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Feedback Needed: WPLC's Data Dashboard Pilot


In partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and WiLS, Wisconsin Public Consortium's (WPLC) Data Dashboard Pilot continues through December and we need your help. Your feedback regarding the Data Dashboard Pilot is very important. In particular, we are interested in participant experiences, perceptions of a tool such as this dashboard, suggestions for additional content and functionality, and opportunities for improvement.

Revised Librarian Certification Manual now available

Wednesday, November 13, 2024


A new edition of the Certification Manual for Wisconsin Public Library Directors is now available. New information has also been added to the DLT website for library directors, which provides additional information and resources for certification and library administration.

Certification Manual for Wisconsin Public Library DirectorsThe latest edition revises the existing Certification Manual, last updated in 2017, and is intended to be a shorter and easier to understand guide for those seeking librarian certification. It includes a summary of the two facets of certification – Grade and status – and provides a description of the initial application process, renewal process, and continuing education (CE) requirements to maintain certification in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin statutes and administrative codes require that all directors of public libraries and public library systems be certified by the Division for Libraries and Technology. Public librarian certification has been part of Wisconsin law since 1921, when the legislature passed the first law to assure a high level of professional management and administration of Wisconsin’s library resources, programs, and services.

The process of librarian certification has not significantly changed since the last edition of the manual. One item of note, however, is a new requirement for librarians who are interested in completing self-directed, Category C continuing education activities to obtain pre-approval from their library system CE validators before completing the activity. This requirement will begin with activities completed after January 1, 2025. Any category C activities completed in 2024 will be handled as previously instructed by public library system CE validators.

Additional documents to support librarian certification, including the certification application form, continuing education reporting forms, a summary of certification requirements, and a summary of CE requirements for renewal, are also included on the DLT website.

For more information about the new manual or Wisconsin librarian certification, join Public Library Administration Consultant Teresa Schmidt for a free webinar at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4. The event will include a brief overview of the new manual and plenty of time for other questions about certification. The webinar will be recorded and shared at a later date. Register for the Teams webinar here.

Many thanks to the participants of the Certification Manual Revision Workgroup who made this revised manual possible, including Laurie Freund, Bridges Library System; Meredith Lowe, UW-Madison iSchool; Joy Schwartz, Winnefox Library System (retired); Tracy Vreeke, Nicolet Federated Library System; and Shannon Schultz, South Central Library System and former DLT Public Library Administration Consultant and Certification Coordinator.

For more information, contact Teresa Schmidt, 608-266-7270.

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For questions about this information, contact Teresa Schmidt (608) 224-6167

Applications Being Accepted for Building Equity Based Summers Cohort


Wisconsin libraries have the opportunity to be part of a national initiative to develop equitable summer services.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Library Services Team is looking for six libraries to participate in the 2025 Building Equity Based Summers (BEBS) Cohort. The BEBS initiative is funded and made possible in part through an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant.

NEW! Building Presentation Toolkit added to the Wisconsin Library Buildings & Spaces website

Monday, October 21, 2024

Guest post written by John Thompson, IFLS Libary System

In response to a recommendation from the Wisconsin Public Library Facilities Assessment, two presentation slide decks and instructions were created to educate and inform key stakeholders about the importance of libraries and advocate for funding to build or renovate. The two templates contain similar background information, but the Need an Architect slide deck makes the ask for funding to hire an architect/consultant, while the Have an Architect slide deck requests permission to move forward with the project, assuming an architect/consultant has already been secured.

The format of the template includes several big picture quotes about libraries, slides to customize with local information and quotes from local stakeholders, and slides to make a request from the governing body. The presentations are available as templates in Canva and include detailed instructions on how to customize them for your local needs. These templates were created by the IFLS Library System and funded by LSTA funds.

Wisconsin Library Buildings & Spaces logoThese communications tools join a growing toolkit of resources available on the Wisconsin Library Buildings & Spaces website. The website team will be adding more resources throughout the remainder of 2024 and into 2025. Please send your feedback and suggestions for additional resources to Laurie Freund.

The development of the Wisconsin Library Buildings and Spaces website was started by a team of library consultants and experts in building subject matter in response to needs expressed by the Wisconsin library community. The project began with a series of webinars featuring a variety of facility related topics. The Building & Spaces website currently includes a variety of on-demand webcasts, resources, and toolkits for use by Wisconsin libraries. 

Funding for this statewide project was provided from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Sponsors include the Wisconsin Public Library Systems and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

For more information on this project, contact John Thompson at the IFLS Library System.

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For questions about this information, contact Teresa Schmidt (608) 224-6167

New Public Library System Merger Guide available

Thursday, October 3, 2024

The Public Library System Merger Guide is now available. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction commissioned the Wisconsin Library Service (WiLS) to prepare the guide.

The idea of the guide originated from the 2019 Final Report of the Public Library System Redesign (PLSR) Steering Committee, which made a recommendation to reduce the number of public library systems in Wisconsin. The DPI supported the creation of this merger tool allowing other systems to learn from the experience gained during a library system merger by following the process of the latest system merger, Prairie Lakes Library System.

The Prairie Lakes Library System was officially established on January 1, 2023, following a multi-year planning process for the merger of the Arrowhead Library System (ALS) and Lakeshores Library System (LLS). That process was aided by Library Services and Technology Act funding (LSTA), which allowed ALS and LLS to hire WiLS for project planning and coordination. The ALS/LLS merger was, in some ways, a natural extension of years of collaboration between the two systems, but the complex process still required extensive evaluation and coordination. WiLS created the Public Library System Merger Guide to provide practical advice and guidance to support future system mergers utilizing the knowledge gained during the ALS/LLS merger process.

Background

The PLSR project was intended to, “re-envision how Wisconsin public library systems serve Wisconsin’s 381 public libraries.” The PLSR steering committee was appointed by the state superintendent of public instruction in September 2015 and the final report was issued in March 2019.

One of the PLSR recommendations called for enhancing collaboration with the ultimate goal of voluntarily reducing the number of public library systems in the state, in alignment with recommendations from earlier SRLAAW and COLAND studies. Since PLSR, several library systems have established or expanded collaborative relationships for technology services, consulting, and more. Two other successful system mergers in the last decade, resulting in the formation of the Bridges Library System and the Monarch Library System, also provided useful context for the ALS/LLS merger.

The merger process

Library systems must consider several factors during a potential merger. Systems provide services and establish relationships with member libraries, other library systems, and other library types to comply with state statutes. Many systems provide additional services to fulfill their members’ needs, including shared ILS management and IT services. A system merger may also affect existing organizational relationships, system funding, or the written plans and reports systems are required to file with the DPI.

The Public Library System Merger Guide recommends several practices to help lead to successful outcomes:

  • building on a history of cooperation
  • establishing and maintaining trust
  • developing guiding principles to aid decision-making
  • documenting the many questions and aspirations that arise during the process
  • avoiding decision paralysis
  • entering the process without a predetermined outcome to maintain flexibility

The Guide also discusses the three main stages of a merger:

  1. Laying the groundwork
  2. Merger exploration process
  3. Structural implementation

And finally, it provides recommendations for a decision-making process, communication strategies, and other tips. The guide can be a useful resource for other types of service consolidations as well.

The Public Library System Merger Guide is made possible in part due to funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Funding for this project aligns with Wisconsin’s LSTA Five-Year Plan 2023-2027, which calls on Wisconsin libraries to, “cultivate connections and collaborations with other libraries, organizations, and stakeholder groups in order to engage community members, address equity challenges, maximize strengths, and implement impactful, scalable ideas.”

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For questions about this information, contact Teresa Schmidt (608) 224-6167

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