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

• Last call for WAPL 2022 for program proposals
• OverDrive App No Longer Available to Download
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• Hiring: Director, Door County Library
• Compassion Resilience Tool Kit: Training available to NFLS member library staff

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

Here are the headlines from the February 4, 2022 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• Governor Evers to kick off 2022 WLA Library Legislative Day
• Submit program proposals to WAAL today
• Continuing Education
  • WEMTA Conference early bird registration extended to Feb. 11
  • Let's Talk About Race At Work
  • Building Cultural Proficiencies for Racial Equity Framework information session & comment period

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

The Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries (WAPL) Annual Conference Programming Committee seeks program proposals for the next in-person public library conference to be held May 11-13, 2022 at The Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, WI.

Have you ever told yourself, “That just isn’t possible?” With a theme of INFINITE POSSIBILITIES, the goal of this year’s WAPL conference is that attendees will leave empowered to explore possibilities beyond their library and community.

We hope to offer a broad range of content from all areas of the public library world, so we welcome all library and library system staff, as well as students, trustees, and those involved in friends and foundation groups to submit proposals.

Feedback suggests attendees are looking for programs on management, leadership, patron confidentiality, "boomer" awareness, patron apathy, technology, data-driven decision making, brand management and marketing, small library, genre and reader's advisory, and sessions for trustees and support staff. Other suggested topics include change management, grant writing, handling large donations, inclusivity, and dreaming big. 

Special Interest Groups are encouraged to submit proposals and meeting/social requests.

Proposals for presentations, panels, workshops, demonstrations, participatory sessions, business meetings, and unit social events are welcome. Sessions will run 60 minutes in length with a maximum of four presenters - 45 minutes for the presentation and 15 minutes of Q&A.

The deadline for submission is February 25, 2022. All submitters will be notified of their acceptance status by March 11, 2022.

Please use this Program Proposal Form to submit your proposals.

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

• WLA Intellectual Freedom Special Interest Group Meet-up: January 24
• "Blowing in the Wind" Concert by David HB Drake
• REMINDER: Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference is Jan. 26-27
• Wisconsin Libraries Talk About Race

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.

The Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) announces new board members and officers for 2022. These leaders represent a variety of roles and types of libraries from across the state:

• Nyama Reed, Director of the Whitefish Bay Public Library, will serve as Board President.
• Kristopher Turner, Associate Director, UW-Madison Law Library, will serve as President-Elect.
• Rachel Arndt, Library and Special Collections Consultant, Rachel Arndt Consulting, LLC, will serve as Treasurer.
• Maureen Olle-LaJoie, Director, Chalmer Davee Library, UW-River Falls, will serve as WLA Board Liaison representing the Wisconsin Association of Academic Librarians (WAAL) division.
• Carrie Doyle, Academic Librarian; Head of Acquisitions & Serials, UW-Madison Law Library will serve as WLA Board Liaison representing the Association of Wisconsin Special Librarians (AWSL)

“I am thrilled to welcome such talented individuals into these leadership roles!” said WLA Executive Director Laura Sauser. “Their unique backgrounds and diverse experience will help elevate our already strong board of directors and our organization overall.”

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

Here are the headlines from the December 3, 2021 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• WLA Library Legislative Day 2022
• National Library Week is April 3-9, 2022
• Apply Now: Inclusive Financial Literacy Programming Kit
• Grant Opportunity for Public and School Libraries
• Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference: January 26-27, 2022

Here are the headlines from the November 5, 2021 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• ALA Seeks Applicants for National Policy Corps
• The Children's Book Award Committee Wants YOU!
• Apply for Transformation for Libraries: The Futures School
• NEA Big Read Grants: Apply by January 26
• Wisconsin Author Rochelle Melander Releases New Book
• CSLP Newsletter, Program Manual & Product Catalog

Here are the headlines from the October 29, 2021 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• WLA Mentorship Program: Be a mentor. Find a mentor.
• ARSL Virtual Conference Registration Still Open
• Library Marketing Plan Workshop
• PLA 2022 Offers $280 Early Bird Discount
• New Job Openings at Door County Library

Here are the headlines from the October 8, 2021 - 📢 Nic News Weekly:

• DPI Accepting Grant Applications for $3 Million in ARPA Library Pandemic Relief Funding
• Wisconsin Humanities Recovery Grants Deadline October 15
• ARSL In-Person Conference Registration Closes October 13
• PLA 2022 Conference Registration Now Open
• WLA Annual Conference Updates
• Webinars in October (NEWI)
• Possibilities of Polka Endless in 2022
• CSLP Newsletter: September 2021