Want to bring Library Con to your library? Learn how our library held a full day, system-wide library con across three locations. We’ll share our strategy for working with community partners to offer LARP demonstrations, Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs, cosplay demos and miniature painting, a costume contest, and an outdoor movie night. All of this and more to engage new library patrons while highlighting services, programs and collections.
Date Recorded: 2/11/2026
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Caele Pemberton, Head of Marketing and Community Engagement and Ben Rutz, Digital Media Coordinator / Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
Learn how our library works closely with community partners to bring fun adventures to our patrons. By working closely with our local game shop, toy store, comic book store, volunteer GMs, a local brewery (the list could go on and on), we’re able to provide an array of fun events related to gaming, filmmaking and more. These events bring new users to the library who sometimes have never set foot inside before. Find out how we make it work and strategies we suggest to work with partners in your community.
Date Recorded: 1/14/2026
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Caele Pemberton, Head of Marketing and Community Engagement and Ben Rutz, Digital Media Coordinator / Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
The Indiana Historical Bureau has worked with communities and organizations on the installation of state historical markers dating back to the 1940s. These markers serve as tangible reminders of the state’s past and help return stories to the physical landscape. In this program, learn about the process and criteria for obtaining a state historical marker, why markers matter, and their continued relevance in today’s digital age, using examples from the collection of over 750 state markers that currently exist.
Date Recorded: 11/5/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Casey Pfeiffer, Historical Marker Program Director / Indiana Historical Bureau Division, Indiana State Library
The Fort Ben Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library was given the opportunity to become a Certified Autism Center through the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) in 2023 when the branch first opened. Branch Manager, Shelby Peak, and Children’s Librarian, Sarah Tadsen, both disability advocates in their community, will share Fort Ben’s story of pursuing accreditation and the impact this process has had on the branch staff, the local community, and the entire IndyPL system.
Shelby Peak is the Branch Manager of the Fort Ben Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library, the library’s newest branch location which opened to the public in August of 2023. She has been in multiple youth services roles for IndyPL over the last ten years across the system. While working with youth, she noted the challenges with developing sustainable programs and services for patrons with disabilities and sensory sensitivities and realized how it is overlooked in the design and management of programs and services for patrons, staff, and volunteers. Her experience and relationships with the local disability community contributed to her input for the new library during construction. She is a current board member for the Lawrence Advisory Council on Disabilities and helps host their annual Disability Resource Fair at the library.
Sarah Tadsen is a children’s librarian at the Fort Ben Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library. Starting as a shelving page in 2015, she has been in multiple roles at IndyPL during her nearly ten years with the system. Since she discovered the inequities faced by library users with disabilities and the lack of accessible services, she has been an outspoken advocate for accessibility. She is the Communications Chair for the Lawrence Advisory Council on Disabilities and a member of the disability community.
Date Recorded: 7/9/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Shelby Peak / Branch Manager and Sarah Tadsen / Children’s Librarian both of Fort Ben Branch of the Indianapolis Public library
Objectives of this webinar are to learn how grief affects children at different developmental stages. The Do’s and Don’ts of trauma informed responses. And how to best support grieving youth and families.
Date Recorded: 6/25/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Lindsy Diener-Locke / Ryan’s Place (Goshen, Indiana)
Hear about the programs that have influenced one library’s community, including diversifying collections, creating spaces for different age groups, implementing food security programs, getting outside of library walls, implementing 24-hour book pickup, and offering take-home crafts, all on a small budget in a small building. You’ll look at how some of the programs were planned and work together as a team to share successful programs and identify other ways to make big changes with small adjustments.
Date Recorded: 5/14/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Brenda Hornsby Heindl / Director/Librarian, Liberty Public Library (Liberty, North Carolina)
We’re compelled, as librarians, to try and answer to all of our communities’ needs. But with growing demands and tightening budgets, it becomes increasingly challenging to stretch our capacities. Sometimes all we have to be is the connectors! Community Outreach Manager Katie Reineke will discuss ways the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Outreach Department has leveraged successful community partnerships by connecting subject experts to their residents. She will also share clever tools EVPL Outreach has applied to continuously expand its reach with the same staff and budget for 3 years. 1 hr / 1 LEU
Date Recorded: 9/4/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Katie Reineke, Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library
Resources:
This Google Folder contains the following documents:
Outreach Partner Form template
Outreach Form Questions document
EVPL Outreach Events Calendar spreadsheet with column headings
Community Touchpoint Map instructions
Touchpoint Companion spreadsheet with column headings
Need more adult programming ideas? Lacey Klemm has got you! She has gathered 12 more programming ideas, complete with instructions, for your library to use. These programs are adaptable to any budget.
Date Recorded: 8/13/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Lacey Klemm, East Chicago Public Library
Caregivers often face overwhelming physical, emotional, and mental challenges while balancing caregiving with their own well-being. In this session, librarians will learn how to support caregivers by connecting them with trusted health resources from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other key organizations. Participants will explore effective strategies for making libraries welcoming, resource-rich spaces for caregivers and gain practical tools to help prevent caregiver burnout within the community. Join us to strengthen your library’s role as a supportive hub for caregivers, fostering resilience and connection.
Date Recorded: 01/08/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Bobbi L. Newman, MLIS, MA, Community Engagement and Outreach Specialist, Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Region 6, Wellness Ambassador, Senior Librarian, The University of Iowa Libraries
ILF Advocacy Committee co-chairs, Vanessa Martin and Julie Wendorf will talk about the importance of advocacy and will give updates for the coming 2025 legislative session. Vanessa Martin – ILF Advocacy Committee, co-chair & Director, Greensburg Decatur County Public Library.
Vanessa Martin has been the director at the Greensburg Decatur County Public Library since 2016. She is also the current co-chair of the ILF Advocacy Committee. She has 18 years of experience working in Indiana public libraries. She has also been active in the governance of Evergreen Indiana, serving on different committees. She has held many job titles, but simply put, she is passionate about libraries and helping others.
Julie Wendorf – ILF Advocacy Committee, co-chair & Director, Crown Point Community Library. Julie Wendorf has been the director of the Crown Point Community Library since 2018. She is a member of the ILF Board, board representative on the IPLA Board, the co-chair of the ILF Advocacy Committee, and current ILF Vice President. She is active in community service organizations including Rotary International and Lions Club. She has a passion for library collaboration projects with other community organizations and doing library outreach. Julie will be busy testifying at the legislature during the webinar.
Date Recorded: 3/12/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Vanessa Martin / Director of Greensburg Decatur County Public Library and ILF Advocacy Committee co-chair and Julie Wendorf / Director of Crown Point Community and ILF Board of Directors President