Help update and grow Book Club kits
It isn’t news that book clubs are hot, but it might be news that your local public library is very involved in those book clubs. Many school and public libraries purchase multiple copies of a title and circulate them as a book club kit. Here at DPI, we maintain a list of these kits that can be borrowed through interlibrary loan. There are currently 1,430 titles on the ILL Book Kit list. Many thanks to all the libraries that share their kits with the rest of the state.
If you have kits to share, please email wiscat@dpi.wi.gov and include the following information:
- Title
- Author
- Number of books in the kit
- How to request the kit
If you already have kits on the list, please take a few moments to check your library’s titles on the list. If you have titles to add or delete, please email those to us at wiscat@dpi.wi.gov and we will happily update the list for you! When you go to the ILL Book Kit list spreadsheet, you will see 3 tabs:
- TITLE LIST is a complete list of all titles on the list, sorted by Title
- LIBRARY LIST is a complete list of all titles on the list, sorted by Owning library (to help owning libraries that need to send us additions/deletions)
- LIBRARY UPDATES is for DPI-use-only. This helps us keep track of when owning libraries sent us updates. Owning libraries may refer to this tab to see when they last sent us additions/deletions.
Thank you for helping DPI keep the list up to date!
WPLC patron survey: spread the word!
The WPLC is conducting a patron survey and needs your help spreading the word! The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/wplcpatron2024
A link to the survey will be added to the top of the homepage of Wisconsin’s Digital Library as well as on the Libby app very soon!
The survey is open through November 1st. Please encourage your patrons to respond by sharing the survey link, https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/wplcpatron2024, to your websites and social media accounts and by displaying printed signs in your libraries. Here are some materials to help:
This survey needs Wisconsin Library participation
Currently, Wisconsin Library participation in this survey is less than 10%. Can you take a minute to make sure Wisconsin Libraries are represented?
The Public Library Association’s 2024 Public Library Staff Survey is now open. Take a few minutes to contribute to the national conversation about library staff roles, representation, and retention, as well as the current state of accessibility in library facilities. Answers will be compared to the 2021 Staff Survey to identify nationwide trends from that baseline.
One person should submit the survey on behalf of their library – often that’s the library director, administrator, or data coordinator. Log into your library’s free Benchmark account to complete the survey. Libraries that complete this year’s survey will be entered into a drawing to win group registration for a live or on-demand fee-based PLA webinar in 2025 (up to a $237 value).
The survey closes Saturday, December 14, 2024. All inquiries and assistance required to access your library’s Benchmark account should be directed to the project team at plabenchmark@ala.org.
Survey results will be released next summer via summary report, conference presentations, and online webinar. Visit the PLA Surveys and Data page to learn more.
Reminder to Explore Your Public Library Dashboards This Fall
Please take a look!
The Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC), in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and WiLS, has launched a statewide data dashboard pilot running through December 31, 2024.
During the pilot period, all public library and system staff will have barrier-free access to a statewide data dashboard of public library data as reported in the Annual Report to the DPI. The dashboard includes select data elements from Wisconsin public library service data, spanning the years 2015-2023, and includes the ability for individual libraries to visualize their own library’s data as well as benchmark against other libraries and peer cohort averages. The dashboard is available on an unlisted WPLC website page.
Training materials, including suggestions for data use, are provided as part of the pilot and can be accessed in the dashboard toolkit. Feedback on the dashboard pilot will be solicited later this fall.
CSLP catalog code drop
Need it? Contact Leah at langby@ifls.lib.wi.us.
Events coming up
Please remember to let Jo know by Oct. 30 if you plan to be at Kathy Setter’s Nov. 13 retirement open house. It’ll help her figure out all the logistics. Don’t worry if your plans change! You can come even if you haven’t RSVPed.