Monday, August 9, 2021
Over the past two years, over 300 Wisconsin library media specialists have participated in five different sessions of Wisconsin ISTE U: Exploring Future Ready Librarianship through grants from the Department of Public Instruction. These opportunities were provided to help strengthen the capacity of library media specialists in the area of library planning. And, in 2020-21, despite the setbacks of the pandemic, of the districts participating in the Digital Learning Survey, the number of school districts working on their statutory required library plan tripled.
Participating in this course provided a great foundation, and it is only the beginning of the work. We want to continue to support districts and library media specialists in their efforts to create and implement meaningful district library plans during the upcoming year.
First, we are looking for Library Planning Leaders to facilitate virtual networking groups on a monthly basis throughout the year. In 2020-21, we had four of these groups running, and the feedback was great! Participants learned from each other by sharing experiences, drafts of plans, and problem-solving together. If you both participated in ISTE U, either in 2019-20 or 2020-21, have completed your district library plan, and are interested in leading a group this year for a stipend of $500.00, please fill out this Library Planning Leader Application Form by September 1, 2021.
Second, if you did not participate in Wisconsin ISTE U, you have one more chance! Although we are not running a Wisconsin session this year, I have a limited number of spots reserved in ISTE’s fall session of Exploring Future Ready Librarianship, which begins on October 4, 2021. These will be given out on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you want to participate, complete this ISTE U Application Form as soon as possible.
I am looking forward to another great year of growth for our school library programs!