Check out the Professional Development Calendar for more information and to register for the following FREE online professional development opportunities:
ADVOCACY
How to Hug a Porcupine: Relationship Building with Lawmakers and Why It’s Important (ALA eLearning)
Dec 1: Tips and Tricks from an Accidental Advocate (Niche Academy)
CAREERS
Dec 6: Other Duties As Assigned: Plunger Provided (Nebraska Library Commission)
Dec 7: Setting Your 2022 Career Goals (GovLoop)
Dec 8: Suffering Is Optional, but Not Required: Promotion and Tenure in Technical Services (Georgia Library Association)
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT
Dec 2: Series Kickoff with Albert Whitman (Booklist)
Dec 8: NCompass Live: Best New Children’s Books of 2021: Super Librarians Continue on with Youth Services! (Nebraska Library Commission)
Dec 8: Classroom Reading to Engage the Heart and Mind (Mackin)
Dec 14: New Tools of the Trade (Connecting to Collections Care)
COMMUNICATION
Dec 3: Social Media 101 for Nonprofits (Firespring)
Dec 8: Instagram Basics for Libraries (Niche Academy)
Dec 14: Convert Supporters with Powerful Landing Pages (Firespring)
Dec 20: What is Your Audience Thinking? Listening Methods to Gain Support for Your Mission (Nonprofit Learning Lab)
DIGITAL RESOURCES
Dec 7: From Theory to Practice: How to Make Open Access Content Work for Public Libraries (Library Journal)
DATABASES & E-RESOURCES
Dec 9: NoveList Plus Overview (EBSCO)
DEVELOPMENT & MANAGING CHANGE
Rekindling from Burnout: Lessons and Strategies for Public Library Workers (Infopeople)
Dec 9: Approaching Patrons Who Have Experienced Trauma (Texas State Library and Archives Commission)
Dec 14: Grow Your Impact and Reach: Embrace Standards of Excellence (Candid Learning)
Dec 15: NCompass Live: Libraries Build Pathways to Wellbeing (Nebraska Library Commission)
EQUITY, DIVERSITY, & INCLUSION
Dec 1: Tips to Identify Bias in Nonprofit Programs (Nonprofit Learning Lab)
Dec 2: Info2Go! Developing Welcoming Spaces & Programs for LGBTQ+ Youth (Idaho Commission for Libraries)
Dec 7: First Tuesdays Discussion on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Washington State Library)
Dec 7: Working Towards Positive Educational Outcomes: Mental Health and Special Education (PACER Center)
Dec 9: Approaching Patrons Who Have Experienced Trauma (Texas State Library and Archives Commission)
FUNDRAISING
Dec 1: Easy (but Powerful!) Donor Stewardship Strategies that Drive Donations (Network for Good)
Dec 1: 5 Steps to Run Better, Grow Stronger, & Raise More Money (Nonprofit Hub)
Dec 2: Start Your 2022 Grant Strategy Off Right! (CharityHowTo)
Dec 2: Raising More Money By Asking (and Answering) Better Questions (Bloomerang)
Dec 9: 3 Steps to Closing $10K+ Gifts by December 31 (Bloomerang)
Dec 15: Planning for a Successful Capital Campaign in 2022 (Nonprofit Hub)
Dec 16: How to Keep All Those Donors You Worked So Hard to Get (Productive Fundraising)
LIBRARY SPACES
Dec 1: Rejuvenate Preschool Environments on a Budget: Tips, Ideas & Resources (Early Childhood Investigations)
MANAGEMENT
Dec 6: Other Duties As Assigned: Plunger Provided (Nebraska Library Commission)
Dec 9: The Myth of the Work/Life Balance for Small Library Directors (WebJunction)
OUTREACH & PARTNERSHIPS
Outreach Series: Foundations of Outreach (Colorado State Library)
Dec 1: All Our Voices: Conversations About Health & Wellness in Your Library with StoryCorps and NNLM (Network of the National Library of Medicine)
Dec 8: Understand Your Library’s Community Better with Census Data (Public Library Association)
Dec 8: Libraries and Eviction: Continuing the Conversation (WebJunction)
Dec 8: Telehealth in Libraries: The Future of Healthcare (InfoPeople)
Dec 15: NCompass Live: Libraries Build Pathways to Wellbeing (Nebraska Library Commission)
PROGRAMMING
Dec 2: Info2Go! Developing Welcoming Spaces & Programs for LGBTQ+ Youth (Idaho Commission for Libraries)
Dec 8: Connecting Climate Change, Mosquitoes, and Community Health (Network of the National Library of Medicine Region 3)
Dec 14: Nationwide Steve Sheinkin Fallout Author Visit and Codebreaking Workshop (School Library Journal)
Dec 18: Tech for Teens Club : Coding Websites (PACER Center)
READERS’ ADVISORY
Dec 2: Series Kickoff with Albert Whitman (Booklist)
Dec 8: NCompass Live: Best New Children’s Books of 2021: Super Librarians Continue on with Youth Services! (Nebraska Library Commission)
Dec 8: Classroom Reading to Engage the Heart and Mind (Mackin)
Dec 9: NoveList Plus Overview (NoveList Plus Overview)
REFERENCE
Genealogy Series: Finding Genealogy Resources and Tools on Archives.gov (U.S. National Archives)
Dec 1: Are We What We Eat? Government Resources for Nutrition and Healthy Eating (Federal Depository Library Program)
Dec 2: Orientation to Legal Research: Tracing Federal Regulations (Law Library of Congress)
Dec 6: Catching Up with PubMed (Network of the National Library of Medicine)
Dec 7: Setting the Holiday Table: Government Recipes (Federal Depository Library Program)
Dec 8: Connecting Climate Change, Mosquitoes, and Community Health (Network of the National Library of Medicine Region 3)
Dec 8: Understand Your Library’s Community Better with Census Data (Public Library Association)
Dec 9: Status Update: Upcoming 2020 Census Data Products (U.S. Census Bureau)
Dec 13: American Comics: A History (U.S. National Archives)
Dec 14: Come Fly Away with Us: Exploring the Library of Congress Aeronautics Collections (Library of Congress)
Dec 15: Hidden Gems and How to Find Them on Census.gov (Federal Depository Library Program)
SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Dec 2: Series Kickoff with Albert Whitman (Booklist)
Dec 7: Celebrate Computer Science Education Week with the IF/THEN® Collection (National Girls Collaborative Project)
Dec 7: Working Towards Positive Educational Outcomes: Mental Health and Special Education (PACER Center)
Dec 8: NCompass Live: Best New Children’s Books of 2021: Super Librarians Continue on with Youth Services! (Nebraska Library Commission)
Dec 8: Classroom Reading to Engage the Heart and Mind (Mackin)
Dec 8: 3rd Annual Future Ready Librarians® Fireside Chat (Future Ready Librarians/All4Ed)
Dec 8: AASL Town Hall: Book Challenges (American Association of School Librarians)
Dec 9: NoveList Plus Overview (NoveList Plus Overview)
Dec 13: American Comics: A History (U.S. National Archives)
Dec 13: Supporting Students’ Mental Health Needs (edWeb.net)
Dec 14: Nationwide Steve Sheinkin Fallout Author Visit and Codebreaking Workshop (School Library Journal)
Dec 15: The Bill of Rights Protects You (Grades 6–12) (U.S. National Archives)
Dec 15: Make Your Voice Count: Learning About the First Amendment (Grades K–2) (U.S. National Archives)
Dec 15: The First Amendment: Five Rights in One! (Grades 3–5) (U.S. National Archives)
Dec 16: Creating Future Ready Schools Virtual Workshop (Future Ready Schools/All4Ed)
Dec 18: Tech for Teens Club : Coding Websites (PACER Center)
Dec 29: NCompass Live: Pretty Sweet Tech (Nebraska Library Commission)
TECHNOLOGY
Dec 8: Instagram Basics for Libraries (Niche Academy)
Dec 15: Cybersecurity & Your Nonprofit: How to Manage your Passwords (CharityHowTo)
Dec 29: NCompass Live: Pretty Sweet Tech (Nebraska Library Commission)
TRAINING & INSTRUCTION
Dec 2: Teaching Today’s Business Students: A Panel Discussion (Library Journal)
Dec 7: Celebrate Computer Science Education Week with the IF/THEN® Collection (National Girls Collaborative Project)
Dec 8: Learn How to Learn Online (InSync Training)
Dec 15: The Bill of Rights Protects You (Grades 6–12) (U.S. National Archives)
Dec 15: Make Your Voice Count: Learning About the First Amendment (Grades K–2) (U.S. National Archives)
Dec 15: The First Amendment: Five Rights in One! (Grades 3–5) (U.S. National Archives)
VOLUNTEERS
Dec 2: The New Volunteer Manager’s Toolkit (VolunteerMatch)
Dec 7: Telling the Story of Volunteer Impact (VolunteerMatch)
Dec 8: Executive Directors Chat (ED Chat): Strategies for Recruiting, Training, and Utilizing Volunteers (TechSoup)
Dec 15: Social Media and Volunteer Engagement (VolunteerMatch)
ONLINE CONFERENCES
- Wednesday, Dec 1 (9 – 3 pm)
Rural Library Summit (Berea College)
A virtual half-day celebration of the impact libraries have on the aspirations of young people and a recognition of libraries’ contribution to cradle-to-career outcomes, especially for students in rural communities. The Summit will explore how libraries can support cradle-to-career solutions, combat food insecurities, leverage collective impact, and grow their impact on third-grade reading. Sessions will feature opportunities to engage in conversations about rural communities’ health and well-being and address community disparities. For more information and to register, visit: https://www.berea.edu/pfe/librarysummit/
- Thursday, Dec 2 (9:30 – 2:30 pm)
CSLP National Summer Programming Symposium (Collaborative Summer Library Program)
The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) is hosting its first ever Summer Symposium on December 2, and you’re invited (and it’s free!)! This national virtual event will provide great speakers and learning opportunities on a variety of topics. For more information and to register, visit: https://www.cslpreads.org/summer-symposium/
- Thursday, Dec 2 (11 – 2:30 pm)
Inclusive Entrepreneurship (North Carolina Library Association)
A workshop on how librarians support entrepreneurship as a pathway to economic justice, empowerment, and a counter to systemic racism. The scope of the workshop includes: (1) Understanding and overcoming systemic barriers and challenges; (2) Engaging with BIPOC entrepreneurs and/or historically-excluded entrepreneurs (for-profit and nonprofit) in our communities and campuses. The format for the workshop will include keynotes, a panel discussion, lightning rounds, and a lightly-moderated open discussion. For more information and to register, visit: https://nclaonline.wildapricot.org/
- Thursday, Dec 9 (8-3 pm)
Penguin Random House Winter Book & Author Festival (School Library Journal)
Join Penguin Random House, Library Journal, and School Library Journal on December 9 for our second free, day-long virtual book and author festival as we celebrate librarians everywhere! Enjoy a day packed with author panels and interviews, book buzzes, virtual shelf browsing, and adding to your TBR pile. For more information and to register, visit: https://www.slj.com/?subpage=Events
- Dec 9 – 10
Latinx Kidlit Book Festival (Las Musas)
A two-day virtual celebration of Latinx KidLit authors, illustrators, and books for all students, educators, and book lovers everywhere. Will include panels, craft sessions, and illustrator draw-offs with your favorite Latinx authors and illustrators of picture books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novel, comic books, and poetry. No registration required. For more information, visit https://www.latinxkidlitbookfestival.com/
AT YOUR LEISURE – Pre-recorded webinars to view at your convenience
- How to Hug a Porcupine: Relationship Building with Lawmakers and Why It’s Important (ALA eLearning)
Building relationships with elected officials can sometimes be difficult and uncomfortable. It forces you and your key stakeholders to get close to politicians in ways that may feel “prickly” – like hugging a porcupine. This program will help participants overcome that discomfort, revealing the methods and benefits for building relationships with elected officials. (Free login required.)
https://elearning.ala.org/local/catalog/view/product.php?productid=14 - Outreach Series: Foundations of Outreach (Colorado State Library)
Learn what Outreach is, why it is important, and how to do it. You will learn about how to make your Outreach efforts successful through setting goals and priorities, evaluating services, and using that information to advocate for continued support from stakeholders. (Part 1 of an 8-session series.)
https://www.librarieslearn.org/calendar/outreach-series-session-one-foundations-of-outreach - Rekindling from Burnout: Lessons and Strategies for Public Library Workers (Infopeople)
Library workers provide support for patrons in distress on a regular basis. A hard and busy day might leave us depleted. Though we feel the effects of secondary trauma, we may not have the tools to describe and process the experience, leading to our own emotional distress. Without a practice of self-care and a network of support and solidarity, the stress of service work can evolve into guilt, cynicism, numbness, chronic exhaustion, and diminished creativity–legitimate responses that contribute to burnout. https://infopeople.org/civicrm/event/info?id=1009&reset=1 - Genealogy Series: Finding Genealogy Resources and Tools on Archives.gov (U.S. National Archives)
This presentation provides an overview of what’s available for genealogists on the archives.gov website, and demonstrate how to navigate to its many resources and tools, including the National Archives Catalog, the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) system, the Microfilm Catalog, topic pages, articles, reports, and blogs. We’ll explore the Genealogy portal page, and also see how the website is organized, which will enable you to do even more expansive searches for information.
https://youtu.be/-pAm2B0lQW0
*Training opportunities are compiled and shared by the Wyoming State Library each month via WebJunction. See WebJunction for detailed abstracts. Note: some of these opportunities may not be free.