Continuing Education

Linked Resources

Webinar and Workshop Quick Links (recordings, handouts, activity sheets from past programs)

Director Certification article in the IFLS Article Index

Webinars for New Directors in the IFLS Article Index

Can’t find what you’re looking for here? Use this search box to search the IFLS Article Index.

Need help?

Click on the green HelpDesk button and we’ll make sure the right IFLS staff gets that message right away.

Additional support from IFLS

Leah Langby is your IFLS staff expert in:

Continuing education, certification, and professional development

General support (child/teen development, intellectual freedom, inclusive services)

Youth services

Developing your services (programs, collections, partnerships and outreach)

Leah Langby

Leah Langby

Library Development and Youth Services Coordinator

715-839-5082 x114| langby@ifls.lib.wi.us
Youth Services, Continuing Education, Director Certification, Inclusive Services

How to Write Effective Survey Questions to Get Useful Data

links to the recording and slides

Is your library planning for upcoming services, programs, or events?  They’ll be more successful if you know what sorts of things the people in your service area truly want and need.  Still, doing a “simple survey” isn’t all that simple.  If you don’t know how to write the questions, you  may find out later that you didn’t get any actionable data.  Marketer and wordsmith Kathy Dempsey can help you avoid the pitfalls in this recorded webinar

Kathy Dempsey wrote the popular how-to book The Accidental Library Marketer and founded her own marketing consultancy, Libraries Are Essential. Her work is dedicated to helping librarians and information professionals promote their value and expertise in order to gain respect and funding. Kathy is the Founding Chair of the Library Marketing and Communications Conference.  This writer, editor, and marketing maven has been giving presentations across the U.S. and Canada for 25+ years, always sprinkling them with humor to make marketing concepts more interesting and accessible.

This webinar is supported by Public Library Systems of Wisconsin. Its completion is worth one contact hour for public library certification.

Privacy and Wisconsin Public Libraries Tutorials for Front-Line Staff and for Managers

Wisconsin public library workers now have access to a tutorial covering the basics of privacy and public libraries, with specific attention to Wisconsin laws.

  • The tutorial for front-line staff includes three modules.  Each module  consists of a short (8-9 minute) video, links to additional reading, and a short comprehension quiz. The goal is to help front-line staff understand the reasons behind privacy policies and laws, as well as learning how to interact effectively with library users about privacy.
  • Additionally, library directors and managers can access a short tutorial with suggestions for working with staff, creating policies, and other administrative tasks related to protecting patron privacy.
  • Those who complete the tutorials will be able to print a certificate of completion.

These tutorials were created by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s iSchool, and are sponsored by Wisconsin Public Library Systems with support from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Public Instruction, with funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services.  Directors who take all of the modules and submit certificates for both tutorials can claim 1 contact hour for public library director certification.

Privacy and Wisconsin Public Libraries Tutorial for Front-Line Staff:  https://my.nicheacademy.com/iflslib-staff/course/56679

Privacy and Wisconsin Public Libraries Tutorial for Managers and Directors:  https://my.nicheacademy.com/iflslib-staff/course/56903

Please contact Leah Langby (langby@ifls.lib.wi.us) with questions, or if you have any difficulty accessing the tutorials.

Ryan Dowd Training and Recorded Webinars

Ryan Dowd’s Homelessness and Libraries is a 3.5 hour self-paced training.  This training will be available through December 2024, thanks to a statewide subscription.  Look here for tips about empathetic rule enforcement and de-escalating challenging situations with all patrons, with some specific information and education about homelessness.  In addition, recordings of monthly hour-long webinars about a variety of relevant topics are archived in the same location.

Click here to start your training now. Sign up using your library email address.

Statewide Continuing Education calendar from the WI DPI

Customize your view of this calendar! Click on the dropdown arrow on the top menu for day, week or list views.

Coming up at IFLS