Book ban tracker from ALA
(Thanks to Melissa Eral for sharing.) New resources curated by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom: to help track what titles are challenged and bills in legislation. It’s nice to have something all-encompassing across the country.
- List of all states where each title has been challenged.
- Real-time updates on the latest book censorship cases.
WLA 2026 award nominations open
(from WLA blog) Wisconsin library workers deserve recognition for all of their amazing work, and we know you do, too. Help us by nominating them (or yourself!) for one of the Association’s awards. Nominations for all awards are due July 31, 2026. Find more information about these awards on the WLA website. Please contact the WLA Office with questions at [email protected].
Awards are available in a variety of categories and are conferred by three separate committees.
- Awards conferred by the WLA Awards & Honors Committee.
- Awards conferred by the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center Steering Committee
- Awards conferred by the WLA and WEMTA Intellectual Freedom Committees.
For your trustees
Please share!
Trustee Tales: advocating for your library
Trustee Tales is regularly published by OWLS and includes content from systems around the state. The latest is Advocating for Your Library, by South Central Library System director Shannon Schultz. Share the link or print the Advocating for your library pdf to distribute.
Friends and Trustees Day at the WLA Conference
(from WLA) Library board trustees, Friends groups, consultants, and volunteer advocates are some of the most essential voices in our library community and we’re making space just for you!
We’re excited to announce the return of Friends & Trustees Day at the Wisconsin Library Association Annual Conference on Wednesday, October 21, as part of this year’s theme, “Rooted in Community.”
This dedicated track centers the perspectives and experiences of library supporters, while also offering sessions that will be valuable for library staff, directors, and community partners. Together, these conversations reflect what’s working, what’s challenging, and how libraries and their supporters can continue to grow strong, connected communities.
Share your experience
You’re invited to submit a session proposal specifically for this track. Whether it’s a presentation, panel, or interactive workshop, your insight can inspire and equip others across Wisconsin. Consider sharing:
- Successful fundraising or advocacy efforts
- Building strong relationships with library directors and staff
- Engaging your community in meaningful ways
- Navigating challenges or change
- Creative programming or partnerships
Submit your session proposal for the WLA conference .
Join us as an attendee
Not ready to present? Friends & Trustees Day is also a great opportunity to:
- Connect with others in similar roles
- Gather practical ideas you can bring back to your library
- Feel energized and supported in your work
We hope to see you on October 21, 2026, as we come together to strengthen and celebrate the communities that support our libraries. Learn more about the WLA conference.
Farm Fresh Atlas 2026: here they come!
- Each public library gets a bundle of 25 Atlases to set out for its library visitors. If the library ever wants more copies, they can use this form.
- The farms, farmers markets, businesses, and organizations listed in the Atlas can pick up their requested bundles from their local library. If a bundle/bundles are labeled for someone to pick up, please set them aside for them! Their contact info will be on the bundle.
South Central delivered atasses to IFLS yesterday and today. The bundles are heavy, so only two fit in a gray bin. Sarah will start sending them today, and they’ll trickle out to libraries over the next week.
The Farm Fresh Atlas of Wisconsin is a free statewide local foods publication that promotes farms, farmers markets, businesses and organizations around the state. Outside of our online FarmFreshAtlas.org, we print 50,000 copies of the annual publication each spring and distribute them throughout the state.
Workshops and webinars beyond IFLS
New Libraries, Shared Spaces: Developing Mixed-Use Library Facilities
Thursday, May 28, 2 – 3 pm Register for the New Libraries, Shared Spaces webinar
The North Shore Library and the New Richmond Community Library have recently opened new buildings. Both are mixed-use facilities, sharing space with residential units and retail businesses. Library directors Rhonda Gould (North Shore Library) and Monica LaVold (New Richmond Community Library) will discuss the process of developing a mixed-use facility, the agreements required, and the challenges they encountered—plus, you’ll get a peek inside the new spaces.
This webinar is part of the ongoing Wisconsin Library Buildings & Spaces Project. Visit the website for related webinars and resources.
Musical Play workshop
Leah got a request from Oak Creek’s children’s librarian to share news about a workshop with musician and child development specialist Jim Gill: Musical Play Is Learning Play with Jim Gill coming up in Oak Creek (south of Milwaukee) on August 14. For more details about the Jim Gill workshop, check out the Keeping Up With Kids blog post!
Are you responsible for digital advocacy at your library?
If you are digging into the new accessibility requirements, the United States Access Board (a government agency) has a website with a lot of resources. Here’s a free workshop about creating compliant PDFs (Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Eastern Time Zone) that you might be interested in. You’ll need to create a free account to register.
From the website: Whether you are new to PDF accessibility or struggling to remediate more advanced issues, this webinar is here to help. Join our presenters to become more aware of how people with disabilities use PDFs, discuss the most common and more irregular document accessibility issues, learn how to go beyond the Acrobat Accessibility Checker, and gain insight into the go-to tools they use to speed up remediation workflows. Registrants will be able to submit questions in advance during the registration process.
American Conversation Project
(from WebJunction, forwarded by Leah) Bring the American Conversation Project to your community
This summer, public libraries across the country are invited to join the American Conversation Project (ACP)—a national initiative bringing communities together to share stories and strengthen civic bonds ahead of America’s 250th anniversary.
During Civic Season (June 19–July 4), with flexibility into August/September), participating libraries will host small-group recorded conversations where neighbors reflect on what their communities mean to them, what feels broken, and what they hope for. No prior experience needed—if your library serves people, it belongs in this cohort.
Libraries receive a stipend of $250–$1,000, hands-on facilitation training, community insights, the full ACP Toolkit, and named credit in national media outputs amplified through PBS and NPR affiliate partners. The first library in each state to sign up receives an extra $250 bonus. Conversations can be hosted in English, Spanish, and other languages. Sign up by May 29 at https://www.americanconversations.org/libraries. Questions? Join a virtual learning call or email [email protected].
On the IFLS website: new and highlighted
PLA highlights
Second in a series of staff highlights from the PLA conference: Connecting with Youth, Communicating Inclusivity, Defending Intellectual Freedom. You can see them all on the Learning Loop blog.
Programming Kit Highlight
The Mischief Storytime Kit has some fun new updates, including removing some of the older, longer books in favor of some new ones, including some very funny ones like Smelly Peggy by Helen Stevens, Up on Bob by Mary Sullivan, This Is a Dog by Ross Collins, and Bathe the Cat by Alice McGinty. You can have fun singing, talking and playing all about mischief with Wild Things puppets, a 6-foot parachute, musical instruments, and other fun props and an updated manual of ideas for rhymes and extension activities.
This and a whole lot of other programming kits are available for any library staff member to borrow! If you don’t have a Lend Items account, contact Leah to get set up for one.
Keeping Up with Kids Blog
Leah wrote a blog post about teen spaces at the request of a library worker who has been trying to explain the value and importance of teen-specific space in the library. If you are looking for talking points or want to be convinced, take a look! If you have youth services-related issue you are looking for help with, remember that Leah is here to try to help!
Passport Program intro
Passport toolkits went out in courier this week. Tune into an intro session from 10-10:30 on Monday to see how it works, and have a chance to ask questions or make suggestions. Get a link on the calendar: Explore MORE toolkit intro and Q&A Can’t make it live? Reb will post a recording.