated a craft, bookmark-designing competition, and coloring and activity sheets. The Easter-themed Family Night brought in 175 people! "These families had a great time, and it was a mutually beneficial experience for the library and the Bond Center - we were able to provide a quiet room with options for those families that weren't interested in swimming or hitting the gym, be an extra set of eyes and hands for Bond Center staff, and reach many new families who aren't regular library users," said the library's director, Kristin Laufenberg. "It was a wonderful partnership that we are eager to continue in the coming months."

The library then partnered with the Oconto Elks Lodge #887 to provide an Easter egg hunt at the library. In years past, the Elks have hosted an egg hunt at a local park. But unpredictable weather, water and ground conditions at the park, and then COVID has meant that an egg hunt hasn't happened for several years. Laufenberg said "the library asked the Elks if they would be interested in co-sponsoring an egg hunt held in the library, and they graciously accepted." The Oconto Elks and the Friends of Farnsworth Public Library were jointly able to sponsor an egg hunt, craft activity, book and prize giveaways, snacks, bike and scooter raffles, and an appearance by the Easter bunny to over 250 people on Good Friday! "This turnout far exceeded what we expected, and we never would have been able to host an event of this size without the monetary donations and hours of work from our local Elks."  And while it did snow that day, the library was toasty warm inside for a wonderful Easter celebration.

The Brown County Library and Ledgeview Parks and Recreation have teamed up to offer a Storywalk® throughout Ledgeview Park along the East River Trail from May through October.

Storywalk will feature a new book each month displayed on yard signs along the trail. This is a great way for adults and their children or grandchildren to enjoy a story together, practice literacy skills, and enjoy healthy exercise as they walk from sign to sign.

​The Brown County Library Bookmobile will be on site June – August and staff will lead storytime and crafts for all ages in the Ledgeview Park shelter, 2064 Dickinson Road.