ISL’s Online Training Series – 2024

The Indiana State Library presents webinars and training sessions free each month for individuals who are employed by Indiana libraries, as well as Indiana library board members. Experience these sessions from the comfort of your own library.  No driving required! Registration information can be found on our Calendar and more sessions are added throughout the year.

Archived trainings are open access and can be found on our Archived Trainings page within 30 days of the training being broadcast. Everyone who registers for the webinars will be sent a link to the recording afterwards.

Out of state library workers are welcome to attend our live webinars, however, please note that Indiana residents will receive first priority. The Indiana State Library reserves the right to cancel the registration of an out of state attendee if the maximum number of registrants for a webinar is reached.

Are you interested in presenting a webinar for the Indiana State Library?  Please fill out the Webinar Proposal form to submit your idea.


Join us for 50 minute sessions addressing a variety of library topics.   Each session will be moderated by an Indiana State Library staff member and will feature a variety of library related content.  Click on the event for more information.  Find past trainings on our Archived Trainings page.


image of padlock with circuit board on topWhat’s Up Wednesday – What the Research Says – Digital Privacy in Libraries as Digital Literacy – 1 LEU

Date: 3/27/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

Article VII of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights states that “Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy”. With the proliferation of digital services available through libraries both public and academic, this imperative extends out beyond the walls of the library and into the realm of digital privacy. In this webinar, one librarian will talk through the preparation and implementation of three different programs on this topic: an online resource, a workshop at Monroe County Public Library, and a program at Indiana University Libraries. Through these examples, participants will discover various resources to support similar initiatives.

Presenter: James Henry Smith, Jay Visiting Information Literacy Librarian / Indiana University Libraries


Indiana Educational Scholarship Accounts – How INESA Helps Hundreds of Hoosier Families Fund a Unique Education for Their Child with Intellectual Disabilities – 1 LEU

Date: 3/28/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

Many Hoosier families with non-traditional educational needs leverage local library resources and facilities to help educate their children.  And that makes local libraries a great place for families with children with disabilities to learn about the Indiana Educational Scholarship Accounts, known as INESA, is a state program that allows parents to customize their child’s education to meet their unique individual needs.  With an INESA scholarship, Hoosier students can access private-school education, tutoring, therapies, camps, and many other in-person educational experiences.  Thousands of dollars are available annually for participating INESA students.  The application period begins March 1 and runs through August.  Learn directly from representative of the Indiana Treasurer of the State’s office how Indiana local libraries can help Hoosier families connect with the INESA program – an help more eligible Hoosier K-12 students with disabilities get the support and flexibility they need to individualize their education.

Presenters: Sam Gilmore and P.J. Vaught from the Treasurer of the State’s Office


What’s Up Wednesday – Geri-Fit at the Library: A Look at How Evidence-Based Fitness Programming can be Implemented at Libraries  – 1 LEU

Date:  04/10/2024 Time:  10:00 – 11:00 a.m. ET Format: Zoom webinar

Learn how libraries can partner with local and state funding sources to bring evidence-based fitness programs, fall prevention courses, and chronic disease-management classes to their libraries.  The focus will be on older adult programming.  Hear from other Indiana libraries about their success stories and expansion efforts into offering community education classes for this special segment of the population.

Presenter: Fran Fisher, Geri-Fit Company, CEO


image of Abigail PhillipsWhat’s Up Wednesday – We Need More Than Just Yoga and Meditation:  Really Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Librarians and Library Workers – 1 LEU

Date: 4/24/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

In our everyday work, we focus much of our time and energy on patron services, ways to improve these services, and innovative ways to support our patrons and communities. Yet, we regularly neglect one significantly underserved population – ourselves. Specifically, the mental health needs of librarians and library workers. These needs, alongside support, are rarely addressed in conference presentations or continuing education programs. This webinar will discuss practical and meaningful approaches for librarians and library workers to manage emotional labor, triggering service experiences, and compassion fatigue, preventing burnout or furthering of mental health issues. Additionally, this webinar will offer ways in which management and colleagues can compassionately and respectfully support those who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

Presenters: Abigail Phillips, Assistant Professor – School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee


Kokomo Howard County Public Library logo blue background and white open bookWhat’s Up Wednesday – Employee Wellness Incentive:  Corrective to Inclusive – 1 LEU

Date: 5/8/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

Get an inside view of how and why a public library transitioned from an insurance incentive that targeted those who failed screening benchmarks to a wellness incentive that treats health as holistic. Come learn about the research behind incentives and see how one program evolved. Presenters will detail inclusive and holistic features, ask attendees to personalize ideas for their own institutions, and break wellness activities into pieces that can be applied with or without an insurance discount.

Presenters: Faith Brautigam, Library Director and Christie Tate, Head of Human Resources and Volunteers / Kokomo – Howard County Public Library


image of Stephanie RawlinsWhat’s Up Wednesday – Grace in the Workplace – 1 LEU

Date: 5/29/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

This presentation will cover my staff training on “Grace in the Workplace.”  I will cover what I presented to my staff and how I worked the theme throughout the year. I will talk about what has worked well and what did not. I will also share other staff themes that I have done with my staff and discuss what made me choose those ideas.  Staff themes help bring the staff together and give them things to talk about when they have nothing else in common. Themes can help you work through difficult transitions and bring the staff together to work toward a common initiative. This “Grace in the Workplace” really helped us all come back together after the pandemic created a lot of upset and frustrated people in the world. 

Presenter: Stephanie Rawlins / Director of Pike County Public Library


image of four people fist bumpingWhat’s Up Wednesday – Moving Beyond Avoidance:  Conflict Resolution for Beginners – 1 LEU

Date: 6/12/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

This session will focus on an overview of recognizing what causes conflict in the workplace, understanding our responses to conflict, and strategies for better conflict resolution.  This is a high-level view of conflict resolution but participants should leave with a few solid, actional strategies for dealing with conflict in their workplace.  There will also be time to practice some of these strategies.

Presenter: Beka Lemons, Library Director / Huntington City Township Public  Library


image of Indiana State Library logo book with torch and seven starsWhat’s Up Wednesday – The Walk and Talk Webinar:  Touring the Indiana State Library – 2 LEUs

Date: 6/26/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

Please join us on a behind the scenes & public area tour of the Indiana State Library.  Suzanne Walker will be taking us on this journey, Paula Newcom will be behind the camera and Courtney Brown will host and monitor the chat.  This will be in real time and you will have the opportunity to ask questions of library staff as we walk through the different divisions.  We will begin the journey at the public entrance on West Ohio Street.  These are the places we will visit: Circulation; Indiana Historical Bureau; Genealogy; and Indiana Education Center.  Next, we well walk up the Grand Staircase that leads to the beautiful Great Hall; History Reference Room; Author’s Room; Young Reader’s Center; Browsing Room & Manuscripts; Indiana Division and Reference; and Newspaper Room.  We’ll go behind the scenes to the stacks Cataloging division; Preservation Lab; and finish in the Administration office.   Other ISL services will be highlighted in webinars this year: the new Imagination Library initiative (February 14) and the Talking Books & Braille Library (February 28) and will be eventually linked on our Archived Webinars webpage.

Suzanne Walker – Indiana Young Readers Center Librarian, Indiana State Library. Suzanne Walker received her Master of Library Science from Indiana University. She is currently the Indiana Young Readers Center Librarian and Director of the Indiana Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress. She coordinates Indiana’s Letters About Literature competition annually. Suzanne judged the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards in 2013 and 2014 and the Indiana Poetry Out Loud competition in 2017. Most recently she was a judge for the 2020 and 2022 Indiana Authors Awards and the 2021 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award. She has presented for the American Library Association and numerous times at Indiana Library Federation’s District conferences, annual conferences, and youth conferences and is proud to have been interviewed about Indiana authors by NPR.

Paula Newcom is the Northeast Regional Coordinator for the Indiana State Library.  Her experience in libraries for the past thirty-four years ranges from very small libraries to large county-wide systems. She has varied experience as Head of Youth Services (Crown Point Community Library); Reference Librarian and Webmaster (Marion Public Library in Grant County, Indiana); Audiovisual Services (Akron-Summit County Public Library in Ohio).  She is a graduate of Indiana University with a B.A. in English and Film Studies.  She obtained her Masters in Library Science from Indiana University.

Courtney Brown is the Indiana State Library’s Southeast Regional Coordinator. She received her Master of Library Science from Indiana University. In her current role, she works closely with libraries in Southeast Indiana, facilitates in-person and online trainings, and manages in-house and statewide projects. In the past, she served as chair of the Indiana Library Federation’s Read Alouds Too Good to Miss committee, and the Evergreen Indiana Patron Services Committee. She’s currently on the board of the American Library Association’s Learning Roundtable. She has an interest in technology in libraries, innovative community outreach, and graphic novels.

Presenters: Suzanne Walker, Paula Newcom, Courtney Brown / Indiana State  Library


What’s Up Wednesday – Material Challenges:  ACPL’s Journey of Training Staff- 1 LEU

Date: 7/10/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

Material challenges are at an all-time high and public libraries are facing pressure from multiple avenues.  The Allen County Public Library recently undertook an effort to train our staff (17 departments in 14 locations) in handling challenges to materials.  This presentation is a chance to learn how we did this and what we learned from it.

Matthew Etzel has worked in small, medium and large Indiana public libraries for 15 years.  He holds an MLIS from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and an MA in Public History from the University of Illinois at Springfield.  Currently, he is the Collection Services Manager at the Allen County Public Library.

Tonya Frandle has worked in Indiana, Michigan, and Virginia libraries for over 15 years.  She holds an MLIS from Wayne State University and a bachelor’s in history and political science from Grand Valley State University.  She is currently the Public Services Manager at the Allen County Public Library.

Presenters: Matthew Etzel and Tonya Frandle / Allen County Public Library


image of Indiana Legal Help logoWhat’s Up Wednesday – Indiana Lega Help – How Can Libraries Support Publicly Accessible Legal Information – 1 LEU

Date: 8/28/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

What is Indiana Legal Help: Using technology, Indiana Legal Help seeks to improve access to justice for all Hoosiers by removing barriers to the law so they can better understand their legal options, make informed decisions and connect to local legal and community resources.  

  • How to find Indiana Legal Help/Bridging the digital divide: What and where are the Indiana Legal Help kiosks; How libraries can use and promote IndianaLegalHelp.org 
  • What legal information and resources can you access on the site (linking to free legal help, legal information help desk, calendar of events, etc.) 
  • What is legal information vs. legal advice? Guidance for librarians on what they can and cannot do to help people with legal issues 

Diverse members of the public represent some of the largest portions of citizens and library-users that are unable to afford legal representation.  The legal forms, resources and information provided by the Indiana Bar Foundation at indianalegalhelp.org are provided at no cost.   Librarians who are trained and proficient on assisting members with use of the website help ensure that these resources are available to those in our state who need them most.

Presenter: Mike Commons, Indiana Legal Help Manager / Indiana Legal Help


image of Erica Wagner and Cindy Baumeister in front of television What’s Up Wednesday – What’s Cooking in the Library – 1 LEU

Date: 9/25/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

Are you looking to spice up your library programs? Does the thought of cooking classes make you blanch? This session focuses on cooking programs for preschoolers through teens. We will introduce the basics of adding cooking programs to your list of library activities, sharing resources, recipes, techniques, and tips for success. Let us make cooking a whisk you’ll be willing to take! 

Presenters: Erika Wagner, Programming and Outreach Librarian and Cindy Baumeister, Branch Supervisor / Crown Point Community Library


image of Lacey KlemmWhat’s Up Wednesday – Adult Programming Made Easy – 1 LEU

Date: 11/27/24 Time: 10:00 AM EST Format: Zoom Webinar

Programming for adults doesn’t have to be complicated.  They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I have gathered 12 programming ideas, complete with instructions, for your library to use. These programs are adaptable to any budget. 

Presenter: Lacey Klemm, Northwest Regional Coordinator / Indiana State Library

Back to the Top