The #MRWDE Facilitator Training is a 3-hour, interactive session designed for educators, youth leaders, and community partners across Delaware (and Maryland). It prepares participants to implement a statewide, strength-based initiative that connects youth passions to protective factors against risky behaviors like substance misuse. Using the MRW curriculum, youth create prevention-focused PSA videos that inspire their communities. The training offers hands-on experience, adaptation strategies for various settings, and tools to guide youth in positive campaigns. Participants gain full curriculum materials, a clear understanding of the #MRWDE framework, and the confidence to lead impactful workshops. Connect with other prevention-focused leaders through this initiative.
The Wonder Media: Ask the Questions! website helps tweens and teens develop media and news literacy skills through engaging content and activities. Attendees will discover programming resources, co-designed by public and school library staff, that feature interactive activities for ages 10 and older and promote the critical, intentional, and safe use of digital media content. The basic concepts of news and media literacy will be covered, along with exploration of the website’s games, videos, quizzes, and other resources. They will gain ideas and strategies to help create passive and active programming for tweens and teens around media and news literacy.
This session explores how library workers can build sustainable, peer-based mentorship networks that foster belonging, collaboration, and professional growth. Moving beyond traditional matching programs, we highlight community-centered approaches that emphasize reciprocity and inclusion, empowering staff at all levels to support one another. Participants will learn practical ways to nurture these relationships through virtual meetups, local gatherings, and informal peer connections. By reframing mentorship as an ongoing, shared practice rather than a structured program, this presentation offers a sustainable model for professional development that strengthens engagement, reduces burnout, and enhances retention across library organizations.
Libraries thrive when communities and legislators understand their impact. The Chair of the Delaware Library Association’s Legislative Action Committee and the Executive Director of EveryLibrary, a national nonprofit advocacy organization, will share an inside look at Delaware's library advocacy efforts from the past year. The session will highlight recent work and discuss long-term advocacy goals and priorities. Attendees are invited to participate as part of a broader conversation about the future of Delaware library advocacy.
Librarians might not be marketing consultants, but they know libraries better than most. This session will explore how librarians can leverage their institutional knowledge to build effective and sustainable outreach efforts. Using the Loyola Notre Dame Library’s programming framework as a case study, this session will demonstrate how to design cohesive, mission-driven frameworks for engaging with your library’s patrons. Attendees will leave with the tools necessary to implement similar strategies at their own libraries.
