Scholarships and Grants

The Wisconsin Library Association Foundation is accepting applications for a variety of scholarships and grants that support library science students and fund continuing education opportunities for WLA members.  Applications are due June 15, 2025. 

CONTINUING EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS (Must be a WLA member)

• WLAF George Bauer Memorial Fund Continuing Education Scholarship
• WLAF Gloria Hoegh Memorial Fund Education for Rural Librarians Scholarship

WLA FOUNDATION LIBRARY EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS

• Library Education Scholarship
• Sally Davis Scholarship
• Vida Cummins Stanton Scholarship
• Diversity Scholarship

Download the Scholarship flyer to share.

Thank you to the generous donors to the WLA Foundation who make this support possible!  To learn more about the WLA Foundation or to make a gift, click here. Please contact wla@wisconsinlibraries.org with questions.

Passport program update

This year’s passport program will run from June 1 to August 31. Explore MORE packets shipped to libraries yesterday. There are some changes for 2025. Check out the Explore MORE toolkit for all the details and to watch the how-to video. The toolkit will be updated with new resources all summer.

Do you have FOMO?

In case you haven’t been able to attend a conference or take a course and you are experiencing Fear Of Missing Out on Something, IFLS-area librarians have you covered!  They are doing great work documenting some of their key takeaways after attending professional development opportunities with scholarships from IFLS.  The scholarships are sponsored with federal funding from the IMLS (Institute for Museum and Library Services), administered by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.  Check out the Learning Loop blog on the IFLS website for reports, including ideas about reference, updating the library’s image, a presentation covering some key points from the Lead the Way Conference, and more!

Join the Social Responsibilities Round Table and the Rainbow Round Table

Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) and the Rainbow Round Table (RRT) on Thursday, June 12th for a timely free virtual event that brings together three presentations addressing the realities of queer librarianship amid escalating cultural and political attacks. Drawing from the experiences of queer library workers, we will consider strategies for safeguarding 2SLGBTQIA+ library staff, and innovative outreach efforts to support 2SLGBTQIA+ patrons in increasingly hostile environments. This event is a call to action, solidarity, and resilience for library professionals and allies alike.

Each session is free, but must be registered for individually. Sessions will be recorded. To learn more about each session and to register, please visit www.ala.org/srrt/events/prideandprotection.

Help users get to the information they want: use direct links!

This week’s BadgerLink Bulletin post reminds library staff to use direct links to BadgerLink resources so users can get to the resources they need in fewer clicks from the library’s website.  Use this direct link resource to easily find all the correct links.

Also from BadgerLInk: summer program resources

Prepare for Summer Reading with BadgerLink Resources

BadgerLink content providers TeachingBooks and Britannica Education offer excellent activities and programming ideas for this year’s summer reading programs at your library. The entire post contains links and resources.

From Literary Hub: Science says libraries fight crime

Want to reduce crime? Science says: build more libraries.

Mentioning this video again

I watched the WPT Independent Lens episode: Free for All: the Public Library. I thought it was really good, so here’s the link again. Also, did you know Dewey was such a jerk? Huh.

Advocacy updates

• Postcard-writing campaign coming to libraries soon. Watch for details on Monday.
• Don’t mess with librarians: Two Trump appointees escorted out of Library of Congress amid White House takeover, report says (5/12)
• Budget Bill passes House, now goes to the Senate.

Coming up

Event spotlight

• May 28 at 11a – BiblioCore and BiblioApps updates webinar (see below). Webinar info and link

• May 30 at 1p – MORE Resource Sharing/Collection Development Committee meeting. Meeting materials

• June 20 at 10a – MORE Budget Hearing and Executive Committee meeting, online or in-person at CVTC’s Energy Education Center (see below)

On the calendar