It's a great time to put a learning opportunity on your calendar, and you'll have plenty of choices this month. Whether you're looking to pick up some programming ideas, sharpen your technology skills, or gather tips on curating a digital collection, there's something here to support your growth. The list, provided by the Maine State Library, includes a variety of webinar topics.

Create meaningful, playful early math experiences for young children and their families with Libraries Count, a new course available in WebJunction’s course catalog. Libraries Count is designed to empower library staff to infuse early math content into library settings, especially working with young children and their families from diverse backgrounds. This course covers the what, why, and how of early math, including numbers, geometry, measurement, operations, and patterns. 

As the Director of WebJunction, I've had a unique opportunity to attend several recent conferences to represent our work, learn from the library field, strengthen partnerships, identify trends, and network with the library community.

I recently reflected on themes that emerged from a recent stretch of public library conferences, including the challenges libraries are navigating and how that can create opportunities for innovation, learning, and growth. Here, I'll share a few more reflections that keep resurfacing, this time around the value of looking beyond our usual peers, connecting library work to broader community priorities, and engaging with AI.

Assistant Head of Patron Services shares best practices for approaching technology instruction and some plain-language definitions of common technology terms to help everyone work with a shared vocabulary. 

As the Director of WebJunction, I've had a unique opportunity to attend several recent conferences to represent our work, learn from the library field, strengthen partnerships, identify trends, and network with the library community.

From Minneapolis (PLA) to Prague (EBLIDA) to Columbus (International Public Library Fundraising Conference, IPLFC), Chicago (ALA Annual), and most recently Montgomery (ARSL), the last stretch of conferences has felt like a rapid tour through the questions public libraries are wrestling with in real time: relevance, trust, capacity, sustainability, and impact.