Learning Opportunities for Summer 2024

Summer 2024 will soon be underway - and we're gearing up for ways to help you plan for Read, Renew and Repeat!

New This Year:

• Summer Reading Office Hours: State Library Consultant Janeé Jackson-Doering will offer Zoom office hours to help librarians plan and share ideas for Read, Renew and Repeat in December and January. These are not for CE credit.
• Spaced Out Virtual Trainings: Our first "Early Bird" Summer Reading Planning Virtual Training will be held November 29 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. A version of this webinar will be repeated "Just in Time" on February 1.  
• Summer Reading Summit: This one-day event offered as a post conference to Pop YS Con 2024 (held in Ames) will be a highlight of all things Summer!

Check out the table below with all of the learning opportunities we're offering for your 2024 summer program! 

The "Early Bird" session will come up quickly! Reserve your spot today!

More Information & Links to Register

Newly-Added Events

Lunch with the State Library (December 2023): State Data Center

Thursday, Dec. 7, 12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.

Are you ready to take your community research and planning activities to the next level? The mission of the State Data Center is to increase the availability of census data in Iowa and to help people use it. Coordinator Gary Krob will review resources available to you through and walk you through some Census data basics.

More Information & Registration

The FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program and your Library

Tuesday, Dec. 12, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Did you know that your patrons may qualify for discounts on their home internet? The federally-funded Affordable Connectivity Program is an FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. A presenter from the FCC outreach team will explain the program, the application process, and how you can promote the program to your community.

More Information & Registration

Pop YS Live (December 2023): Best Books of the Year

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Pop YS joins the “best of” bandwagon to showcase what we think are the best books we read this year. We’ll cover picture books, chapter books, teen titles, and of course, graphic novels. We’ll want to hear from you in chat as well! Did we nail it? Leave off an obvious choice? This fun, interactive session is sure to engage and who knows, maybe add to your YS collection.

More Information & Registration

Additional Upcoming Events

Skills for Community-Centered Libraries

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

As a follow up to the in-person Learning Circuit on Sept. 28, the State Library is pleased to offer additional Zoom sessions to those across the state interested in continuing the conversation around engaging their communities. Our final session is titled "Community Engagement."

More Information & Registration

Pop YS Live (November 2023): Reader's Advisory for Kids & Teens

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

For this installment of Pop YS Live, State Library Consultant Janeé Jackson-Doering and a panel of practitioner experts will take you through the basics of RA for Youth Services… everything from nailing the ‘what should I read next?’ conversation to sources you should follow so you can recommend the latest and greatest titles to kids, teens, and their caregivers.

More Information & Registration

Library for the Blind (November 2023): Braille and Tactiles

Thursday, Nov. 9, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

This webinar will provide an overview of the braille format, how individuals access braille, and braille eReader information. We will also include the services the Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled provides and things that you can do in your libraries.

More Information & Registration

Big Ideas Book Discussion (November 2023) | The Art of Talking With Children

Friday, Nov. 17, 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Next up in the Big Ideas Book Discussion series is “The Art of Talking With Children: Simple Keys to Nurturing Kindness, Creativity, and Confidence in Kids” by Rebecca Rolland. We’ll discuss the ideas presented, and see how they apply to how all staff can better serve the library’s youngest patrons and their caregivers!

More Information & Registration

Check it Out (November 2023)

Tuesday, Nov. 28, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Due to scheduling conflicts, we won't be offering a live version of Check it Out this month. Janeé will prerecord her usual book talk, however! Once it is recorded and processed, we'll post this direct-to-video version of Check it Out to IA Learns and alert those who had registered that it's ready to view. Feel free to register for the live, classroom version of the course to be notified that the recording is ready.

Register to Receive the Recording Alert

Boardroom Series (November 2023) | Intersections (Part 3): Personnel

Thursday, Nov. 30, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

The final installment of the “Intersections” series reminds us that all library staff are city employees. Any HR policy in place to support other city workers should apply to library staff as well! We’ll cover Board and City roles in setting and applying personnel-related policies such as travel reimbursement, holidays, leave, and compensation.

More Information & Registration

Security for Rural Librarians: Staying Safe at Work When Help Is Far

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

If you work in a rural library location you need to consider every available safety and security option. This webinar is here to help. This 60-minute webinar is sponsored by the State Library of Iowa and presented by Dr. Steve Albrecht; Library Service, Safety and Security Consultant and Author, Library Security (ALA, 2015) and The Safe Library (Rowman, 2023). It will be recorded.

More Information & Registration

New Kernels

Kernels is an ongoing series of prerecorded videos from the State Library. Each installment in the series offers an overview of a program, service, or library methodology applied in a public library setting. They feature in practice librarians talking about what they're up to, so others can benefit & apply that idea in their library.

View on YouTube for informational purposes or in IA Learns for CE credit.

Kernels! Mapping Circ Data Using GIS

Join Becky Heil (State Library of Iowa) and Alecs Mickunas (Fairfield Public Library) as they chat about how Fairfield mapped data using GIS tools to make the case to County Supervisors.

• View the GIS Kernel

Kernels! Game Collections

Join Samantha Bouwers (State Library of Iowa) and Jacy West and Alison Brown (Indianola Public Library) as they chat about how Indianola PL built up and managed (what just might be) the largest game collection in Iowa.

• View the Game Collections Kernel

View All Kernels

Webinar Archive

View in IA Learns to access the evaluation & see the CE Hours on your transcript. Watch the whole recording, click next in the upper-right, and follow the prompts to get to the evaluation. Remember to type something in every field before hitting "Save."

IA Learns Login

If you don't track CE hours, or only want to view for informational purposes, you can also view recorded webinars on the State Library of Iowa CE Team YouTube Channel. Subscribe for alerts when new content is added!

State Library CE YouTube Channel

External CE Training Opportunities

The Wyoming State Library maintains a great list of CE events going on around the country. It's a good place to browse if you're looking for hours, or something on a specific topic. Our thanks to our colleagues in Wyoming for compiling this list. Please note, all times listed are in Mountain Time.

Wyoming State Library Training Calendar

Watch a course from that list or another CE training offered by someone other than the State Library of Iowa? Please complete the "Request for External CE Form" within 45 days of participating in the training.

Request for External CE Credit

Click Here for more information.