This webinar is an overview of the in.gov websites. Information covered is how to begin, the process of building your website and a library who has already made the switch.
Date Recorded: 9/2/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Brett Edstene (IOT), Clarissa Rodda (Tyler Technologies) and Rich Weiland (Adams Public Library System)
Resources
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)
Learn how AI tools assist with data analysis, research automation, and text summarization. Demonstrate AI applications like ChatGPT, semantic search engines, and data visualization tools to streamline workflows.
Presenter Bio: Dr. Treg Hopkins is the Co-Founder of Connectable, an Indiana-based nonprofit committed to enhancing adult education programs across more than 20 states through advanced data systems and artificial intelligence. As a Certified Quantitative Methodologist, his research focuses on neurodiversity, aging, and the role of technology in these areas. Hopkins has extensive leadership experience, serving on multiple boards and advising nonprofits and government entities on strategic planning. His expertise in library innovation includes serving on a long-term library planning board and previously delivering a keynote address at the Indiana Library Federation’s FOIL conference.
Date Recorded: 8/27/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Dr. Treg Hopkins / Co-Founder of Connectable
Resources:
Explore how AI enhances library services, including automated cataloging, AI-driven search tools, and personalized recommendations. Discuss ethical considerations and best practices for implementation.
Presenter Bio: Dr. Treg Hopkins is the Co-Founder of Connectable, an Indiana-based nonprofit committed to enhancing adult education programs across more than 20 states through advanced data systems and artificial intelligence. As a Certified Quantitative Methodologist, his research focuses on neurodiversity, aging, and the role of technology in these areas. Hopkins has extensive leadership experience, serving on multiple boards and advising nonprofits and government entities on strategic planning. His expertise in library innovation includes serving on a long-term library planning board and previously delivering a keynote address at the Indiana Library Federation’s FOIL conference.
Date Recorded: 7/30/2025
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Dr. Treg Hopkins / Co-Founder of Connectable
Resources:
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
Resources:
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!
Date Recorded: 11/27/2024
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Erika Wagner, Programming and Outreach Librarian and Cindy Baumeister, Branch Supervisor / Crown Point Community Library
Resources:
As Indiana public schools adopt state-mandated curriculums aligned with the Science of Reading (SoR), what can public libraries do to support parents and teachers? What resources might they be looking for? In this session, we’ll talk about the ways libraries already support SoR through Every Child Ready to Read, and then share the adjustments we’ve made to our collections to complement the Fundations curriculum adopted by Carmel Clay Schools in 2021.
Date Recorded: 11/14/2024
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Jennifer Humphrey, Carmel Clay Public Library
Resources:
Libraries and SoR slides – presentation slides
SoR Indiana Resources – resource document
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.
Date Recorded: 7/10/2024
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Matthew Etzel, Collection Services Manager and Tonya Frandle, Public Services Manager / Allen County Public Library
Resources:
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.
Date Recorded: 6/26/2024
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenters: Suzanne Walker, Paula Newcom & Beth Yates, Indiana State Library
Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) – Dungeons & Dragons being the most popular example – can positively impact the multiple facets of students’ lives: academics, durable skills, social-emotional learning. In Part One of our two part series, let’s quest together as we encounter how research supports using TTRPGs in education, explore stories of teachers using TTRPGs in their classrooms, and discover ideas and ways that librarians and the library can play a critical role in making such transformative game-based learning a success.
Before the webinar begins, please complete Slides 3-5 of the “Character Sheet Reflection Tool” (i.e. “Before the Quest”). We will complete the second half (“At the End of the Quest”) of the Reflection Tool at the end of the webinar.
ADAM WATSON (@watsonedtech) has been a Kentucky educator since 2005, starting out as a high school English teacher and became National Board Certified in 2013. In 2014, he was hired at Shelby County Public Schools to be its district Digital Learning Coordinator, where he was a leader in several initiatives, including a 1:1 Chromebook implementation and the launch of Shelby’s Profile of a Graduate. In his role at Shelby, Adam also was the lead liaison for the district’s librarians. In 2022, he joined the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC) as a Deeper Learning Design Specialist. Adam is a frequent presenter, PD facilitator, and published writer on innovative education, particularly on the topics of edtech and game-based learning. In 2019, KySTE (the state chapter of the International Society for Technology in Education) named him the Outstanding Leader of the Year. For more on Adam’s educational journey, please visit adamwatson.org.
Date Recorded: 5/8/2024
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Adam Watson, Digital Learning Coordinator / Shelby County Public Schools
Resources: