Hello Michigan Library Staff! Shout-out to all the folks I was lucky to learn with, sit by, dance with, and share a coffee at MLA in Lansing this week. What a good time! We have some exciting training coming up this winter at Library of Michigan. The CE survey we recently completed showed us how many Michigan library folks valued the Conversations Worth Having experience we offered in Fall 2024. We’re offering two more cohorts this winter, one in December at LM and one virtually in February. I hope you will check out the details below and consider applying! I also want to remind folks about our CE Stipend Program. These grant funds can help you, or your staff, attend professional development, virtually, in-state, and out-of-state.

 

Coming Up From Library of Michigan

 

Round 2-3! Conversations Worth Having for Library Leaders Cohort – Offered In-Person at LM on December 3 and Virtually, February 4-5, 2026

The Library of Michigan invites up to 60 public and academic library directors, managers, or supervisors to participate in Conversations Worth Having for Library Leaders, led by Library Development Manager, Michelle Bradley. Participants may apply to be part of the in-person cohort on December 3, 2025, or the virtual cohort on February 4-5, 2026. The in-person cohort will be held at the Library of Michigan in Lansing. LM will cover the cost of course materials and course content, a $1,498.00 per person value. Complete the online application by Monday, November 3, 2025 to be considered.

 

Office Hours with LM Library Development Staff - Register on LM’s Continuing Education Calendar to receive Zoom link

 

Webjunction Self-Paced Courses and Webinars

LM’s Staff Skills Niche Academy  

United for Libraries

People Connect Institute’s (PCI) Weekly Webinars – Wednesdays at 2 pm – Next Up: Ten Passive Programming Ideas for Teens

 

For full details on all of Library of Michigan’s Continuing Education opportunities including upcoming events and recorded webinars, visit our website. Library of Michigan projects are made possible in-part by grant funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) administered by the State of Michigan through the Library of Michigan.

 

Other Continuing Education Opportunities

 

LLMs for Transcription and Metadata Collection

November 6, 2025 at 12 PM EST

Collections of digitized materials are growing faster than metadata can be added; can Large Language Models (LLMs) be one solution for consistent, quality metadata? The AI Metadata Creation Project at the University of Texas at Austin aimed to explore whether LLMs can offer a solution for improving the efficiency of developing metadata for large, digitized collections. Using a collection of digitized architectural publications, the group tested seven different models, using both APIs and web interfaces to test their ability in generating metadata, specifically subject headings, summaries of content, and named entities, as well as efficacy in metadata preparation tasks like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) of digitized materials. Our presentation will examine our preliminary findings as well as our testing workflow, so that it can serve as a model for others wishing to evaluate LLMs. Leveraging expertise in metadata, collections, and technical tools, project members evaluated which tools to apply to the testing, created standardized testing criteria and a grading system, and met frequently to evaluate the results. Members are currently finalizing recommendations via a report, which investigates the efficiency of the LLMs in terms of results, cost, and time. Sign up here: https://content.fromthepage.com/webinars/ and receive instructions and a link to connect with this webinar. This will be recorded.

 

Resilient Communities: Advancing Sustainability in and through Libraries

Winter – Spring 2026

This new initiative from ALA and the Sustainable Libraries Initiative will equip public library workers with the knowledge and tools to lead on sustainability in their communities. 100 library workers will receive free tuition to complete a four-part asynchronous e-course, “Sustainable Librarianship: Core Competencies and Practices” and join a community of practice with peers and advisors. Apply by November 14! The course itself runs January – February 2026 and learners will have the opportunity to be members of a 6-month community of practice with advisors and peers through June 2026.

 

EntreLib: ELC International 2025 – Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference

November 19-20, 2025

Free and online (via Zoom).

The theme is ““How Libraries and Librarians around the World Support Entrepreneurship in their Communities and Campuses”.

Hear public, special, and academic librarians from four countries share their insights, and participate in our moderated networking discussions. Speaker topics will include community engagement, recruiting community partners, equity issues, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurial mindset training in library schools, and more (see below).

 

Nourishing Minds: A Free Toolkit for Teen Mental Health Programming in Libraries

November 19, 2025 at 3:00 pm EST

The Nourishing Minds Framework, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and with support from The Seattle Public Library Foundation, is a comprehensive approach for libraries to support teen mental health. Over the course of three years, Seattle Public Library staff tested the digital toolkit, supporting librarians and teens with meaningful teen-focused programming. In this webinar, hear from the Nourishing Minds team about the framework, resources, and how libraries have used the toolkit to create teen programs. For more free webinars presented by library workers and for library workers, visit programminglibrarian.org/webinars.

 

Wishing you a cozy fall season of good library times and lots of learning!

 

Andrea Vernola

Continuing Education Coordinator | Library Development

Library of Michigan, 702 W. Kalamazoo St, P.O. Box 30007, Lansing, MI 48909

vernolaA@michigan.gov | 517-335-0123

https://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan

 

Nourishing Michigan’s Future during the summer! 

Find a Summer Food Service Program site nearest you and encourage Michigan’s children to Meet Up and Eat Up! Michigan.gov/MeetUpEatUp.

Michigan.gov/Vote logo Description automatically generated

Get personalized voter information on early voting and other topics at Michigan.gov/Vote.