This week’s digest is sneaking in before the holiday.

Happy Independence Day

Eighty-three years ago, Franklin Roosevelt proposed these Four Freedoms: Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear. We can still aspire to this vision of the USA.

With all that’s going on right now, I’d like to take a minute to thank you all for helping to envision and create a better country. It’s hard work. Enjoy your holiday.

Still room for this one–join us!

Book Repair Workshop, Wednesday August 14, 9:30-12:30 at the Clarella Hackett Johnson Public Library in Sand Creek (E 9311County Road I)

Register for this workshop by August 1.  Space is limited to 40 registrants. This workshop supplies 3 contact hours for public library director certification.

Are you neurodivergent?

If you are a neurodivergent library worker or supervisor ages 18 and up, you are invited to participate in an IMLS-funded nationwide research project conducted by faculty and graduate students from the Information School at the University of Washington.

This research investigates the challenges and opportunities that neurodivergent librarians experience in library workplaces. The goal of this study is to is to build libraries’ capacity, at the team level, to improve employment outcomes of neurodivergent librarians, including representation, empowerment, equity, belonging, and advancement.

You are eligible to participate if:

  • You are a neurodivergent librarian or library supervisor.
  • You identify as autistic and/or ADHD (a medical diagnosis is not required).
  • You are currently employed at a public or academic library, or have worked in public or academic libraries within the past five years.

The survey will take 20-30 minutes to complete and additional information is available at the beginning of the survey: bit.ly/NDLibrariansSurvey.  The survey will be open until July 31, 2024.

FYI:  They will also be opening a separate survey for neurotypical librarians and supervisors soon. If you are interested in participating, you can sign up to be contacted when that survey becomes available.

This research study has been approved by the University of Washington Institutional Review Board. If you have any questions, please contact the research team at neurodiversity@uw.edu.

Help! Spread the word

UW Extension Dunn County asked for help sharing this cool opportunity! It’s for fathers who have at least one child that does not live with them full-time. They’re invited to take part in a peer support group program designed to support fathers. The program will consist of four 1-hour sessions and a post-course discussion, along with a one-month follow-up survey. It’ll be led by Extension Educators and the information will only be used to assess the current program and create future programming around parenting and fatherhood.

The sessions will occur virtually on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-7pm from July 16-July 30. If you know of any fathers who would be interested in participating, please pass this along. Fathers who participate in the program will receive $25 for each session–along with $25 for completing the one-month follow-up survey–(up to $150 total in cash or check) as a thank you. Fathers who are interested in participating can sign up for an initial screening phone call, Email the research team directly at focusonfathers@sohe.wisc.edu.

Monthly Marketing Tea: how to use Meta

Meagan Bennett (Bloomer) will be talking about how she set up Meta to post to Facebook and Instagram at the same time, and how she uses it for library promotions. Whether you are a seasoned pro, ready to jump in, or intimidated by the prospect, please join us for a lively discussion. Get the meeting link on the calendar.

Just added to the calendar

Two new events were just added to the calendar today. Go to the IFLS calendar to see all the opportunities coming up for IFLS library workers.

  • Ryan Dowd Monthly Training, Homelessness is a Housing Problem: A Conversation with Gregg Colburn, July 11, 1-2 pm.
  • Ready for Reentry webinar, Tue Aug 13th 1:00pm – 2:00pm “Individuals reentering the community from jail or prison may come to your library facing many unique challenges that impact their ability to make a smooth and effective transition into society.”

The calendar line-up