WebJunction Course Catalog

Format: Webinar, original date November 7, 2019
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

If advocacy is a scary word to you, this webinar may change your feelings about it. Advocating for increased support for your library is an action that promotes the library’s success and contributes to your own enhanced ability to do your job well, with improved resources. Join us for this webinar to help your library begin to build advocacy into your everyday routines. Learn about inexpensive ideas and activities, how to tap into the Friends of the Library and other groups, and how to figure out what matters to “them” (i.e. funding partners, community, grantors). Before you know it, you will be advocating like a natural.

Presented by: Lisa M. Shaw and Kate Brunner

Format: Webinar, original date August 11, 2016
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

On paper, your job description as a library director may not cover some of the unique challenges and opportunities that come with serving a small or rural community. Juggling the nuances of a new position can be overwhelming, but equipped with a tool belt of everyday skills ranging from assessment to communication and outreach to time-management, you can move through your new role with confidence. This session will be useful for anyone interested in strengthening their role in the library, even if you aren’t a director. Come learn from a successful new director, 10 fresh tips for working with staff, boards, and the community to create a strong and vibrant library. Join us and bring your tips and ideas to help new directors succeed!

Presented by: Jennifer Pearson

Format: Webinar, original date May 24, 2018
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

Libraries that cultivate a culture of learning encourage their staff to participate in continuing education. But shouldn't this learning culture also extend to library boards? At the State Library of Iowa, we say yes! Trustees can and should play a key role in fostering a culture of learning at their libraries—beginning with themselves. When library boards embrace a learning culture, they become more receptive to supporting continuing education, in policy, planning, and budgeting. This webinar presents ideas for growing board learning into a blossoming culture that motivates board members to see education and training as a natural part of their trusteeship.

Presented by: Bonnie McKewon

Format: Webinar, original date March 20, 2014
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

Are you looking for fresh ways to connect your library with your community? Find out how these Nebraska libraries moved beyond traditional partnerships by uncovering shared commitment to community needs with new partners, especially local businesses. These new connections led to programming and events that promote health, literacy and entertainment for the whole community. The efforts extend the library's marketing reach, build library support, and strengthen community relationships all at little or no cost.

Presented by: Becky Baker, Scott Childers, and Lisa Olivigni

Format: Webinar, original date December 15, 2015
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

You don’t have to be a graphic designer to present your library statistics in a way that effectively communicates value. Learn quick and easy tips for visually displaying statistics that will enable you to tell a powerful story about your library, whether your data visualization aspirations consist of adding a few Excel charts to a board report or designing a complex infographic for your website.

Presented by: Linda Hofschire

Format: Webinar, original date June 9, 2021
Hosted by: WebJunction
Length: 1 hour

Are you looking for ideas to "grow" a seed library and improve access to food for your community? Presenters from small and rural locations in South Carolina will share their experiences with seed libraries (inside branches, at outreach events, and on board a bookmobile) and community refrigerators, and highlight the value of partnerships. You’ll gain knowledge on how to start a seed library from the ground up, how to collaborate with community organizations not generally considered as library partners, and learn better practices for making your library an access point for those experiencing food insecurity.

Presented by: Rebecca Antill, Devon Andrews, Maddie Hibbs, Heath Ward, and Jimmy Wooten

Format: Webinar, original date February 21, 2018
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

Homelessness means having no predictable and safe place to sleep. Libraries in rural and small communities are often a source of information and daytime shelter for individuals facing homelessness or housing insecurity. In an already busy library with limited resources, staff may be challenged to respond to the needs of these patrons and to cope with compassion fatigue. This webinar will provide practical insights on providing services to people who don't have stable housing. Learn how to create an environment that feels welcoming, informative and supportive, including ideas for reducing policy barriers. Learn how to host conversations that explore public perceptions, help to debunk myths around homelessness, and strengthen community ties.

Presented by: Mallory Pillard and Sara Zettervall

Format: Webinar, original date August 8, 2019
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries and Library Journal
Length: 1 hour

Building on part one, Hooray for Freedom! Privacy, Confidentiality, and Intellectual Freedom in the Library, this webinar will help you assess your library’s current policies and procedures within a legal context, and help you draft specific policy language. We’ll explore considerations for libraries of all sizes in order to codify the library profession’s values for our institutions

Presented by: Margo Gustina and Eli Guinnee

Format: Webinar, original date February 5, 2020
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

Making connections and being an active part of the community you serve is especially important in small and rural libraries. It makes your library more visible and also enhances the quality of life in the community. Learn how a rural library director transformed library services over one summer, by getting out and growing awareness in the community. With the help of two enthusiastic staff, one simple idea grew into so much more. We will explore different ways to engage your community, spark young readers, and build relationships with families. Hear tips, tools, and personal stories about how the library implemented outreach services and created ways to positively impact the entire community! Learn how to make "librarian" not only your job title, but what you actively do.

Presented by: Lori Juhlin

Format: Webinar, original date April 28, 2016
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

Youth in grades K-12 spend an astounding 81% of their time in informal learning environments outside of school. Libraries are a locus of informal learning. As the number of STEM related careers continues to multiply, libraries can play a key role in fostering the interest and excitement for STEM learning that may be missing in schools. Through the generous support of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Kitsap Regional Library System (KRL) has developed a ready-to-use system that empowers libraries of all sizes to become community STEM leaders. If you feel like an "accidental STEM librarian" and are wondering how to get started, staff at this semi-rural library system will share fresh ideas and hands-on, practical advice for planning and implementing impactful programs. Learn how to take the lead with informal learning for youth and families in your community.

Presenters: Shannon Peterson and Seth Ciotti

Format: Webinar, original date August 17, 2021
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

Our communities are made up of people and their stories. And what better place is there to help tell, share, and preserve these stories than the library! Sparked by the efforts of the Keene Valley Library in New York, OurStoryBridge is a project which helps libraries capture and share the rich social and cultural history of their communities. The project has released a free toolkit of resources for library staff and volunteers to create online, three-to five- minute oral histories, a format that appeals to young and old today. The toolkit includes everything a library needs to know to start a story project, such as step by step instructions, “how-to” videos, sample documents, and a guide to help teachers engage their students in community stories. Join the creator of OurStoryBridge and staff at two libraries who have implemented the program to hear their experiences with this inspiring and impactful project and learn how your library can participate.

Presented by: Jery Y. Huntley, AJ Gooden, and Debby Carter

Format: Webinar, original date April 18, 2019
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

All libraries provide vital services to their communities, but libraries that serve small, rural populations have the potential to go beyond providing information and access—they can inject the vitality that will help their communities thrive. Addressing the challenges faced by rural areas may seem daunting to a library with few staff and limited resources, but any tiny library can find more ways to support the needs of their community by thinking strategically and creating new connections with their stakeholders, patrons, and other library staff. Learn how small library director and 2018 Library Journal Mover & Shaker, Allie Stevens, applied the concept of growth mindsets to set her priorities, use resources and volunteers smartly, and avoid burnout as a solo librarian. Follow her lead to turn your library into a powerhouse for your community.

Presented by: Allie Stevens

Format: Webinar, original date February 5, 2021
Hosted by: WebJunction
Length: 1 hour

Social wellbeing, individuals living the good life in a thriving community, is something public libraries can influence! Join these rural library directors for a tour of the most popular tools for helping libraries improve social wellbeing in their communities created from the Rural Library Service & Social Wellbeing Project research. Learn from library directors who leverage all available resources to create feelings of delight, power, cultural identity, and belonging for community residents with outstanding results. Participants will leave understanding key actions libraries can take to improve social wellbeing outcomes in their own communities, both immediately, and over the long haul.

Presented by: Emilie Braunel, Jerianne Davis, Susan Green, Richard Styre, and moderated by Margo Gustina

Format: Webinar, original date April 29, 2020
Hosted by: WebJunction
Length: 1 hour

Librarianship and social work have many shared values, including meeting the expanding and evolving needs of individuals and the community. Nearly 80 public libraries in the U.S. have collaborated with social work programs or schools of social work, to provide valuable learning opportunities for social work interns, and to connect community members with crucial services which exist beyond standard library offerings. Libraries or social work educators looking for ways to initiate collaborations with social work interns should join this webinar to understand the benefits, and a few challenges, to partnering with an institution or individual. Explore the types of intern assignments at the library that align with key social work competencies, from needs assessment to 1:1 patron referrals, and from staff training to outreach programs. And finally, discover how these internships can work for libraries of all types and sizes, including those in small and rural communities.

Presenters: Sarah C. Johnson

Format: Webinar, March 21, 2024
Hosted by: Vermont Department of Libraries
Length: 1 hour

Librarians often seem to find themselves in unexpected supervisory roles, sometimes from a promotion or a move to a new library, sometimes because they are new to the field and did not expect to have this responsibility. Or maybe they have a lot of experience managing full-time staff but are now in a position where they supervise part-time staff or volunteers. This webinar offers tips and best practices on how to approach these situations in a positive way that helps staff, the library, and the supervisor thrive! In addition to library directors and managers, trustees are encouraged to attend this webinar in support of their role as supervisors of the library's director.

Presented by: Joy Worland, Consultant for Continuing Education and Small and Rural Libraries, and Kevin Unrath, Consultant for Library Operations

Format: Webinar, original date March 19, 2015
Hosted by: WebJunction and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries
Length: 1 hour

Research points to how we can increase happiness and a sense of well-being in ourselves and others. Using interactive activities, participants will discover methods to improve joy, shift workplace culture, and offer programs for the public on happiness. You will walk away with a smile and a plan.

Presented by: Sharon Morris