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 video is also broken into shorter segments. Click the "Read More" link below to see these shorter videos.

Please see below the call for program proposals from the WLA Conference Program Committee:

Go to the NEWI list of free webinars to find continuing education opportunities in which you can participate without leaving your library; most sessions are 60 minutes long, and are provided – at no charge to you – by associations, agencies, companies, and library systems.
 
Here’s a sample of webinars offered this month; click on a title to register:

• Body Odor: The Most Dreaded Conversation of All Time – March 5
• Marketing Crash Course for Librarians: The Beginner’s Guide to Promoting Your Collection and Events – March 10
• Services for Older Adults: Library Programs for Any Time and Any Place – March 11

Go to the NEWI list of free webinars to find continuing education opportunities in which you can participate without leaving your library; most sessions are 60 minutes long, and are provided – at no charge to you – by associations, agencies, companies, and library systems.
 
Here’s a sample of webinars offered this month:

• Activate Your Rural Community – Feb 5
• Free Tools for Working with Social Media – Feb 5
• Rural & One-Person Libraries: Safety & Security for Staff, presented by Dr. Steve Albrecht – Feb 6
• A Deeper Understanding of the Lives of People Experiencing Homelessness by Ryan Dowd – Feb 6
• Hiring & Recruiting Library Workers: A Guide for Small and Rural Librarians – Feb 7
• How to Create Video for Social Media on a Shoestring Budget: Tips & Tools – Feb 11
• Intro to Creating a Library Marketing Plan (includes a customizable template) – Feb 13
• Fine Free: How Libraries Are Increasing Equity, Engagement and Access for Their Communities – Feb 13
• Financial Literacy at Small & Rural Libraries: Little Library, Big Impact– Feb 18
• Outreach Programming: Finding & Serving Hidden Patrons – Feb 26

Follow-up message from WiLS:

It was wonderful to have you at our 2020 Membership Meeting last week. Thank you so much for being part of the community and for your interest in what we are doing to support our members.
 
The meeting recording and slides are available.
 
Also, we are excited to share that the WiLS 2019 Annual Report has been published and you can find it here.
 
Please let us know at information@wils.org if you have any questions.
 
Thank you!
--
WiLS General Information
information@wils.org

Below are the headlines from the January 31, 2020 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• Annual Reports: It's that time of year again!
• 2020 Collection Development Grants
• Homelessness 201: A Deeper Understanding of the Lives of People Experiencing Homelessness (Free Webinar)
• Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion: Lessons Learned from Industry Leaders
• Advisory Meeting: February 7th
• Voices of Women in America: Survey Due TODAY

The Great Lakes ADA Center in collaboration with the ADA National Network invites you to attend the February ADA Audio Conference Series session titled “Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion: Lessons Learned from Industry Leaders” featuring  Robert Gould , PhD, Instructor and Project Coordinator , Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois Chicago (UIC); Sarah Parker Harris, PhD, associate professor and director of graduate and undergraduate studies, Department of Disability and Human Development, UIC; and Courtney Mullin, MPA, PhD Candidate in Disability Studies at UIC.

Session Description: Discussions about the meaningful inclusion of workers with disabilities are often missing from research and practice. Join us as the presenters discuss the findings from a research study that included interviewing industry leaders involved in the diversity and inclusion efforts of more than 40 businesses across the Great Lakes Region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin).  The research team worked with the businesses to better understand the process of creating an inclusive workplace culture in relation to informal and formal policies, programs, initiatives, and practices that support the recruitment, hiring, and retention of workers with disabilities. The presenters provide a summary of some of the emerging best practices and challenges to implementing them. There will be time for participants to ask the presenters about their work.

This session is offered via the telephone and/or via the web based Blackboard Ultra webinar platform.   The session will be captioned via webinar platform. Registration is available at www.ada-audio.org  (you will need to set up an account on the website if you do not have one already).

Questions regarding the session should be directed to webinars@adaconferences.org or at 877-232-1990 (V/TTY).

Because we want to provide the best possible service to all people – and some patron interactions require a thoughtful and deliberate approach – you now have anytime access to online training from Ryan Dowd that will give you practical tools you can use every day. Through this training, you will learn how to compassionately manage problems and prevent conflicts with all patrons who enter your library, including those who are experiencing trauma such as mental health issues, homelessness, and substance abuse issues.
 
The online training is 3½ hours long and is on-demand, so you can watch it little by little or in bigger chunks, whenever works for your schedule. The subscription runs from January - December 2020.
 
Supervisors & Department Heads: please share this info with your staff. If someone on your staff does not have a work email address, please contact Joy Schwartz with their alternate email address and she’ll send them a personalized invitation.

Below are the headlines from the latest 📣 Nic News Weekly newsletter.

• New Mileage Reimbursement Rate for 2020
• FREE Courses on Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Free webinars on teen outreach, guiding staff through change, programs for babies & more this month (NEWI)
• Website Accessibility Checks Anyone Can Do
• Are You Using Images Legally? Get FREE Sources Below!
• Time to Register for Library Legislative Day

The Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference is a state-wide web conference developed by the Nicolet Federated Library System and supported by 15 other library systems in Wisconsin since 2013.

This year, we welcome two new session tracks in Adult Services and Library Management. ​

The sad reality is that most PDFs found online are not very accessible to screen reader users. For many PDFs, screen reader users can only access the words in the document and not the structure (like headings or lists). In an online survey of over 1000 screen reader users, over 75 percent of people said PDF documents are likely to pose significant accessibility issues. By contrast, just over 30 percent said the same thing about Microsoft Word documents. Considering the large number of PDFs on websites, this is very troubling.
​
The good news is that the process for creating accessible PDFs can be very straightforward. For example, it often only takes a couple minutes to turn a well-structured and accessible source file (like a Word document) into an equally accessible PDF.

Source: ​https://www.macfound.org/pages/get-started/pdf/

NFLS member library staff: if you need further assistance making your documents or media more accessible, please contact Lori Baumgart.

It takes a specialized skill set to conduct a complete web accessibility evaluation, but there are several things anyone can do to evaluate a website. Below are 6 things you can do without a knowledge of HTML.

Start by watching this 6-minute video demonstrating these evaluation steps. Then use the details below to try it yourself.

See below for WiLS learning opportunities in January - February 2020:

Check out more Upcoming Events that WiLS is hosting at
​https://www.wils.org/wils-events/wilsevents/upcoming-events/.

WHERE: Stephenson Public Library - Marinette
WHEN: Thursday, December 5th, 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM (Doors open 9AM)

Topics will include the following:

• Compassionate Accountability: Dealing with Problem Behaviors in the Library
• Lunch and Learn: Breaking Down §43.30 Before the Police are Breaking Down Your Library Door!
  ​(RSVP is requested so we can get an accurate lunch count.)
• Purple Angel Program: Elderly and Dementia, Alzheimer's, Memory Care
• After 1:30, Marinette County Library staff will receive a walk-through of their new website and receive training on maintaining its pages in Weebly. Other libraries are welcome to attend/observe should they choose.

See detailed agenda below:

Please see the links from the 2019 WLA convention below.  For those of you who attended, please fill out the Attendee Survey.

For all… I would highly recommend the link to the Keynote Speaker if you were not in attendance in person (and even if you were… it never hurts to hear good stuff twice).

Thanks for supporting WLA
Tracy Vreeke

Below are the headlines from the latest 📣 Nic News Weekly newsletter.

• Free Webinar: Addressing Ableism in Your Built Environment
• Apply for PLA Awards & Grants by December 6
• CSLP 2020 "Imagine Your Story" Incentives & Decor Catalogs: Arriving Next Week
• Figure Eight: A Northern Lakes Mystery by Jeff Nania
• Is Internet Explorer going away?  Not really.
• Ryan Dowd's Librarian's Guide to Homelessness: Online Training Coming in 2020
• Small Library Strategic Planning: Funding Available

The following information is forwarded to from the Great Lakes ADA Center:
 
Free Webinar:  Addressing Ableism in Your Built Environment sponsored by America Walks
Date: October 29, 2019 12-1:30pm Central Time
Register on-line at: https://tinyurl.com/yxq38xma
 
America Walks is excited to bring the series back for an episode that will explore the topic of ableism and how it informs our programs, places, and interactions, “Addressing Ableism in Your Built Environment.”
 
This program will look at how individual, organizational, and institutional privilege intentionally and unintentionally creates barriers to the safe, accessible, and equitable spaces to walk and move that we all aspire to create. It will explore the topic of ableism and include presentations from experts on proactive and immediate ways individuals can contribute to dismantling the pervasive daily exclusion that people with disabilities experience every day. Attendees of this webinar will:

• Explore the topic of ableism and how it is found in programs, policies, and places related to walkable and moveable communities
• Hear from experts on their own perspectives and experiences with ableism
• Learn tools, resources, and ways to dismantle the barriers ableism creates

Wisconsin Dementia Resource Network (WDRN) will offer four regional education events with presentations from local community partners this year:

• Northwest Wisconsin - October 21, 2019
• Southwest Wisconsin - December 2019 
• Northeast and Southeast Wisconsin - Spring events 2020

Below are the headlines from the latest 📣 Nic News Weekly newsletter.

• New Expense & Travel Report Form
• BIG LIBRARY READ: I’m Not Dying with You Tonight Begins November 1
• Stay in the Web Accessibility Loop with WebAIM
• Webinar 2 of 3: Creating Compelling Copy - aka Persuasive Writing and How to Effectively Tell Your Library's Story