Did you know that the Library of Michigan and the Institute of Museum and library Services (IMLS) provides access to WebJunction free of charge to Michigan library staff? See below for information on upcoming online courses and webinars.

As a WebJunction member (which includes anyone who takes free webinars or has an account in the Course Catalog), you and your immediate family members are eligible to receive a 25% tuition savings on Drexel University’s online courses, including their Library and Information Science program! Learn more about how you can benefit today.

Highlighted Content on WebJunction

• Community Engagement: Redefining the Library as Town Square: Pam Sandlian Smith, director of the Anythink Libraries in Colorado shares her thoughts on how “libraries are evolving, leaning outside of our walls, [and] connecting with our communities in new and powerful ways.” To support this, the library has adopted the concept of the library as town square – and her insights will help you think about how your library can put your community at the center of everything.
• Supercharged Storytimes Project Concludes, Learning Continues: Are your storytimes supercharged? We recently wrapped a four-year project and have created a wealth of resources to help you strengthen the effectiveness of storytimes in your community. Check out the project learnings and how you can use the free resources to build your skills and confidence in delivering storytimes.

Free WebJunction Webinars for You

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: https://learn.webjunction.org/.

Getting to the Heart of the Community Through Discovery

Tuesday, June 11, 2019 ♦ 3:00 pm Eastern / 12:00 pm Pacific ♦ 60 minutes

Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/community-through-discovery.html

Community discovery is a process of forging vital and ongoing connection between the library and its community members. The more people are involved in planning and programming, the more they are invested in the success of the library. While many libraries collect community input primarily through surveys, there are other, more interactive and interpersonal tools that can uncover the heart and aspirations of the community. Explore tools and strategies that start meaningful conversations and foster collaborative engagement on everything from strategic and space planning to programming. Learn how you can join your library and your community at the heart.

Hooray for Freedom! Part One: Privacy, Confidentiality, and Intellectual Freedom in the Library

Wednesday, July 11, 2019 ♦ 3:00 pm Eastern / 12:00 pm Pacific ♦ 60 minutes

Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/hooray-for-freedom-1.html

Privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual freedom are core values of librarianship that are easy to agree with, but difficult to implement. Hooray for Freedom! will help you assess your professional practice, give you the legal and ethical context to support democracy in your library, and help you identify practical ways to implement improvements.

In this webinar, learners will:

• Gain familiarity with the legal undergirding of intellectual freedom in libraries.
• Recognize methods that help shrink the gap between ethics and practice for libraries of any size.
• Learn strategies to use in real-time situations related to the legal and ethical foundations of library practice.

Hooray for Freedom! Part Two: Developing Policies in Support of Ethical Practice

Thursday, August 8, 2019 ♦ 3:00 pm Eastern / 12:00 pm Pacific ♦ 60 minutes

Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/hooray-for-freedom-2.html

Building on part one, Hooray for Freedom! Privacy, Confidentiality, and Intellectual Freedom in the Library, this webinar will help you assess your library’s current policies and procedures within a legal context, and help you draft specific policy language. We’ll explore considerations for libraries of all sizes in order to codify the library profession’s values for our institutions.

In this webinar, learners will:

• Increase understanding of the language in, and policy implications for, the 1st and 4th Amendments.
• Learn how to translate legal opinion into policy considerations for libraries.
• Recognize how to avoid policy drafting traps by maintaining focus on mission and purpose.

This project is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.