2026 Public Library grant for science kits
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Region 4 Science Kits for Public Libraries (SKPL) grant program is offering up to $2,000 in funding to public libraries to establish a circulating science kits collection. Libraries must be located within Region 4 which includes all of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and northerly portions of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
Completed application may be submitted now until 11:59 p.m. on the 3rd Thursday of January (January 15, 2026). Those libraries which have previously applied for the grant but did not receive funding are invited to submit again.
Visit the SKPL website, https://r4.ieee.org/skpl/ for the application form, submission details, and a map of Region 4.
In case you missed it: web accessibility
Erica Brewster put together these very clear trainings for accessibility. These standards will be required by 2027. If you share digitally, now is the time to learn about what all this means, why you should follow the guidelines, and exactly how to do that. Recordings are on the LeanWI training page.
- Using SharePoint to Post Website Documents Basic overview of how SharePoint (or other cloud storage) can be used to display read-only versions of Word documents instead of uploading PDFs or other documents to the WordPress media library.
- Website Heading Structure This tutorial focuses on understanding and managing website heading structure, the skeleton of a webpage. It is fundamental to building clean, navigable, and accessible webpages.
Fall Delivery Study scheduled
The fall delivery study will take place the week of November 3-7. The study instructions, worksheet, and an example of a completed worksheet can be found on the Delivery Page of the IFLS website (https://iflsweb.org/for-librarians/delivery). If you have any questions or something is unclear, please submit a HelpDesk ticket! Share this information with all relevant staff.
Instructions for the Worksheet
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Write your library’s name at the top
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Count all the bins in your library (full and empty) on the morning of November 3 and write that number down at the top
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Record the time your driver arrives
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Record the number of gray bins sent and received per day of delivery
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Record the number of other items sent and received per day of delivey
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Tally and total the number of mistakes (missorts and mislabeled items)
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On the back of the worksheet, share any additional mistakes (e.g. Anytown PL got a bin for Everytown PL), compliments or comments.
Calling all library staff
BadgerLink wants to hear from you! Take the 10-minute HeritageQuest survey today. Survey closes November 7. Take the Survey
PLA 2026 Conference: watch for IFLS support soon!
The 2026 PLA Conference will be right in our backyard, and IFLS will be supporting staff that want to attend. We need some time to finalize the details and the rest of this month is really BUSY. Watch for more details coming from Leah in 2-3+ weeks. In the meantime, here’s the conference info to peruse.
