Free, online, continuing education events for the week of December 4 from the Wyoming State Library Training Calendar. Descriptions and links are below. You can subscribe and view the events in your calendar software, or you can find all the events on our Training Calendar.
All times MST
Featured: Wyoming State Library webinar
Thursday, Dec 7 (10-11 am)
Techniques for Getting the Most Out of Foundational AI Models Like Chat GPT (Wyoming State Library)
Just under a year ago, ChatGPT took the world by storm with its groundbreaking ability to think and access knowledge much like a human being. In this presentation, we will delve into prompt engineering techniques aimed at extracting the maximum potential from ChatGPT and similar foundational large language models. We’ll start with straightforward methods for asking questions, generating content, and editing text. Progressing from there, we will explore advanced techniques, including teaching the model to mimic your voice and revolutionary research on its ability to perform tasks on your behalf. Along the way, we will also examine limitations and common mistakes that users encounter when utilizing ChatGPT.
Online conferences
Thursday, Dec 7 (8 am-3 pm)
Penguin Random House Winter Book & Author Festival 2023 (Library Journal)
Join Penguin Random House, Library Journal, and School Library Journal for our Winter 2023 virtual book and author festival, a free day-long event celebrating reading, authors, and librarians everywhere! Enjoy a day packed with author panels and interviews, book buzzes, virtual shelf browsing, and adding to your TBR pile. You’ll hear from many of your favorite authors, whose work runs the gamut from Picture Books to Young Adult titles to the best new Fiction and Nonfiction for adults. There is something of interest for every reader.
Thursday, Dec 7 (9-11:45 am)
Leader Talk: Create Impactful Learning Experiences (Training Industry)
Employees want to learn new skills, but they also want training to be engaging. With an increasing demand for learning in today’s fast-paced world of work, learning leaders must ensure that training meets modern learners’ expectations and builds learner engagement and retention. To do this, learning leaders must understand how to create memorable learning experiences. During this Training Industry Leader Talk, you will gain key insights on how to create impactful learning experiences that foster learner engagement and increase learning outcomes.
Webinars
Monday, Dec 4 (12-1 pm)
Nurturing Digital Well-Being in K-12 Schools Through Collaborative Family Partnerships (edWeb)
Attend this edWebinar with Common Sense’s Jasmine Hood Miller and Tali Horowitz to explore nurturing genuine family/school partnerships. They’ll review new resources teachers can share with families to help students build digital agency and reinforce their understanding of the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Learn strategies for identifying and reframing tech use to support positive media habits at home and at school, and leave with tools to build a sustained partnership that supports students in navigating the digital landscape with resilience and balance.
Monday, Dec 4 (5:30-6:30 pm)
Bookelicious Middle Grade Book Club with Library Girl – Simon Sort of Says (Bookelicious)
Join Jennifer LaGarde and Bookelicious for a fun, joy-filled Middle Grade Book Club.Together we’ll discuss new and notable Middle Grade titles with their authors! Additionally, we’ll explore strategies for creating joyful and engaging reading communities for the young people we serve.
Monday, Dec 4 (12-1:30 pm)
Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries (Association of Southeastern Research Libraries)
In the library profession, and in the world as a whole, the experiences of trans and gender diverse people often go unnoticed, hidden, and ignored. While many libraries love to think of themselves as inclusive for LGBTQ+ communities, this is often not reflected in the actual experiences of trans and gender diverse employees. From physical spaces to policies to interpersonal ignorance and bigotry, the library profession continues to fail its trans and gender diverse members over and over again.
Tuesday, Dec 5 (11-12 pm)
Orientation to Legal Research Webinar: Tracing Federal Regulations (Law Library of Congress)
This webinar will provide an overview of U.S. federal regulations, including information about the notice and comment rulemaking process; the publication and citation of regulations; and the tracing of regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations, to the proposed rule in the Federal Register, to the regulation’s docket.
Tuesday, Dec 5 (1-2 pm)
Graphic Novels and Manga For Teens and Tweens (Infopeople)
Hey, library staff! Comics! Everyone is looking for them at your library, but they all want something different. What do you say to the parent whose child won’t let go of Dog Man? How high is your stack of Raina Telgemeier read-alikes? Where is your manga section, and how do you know which series to add to your collection? This session will provide an overview of all kinds of graphic novels in libraries, complete with extensive booklists and links to review sources so that your library will be the hottest destination for teens and tweens readers’ next comics fix.
Tuesday, Dec 5 (12-1)
How to Encourage Diversity in the Hiring Process (Grantstation)
Diversity and equity in hiring allows your nonprofit to better represent your community and openly demonstrates your values. Diverse teams bring together individuals with various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. This diversity can lead to more creative problem-solving and innovative ideas, in addition to consideration of a wider range of factors and viewpoints when making decisions.
Tuesday, Dec 5 (12-1 pm)
Using Collaborative Competition to Boost Reading Culture (School Library Journal)
Join School Library Journal and Charleston County School District’s (CCSD) Christy James, MLIS, district library and media services coordinator and teacher librarian, Rosie Herold, to learn proven strategies that drove their district’s reading engagement. They will zoom in on CCSD’s 20 Million Minute Challenge from the district and school building perspective. You will gain tangible and lightweight best practices to apply to your district, building, or classroom.
Tuesday, Dec 5 (12-12:30 pm)
Spread the Word! Promoting NoveList Plus to Your Community (Novelist)
Join NoveList expert Caleigh Haworth for this 30-minute microtraining to learn easy, effective ways to promote NoveList Plus. You’ll come away with a 5-step plan you can begin implementing right away to spread the word about NoveList Plus so all the readers in your community can find the books that perfectly match their reading preferences.
Tuesday, Dec 5 (12-1:15 pm)
Is starting a nonprofit right for you? (Candid Learning)
In this session you’ll learn the legal and logistical elements necessary to start a successful nonprofit. You’ll also learn about possible alternatives to starting your own nonprofit that you may not have considered. Finally, you’ll be introduced to a tool that will help you assess your own readiness to move forward.
Tuesday, Dec 5 (1-2 pm)
Tools for Reimagining School Readiness (WebJunction)
The Reimagining School Readiness Toolkit provides free, online, research-based resources, created specifically for library staff. These resources make it easy for you to enhance what you are already doing, with eye-catching tips, planning tools, program surveys, activity ideas, family conversation starters, social media posts, and more. This webinar will introduce library staff to the background and components of the Toolkit, along with testimonials from practitioners about how they are reimagining school readiness in their own libraries. You’ll leave with ideas and strategies for supporting your families and communities.
Wednesday, Dec 6 (9-10 am)
NCompass Live: Using Creativity to Grow & Develop (Nebraska Library Commission)
Justin Hoenke shares his experiences moving from the super creative world of youth services in libraries to the still creative but not the same kind of creative world of leading a library. He discusses the pros and cons of moving into leadership and managing teams and how to use your creativity to engage your team and community.
Wednesday, Dec 6 (12-1 pm)
Connecting with Teens Using Discord (Georgia Library Association)
Discord is a dynamic and powerful virtual platform that offers users the ability to communicate through voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media, files and more. It is a great tool for libraries to use to reach teens who are already online and who may not be able to visit the library. At the Salt Lake County Library in Utah, we’ve used Discord to help connect with teens in our community and help teens connect with each other. In this webinar, we will discuss how and why you should consider using Discord to expand library services for teens into the virtual world.
Wednesday, Dec 6 (12-1 pm)
Overcoming Burnout in the ECE Workplace (Early Childhood Investigations)
Most professionals in every field occasionally experience flagging motivation and workplace frustration, but in early childhood education, rates of burnout have skyrocketed. We’re all looking for the magic answer to banish the blues, rejuvenate educators, and inspire program leaders. Join keynote speaker, author, and experienced early childhood leader, Ellen Drolette to explore strategies for avoiding burn-out and low morale. Based on the book, Overcoming Teacher Burnout in Early Childhood: Strategies for Change. Ellen will use inspiring stories from the field to examine the structures and practices that support the development of healthy attitudes, quality engagement, and optimism in the workplace.
Wednesday, Dec 6 (11-12 pm)
Welcome to TechSoup: New Member Orientation and Q&A (TechSoup)
Have you recently joined TechSoup as a member, or are you thinking about becoming a member and want to better understand how TechSoup can help your nonprofit organization? Join us for our meeting on how your organization can access TechSoup’s wide variety of product discount and donation programs. From hardware to software, we’ll give you a tour of the tools available to help your nonprofit with productivity, collaboration, financial management, donor tracking, security, and more. We’ll also show you how to access our many learning resources, tech services, courses, and community offerings designed to help you optimize technology for your organization. There will be plenty of time for Q&A, so be sure to bring your questions!
Wednesday, Dec 6 (11-12 pm)
Transforming Business Models (Propel Nonprofits)
Learn the four core components of a nonprofit business model – revenue mix, understanding the cost of programs, infrastructure, and capital structure – and explore how all these components connect to mission and your organization’s financial health.
Wednesday, Dec 6 (12-12:50 pm)
Understanding the Digital Workplace (GovLoop)
The days when a desk and a pad of paper were enough to do your job are long gone and navigating the modern digital workplace can be difficult. Join us to hear how agencies are operating in this new digital landscape and the tools and policies for making it work.
Wednesday, Dec 6 (12-1 pm)
Assistive Technology for Writing (Pacer Center)
In this workshop, we’ll look at assistive technology to help with a range of writing skill levels. We’ll see apps to help with different stages from drafting to revising along with learning the basics and various digital and voice options.
Wednesday, Dec 6 (12-1 pm)
Policy Writing and Implementation With an Equity Lens (Niche Academy)
Using a recent Behavior Policy revision process as an example, as well as current Collection Development policy work, Adrienne Doman Calkins will share ways to approach policy writing as a process rather than a product. Join us to learn about the processes and pitfalls in library policy writing and implementation. Get tips for using an equity lens, applying trauma-informed concepts, researching, the writing process, building feedback loops, and a holistic approach to implementation.
Thursday, Dec 7 (11-12 pm)
Simplified Fundraising Planning for Small Nonprofits (Bloomerang)
Join fundraising master trainer, Chad Barger, CFRE, for a workshop covering fundraising planning. We’ll cover some of the biggest mistakes that nonprofit organizations make when putting together their annual fundraising plan and how to avoid them. Processes and tools will be shared which pare the planning process down to its simplest form. Attendees leave with actionable steps that they can take to make their organization’s planning process more effective and efficient.
Thursday, Dec 7 (12-1 pm)
Inclusive and Ethical AI for Academic Libraries (Association of College and Research Libraries)
Academic libraries have historically been early adopters and implementers of new and emerging technologies. Yet, many are caught in a whirlwind of uncertainty as the world accelerates the adoption of generative and other forms of AI. This webinar will focus on defining and implementing inclusive and ethical AI for academic libraries.
Thursday, Dec 7 (12-1 pm)
Spring Youth Preview (Booklist)
What new titles do your favorite publishers have in store this spring? Find out during Booklist’s Spring Youth Preview on Thursday, December 7. Learn about upcoming picture book, middle grade, and YA titles coming to a shelf near you from Bloomsbury, Norton Young Readers, and Abrams Children’s Books. Register now!
Thursday, Dec 7 (12-1 pm)
CSL in Session: Playing Well with Others – At Work (Colorado State Library)
We all know that children learn through play, but what about adults? Research shows that when humans, at any age, play, they learn and grow into healthy, happy, well-functioning individuals. Indeed, embedding playful work techniques into your day can lead to greater creativity, productivity, and resilience in you and your library. And knowing others’ play styles will help build better teams, improve collaborative work, and create a more enjoyable work culture. Join us for this lively, interactive, and fun session, as we delve into the research on play, identify your play style, and explore ways to add more play into your work.
Thursday, Dec 7 (5:30-6:30 pm)
Library Girl & Friends: Among the Stars! Library Girl and The Book Whisperer Share Their Favorite Books of 2023! (Bookelicious)
Join Jennifer LaGarde, Donalyn Miller and Bookelicious for a fun, festive hour of pure book joy! Together we’ll share the titles (for K-8 learners) that have received the most starred reviews from industry trade journals along with the books we’ve awarded the stars of our hearts! Be prepared to share your own recommendations while also growing your To Be Read pile!