When: Sept 25 – Oct 23, Thursdays, 12:00-1:00 PM CST
Where: Online, Zoom Webinar
Cost: $50 per webinar or $200 when you register for all five webinars. Register by Sept 30th for the series discount!
Program #: 318126
There is a limit of one person per order. Please feel free to place as many individual orders as necessary if you are registering a group.
Payment and Cancellation Policy
Questions? Email the CE Team
Join experts for a series of insightful and practical webinars designed to help you better advocate for yourself, your colleagues, and patrons alike. Whether you are a staff member who feels change is beyond your control or a manager trying to navigate advocating your team’s behalf this series will equip you with practical strategies, new approaches, and actionable tools to drive meaningful change.
Each webinar will be presented live with captions, and recordings will be available to registered attendees. Recordings will be available through December 31, 2025.
- Belonging at Work: An Inspiring Environment for Neurodivergent Employees, Thursday, Sept 25, 12:00-1:00 PM CST
- It’s Called Praxis: How Cis Managers Can Support Trans Staff, Thursday, Oct 2, 12:00-1:00 PM CST
- HR Basics for Libraries, Thursday, Oct 9, 12:00-1:00 PM CST
- Your Voice Matters: Advocating for Yourself at Work, Thursday, Oct 16, 12:00-1:00 PM CST
- Inspirations, Burdens, and Other Lies: The Disability Community in the Library, Thursday, Oct 23, 12:00-1:00 PM CST
Belonging at Work: An Inspiring Environment for Neurodivergent Employees
Thursday, September 25 12:00-1:00 PM CST
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, September 23
Diversity in how employees think makes for a creative and dynamic staff. How can we recruit and train neurodivergent employees to give them a great start? And how can libraries retain and empower all employees? Learn strategies to improve your interview process and onboarding, and tips and tricks for managers and coworkers. You’ll leave this session with practical ideas for making your library more welcoming to all employees.
Kate Thompson is a reference librarian at the West Des Moines (IA) Public Library and disability advocate interested in expanding perspectives around neurological difference. She is a graduate of the Iowa Family Leadership Training Institute and a former member of the Olmstead Task Force, the State of Iowa group tasked with upholding the intention of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Kate has presented to the American Library Association’s (ALA) Social Responsibilities Roundtable, the Library Collective, the Iowa Library Association, KidsFirst Iowa, the Arkansas Library Association Reference and Instruction Services Community, 1st Five Health Mental Development Initiative, and the Iowa Public Health Association. She was a contributor to the book Library Programming for Autistic Children and Teens, published in 2021 by the ALA. Her writing can be found online in the blogs of the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom, American Libraries, and Des Moines Parent.
It’s Called Praxis: How Cis Managers Can Support Trans Staff
Thursday, October 2 12:00-1:00 PM CST
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, September 30
In a time of rapid change where state and federal policies disparately impact people with marginalized identities, learn how cisgender managers can support transgender staff in a professional environment already impacted by bias, outdated protocols, and even outright hostility. Attendees will engage with ideas for putting trauma-informed service into practice while considering HR and library policies, departmental communication and workflows, power dynamics and gender privilege, and workplace bullying or harassment. This session is intended to help cis library managers and administrators cultivate a greater awareness of their trans workers’ needs and lived realities, through a conversation between two librarians: a cis supervisor offering her perspective on supporting a trans employee, and a trans librarian talking about the daily experience of “working while trans” in a public library.
Modeled after their successful professional development trainings in Massachusetts, Heath Umbreit and Liz Reed will share best practices and techniques with time for questions from attendees.
Liz Reed (MSLIS) is the Head of Adult Services at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA, and uses she/her pronouns. Liz’s professional praxis includes leading through empathy, cultivating success in those around her, and radical joy. 
Heath Umbreit (MLIS) is the Adult Services Librarian at Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA, and uses they/them pronouns. Heath’s professional praxis involves challenging binary thinking, encouraging curiosity above fear, and making good trouble.
HR Basics for Libraries
Thursday, October 9 12:00-1:00 PM CST
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, October 7
Sarah and Sara will present tips on successful HR management for rural and small libraries based on her experience and expertise. They will look at common HR issues for public libraries (especially rural & small libraries) such as recruitment, policies and employment laws, and performance management, including how to have those difficult discussions. We will also talk about strategies to make working at the library great for everyone!
Ms. Sarah Vantrease has 18 years of professional library experience, including 13 years as a manager / administrator. She is a current member of the ALA Policy Corps and California Library Association. Ms. Vantrease is also a past ARSL Board and Committee member. She earned her BA degree from Harvard University and her MILS from UCLA.
Since November 2020, Ms. Sara Koehn has been the Library Director for Haskell Township Library in Sublette, Kansas. Prior to joining Haskell Township Library, Ms. Koehn was the Human Resources Director in a healthcare facility and spent over 22 years performing Human Resources Administration and Generalist duties in multiple industries. Ms. Koehn was recently appointed the Kansas Library Association (KLA) Membership Chair and is currently serving as Co-Chair of the Association of Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) Advocacy Committee, member of the KLA Intellectual Freedom and Governmental Affairs Committees, President of SHRM of Southwest Kansas Chapter and a local school board member. Ms. Koehn completed her Masters in Library Science from Emporia State University in May 2023. She earned her Masters in Business Administration/Human Resources from Capella University and a Bachelor of Arts in Business from Baker University.
Your Voice Matters: Advocating for Yourself at Work
Thursday, October 16 12:00-1:00 PM CST
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, October 14
Unlock your influence with essential self-advocacy skills in the workplace! This webinar provides practical, actionable strategies for library professionals at all levels, empowering you to effectively negotiate for improved compensation and benefits, champion your innovative project ideas, and advocate for accommodations. Learn how to articulate your value, navigate challenging conversations, and achieve positive outcomes that support your professional growth and well-being within the library environment.
Participants will be able to:
- Apply concrete techniques for negotiating salary and benefits, including researching market value, understanding leverage, and confidently articulating their worth.
- Develop effective strategies for promoting and gaining buy-in for their project ideas, encompassing clear communication, persuasive presentation, and heading off potential concerns.
- Confidently advocate for necessary workplace accommodations, understanding their rights and effectively communicating their needs.
Ashley McHose is a Research Librarian at Social Current, a nonprofit solutions provider that supports a diverse array of social sector organizations across North America. She has supervised library teams for over a decade at various academic, special, and public libraries in the U.S. and Canada. She has a passion for understanding how employees curate inclusive and engaging environments and how institutions can break down barriers to workplace satisfaction, efficiency, and success.
Inspirations, Burdens, and Other Lies: The Disability Community in the Library
Thursday, October 23 12:00-1:00 PM CST
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, October 21
A welcoming and accessible environment for people with disabilities is crucial to ensure that libraries are truly for everyone; however, the dominant societal narrative tells us lies about disability that can keep us from fully embracing and prioritizing people with disabilities in our work. This program will invite attendees to consider the ways dominant narratives about disability affect common library work practices, and how to counter those in ourselves and our staff in order to advocate for the disability community in their libraries.
Participants will be able to:
- Connect the deep history of the disability community to the importance of inclusion at the library
- Recognize where and how popular misunderstandings about the disability community affect their work at individual and organizational levels
- Identify ways to dispel these misunderstandings to create a more welcoming space day by day
Bryce Kozla was a disabled child who grew up to be a disabled librarian. Since 2016, Bryce has worked to resolve misconceptions about the disability community that can keep library staff and administrators from considering its members as patrons and employees. Bryce has a blog series on the disabled experience at http://BryceKozlaBlog.blogspot.com. Please, tell your pets Bryce says hi.