Library Administration

County Reimbursement Information

Please find the information you need for 2023 Cost per Circulation and Act 420/Act 150 reimbursements below.

If you have any questions or concerns about this information, feel free to contact Marla Sepnafski, at 715-261-7250 or via email at .

For 2024 requests for reimbursements from counties, use Annual Report data from 2023.

Resources for Library Administrators

List of resources for tasks associated with Library Directors including policy development, strategic planning, library standards and more!

WVLS Communications

See WVLS Communication for a complete list

WVLS County Library Plans/Member Participation Agreements

Legal and Compliance/Municipal Exemption from County Tax

 

WVLS Information

Please see the About WVLS page to find information on WVLS:

Find information on the topics below:

  1. WVLS Calendar of Events
  2. V-Cat Steering Committee
  3. Library Advisory Committee (LAC)
  4. WVLS Grants and Scholarships
    1. Innovation and Collaboration Grant
    2. Library Legislative Day
    3. ARSL Conference Grant
    4. Wessler Scholarship
  5.  WVLS Courier Delivery/Courier Best Practices

WVLS Mentoring Program

See the WVLS Mentoring Program page for more information.

The WVLS Mentoring Program supports success of new library administrators by matching them with experienced library specialists. Mentorship will reduce unnecessary struggle and stress through guided learning, regular communication, and peer bonding.

Administrative Essentials

Wisconsin Public Library, March 2018, 6th Edition

Administrative Essentials: A Handbook for Wisconsin Public Library Directors is a resource developed and maintained by the Division for Libraries and Technology, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

This handbook will provide you with some of the essential information that you need to succeed in your position as a public library director in Wisconsin.

See Chapter 6: Orientation of a New Library Director.

Table of Contents

  • Foreword
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • AE 1: The Mission of the Public Library
  • AE 2: The Director’s Job Description
  • AE 3: Who Runs the Library?
    Responsibilities of the library director • Responsibilities of the library board • The division of labor between the library director and the board • Responsibilities of the municipal government • Sources of additional information
  • AE 4: Working with the Library Board
  • AE 5: Effective Library Board Meetings
  • AE 6: Orientation of a New Library Director
  • AE 7: Library Director Certification
  • AE 8: Public Services
  • AE 9: Accessible Library Services
  • AE 10: Technical Services
  • AE 11: The Library as Employer
  • AE 12: Managing the Staff
  • AE 13: Developing the Library Budget
  • AE 14: Managing the Library’s Money
  • AE 15: Policies and Procedures
  • AE 16: Planning for the Library’s Future
  • AE 17: Membership in the Library System

Annual Report

WVLS Annual Report Resources

DPI Annual Report Resources

Annual Report Data Visualization Tools

Include images, interesting facts and statistics, project highlights, patron stories and more!

Boot Camp Resources

To share essential information that every Wisconsin public library director needs to know, and to facilitate networking among new directors and their seasoned peers.

The New Public Library Director Boot Camp project is supported by funds awarded to the WI Dept. of Public Instruction by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the agency that administers the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

Budget Resources

Please see the WVLS Budget Resources page to find information on the topics listed below:

  • Budget Resources
    • Technology Budget Resources
    • WPLC Buying Pool Shares
    • V-Cat Budget member Shares
    • WVLS Grants to Libraries

Challenged Library Materials

Library Materials Challenge Support Resources

The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) is a leader in supporting libraries facing material challenges and intellectual freedom.

American Library Association: Challenges to Library Materials

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

Association for LIbrary Service to Children (ALSC)

Banned & Challenged Books

Intellectual Freedom Resources

  • American Library Association offers resources on advocacy, ethics, freedom to read, freedom to view, censorship, challenged resources, internet filtering, collection development, children and youth access, copyright and more.
  • Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) offers resources on children and youth access, advocacy, professional guidelines, ethics, youth access and freedom to read, equity of access, censorship, challenged resources, internet filtering, collection development, children and youth access, copyright and more.
  • Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) offers resources on children and youth access, advocacy, youth access and freedom to read, equity of access, censorship, challenged resources, internet filtering, collection development, children and youth access,and more.
  • LeRoy C Merritt Humanitarian Fund offers a lifeline to librarians who face employment crises because they are defending intellectual freedom, or facing discrimination.
  • Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) offers resources on advocacy, professional guidelines, ethics, youth access and freedom to read, equity of access, censorship, challenged resources, internet filtering, collection development, children and youth access, copyright and more.

Continuing Education

Please see the WVLS Continuing Education Opportunities page to find information on the topics listed below:

  • Current Continuing Education Calendar
  • WVLS Director Bootcamp
  • Continuing Education Annoucements
  • Webinar and Workshop Recordings, Conferences, Online Learning

Digitization

  • Recollection Wisconsin
  • Wisconsin Digital Projects Toolkit
    • This free series of five short courses is designed to provide basic digitization education and support for Wisconsin libraries and cultural heritage institutions.
    • Topics covered include copyright, scanning, metadata, file storage, digital preservation, and processes for contributing digital collections to Recollection Wisconsin and the Digital Public Library of America.
    • The course is pre-recorded and will take 3-4 hours to complete.
  • Find grants and all digitization resources on the LeanWI website here.

 

Library Associations, Blogs and Newsletters per Service Group

All Ages

Children Services

Teen Services

Adult Services

Library Trustee Essentials and Resources

Library Trustee Essentials

Trustee Essentials: A Handbook for Wisconsin Public Library Trustees is prepared by the Division for Libraries and Technology with the assistance of the Wisconsin Public Library Trustee Handbook Revision Task Force.

Trustee Essentials describes the duties of Library Board Trustees. Knowing the division of duties between a library board and a director is important for new directors.

Table of Contents
  • So you’re a trustee! How did that happen, and what is expected of you now?

TE 1: The Trustee Job Description

TE 2: Who Runs the Library

  • Responsibilities of the library board
  • Responsibilities of the library director
  • The division of labor between the library director and the board
  • Responsibilities of the municipal government

TE 3: Bylaws—Organizing the Board for Effective Action

  • Why up-to-date bylaws are needed for effective library board operation
  • How your board can develop or update their bylaws

TE 4: Effective Board Meetings and Trustee Participation

  • The keys to effective board meetings
  • How individual trustees can contribute to the board and the library

TE 5: Hiring a Library Director

  • The basic legal parameters for the hiring of a library director
  • Recommended steps to follow when hiring

TE 6: Evaluating the Director

  • Reasons for evaluating the director
  • Who should carry out the review
  • The basis and criteria for the review
  • Methods and questions to consider

TE 7: The Library Board and Library Personnel

  • The roles of the board and the library director on personnel issues
  • How board decisions can affect the quality of library staff

TE 8: Developing the Library Budget

  • Goals of budgeting
  • Steps in the budget development process
  • Sources of library funding
  • Budget terminology

TE 9: Managing the Library’s Money

  • Responsibilities for library expenditures
  • Responsibilities for library financial health and financial reporting
  • Options for proper handling of gifts and donations

TE 10: Developing Essential Library Policies

  • Who is responsible for developing and approving library policies?
  • How do you develop good (and legal) policies?
  • Who carries out policies?

TE 11: Planning for the Library’s Future

  • The importance of planning
  • Planning essentials—getting started
  • A plan outline
  • Where to go for help

TE 12: Library Standards

  • How your library might benefit from use of library standards
  • Different ways to use library standards
  • How standards relate to library planning

TE 13: Library Advocacy

  • What are library advocates and why they are needed
  • How to establish priorities for advocacy
  • Ways to act as an advocate

TE 14: The Library Board and the Open Meetings Law

  • The basics of compliance with Wisconsin’s open meetings law
  • When and how the board can legally conduct a closed session

TE 15: The Library Board and the Public Records Law

  • Actions all boards must take to comply with the law—before and after receiving records requests
  • Records that must be available to the public—and records that are confidential

TE 16: Ethics and Conflict of Interest Laws Applying to Trustees

  • Actions you must not take as a library trustee
  • Business and employment relationships with the library that are prohibited to the trustee

TE 17: Membership in the Public Library System

  • The benefits of system membership
  • The requirements for system membership
  • How you and your library can help make your library system stronger

TE 18: Library Board Appointments and Composition

  • Why citizen boards control public libraries in Wisconsin
  • The legally required procedures for appointment of library board members
  • The legally required composition

TE 19: Library Director Certification

  • Requirements for certifying your library director
  • Continuing education to maintain certification

TE 20: The Library Board and Building Accessibility

  • The role of the board and the library director in ensuring that the library building is accessible
  • How the library building can equitably accommodate all members of the community, including those with disabilities

TE 21: The Library Board and Accessible Services

  • How to make your library services accessible to all members of the community
  • Your responsibility in regard to implementing ADA requirements for accessible services

TE 22: Freedom of Expression and Inquiry

  • How the public library promotes freedom of expression and inquiry
  • Library board-approved policies that help protect intellectual freedom

TE 23: Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials or Policies

  • The need to have a written policy to deal with challenges
  • Your responsibility as a trustee in a challenge

TE 24: Library Friends and Library Foundations

  • The role of Friends of the Library groups and library foundations
  • How to develop a good relationship between the library board and support groups like the Friends of the Library or the library foundation
  • Financial support from the Friends of the Library or the library

TE 25: Liability Issues

  • Basic issues concerning trustee and municipal liability
  • Actions you can take to limit liability

TE 26: The Public Library System Board—the Broad Viewpoint

  • Background on the creation of public library systems
  • System services and accountability
  • Responsibilities of the library system board

TE 27: Trustee Orientation and Continuing Education

  • The importance of new trustee orientation
  • Why continuing education is essential for all trustees
  • Opportunities for continuing education even for busy trustees

TTA: Important State and Federal Laws Pertaining to Public Library Operation

TTB: Library System Map and Contact Information

TTC: Division for Libraries and Technology (DLT) Contact Information

TTD: Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

 

Additional Trustee Resources

New Library Director Orientation

Policy Development Resources

Policy Development

 “The library board of each public library must establish library policies that are legal and that meet the needs of their community.”

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

  1. Policies must comply with current statutes and case law.
  2. Policies must be reasonable (and all penalties must be reasonable).
  3. Policies must be clear (not ambiguous or vague).
  4. Policies must be applied without discrimination.

Professional Email Lists & Google Communities

Email Lists

  1. WVLS Email Lists
    • WVLS maintains email lists for library staff working in youth services, technology, V-Cat representatives and more. Send an email to to have your email added to appropriate lists.
      • Youth Services
      • V-Cat Representatives
      • Technology
  2. WPLC Announcements List
    1. Announcements about WPLC projects including the Wisconsin Digital Library and OverDrive/Libby apps. WPLC Buying Pool 2017
  3. Overdrive’s Digital Library Blog

Google Communities

  1. WPLC OverDrive Support
  2. WISCAT: WI DPI Resource Sharing Community 
  3. WI Public Library Administration and Data
  4. WI Public Library Services and Programs
    1. Find BadgerLink announcements here!
  5. WI Public Library Technology
  6. Digital Projects in Wisconsin: All things Digitization
  7. Wisconsin DPI Erate jobs, for sale items, wanted adds.
    1. Library E-Rate Checklist
    2. Wisconsin E-RATE News & Notes

Public Library Director Certification & Certification Courses

See the Director Certification page of the WVSL website.

 

OR see the WI DPI Public Library Director Certification page for detailed information on director certification and certification courses.

Strategic Planning Resources

Strategic Planning Resources

V-Cat Consortium

Please see the V-Cat Consortium page for full details.

WI Division for Libraries and Technology

WI Division for Libraries and Technology includes division teams and service areas:

  • Application Development Team
  • Customer Services Team
  • Data Warehouse and Decision Support Team
  • Instructional Media and Technology Services Team
  • Public Library Development Team
  • Resources for Libraries & Lifelong Learning Team
  • Technical Services Team

Resources

WI Department of Public Instruction

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction determines library standards, interprets law (Chapter 43), monitors director certification, provides resources for technology and library system consultants.

Resources

Wisconsin Library Standards

Wisconsin Library Standards

Youth Services

Please see the WVLS Children’s Services and Teen Services pages for information on the topics listed below and more.

  • Summer Library Program Ideas and Templates
  • Teen Programming Ideas
  • Early Literacy & Storytime
  • K-12 School Library Resources
  • Homeschool Resources
  • Community Relationship Building
  • Professional Guidelines
  • Professional Associations & blogs, websites, newsletters, resources…
    • WVLS Youth Services Information Exchange (Private Facebook Page)
    • Youth Services Shout-Out Blog (YSS)
    • Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)
    • School Library Journal
    • ALSC-Association for Library Service to Children

Accessibility Toolbar