Early bird registration for WAPL is still open and WAPL has two amazing days of content and a variety of sessions touching on inclusivity as well:
  • Knowledge is Power: Great Lakes Literacy through Reading
  • Understanding Dementia
  • Luncheon Keynote: Bridging the Gaps – Connecting LGBTQ+ Identity and Story with Jenny Kalvaitis and Kristen Whitson
  • The Dynamic Duo: A Tale of Two Organizations Coming Together to Work Towards a Common Goal of Strengthening Families
  • Building Strong Families and Thriving Communities through Family Support
  • How to Say the Hard Things: Lessons Learned in Years of Crisis
  • Beyond the Community Conversation
  • Digital Accessibility in Libraries
  • Games, Learning, and Libraries: Harnessing the Power of Play in Wisconsin
  • Rural Language Resources: Building a Shared Spanish Language Collection
  • Analyzing Your Collection: Tools to Diversify & Maintain Your Children’s Collection
  • Connect Your Patrons to Financial Literacy Resources to Pay for College & Education
  • Depositing Joy: Programming and Services for Families Experiencing Homelessness
  • Community Engagement Through Reading Challenges
  • Luncheon Keynote: The Power of Community, Conservation, and Crime Fiction
I hope to see you at one of these events!
Take care,
Sherry

Resources:

Continuing Education:

Thursday, April 25: 9:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m., East Branch, Brown County Library (Green Bay)
Thursday, May 9:  9:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m., Wintergreen Conference Center (Wisconsin Dells)

Discover ways to create inter-culturally inclusive work and learning environments for all! Increase your knowledge and ability to problem solve, communicate confidently, and foster more collaborative work environments rooted in authentic relationships with dynamic executive coach, professor, and 3x best-selling author Alonzo Kelly. Dr. Kelly is recognized as one the nation’s leading experts on leadership development, strategic thinking, and planning. Travel assistance is available. More details and registration information can be found on the website.

  • Developing and Establishing Indigenous Pedagogy Collections for the Library and Classroom – April 29, 4:30pm -6:00pm: Have you ever wondered where you can find accurate and authentic resources about Indigenous people and nations of Wisconsin and the United States? Do you have questions about how to best be respectful and culturally sensitive when choosing these materials? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, join us and hear from a distinguished panel of Indigenous knowledge curators to learn strategies for cultivating resources and materials for your classroom or library. Our panel comes from a variety of settings and experiences, providing participants with a broad amount of information and resources for a variety of school and library settings.
  • Spring UW iSchool Classes:
  • Toward One Wisconsin 2024: A Conference on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion May 7-8, 2024 Eau Claire, WI. Conference Theme: Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers. Whether you’re just starting and overwhelmed, or you’re a leading advocate in your community, this conference will provide best practices, insights and implementation tools to help you take the next steps. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about and discuss the work of diversity, equity and inclusion, and how to move from talk to action.

Consumables:

Diverse Holidays in April:

April is Autism Awareness Month. Autism Awareness Month aims to celebrate and promote acceptance for the condition that occurs in one in every 54 children as of 2020 in the United States. Autism, a complex developmental condition affecting the patient’s ability to interact, communicate, and progress, has not one but many subtypes. First held in the year 1972 by the Autism Society, Autism Awareness Month emphasizes the need for public awareness to promote acceptance, celebrate differences, and be more inclusive toward autistic individuals around us.

Through April 9: Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim year and a holy month celebrating when Mohammad received the revelations of the Quran, spent fasting, reflecting, and praying.

April 1-21: Songkran Festival, the Thai New Year, also celebrated as the Buddhist New Year.

April 2: World Autism Awareness Day, meant to raise awareness of the developmental disorder.

April 6: International Asexuality Day. International Asexuality Day celebrates the full asexual spectrum: asexual, greysexual, demisexual, and all other ace identities.

April 6: Laylat al-Qadr, the holiest night of the year for Muslims, celebrated on the 27th day of Ramadan and commemorates the night that the Quran was revealed to Mohammad.

April 9: Chaitra Sukladi/Gudhi Padwa/Ugadi, the start of the Hindu lunar calendar is celebrated in a spring festival.

April 10: Eid al-Fitr: (also known as Sweet Eid or Lesser Eid) is one of the most important festivals in the Islamic calendar. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset throughout Ramadan (the 9th month of the Islamic calendar). Once they see the Shawwal moon, people start the celebration for Eid al-Fitr, which lasts for three days.

April 12: National Day of Silence, a protest against bullying and harassment of LGBTQIA+ individuals by students who take a vow of silence.

April 13: Vaisakhi, also pronounced Baisakhi as well as Basoa, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is seen as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India.

April 14: Puthmandu, or Tamil New Year. This festival is celebrated in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Mauritius, Malaysia, and others. This day is signified as a new beginning. People celebrate this day as the day that would bring them a new start with new opportunities.

April 16: Rama Navami, A celebration of the birth of Rama (incarnation of Lord Vishnu) to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya in Ayodhya.

April 21-30: Rivdan, a Baha’i festival celebrating when Baha’u’llah resided in paradise and proclaimed his mission as God’s messenger.

April 21: Mahavir Jayanti, celebrates the birth of Mahavira, a contemporary of the Buddha, and is the most important religious holiday in Jainism.

April 22: Earth Day, promoting sustainability and environmental protection.

April 23 -April 29: Passover or Pesach, an eight-day Jewish festival celebrating when Israelites were freed from slavery in ancient Egypt.

April 23: Hanuman Jayanti, is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of the Hindu deity, and one of the protagonists of the Ramayana, Hanuman.

April 24: Armenian Martyrs’ Day, honoring the 1.5 million Armenians killed by genocide in Turkey.

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