Here are the headlines from the July 29, 2022 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:  

• Welcome, Katie! 
• WLA Awards & Honors Committee announces acceptance of nominations for Library of the Year, Librarian of the Year, and more 
• Sexual Harassment: How to respond to a customer's inappropriate comments 
• Making neighborhood GAMES and outdoor STORIES with community history, monuments, and art 
• Save the date for NFLS Staff Development Day on September 3 

 
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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

Here are the headlines from the March 25, 2022 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• Nominate someone for the SSCS Paralibrarian of the Year Award
• June National Pollinator Month Workshops for Public Libraries
• WiLS Ideas to Action Fund application period opens April 11
• Continuing Education:
  • April Webinars from OverDrive
  • Wisconsin Libraries Talk About Race: Sensitive Conversations & Handling Pushback

During the month, patrons were encouraged to read one (or all!) of the titles and to participate in several anti-racist awareness activities independently available through a Beanstack challenge.
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Here are the headlines from the February 18, 2022 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• What’s News
  • WLA Awards & Honors Committee Seeks Volunteers
  • CCBC Choices 2022
  • State Superintendent's Reading Advisory Council Seeking Applicants
• Library Program Ideas & Resources
  • Use Beanstack's 2021 Summer Reading Report to Adapt for Summer 2022
  • Libraries and Veterans Toolkit
  • Alex Thomas and Friends
• Continuing Education
  • Value the Act of Reading

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. Just click each title to register.

Managing stress & building resilience:

• Be a Burnout Mastermind: Lessons Learned from an ICU Nurse - Noon on Thursday, Feb 3
• We Are NOT Okay: Library Worker Trauma Before and During COVID-19 and What Happens After - Noon on Tuesday, Feb 8
• Leading with Happiness: Proven Ways to Lead Positive Change and Embrace the New World of Work Well-being - 11am on Tuesday, Feb 15
• Creating a Culture of Wellness and Connection: A Trauma-Informed Approach - 2pm on Wednesday, Feb 16
• Finding Joy in Your Work - Noon on Tuesday, Feb 22
• How to Create Psychological Safety in the Workplace - 1pm on Tuesday, Feb 22
• Build a Better World at Work and in Life with Kindness and Gratitude - 9am on Wednesday, Feb 23

Equity, diversity, and inclusion:

• The Hidden Biases of Good People - 11am on Wednesday, Feb 2
• Growing Digital Equity Through Community Partnerships - 2pm on Thursday, Feb 3
• Dismantling Racial Inequity in the Workplace and Diversity in Collection Management - 1:30pm on Wednesday, Feb 9
• Let's Talk About Race At Work - 10am on Tuesday, Feb 15
• Building Belonging: Pronouns at Work - 1pm on Tuesday, Feb 15
• Creating Safe and Inclusive Spacing for 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth in Public and School Libraries - 1pm on Wednesday, Feb 16
• "Let's Talk Race" Toolkits - 2pm on Tuesday, Feb 22
• Promoting the Positive Racial Identity of Black Infants and Toddlers in Early Childhood Programs - 1pm on Thursday, Feb 24
• Welcoming Immigrants Through Cultural Programming: Lessons from the Field - 3pm on Thursday, Feb 24

A sample of webinars on other topics:

• Transitioning to Libby: Tips for Winding Down the OverDrive App and Welcoming More Readers to Libby - 1pm on Wednesday, Feb 2
• Five Facts to Publishing Your Children’s Picture Book - 6pm on Wednesday, Feb 2
• Canva Design Basics - 2pm on Thursday, Feb 10
• Event Preparedness: Active Shooters and Hostile Activity at Your Venues - 1pm on Tuesday, Feb 15
• Calming the Storm: Foundational Skills in Verbal De-escalation - Noon on Wednesday, Feb 16

Special event this month:

• Big Talk From Small Libraries Conference - 8:45am to 4:50pm, Friday, Feb 25
  • Schedule: http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/bigtalk/schedule/
  • Registration form: http://nlc.nebraska.gov/scripts/calendar/eventreg.asp?ProgID=21049​

Here are the headlines from the January 28, 2022 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• WAPL 2022 Call for Proposals
• PBS KIDS Community Learning Cohort for Youth Services Staff
• Game On! Grant
• Lake Michigan Shipwrecks, Mysteries: Virtual Programs by Ross Richardson
• Continuing Education:
  • Copyright for Librarians: What You Need to Know
  • PLA 2022 Virtual Conference Registration is Open

Algoma Public Library was recently announced as a winner of the “East Asia in Wisconsin Library Program” grant competition by the Center for East Asian Studies at UW-Madison. "Grants were awarded to public libraries throughout Wisconsin, enriching their collections with new titles that will enable patrons to deepen their understanding of East Asia (which includes China, Japan, and Korea)."

The library purchased books, DVDs, and programming materials that will enable people to deepen their understanding of East Asia. They were able to purchase over 30 new titles that include materials for all ages. These materials include DVDs, children's fiction books, children's picture books, children's nonfiction, young adult graphic novels, and adult fiction and nonfiction titles. 

With this grant, the library will also be able to host three programs.

• Two of these programs will be kits available for patrons to pick up and do at home.
  • One will be a Chinese New Year Good Fortune Kit for children and will include one lantern craft, a Chinese New Year Activity Book with Stickers, and a 12 Days of Lunar New Year book.
  • The other kit will be a DIY Silk Scarf kit for adults.
• The library will also be playing Bingo in the library to bring in the Chinese Year and will have Chinese New Year prizes for their winners.

When the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) was looking for sponsors for its annual conference, Nicolet Federated Library System (NFLS) jumped at the chance to sponsor keynote speaker Nigel Poor.
 
Nigel is a woman of many talents: visual artist, author, professor, and podcast co-host. In her keynote address at the WLA Annual Conference, Nigel spoke about podcasting as a form of storytelling, the creation and evolution of her podcast, Ear Hustle, and connecting with underserved communities.

NFLS Trustee Kathy Pletcher said “I especially liked her "key components" of storytelling and how she used Ear Hustle stories to illustrate the components.”

"In her powerful keynote, Nigel Poor shared poignant anecdotes about her work with prisoners and the importance of storytelling," recalled Laura Sauser, WLA Executive Director.

Ear Hustle was the first podcast created and produced in a prison. It features first-hand stories from those incarcerated about the daily realities of life inside California’s San Quentin State Prison. In 2020, Ear Hustle was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting for bringing audiences “a consistently surprising and beautifully crafted series on life behind bars.”

Signed copies of Nigel’s books, The San Quentin Project (June 2021) and This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life (October 2021), were available after her keynote and sold out quickly.

Here are the headlines from the December 17, 2021 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• Holiday Break
• Registration Open for Library Legislative Day 2022
• CSLP Summer Symposium Recordings
• Exciting Updates from Beanstack
• One-on-One Job Search Assistance & Career Guidance from Job Center of Wisconsin
• Applications Now Being Accepted for NEA Big Read
• PLA 2022 Conference Updates
• Learning Gaps and Local Partnerships Webinar

For people who are registered on JobCenterofWisconsin.com, there is new online assistance available to any job seeker or career explorer.  Individuals can schedule an online meeting with an Employment & Training Specialist. Meetings could be used to …

• work on a résumé
• practice interviewing skills
• explore different careers
• meet with a career counselor to address barriers to employment

The person needs to have access to a computer and a working email address so the Employment & Training Specialist can send the appropriate meeting connection link.

Download instructions for scheduling these virtual meetings below.

Here are the headlines from the December 10, 2021 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• Unemployment Insurance 1099-G Desk Guide Updated
• Sadarri & Company Summer Learning Program 2022 FUN-tastic Voyage
• Grant Opportunities
  • Digital Preservation & Archive Funding & Training Opportunities
  • Center for South Asia Public Library Grant
• Continuing Education
  • Challenged Books at Your Library: Managing and Addressing Censorship Attempts
  • December Webinars Listing from NEWI