WebJunction content and upcoming webinars – December 11, 2024

Important notice

The WebJunction Course Catalog will be offline and unavailable from Monday, December 16 until Thursday or Friday, December 19 or 20. This outage is necessary to complete a major technology change. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Highlighted Content

Books and barks: Library pet programs for everyone

Libraries are going all out to celebrate their furry friends. From therapy dogs that help kids build reading confidence to cat-themed storytimes and library pet spotlights, these creative programs are warming hearts and sparking inspiration. Read on for a round-up of paw-some ideas and don’t miss your chance to share your own pet-centric programs with us.

2025 National Day of Racial Healing

The National Day of Racial Healing is an opportunity for people, organizations, and communities to call for racial healing, bring people together in their shared humanity‚ and take action together to create a more just and equitable world. Read on for resources and strategies libraries can use to encourage community participation in this year’s National Day of Racial Healing on January 21, 2025.

Advancing IDEAs: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, 26 November 2024

Read this Hanging Together blog post, part of a regular series on issues of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility, compiled by a team of OCLC contributors.

WebJunction Webinars

These upcoming webinars are open for registration. If you can’t attend a live session, all WebJunction webinars are recorded and available for free in the Course Catalog.

Don't manage change—embrace it

Thursday, January 16, 2025 ◆ 3:00 pm Eastern / 12:00 pm Pacific ◆ 60 minutes

Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/dont-manage-change-embrace-it.html

Trying to make changes at your library can feel overwhelming. Where do you start? How do you get people on board? What do you do when you encounter resistance? Change management plans can help, but too often they frame the change as a problem to manage rather than an opportunity to reach for a shared vision. In this webinar, you’ll learn strategies for effective, positive change-making and examine how shifting your mindset to center growth and strengths can help you positively reframe change. You’ll also explore approaches to leadership, collaboration, and power-sharing that meaningfully engage impacted groups and plan for and address change anxiety and resistance.

Building community connections by hiring for cultural knowledge

Thursday, January 30, 2025 ◆ 3:00 pm Eastern / 12:00 pm Pacific ◆ 60 minutes

Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/hiring-for-cultural-knowledge.html

Staffing demographics rarely match those of the communities they serve. Learn how valuing specific knowledge, skills, and abilities during the hiring process can develop a staff ready to serve a diverse community. Hear from Cultural Liaison Library Assistant staff representing Hispanic and Tribal communities, including the results of their efforts to build connections with and share stories of these communities. Attendees will be challenged to reconsider some common hiring practices and how to make them more inclusive. Hear a success story from a library that identified cultural knowledge gaps and worked with community stakeholders during the job posting and selection process.

Turn strategy into action with Theory of Change

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 ◆ 3:00 pm Eastern / 12:00 pm Pacific ◆ 60 minutes

Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/turn-strategy-into-action.html

You're getting ready to implement a change at your library, from a new strategic plan to a major project. How do you get your staff, partners, or community to understand and align with this new direction? Theory of Change is a powerful tool to help you define a shared vision that everyone can strive for together, while allowing flexibility and autonomy in how they get there. In this webinar, you’ll learn how one library is using Theory of Change to drive strategic alignment while reducing bureaucracy. You will learn how to identify the core concepts of Theory of Change and how they relate to change in libraries and apply the principles to a strategic change in your library.

This program is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Cathy Lancaster

Youth Services Coordinator

Library of Michigan
702 W. Kalamazoo St.
Lansing, MI 48915
My Pronouns: She/Her/Hers - See www.mypronouns.org to learn more.

LancasterC5@michigan.gov | 517-335-8129 | www.mi.gov/libraryofmichigan
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Join the MiYouth Listserv, created for Michigan public library staff to share and discuss children and teen programming and services.