NFLS Blog

The NFLS News is a bi-monthly newsletter highlighting all the great things the member libraries of the Nicolet Federated Library System are doing throughout our communities. 
 
Read the January 2024 NFLS News for the latest news from a few of our member libraries and others. Topics include: 

• Florence County Library attracts young patrons & families with interactive Touch2Play system 
• Ice skates available at Florence County Library 
• Marinette County Libraries Trustees honors Cheryl Maxwell for 24 years of service 
• Nicolet thanks Elizabeth Fernandez and Cheryl Maxwell for their service to Board of Trustees 
• Slime Time at the Gillett Public Library 
• Lakes Country Library Building and Expansion project 
• Door County Reads Festival kicks off January 20
• Oneida Community Library hosts Homeschool Culture Club​
• Have you Heard About the Frybread Man?

 
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Here are the headlines from the December 15, 2023 📢 Nic News Weekly:  

• Inclusive Services Update: Implicit Bias 
• News from WLA 
  • WLA Literary Awards Committee Seeks New Members 
  • Great Lakes, Great Read = Great News for Wisconsin! 

• Learning Opportunities for Library Staff 
  • PLA 2024: Let NEWI help connect you to attendees from our area 
  • How to Write Effective Survey Questions to Get Useful Data 
  • Play Make Learn 2024 call for proposals open through February 18 

 
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As your NFLS Inclusive Services rep, I wanted to share an end of year update with all of you from the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in Action) Team. Wisconsin Libraries Talk about Race recently hosted a webinar titled Understanding and Challenging Implicit Bias in Decision Making. This training, conducted by Anne Phibbs from Strategic Diversity Initiatives, is archived on The IDEA’s website if you missed it. Knowing how busy things are at the end of the year, I wanted to share some highlights and resources from this talk that you can browse at your leisure.

Unconscious or implicit bias is unintentional. It is the way we automatically react to situations and people without conscious thought. It shapes our judgements about how we conduct ourselves and how we treat others, often without us even knowing it. This can impact who we interview and hire, who we trust, who we see as competent, and who we affiliate with both inside and outside our libraries. It can also impact our collections, programming, services, and policies.

You might be asking, if I’m not even aware of these biases, how do I combat them? Well to begin with, understand that we all have these blind spots. We need to do the work to challenge our own thinking. When making decisions, slow down and try to consider all angles of the issue. Be objective. Ask others who think differently than you for their views. Become aware of your biases.

The resources below can help you understand and combat your own biases.

Here are the headlines from the November 10, 2023 📢 Nic News Weekly:  

• Applications for National Friends of Libraries Week Awards due December 15
• ALA Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities grant applications are open 
• Wisconsin Libraries Talk About Race webinars: 
  • Understanding and Challenging Implicit Bias in Decision Making 
  • Moving from Allyship to Leadership: Agency, Accountability, and Emotional Intelligence 

 
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Here are the headlines from the September 22, 2023 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:  

• Dr. Williams attends grand opening celebration at Brown County Library's East Branch 
• Public vacancies on COLAND 
• What's new for the 2023 Public Library Annual Report 
• Survey on Intellectual Freedom Challenges in Wisconsin Libraries 
• Grant & Scholarship Opportunities 
  • WHS Local History & Historic Preservation Conference Scholarship 
  • Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities 

• Call for visual art and poetry from individuals with disabilities 
• Learning opportunities for library staff 

 
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Here are the headlines from the June 23, 2023 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:  

• NFLS welcomes Maryssa Paulsen 
• Access to state government information made easy 

• CCBC releases annual diversity statistics 
• ARSL Grant Application & Reporting Barriers survey 
• Learning Opportunities for Library Staff 
  • ​Registration open for WAAL/TSS virtual conference 
  • 2023 ARSL Conference early bird registration 
  • Submit proposals for Power Up 2024 
  • ​WI Library Buildings & Spaces Project 

 
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Here are the headlines from the May 12, 2023 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:  

• Finding outdoor inspiration online with BadgerLink 
• CSLP - summer programming announcement and book list 
• Library Program Ideas & Resources 
• Creating Accessible Content webinar by Main CITE 
• No Nic News Weekly next week 

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

• 2023 WAPL conference call for program proposals 
• Libraries eligible for new digital equity outreach funding 
• Library Program Ideas & Resources 
  • Project Invitation: One Seed, One Wisconsin
  • Early Literacy Hmong board books 
• Continuing Education Opportunities
  • ​NEWI Youth Services & SLP 2023 Workshop
  • Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference 2023
  • ​Webinars from GearBox Labs 

 
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Here are the headlines from the October 14, 2022 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:  

• Erickson to be inducted into 2022 Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame 
• Three NFLS members elected to 2023 WLA leadership positions 
• Celebrate National Friends of Libraries Week October 16-22, 2022 
• Join the 2022-2023 IDEA Advisory Committee 
• 2023 Call for ARSL Volunteers 
• Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions 
• WLA Conference Early Bird Registration ends this Monday, October 17th 
• Save the dates for the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference 

 
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Here are the headlines from the August 26, 2022 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:  

• Staff Development Day on September 23 
• WLA News submission deadline is September 1 
• Library Card Sign-Up Month 
• I Love My Librarian Award 2023 
• NEH Announces $31.5 Million for 226 Humanities Projects Nationwide 
• Inclusive Services Special Interest Group Meeting 
• NEWI Youth Services Annual Grassroots Meeting 
• Continuing Education:
  • Beyond the Post: Making Social Media Work for Your Library 
  • Tell Your Library’s Story
  • ​2022 Local History and Historic Preservation Conference

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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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