On-Demand Webinars

Best known for his groundbreaking picture book, The Snowy Day (1962), Ezra Jack Keats created an imaginative, encouraging, and multi-ethnic community within his books. Drawing from Ezra’s legacy, the Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) Award, first awarded in 1986, nurtures and honors our country’s multicultural population, boosting the careers of authors and illustrators whose outstanding books reflect our diverse population and in turn the lives of countless children and families.

This on-demand webinar presents the problem we are faced with solving along with steps to solve it. Using labor market data and skills insight from dozens of countries, presenters identify ten jobs that are well positioned to continue to grow in the future. Hear about time-limited resources to integrate into the library’s programming and communications, such as free learning paths and LinkedIn Learning classes, GitHub Learning Lab tools, and low-cost Microsoft Certifications.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it critical for health information providers across the country to stay informed about the special protections and benefits health insurance coverage offers to the safety of LGBTQ community members. This free on-demandwebinar helps educate public library practitioners about available health insurance coverage options, benefits, and special federal protections exclusively for LGBTQ communities during the Open Enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act (Nov. 1–Dec. 15, 2020 for plans that start Jan. 1. 2021).

This free on-demand webinar empowers all federal student loan borrowers with an overview of online tools and resources for managing personal student loans during the uncertain times of COVID-19. Learn about options made available under the CARES Act and strategies for lowering monthly federal student loan payments after COVID-19 stimulus assistance ends. Electronic tools for helping patrons enroll to lower payments and helping public service workers maintain eligibility for student loan forgiveness programs are discussed.

A complete count in the 2020 Census is essential to make sure that libraries and their communities don’t miss out on billions of dollars in needed funding, as well as political representation. However, nearly 40% of households have not responded yet, and the count is even lower among populations that have been undercounted historically. Learn how the Census Bureau, libraries, and community partners have adapted their operations and outreach in response to COVID-19, and how libraries can support a complete count before the Census ends in October.

As libraries are expanding their online efforts in response to COVID-19, library and program outcomes should also shift in order to build the strongest and most impactful instruction. In-person opportunities often bring with them advantages of seeing patrons reactions to learning and subsequent micro-improvements that can be made to improve a program. Without “seeing” a full room, presenters are more limited in their ability to understand how participants are responding.

This on-demand webinar will help viewers understand how social media listening tools like social dashboards can be used to gather insights on a local community’s reaction to isolation and self-quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic. Also learn to use these insights to adjust services and plan programs that address active community needs.

Library staff face an unprecedented challenge of providing more digital skills programming, and in some cases, for the first time virtually. In PLA’s recent survey of more than 2,500 public libraries, 61% reported that they are adding virtual programming and 41% are expanding online virtual reference help. Two of the greatest needs of those surveyed are expanding e-services to patrons, especially those with limited internet access, and meeting anticipated higher demand for services for those most impacted by the crisis.

PLA is committed to providing information on the rapidly evolving situation with COVID-19 to PLA members and others working in public libraries. This series of free webinars, originally presented March 26–April 23, 2020, featured updates on the current status of the pandemic, examples of how libraries are dealing with closures and serving their communities virtually, and opportunities to share and learn from each other.

Join StoryCorps, the national oral history project, for an in-depth look at how to engage your community and local stakeholders through storytelling. Each year, StoryCorps collaborates with hundreds of community partners in order to record and preserve diverse voices from across the U.S. In this webinar, we’ll share insights from our partnership model, discuss StoryCorps’ efforts to create a representative archive, and provide best practices and case studies for engaging your library community through storytelling.