Howdy! Just a reminder that we have some free webinars coming up, beginning this Tuesday – join us! Free registration here: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/university-of-michigan-school-of-information-an... SOCIAL WORKERS IN LIBRARIES Tiffany Russell, Niles (MI) District Library THIS TUESDAY, Jan. 28, 4pm Eastern Have you been curious about the movement to embed social workers in public libraries but think your library is too small? Join Tiffany Russell, social worker, for a spirited conversation about the Niles District Library’s initiative to coordinate social work services across a network of Class 2-4 libraries. She’ll talk about the nuts and bolts of her program and offer strategies to help you think about how to develop relationships and a plan for your own initiative. Social workers have a lot more in common with librarians than you might think, and we know you’ll enjoy Tiffany’s effervescent style and commitment to care in her community. ----- WEB ACCESSIBILITY Colleen Van Lent, University of Michigan School of Information Tuesday, February 18, 4pm Eastern Are your library website and online materials easily "read" by those with vision or other impairments? For example, if your library's contact information is contained in a graphic instead of text, those with aging eyes or vision problems can't use screen readers to access the information they need. Is your annual report slide deck chock full of images ... but without accompanying description? That may be an accessibility issue, too. Whether you have visually impaired visitors or an aging population of patrons, accessible online content matters -- and it's important to do so to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Whether your library or school hosts its content itself or outsources web updates to a third-party vendor, you'll gain vocabulary and concrete action steps to make your web presence more welcoming to all. Join Colleen Van Lent, Lecturer IV at the University of Michigan School of Information, as she unpacks how you can make your web presence more friendly for all of your patrons. Colleen teaches hundreds of thousands of online students through her Web Design for Everybody course series <https://www.coursera.org/search?query=colleen%20van%20lent&> at Coursera.org. In 2019, Class Central <https://www.classcentral.com/report/top-moocs-2019-edition/>named her HTML5 course one of the top 100 MOOC courses of all time. Colleen's friendly, thoughtful teaching makes technical concepts easy to understand -- even for tech novices. ----- DESIGN THINKING Mega Subramamian, University of Maryland Tuesday, Mar. 10, 4pm Eastern This webinar will introduce participants to the design thinking approach and associated techniques to obtain community voice and insights at each stage of the approach – inspiration, ideation, and iteration. Using examples from youth services that articulate unique design challenges, participants will experience the design thinking stages and obtain selected skills needed to inspire, ideate, and iterate innovative programs and services with library patrons of all ages. Additionally, participants will reflect on the opportunities and challenges that their libraries encounter in terms of programs, services, systems, and spaces, and learn how to articulate them in the form of design challenges. Participants will receive additional information on resources that are available for further learning and reflection on this topic. *Dr. Mega Subramaniam* is an Associate Professor and the Co-Director of the Youth eXperience (YX) Lab <http://yxlab.ischool.umd.edu/> at the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland <https://ischool.umd.edu/>. Her research focuses on enhancing the role of libraries in fostering the mastery of emerging digital literacies among underserved young people. Her research has resulted in several national recognitions, most recently including the *Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers award <https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=mega-subramaniam-movers-shakers-2019-educators>* and a Fulbright Specialist Award from the US Department of State. Her work has been generously funded by various federal and private agencies, including the National Science Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Library of Medicine, and Google. An archived recording will be sent out within 48 hours of the event. -- Kristin Fontichiaro University of Michigan School of Information 4427 North Quad 105 S. State St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285 734.647.3593 Blog <http://fontichiaro.com/activelearning> | Book an Appointment (school year only) <https://www.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UUFHX1E5cXRtYUVQfGRlZmF1bHR8YmY3NDdlYzA4ZDM2MjFmMzAzMDM2OTA3NGM3NjliMzQ> *Projects:* Michigan Makers <http://michiganmakers.si.umich.edu> | Making in Michigan Libraries <http://makinglibraries.si.umich.edu> Data Literacy in High School <http://dataliteracy.si.umich.edu> | Public Library Management MOOC <http://ai.umich.edu/portfolio/public-library-management/>