Northeast Ohio Regional Library System
5/12/2026
Libraries continue to face challenges in rebuilding attendance and sustaining meaningful relationships with children and caregivers. This interactive session offers practical, field-tested strategies for designing programs that attract families, foster literacy, and position the library as a vibrant hub for community life.
Participants will explore what today’s families are truly looking for from libraries, program models that succeed across different community sizes and strategies for engaging reluctant or hard-to-reach participants. We will discuss low-cost, high-impact programming ideas staff can implement immediately, ways to strengthen partnerships with schools and community organizations and approaches to measuring success beyond attendance numbers. The session is designed to be immediately applicable for both large systems and smaller branches.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify needs and expectations of families in order to design library programs that effectively attract and engage children and caregivers.
- Apply practical, low-cost programming strategies and adaptable program models that foster literacy and increase participation.
- Develop approaches to evaluate program success using metrics beyond attendance, with a focus on strengthening community relationships and long-term engagement.
Annisha Jeffries is a seasoned public librarian and Early Literacy expert with over 30 years of experience. She founded Born Readers, LLC Consulting, to help libraries, schools, and community groups create effective literacy programs that reach families in everyday settings. Annisha is passionate about connecting children with literacy from birth to elementary school and has been recognized nationally for her advocacy. She holds degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Cleveland State University, and has received awards including the American Library Association’s Spectrum Scholarship. She also served as Chair of the 2021 Caldecott Committee.Location: Online via Zoom
5/13/2026
Join your peers to exchange ideas, celebrate successes, and discover new solutions to common challenges.
This meeting will be held through Zoom which is user friendly to all devices. You will receive a link in your confirmation email a reminder 2 hours before the meeting. We hope you will join us. Please send agenda items/questions to Melissa Lattanzi.
Location: Online via Zoom
5/14/2026
Teaching students and adults about fake news, digital literacy, and understanding data requires a deeper dive into images. What is the psychology behind images seen every day? Who is manipulating images and with what purpose? What part do Artificial Intelligence systems play? This session will explore images and charts to help break down what people see and feel. The majority of this session is focused on still images. The more practice people have in evaluating images, the better they are at discerning the real purpose.
Learning Objectives:
- Evaluate an image's purpose by its creator.
- Provide practice images to use with your patrons.
- Conduct lessons on image manipulations and an understanding of AI images.
Dr. Robbie Barber is an electrical engineer from Georgia Tech who wandered into a school library. As a teacher-librarian, she works with high school students and teachers to find the best resources, use technology, and locate the perfect book. Dr. Barber teaches classes on using research databases and how to better search the internet. She researches the latest technology, plays with AI, and creates professional presentations on recognizing fake news and other tech-infused ideas in the classroom and the library.Location: Online via Zoom
6/2/2026
Modeled off the Chicago-area Adult Reading Round Table, the Guided Reading Round Table (GRRT) will lead library staff through an in-depth genre study. Over the course of a year, we will explore cozy fiction, with a specific focus on the science fiction, fantasy, mystery, horror, healing, and romance subgenres. This first session will provide a general overview of cozy fiction and explore the genre through guided discussions to identify popular authors, titles, tropes, & trends. A reading list & questions will be supplied; while it is not required, it is recommended to read through some of the titles and questions. The GRRT is dedicated to the development of readers’ advisory skills and the promotion of reading for pleasure.
Location: Online
Via Zoom
6/3/2026
Join your peers to exchange ideas, celebrate successes, and discover new solutions to common challenges.
This meeting will be held through Zoom which is user friendly to all devices. You will receive a link in your confirmation email a reminder 2 hours before the meeting. We hope you will join us. Please send agenda items/questions to Hillary Brown.
Location: Online via Zoom
6/4/2026
Spend a day connecting, collaborating and sharing solutions with your colleauges in Collection Development and Technical Services. This event brings together speakers, panel discussions, and facilitated group conversations focused on the challenges and opportunities shaping your work today. Topics include navigating vendor issues and opportunities, balancing materials selection budgets, managing AI-generated content in library collections, and developing flexible training resources and procedure manuals.
Designed to be both engaging and practical, this is an opportunity to connect with colleagues from institutions of all sizes, exchange ideas, and come away with fresh perspectives and useful strategies.
Location: Parma-Powers Branch - Cuyahoga County Public Library
6996 Powers Blvd
Parma, Oh 44129
6/5/2026
Join your peers to exchange ideas, celebrate successes, and discover new solutions to common challenges. Please send agenda items/questions to Yvette Wasko.
Speaker TBA
Location: Twinsburg Public Library
10050 Ravenna Rd.
Twinsburg, OH 44087
6/5/2026
Join your peers to exchange ideas, celebrate successes, and discover new solutions to common challenges. Please send agenda items/questions to Yvette Wasko.
Speaker TBA
Location: Online via Zoom
6/9/2026
Have questions about Canva? Want to sharpen your design skills? Looking to create polished flyers, social graphics, bookmarks, slides, or signage without starting from scratch? Ready to try video but aren't sure where to start? Join this drop-in session focused on helping you build confidence and capacity with Canva. Bring your questions, works-in-progress, or a specific project you’d like guidance on. Whether you're new to Canva or looking to streamline your workflow and elevate your library marketing materials, you’ll gain practical, applicable skills. You may email questions to Jill Grunenwald ahead of time or join us on Zoom for the conversation.
Presenter:
Jill Grunenwald is the Marketing and Engagement Coordinator for NEO-RLS. She has her MLIS from the University of Kentucky and has experience in academic, public, and special libraries. Prior to joining NEO-RLS, she spent 7 years as a Marketing Communications Specialist at OverDrive. A storyteller at heart, Jill strives to create compelling content that emphasizes the importance of a global and inclusive perspective with a passion for all things books, libraries, and reading.Location: Online
Via Zoom
6/11/2026
Librarians and library workers enable members of our community to take care of themselves and each other, but research shows that we often end up trying to care for our own well-being alone. The struggles and burnout that many library workers face have systemic causes, yet we may feel compelled to address them with purely individual solutions. This webinar will explore how we can move to a paradigm of community care, where organizations and people work together to support us all.
Learning Objectives:
- How to recognize the underlying, systemic factors that lead to burnout
- Practical tips for how organizations, teams, managers, and individuals can participate in community care to reduce burnout and proactively support wellbeing
- How community and self care can work together to support library worker wellbeing
Audrey Barbakoff, EdD, MLIS Dr. Barbakoff is passionate about helping organizations build capacity for collaboration and belonging by centering their communities. She is the CEO of Co/Lab Capacity LLC, which offers community-centered consulting and training to libraries. With a decade of public library experience and a doctorate in organizational change and leadership, she brings both a practical and scholarly lens to library development. Dr. Barbakoff holds an MLIS from University of Washington and an EdD from the University of Southern California. Her innovative work has been recognized by Library Journal Movers & Shakers, the Urban Libraries Council, and the Freedom to Read Foundation. She has served in a variety of service leadership roles, including the ALA Policy Corps, facilitating the ALA Emerging Leaders program, two terms on ALA Council, and chairing the Intellectual Freedom Round Table. Her newest book, co-authored with Noah Lenstra, is The Twelve Steps to a Community-Led Library. She has also written two picture books, which give her an excuse to dust off her children’s librarian skills for school and library visits.
Location: Online via Zoom
6/17/2026
Reference all seems personalized because each question from a patron is unique. Many questions can be similar, but not all questions are the same. How do you train yourself to respond to challenging questions and utilize reference skills? Reference can be one of the most intimidating divisions of a library for new and emerging reference staff. Recognizing how to surpass the fear of not knowing every answer is necessary to respond with confidence and reassurance. Reference skills can also be utilized to discern a standard response vs. personalized. Discerning also requires you to recognize when someone wants help vs. when someone wants you to do things for them.
Learning Objectives:
- The challenges of unique questions and demands
- How to instill confidence in your response when you don’t have the answer
- How to form policies, procedures, and training for standardized vs. personalized reference
- How to help patrons with their unique needs while also enforcing healthy boundaries.
Jennifer Blair is the Head of User Services Librarian and Associate Professor at Azusa Pacific University (APU). Her role is dedicated to the user experience, including marketing the library, operations, and teaching. She has extensive experience teaching online courses in design and library science. Jennifer holds a B.A. in Graphic Design, an M.A in Educational Multimedia, and an M.S. in Library and Information Studies. Her experience in academic and public libraries as well as work experience in art and design allow her to employ visionary strategies to enrich progress and enhance advancement for library users.Location: Online via Zoom
7/14/2026
Is your library seriously considering website accessibility but unsure where to begin? As awareness and legal requirements continue to grow, understanding your responsibilities is the essential first step.
In this session, we’ll discuss the core guidelines used to evaluate web accessibility in the United States and offer practical first actions you can take right away. You’ll learn about common pitfalls to avoid, how to start building a strong foundation for an inclusive online experience, why commercial accessibility overlays fall short, and how to approach PDFs responsibly and effectively.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn core guidelines to evaluate web accessibility
- Learn how to avoid common pitfalls
- Learn practical actions to start immediately
Laura Solomon, CPACC, MCIW, MLS, is the Library Services Manager at the Ohio Public Library Information Network and a W3C-certified front-end web developer. Her CPACC credential from the International Association of Accessibility Professionals reflects a formal, standards-based expertise in digital accessibility that underpins her work with libraries.
With nearly three decades of experience in web development and design, Laura has worked extensively in both public libraries and as an independent consultant. She is a recognized Library Journal Mover & Shaker and the author of books on social media, content marketing for libraries, and library website design.
Laura is a frequent speaker for public library organizations, where she emphasizes practical, sustainable approaches to accessibility and helps libraries build digital services that are usable by all members of their communities.
Location: Online via Zoom
7/22/2026
This webinar is focused on what library employees can and cannot legally do if Immigration Enforcement officers enter a library.
Presenters:
Shay Singh (they/them) is a union barista with Starbucks Workers United, a soccer coach, and a public transportation advocate who is a member of Cleveland Heights for Immigrants' Rights (CH4IR).
Suzanne Zilber (she/her) is a retired psychologist who has been focused on social justice organizing since moving to Cleveland in 2021. She is in leadership roles with Showing Up for Racial Justice NEO and Cleveland Heights for Immigrant Rights. She has trained Cleveland Heights businesses on what to do if ICE intrudes on their workspaces and has been through Rapid Response training related to proper documentation of incidents.
** The first hour of the webinar will be recorded. The last 30 minutes will not be recorded and will be open for Q & A.
Location: Online via Zoom
8/4/2026
Modeled off the Chicago-area Adult Reading Round Table, the Guided Reading Round Table (GRRT) will lead library staff through an in-depth genre study. Over the course of a year, we will explore cozy fiction, with a specific focus on the science fiction, fantasy, mystery, horror, healing, and romance subgenres. This second session will explore and compare cozy science fiction and cozy fantasy through guided discussions to identify popular authors, titles, tropes, & trends. A reading list & questions will be supplied; while it is not required, it is recommended to read through some of the titles and questions. The GRRT is dedicated to the development of readers’ advisory skills and the promotion of reading for pleasure.
Location: Online
Via Zoom
8/5/2026
Change fatigue is the exhaustion, resistance, and apathy toward fast-paced, complex changes in the workplace. Change will always be present but change fatigue doesn’t have to be!
While often easy to identify, change fatigue can be deadly to an organization if not addressed and managed well. Leadership should acknowledge the potential for change fatigue and have a plan for managing it. Employees should be alert to potential change fatigue situations, their personal symptoms of it, and have a strategy for handling it.
Discover the symptoms of change fatigue, why it happens, and ways to manage it from the leadership and individual employee’s perspectives.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify 6 symptoms of change fatigue
- Describe 5 ways management can prevent or manage change fatigue
- Explain 3 ways the individual employee can prevent or lessen change fatigue.
Laura Greco is a certified wellness coach, author, and speaker/trainer with a 20+ year background in nursing who helps professionals eliminate burnout, manage stress, create life balance, and rekindle their sense of purpose and joy. She believes that self-care (body, mind, and spirit) is the basis for well-being and that we all have the capacity to make positive lifestyle changes. Her books include Wellness Made Simple, and Wellness Made Simple-for Residents. For more information please visit her website www.YouBloomWellness.com.Laura has a BSN (University of Michigan), Master in Adult Education (Penn State), training from HeartMath and the Mass General Benson Henry Mind Body Institute, and certifications in wellness coaching from both Wellcoaches and Center for Credentialing and Education.
Location: Online
Via Zoom
8/26/2026
Today’s workplaces bring together multiple generations, each shaped by different experiences, communication preferences, and expectations. These differences can strengthen teams, but they can also lead to misunderstandings, frustration, and missed opportunities for connection. This interactive session takes a deeper dive into generational communication, exploring how and why communication styles vary, what influences those preferences, and how to adapt in ways that build understanding and trust.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand key generational differences in communication styles and expectations.
- Recognize how generational differences can impact workplace interactions and perceptions.
- Develop strategies for adapting communication to connect more effectively across generations.
Ragan Snead, Executive Director, Northeast Ohio Regional Library System, has over 15 years of experience in public and academic libraries. She has a passion for staff development and helping library staff reach their full potential. In addition to her work in various areas of librarianship, Ragan has experience in management, community outreach, and strategic planning. She received her MLIS from Kent State University and her MBA from Lake Erie College. Location: Online via Zoom