Updates from WiLS: Birds, Cats, and Shirts
WiLS has fun on April 1st.
Apr 1
Mar 17
WiLS March 2017 Member Interview: Keith Schroeder, School District of Marinette
One of our greatest joys at WiLS is hearing our members tell the stories of the big and important work they are doing – interesting new projects or initiatives, or even interesting and new approaches to old projects. And, in addition to hearing about it, it makes us even happier when we can share those stories with other members. Each month, WiLS is proud to feature an interview with one of our library members. This month, we interview Keith Schroeder, Quality Assurance Specialist: Personalized Learning, Community Education & Library Coordinator at the School District of Marinette.
Mar 17
WiLS March 2017 Vendor Partner Interview: James Jacobson, EBSCO
At WiLS, we want to bring valuable information to our library partners, including information about the missions and big ideas of the vendors they may already do business with. Each month, WiLS interviews a vendor partner in order to bridge the gap and open the door to valuable collaborations. This month, we are delighted to share insights from James Jacobson, Regional Sales Manager at EBSCO.
Read more
Mar 17
K12 Product Spotlight–March 2017: Classroom Video On Demand
Facts On File and Films Media Group have created an outstanding resource in their Classroom Video On Demand subscription service. CVOD offers thousands of full-length streaming videos segmented into predefined clips, making it easy for students and teachers to find specific content easily.
CVOD includes archival films and newsreels as well as videos in a variety of subject areas that align with high school content. In addition, the Master Career and Technical Education Collection, features titles in the areas of career exploration, job search skills AND technical and trade skills like automotive technology, building and technical trades and engineering.
For the CVOD newsletter, please see here
For discounted WiLS pricing or to set up a trial, please contact Cyd Rosenberg at or use our price quote request form at https://sprinkles.wils.org/services/cooperative-purchasing/coop-price-quote-or-renewal-form-2/
Mar 17
Public Product Spotlight–March 2017: BrainHQ
Dai
ly, in 2017, an estimated 9,900 Americans will turn 65 years old, and this number will continue to rise to 11,500 in 2029. Every 66 seconds, someone in the U.S. develops Alzheimer’s Disease. The brain determines the quality of every instant of our lives, but we struggle to know what to do about it.
Demco Software brings us BrainHQ, a series of exercises that use a special algorithm to adapt each exercise in difficulty as users work through them. Although BrainHQ exercises are fun, they are not always easy! They are meant to strengthen neural pathways and the 29 online exercises available, work on improving attention, brain speed, memory, people skills, navigation, and intelligence.
Watch a recent CNN report on BrainHQ and brain health: https://vimeo.com/208522406
For pricing or a trial, please use the price quote request form. For questions, please contact Sara Gold at
Mar 17
C.A.L.L.: Conference About Libraries & Literacy
On February 9th, Sara Gold and Jeff Brunner were fortunate to attend the first C.A.L.L. – Conference About Libraries and Literacy held at UW-LaCrosse Murphy Library. The conference was a collaborative effort, organized by Liz Humrickhouse & Teri Holford-Talpe of UW-La Crosse, Linda Jerome of La Crosse Public Library and Cindy Halter of La Crosse Central High School. They brought together speakers from all over Wisconsin to talk about a variety of topics related to libraries and literacy. Information Literacy has long been a popular topic in the library world and is gaining buzz in mainstream media as people work to discern and define “fake news”. Read an article about the conference from The LaCrosse Tribune.
A snapshot of the sessions follows here:
Keynote: Bridging the Gap Between HS and College – Heather Heimerl Brunold, Ed.D.
Dr. Brunold described her fascinating research on the relationship between school-type (public, private religious, private non-religious) and its role in college preparation. Her findings demonstrate that public schools are more successful that popular sentiment might lead us to believe.
Building Bridges – Tracy Helixon, Sheila Allard, Rochelle Hartman
We learned about a collaboration between Western Technical College and the La Crosse Public Library which included two library work days to help students find sources for their research essays.
Breaking the Ice – Marge Loch-Wouters
Menasha WI merged multiple individual school winter literacy programs into a community-wide winter reading program with the public library.
Scaffolding the Threshold Concepts from K to 16 – Elizabeth Gibes and Heather James
Marquette University librarians told us about their innovative, flipped approach for library instruction in a First-Year Writing program as well as their expanded role in developing a new curriculum for the program.
Gaining Ground – Teri Holford-Talpe, Liz Humrickhouse, and Darci Thoune
UW-La Crosse librarians and faculty talked to us about their program, Gaining Ground: Building College Level Information Literacy Skills. This program brought students from eight local high schools to the campus to learn about and demystify the college writing experience.
A Collaboration of Zombies in the Library – Nathan Dowd and Jen Champoux
Library staff from Edgewood College described a program designed to
be a fun and engaging way to build college readiness and academic skills. Targeting students that may need extra support in their transition to college, the zombie –themed program exposes them to a wide variety of library services.
Thanks to everyone who presented, sponsored, and hosted the C.A.L.L. Conference. We look forward to future gatherings and continued conversations.
Mar 17
Teen Health and Wellness is 10!
Join us in celebrating 10 years of Teen Health & Wellness, providing teens with nonjudgmental, straightforward curricular and self-help support. Follow along as we count down our top 10 reasons to love Teen Health & Wellness.
Reason #10: Teens in Their Own Words
Teens have shared their poignant and personal stories in Teen Health & Wellness since the beginning. Sharing challenges confronted and overcome is more than empowering; it’s a way to connect with others and say, “You are not alone.”
Bullying – Jordan’s Story: “In some way, everyone has been bullied before. Whether through words or actions…you know that what they did was wrong, and you didn’t like it.” Read more.
Coming Out – Alec’s Story: “I share my story with my listeners hoping to make a difference. I know that somewhere…there is a boy or girl going through similar situations as I did.” Read more.
Being Adopted – Rebecca’s Story: “She wasn’t coming…No birth mom, no half brother, and no other family. She didn’t even call. She left me for the second time in my life.” Read more.
Explore Teen Health and Wellness for free: http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/
WiLS offers the lowest pricing available for Rosen products. Please use our price quote request form: https://sprinkles.wils.org/services/cooperative-purchasing/coop-price-quote-or-renewal-form-2/
Mar 17
Mango Languages Webinar
Join J
ohn Kourletakis of Mango Languages for a language learning webinar at your leisure.
See https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/440094203964759297 to learn more about how Mango can help your library patrons learn new languages.
Mar 17
Rosen Digital Literacy: Your Facts Against Fake News
Fact or Fiction?
How can phony “facts” be distinguished from real ones? Reliable sources give attribution for things they say—they make it a point to let us know where the information came from so that we can check it for ourselves.
Rosen’s Digital Literacy helps students learn to evaluate information sources accurately, making them better consumers of news.
For a free trial, please see: http://digitalliteracy.rosendigital.com/ For pricing, please use our price quote request form: https://sprinkles.wils.org/services/cooperative-purchasing/coop-price-quote-or-renewal-form-2/
Mar 16
WiLS and SLIS partner on IMLS-funded Mukurtu initiative
Mukurtu project partners with WSU faculty and staff
WiLS and UW-Madison SLIS are excited to announce a new partnership with Washington State University to help tribal communities share their digital cultural heritage.
The IMLS-funded Mukurtu Hubs and Spokes: A Sustainable National Platform for Digital Community Archiving establishes five regional training and outreach centers for Mukurtu CMS, a culturally relevant and ethically-minded content management system designed for Indigenous communities.
WiLS and the TLAM (Tribal Libraries, Archives and Museums) project at SLIS are working with WSU along with the University of Hawaii’s Department of Linguistics, the Alaska Native Language Archives, the University of Oregon Libraries, and Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Yale Indian Papers Project teams to create the regional Mukurtu hubs. Each of these partners will then work closely with tribal archives, libraries and museums to identify their specific technical needs and curation preferences, as well as connecting them to training through WSU.
WiLS staff members Erin Hughes and Emily Pfotenhauer visited WSU for two days of training in early March.
“The histories and heritage of American Indian nations are priceless,” said Omar Poler, outreach specialist at SLIS and co-team leader for the Midwest Mukurtu Hub. “By serving as a midwestern Mukurtu training hub, WiLS and UW-Madison will be honored to support tribes as they document their communities as they see fit.”
With the funding provided by IMLS, WiLS has hired Erin Hughes as Mukurtu Hub Manager. Erin brings over a decade of experience in museum collections care and outreach. She’ll complete her MLIS, focusing on Archives and Records Management, this summer.
