Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Two Wisconsin public librarians have been selected to participate in the Public Library Association’s Inclusive Internship Initiative, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Tana Elias of Madison Public Library and Julie Beloungy of 
Thorp Public Library will introduce students from diverse backgrounds to careers in librarianship. Through a summer-long mentored learning project, library mentors and interns will engage with multiple facets of library life, from administration to programming to user services. Interns will have opportunities to connect with one another, and learn from mentors across the country. The overarching goal of the Inclusive Internship Initiative is to introduce students from diverse backgrounds to careers in librarianship. For more information about PLA's Inclusive Internship Initiative, visit: https://apply.ala.org/plinterns/
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction hosted "Connect and Create Workshops for Public and School Librarians" at Hotel Marshfield on Monday, May 7 and Tuesday, May 8, 2018. The theme for the Monday, May 7th workshop was, “Students as Creators: Connecting through STEM, Maker, Coding, and Hands-On Learning.” The theme for the Tuesday, May 8th workshop was, “Students as Community Members: Connecting through Books, Collections, and Perspective Sharing.”
Attendees who completed the workshop training were eligible to apply for a grant to fund a joint school and public library project based on the workshop topic. The workshops and grants are funded in part with a grant from the IMLS which administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). The focus of this LSTA project is two-fold: 1) Explore the two distinct, relevant topics for libraries serving youth and 2) Foster collaboration between school and public library staff.
Nearly 50 grant proposals were submitted, of which 15 were selected for funding. For the “Students as Creators” category, nine projects were selected for a total of $37, 209. Grants proposals emphasized program development and resource curation for youth in school and public library environments. The communities and projects titles for these school and public library collaborative projects include:
- Community STEM Challenge (Marshall)
- Connecting through STEAM (Monona and Cottage Grove)
- Create and Educate (Muskego)
- Creative Economy (Eau Claire)
- Life Skills at the Library (Brandon)
- Ready Player One (Berlin)
- STEM Learning by Students for Students and Making is Storytelling (Madison)
- Together Through Technology (Mauston)
For the “Students as Community Members” category, six projects were selected for a total of $39,909. Grant proposals emphasized program development and hosting for a culturally relevant author/illustrator visit to school and public library environments.The communities and projects titles for these school and public library collaborative projects include:
- !Bien pueda! Translation: Sure you can! (Waukesha)
- Diverse Author Series (Brown County)
- My Culture (Eau Claire)
- School: Begin the Journey (Pewaukee)
- Traveling East (Greenwood)
- We Are Sparta: Stronger Together (Sparta)