Technology

On the heels of the recent Public Library System Redesign (PLSR) Implementation Update, this post offers an update on PLSR Recommendation 7 - Professional Learning. View a short video version of this update here (6:36).

The DPI team managing this recommendation area includes Cindy Fesemyer, Ben Miller, Gail Murray, Elizabeth Neuman, Shannon Schultz, Monica Treptow, Tessa Michaelson Schmidt (team lead), and Bruce Smith (PLSR coordinator). We are also partnering with the IT team at DPI to create a roadmap for the technical solutions.

A User Advisory Group for PLSR 7 launched in November 2020. This group is comprised of library and system staff from around the state with a range of perspectives and experiences. The group will provide formal feedback through beta testing and other tasks. User Advisory Group members include: Erica Brewster, John Mark Bolthouse, David Kranz, Leah Langby, Vince Mussehl, Brooke Newberry, Ivana Renteria, Viridiana Rocha, Joy Schwarz, Lisa Strohschoen, and Alicia Woodland. 

Recommendation 7 includes technical solutions, such a learning management system, as well as the collaborative solutions, such as how we create and connect around continuing education, or more accurately, professional learning. We use the term professional learning to acknowledge that we are all learning, whether at the start of a career or specific to a certain position.

Rather than emphasize one tool, a learning management system, and a particular outcome, library director certification, this recommendation emphasizes a suite of resources for a range of library and system staff. In the coming year, efforts will be made to develop:

1. A shared professional learning calendar
2. An online library directory, and
3. An online platform for public library director certification.

Priorities for the PLSR 7 implementation process have been, and will continue to be, influenced by voices from the library community. Formal feedback sessions, as well as big picture observations from library life during the pandemic, emphasize equitable access to professional learning as a top priority.

Please direct all questions and comments to dpi.plsr@dpi.wi.gov

WI DPI is partnering with Grow with Google and the American Library Association to help our communities learn digital skills, with a virtual workshop on Tuesday, November 10, 9:00 – 10:00 AM.

A Grow with Google trainer will teach your patrons and library staff to discover new job opportunities using Google Search, and learn how to organize and enhance the job search experience using Google Workspace tools.

In this session we’ll discuss best practices for:

• Discovering career opportunities using Job Search on Google
• Using Google Sheets to track the progress of job applications
• Creating a resume using Google Docs

REGISTER:

• g.co/Grow/Wisconsin
• A Google meet link will be provided upon registration.

Again, this workshop is for patrons and staff alike. Please share this learning opportunity in your community and in your library using these ready-to-go marketing items, including a flyer and social media images and messaging.

About Grow with Google:

Grow with Google helps ensure that the opportunities created by technology are available to everyone. Since launching in 2017, we’ve trained more than three million Americans on digital skills. And through a network of more than 5,000 partner organizations–including local libraries, schools, and nonprofits–more people across the country can reach their full potential. To learn more about Grow with Google partners and the available tools and resources, visit google.com/grow.

On July 14, Governor Evers announced the creation of the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband Access, responding to the need for everyone in Wisconsin to have access to fast, reliable, affordable internet service. Evers said, “The COVID-19 pandemic underscored that access to high-speed broadband is a necessity, not a luxury, and folks across our state have had to adapt – from kids and educators shifting to virtual classrooms, workers having to work from home, and even folks using telemedicine to visit with their doctor.”

There are 24 task force members, including Kurt Kiefer, Assistant State Superintendent at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction; representatives of telecommunications providers; state senators and representatives; economic and community development officials; health care leaders; IT directors; and education advocates.

The Task Force is directed to:

• Research and recommend forward-looking broadband policies and initiatives
• Promote expansion of broadband facilities and adoption across the state
• Report to the Governor and Legislature, annually by June 30, on:
  • Recommendations for deployment of broadband in Wisconsin
  • Digital inclusion and strategies for addressing gaps and inequities
  • Opportunities for coordination among state, local, and federal agencies
  • Needs, barriers, and goals regarding broadband access, affordability, and adoption
  • Innovative approaches and partnerships to expand broadband adoption
  • The role of broadband in:
    • education
    • healthcare
    • agriculture
    • manufacturing
    • industry
    • Tribal Nations
    • energy
    • libraries
    • public safety
    • tourism
  • The extent to which stakeholders have accessed federal Universal Service Funds
  • Advances in broadband technology
  • The adequacy and appropriateness of existing statutory broadband goals
  • Top priority broadband issues, presented in technical or white papers

Guest post by Vicki Tobias, WiLS/Recollection Wisconsin

Public libraries across Wisconsin collect and preserve some truly magnificent materials that document their community’s history. Unlike books and other library resources, these collections typically cannot be checked out, limiting access only to on-site, in-person patrons. Digitizing and sharing resources online significantly improve public use of these one-of-a-kind collections. For libraries that lack time or resources to set up their own digitization work environment, circulating scanning kits from the South Central Library System (SCLS) are a proverbial game-changer, making it easier and faster to do this valuable work.

Funded as part of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s WISELearn program, 20 scanning kits were distributed to Wisconsin library systems for use among their member libraries. The kits include a flatbed scanner, a laptop and other key equipment necessary to digitize photographic prints, slides and historic documents.

With training and assistance from SCLS and Recollection Wisconsin, several libraries have already completed local history digitization projects using the kits. Two recent projects that showcase educational institutions in Wisconsin were completed by Milton Public Library and Pauline Haass Public Library (Sussex). Milton Public Library collaborated with the Milton College Preservation Society to digitize historic photographs of the library and Milton College, which closed in 1982. The Pauline Haass Public Library Historic Digital Collection currently features yearbooks with plans this year to add newsletters and memorabilia from local schools.

A survey of recent scanning kit users revealed overwhelming support for the kits, as they offer library staff learning opportunities while building digital collections. Survey respondents unanimously indicated an increase in confidence and skills to complete future digitization projects using the kits and, likewise, acknowledged the time and resource savings benefit for their organizations.

“The kits provided all the resources necessary to successfully achieve our digitization project.” Ashlee Kunkel, Milton Public Library Director

Collections digitized using these scanning kits are publicly available online through Recollection Wisconsin and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).

Visit Recollection Wisconsin for detailed information about the kits including digitization workflows, templates and other resources. Libraries interested in reserving a scanning kit may contact their library system for more information.