New content on the IFLS Niche Academy

We are working on populating the IFLS Niche Academy with webinars and tutorials.  Just this week, we added several new webinars to the Customer Service and the Administration categories.  Look for new resources on dealing with first amendment audits, building support before you need it, trauma-informed service and reference interviews, along with resources that have been there for a while, including all the recorded webinars and core training from Ryan Dowd.  If there are topics you’d like to see on the IFLS Niche Academy, please let Leah know!  You’ll need to create an account in order to access the resources.

New on the website: updated printables and forms

There are some new and updated printable resources on the website. You can find these under the “Printables and Forms” header in the Article Index.

• About MORE brochure, updated this month. Paper brochures are on their way to your library. This prints double-sided in color on an 8.5 x 11 sheet.
• MORE Library Borrower Registration card updated this month. These should be ready to send next week, you can start using them now. Prints 2-up double-sided on an 8.5 x 11 sheet. The pdf is color, but is suitable to print in black and white.
• 2025 Library Legislative Day packet. This weighs in at a whopping 44 pages! Feel free to share.

Continuing Education resources now easier to find

Wisconsin Public Library Systems often collaborate to leverage resources and bring high quality continuing education resources to our state, but unfortunately these resources tend to be scattered around the world wide web due to logistical and other hurdles.  To help you remember where to access resources like Tech Days, Wild Wisconsin, Wisconsin Buildings and Spaces, and more, look for the new IFLS resource that gathers them all together, Wisconsin-Created Shared Training Resources.  You can search the Article Index for this, bookmark the page, or look for a link on the IFLS Continuing Education Page. 

For you to consider

Lake Superior Library Symposium call for proposals

The organizers of the Lake Superior Libraries Symposium (LSLS) invite breakout session proposals for our 13th annual conference to be held on June 6, 2025, at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet, Minnesota.

This year’s theme, Embrace, Engage, Excel: Libraries in Their Communities, challenges attendees to consider the relationship between their libraries and the communities they serve.

Safe Routes to Libraries survey

Libraries are vital community hubs, but transportation barriers can make them difficult to access-especially in rural areas. The new Safe Routes to Libraries initiative, a partnership between The Association for Rural & Small Libraries, the Urban Libraries Council, and the Safe Routes Partnership, aims to improve walkability, safety, and infrastructure around libraries. To help shape this effort, we invite you to complete the Safe Routes to Libraries Survey by Friday, February 28. Your insights will be crucial in making libraries safer and more accessible

Thank you! Library Legislative Day a success

Thanks to those who were able to attend, and everyone who contributed by being engaged with Library Love Stories!

Updates from the IRS

• E-file options | Internal Revenue Service
• Tax Assistance for Individuals With Disabilities | Internal Revenue Service (IRS.gov).
• Refundable tax credits | Internal Revenue Service
• Identity Theft Central | Internal Revenue Service
• Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer (Available in multiple languages on IRS.gov).

If you’d like to get this kind of information as an email from the IRS, contact Jesse.Nieman@irs.gov

Coming Up at IFLS and beyond

MORE services unavailable on March 25

Details from Lori in this week’s TWAM, and also on the IFLS Calendar.

IFLS Calendar Spotlight

(Highly recommended by Leah) Don’t forget to register for the upcoming webinars with Shelley Harris!  Check out this 1.5 minute video for a sneak peek of Shelley and a reveal of a fun raffle for participants!

• A Community for All:  Disability Inclusion in Libraries with Shelley Harris Wednesday, February 19, 1:00-2:30 pm Registration or go to full calendar event listing.
• A Community for All:  Building Lifelong Community Connections Through Programming with Shelley Harris Wednesday, March 12, 1-2:30 pm Register or go to full calendar event listing. 

Board game collection management

(recommended by Katelyn) HOW Many Pieces? Board Game Collection Management, March 11, 2025 from 12-1 PM CST with Jenny Sessions, Reference Librarian, Verona Public Library Register for Board Game collection management

Verona Public Library has about 230 board games for check out in our collection, the largest adult collection in our system (SCLS). Here’s an overview of how we handle accession, check-in, repair, and weeding, and a peek at how the other libraries in our system with more than 50 games handle theirs. Also, let’s go through what game-related resources are available for librarians in Wisconsin and around the country.

Free for All documentary host a viewing to celebrate public libraries

(from WebJunction) Imagine having an easy way to engage your library patrons in a conversation about the importance of your library. That’s the idea behind Free For All: The Public Library, an exciting new documentary premiering on PBS Indie Lens this April.

Libraries across the country are invited to screen this film in their libraries and take advantage of turnkey educational resources, including booklists, an engagement guide, and more. Librarians can watch an informational webinar and complete this form to host a screening event in your community. You can also watch a preview.

On the IFLS Calendar