When: Aug 3 – 17 (Every Thursday and Monday)
Where: Zoom Webinar
Cost: $50 per webinar, Interested in attending all 5 webinars? Email the CE Team for a 20% off discount code!
Program: #308024
Payment and Cancellation Policy
Questions? Email the CE Team
Join experts for a series of engaging, fun, and practical webinars focused on advocating for your library in a variety of ways! Learn about different facets of advocacy, including community engagement, outreach, social media strategies, data visualization and presentation skills. Each webinar is presented live, and recordings are available to registered attendees.
- Engage and Thrive! Leverage Community Engagement for Advocacy
Thursday, Aug 3 at 12:00 CST - Say it Loud: Advocating for your Library’s Values on Social Media
Monday, Aug 7 at 12:00 CST - Data Visualization Basics for Non-Graphic Designers
Thursday, Aug 10 at 12:00 CST - Library Advocacy: Telling Your Story with the Voice of Place
Monday, Aug 14 at 12:00 CST - Fine-Tuning Your Presentations
Thursday, Aug 17 at 12:00 CST
Thursday, Aug 3 at 12:00 CST
Engage and Thrive! Leverage Community Engagement for Advocacy
Join this panel of experts to learn about advocating for your library by making and sustaining deep connections in your community! The panelists in this session will discuss community engagement work and how it can be used for library advocacy. Each panelist will talk about the kinds of engagement work they do in their community and how that work helps to demonstrate the library’s value to their community members, local governments, and other stakeholders.
Cindy Fesemyer‘s helps information organizations see the big picture as the Principal of Fesemyer Consulting, LLC, specializing in community engagement, qualitative assessment, strategic planning, engaged leadership, and staff training. Previously she served 2.5 years at the Wisconsin State Library and 7 years as Director of the Columbus (WI) Public Library, named a finalist for Library Journal’s 2017 Best Small Library in America. She was a Trustee for the Madison Public Library for 6 years. Cindy earned her MLIS from UW-Madison in 2012.
Nick Dimassis has been the Library Director at Beloit Public Library since 2014. He grew up in Minneapolis and began his professional career working in front-line positions in both public and academic libraries, before moving into leadership roles in regional, county, and municipal libraries. As a leader within the Wisconsin Library Association, he works with legislators on a variety of issues on behalf of all Wisconsin libraries. He is also an independent consultant working with libraries across the nation on strategic planning, organizational structure, and facilities.
Angela Noel is the director of the Dodgeville Public Library and has worked in libraries in Wisconsin since 2014. Prior to working in libraries, she spent over 10 years working in nonprofit administration. Angela received her master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and holds a B.A. in English from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Monday, Aug 7 at 12:00 CST
Say it Loud: Advocating for your Library’s Values on Social Media
Social media remains an incredible way to get and stay in contact with existing and potential library users. While 44% of libraries post daily on Facebook, with 25% also posting daily on Twitter, there’s more to advocating for your library than posting frequently. In this webinar, you’ll learn:
- How to center library values when writing for social media
- How to choose the best platforms for the audiences you want to reach
- How to prioritize what to post and what makes a good library story
- How to advocate without alienating
Liz Boyd has lived, worked and written in many different places over the course of her career, including publishing houses in Chicago, writing and editing online content in Edinburgh, Scotland and working for a retreat center near Asheville, North Carolina. She’s been in the marketing and communications industry for 10+ years. Liz currently serves as the Marketing Specialist for Madison Public Library, where she manages the social media accounts, promotes library programs across platforms (website, email newsletters, press releases, advertising, etc.) and helps develop marketing strategy. When she convinces herself to stop working, Liz enjoys hiking, swimming, reading and going to see live music.
Thursday, Aug 10 at 12:00 CST
Data Visualization Basics for Non-Graphic Designers
Library are swimming with data, from circulation and visitor statistics, to budgets and more. But how can we take all that raw data and make it easily digestible and understandable for folks outside of our walls? Join us as we talk about the basics behind data visualizations and the fundamentals of graphic design. We’ll discuss everything from choosing the right kind of chart for the right message to choosing colors and fonts to help make an impact.
Patrick Bodily is the Library Director at the Independence Public Library in Independence, Oregon, and is currently serving as the Vice President/President-Elect for the Association for Rural and Small Libraries. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest, working on his ever expanding “To Be Read” pile, and baking sourdough bread with somewhat consistent results.
Monday, Aug 14 at 12:00 CST
Library Advocacy: Telling Your Story with the Voice of Place
As librarians, we’re surrounded by stories—the stories of our communities, our patrons and, of course, our collection holdings. But do we know how to tell our own library’s stories? This skill is an essential component of library advocacy. Library Advocacy: Telling Your Story with the Voice of Place explores the elements inherent in a “sense of place,” or the modes by which local places and communities are known and experienced by diverse groups in meaningful ways, and ways those elements can inspire and help us craft effective advocacy stories. This webinar will include an overview of the elements of place and the elements of story.
Dawn Tevis is a 2021 graduate of the Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also holds a Master of Liberal Studies in literary nonfiction with a focus on writing with a sense of place from the University of Minnesota and has worked as a communications writer, editor, and program manager. Dawn now serves as Youth Services Coordinator for La Crosse County Library, where she manages youth spaces and staff for the Library’s five locations. She is completing her Certificate of Book Arts at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, where she focuses on paper marbling with place-based themes.
Thursday, Aug 17 at 12:00 CST
Fine-Tuning Your Presentations
Whether your goal is to advocate in front of stakeholders or share information with colleagues, the ability to give a great presentation is critical for librarians. Now that COVID restrictions have lessened, presentations are once again happening in person. This webinar will cover best practices in face-to-face presentations, including preparing for your audience, creating interesting visuals, developing confidence, and maintaining rapport.
Jamie Matczak is the education consultant at Wisconsin Valley Library Service (Wausau, WI), where she focuses on professional development and communications. In addition to 17 years of experience in public library consulting, she has taught Business Communication at Lakeland University, has a BA in Advertising from UW-Eau Claire, and an MS in Applied Leadership for Teaching and Learning from UW-Green Bay. Jamie has given over 70 presentations on marketing, social media, customer service and communications. In her spare time, Jamie enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, and teaching fitness classes at the Greater Green Bay YWCA.