Upcoming Opportunities
These opportunities are available for free unless otherwise noted. Descriptions are provided by host organizations.
2026 Infinite Sums Rural & Small Libraries Cohort Grant Program
September 1-30, 2025
The Infinite Sums Rural & Small Libraries Cohort Grant Program is supported by the Simons Foundation as part of its Infinite Sums national initiative and offered in partnership with SciStarter. Fifteen library workers will be selected to host math inspired community-wide events for patrons of all ages on Pi Day, Infinity Day, and Fibonacci Day in 2026. Cohort members will attend monthly virtual training sessions and two in-person gatherings. Seeking to inspire a collective of math ‘ambassadors,’ challenging existing ideas of who can and should lead math engagement efforts, the initiative will cast a spotlight on people from both rural and urban communities, parents and caregivers, artists and cultural influencers, and more. Infinite Sums aims to change the trajectory of how math is appreciated and pursued. Through memorable experiences, people will see the beauty in math’s infinite intricacies — and perhaps discover how they fit into the pattern. For more information, visit the program webpage.
Disaster Preparedness Forum 2025
September 10-25, 2025
This free virtual forum on disaster planning and preparedness occurs in September and features expert speakers presenting on data tools and resources, disaster planning communication, and institutional preparedness. Disasters may include weather events, pandemic, violence (mass shooter, violent protests), accidents (train derailment, building collapse, etc.), earthquake, explosion or any other event that may be sudden, unexpected and poses dangers to life and property. For more information, visit the event webpage.
TSLAC Family Place Libraries Grant – What It’s About and How To Participate
September 10, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. (Central)
Family Place Libraries transforms libraries into community centers for early literacy, parent education, and family support. In this webinar, TSLAC’s Youth Services Consultant and a member of the Grant Team will discuss expectations and requirements for the 2026 Family Place Libraries Project grant applications and strategies on how to meet those expectations. The discussion will include a review of how grants will be scored as well as the information needed for the application. For more information, visit the Upcoming Webinars page.
In-person Workshops
September 11 – October 3, 2025
Join the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) for an in-person workshop near you! We will be holding FREE two-day, in-person workshops for public libraries around Texas in 2025.
These trainings are tailored to meet the needs of both library directors and staff—focusing on circulation policy development as well as de-escalation skills as part of setting healthy boundaries:
- Circulation Policy Workshop – This will be a dynamic, day-long event designed specifically for public library directors and staff who are responsible for developing the library’s circulation policy.
- De-escalation Skills Workshop – This will be an impactful event crafted for library staff who work directly with the public.
For more information and to register, visit the event webpage.
From Raw Data to Insights: Cleaning and Visualizing Library Data
September 24, 2025 | 11:00 a.m. (Central)
Join TSLAC’s Data and Project Coordinator, Promise Madu, in a hands-on webinar that teaches data cleaning, organizing, and basic visualization. Attendees will apply data concepts to real library programs and services. For more information, visit the Upcoming Webinars page.
Annual Report, Part 1 – Pulling It All Together
October 28, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. (Central)
Join the TSLAC accreditation team for an insightful webinar that will provide context and meaning to this fundamental report. We’ll discuss question definitions and where to find resources for necessary information as well as answer any questions. Since parts of this report require research, preparing near the end of the library’s fiscal year can reduce stress during the reporting window that begins in January. This webinar may be valuable to you whether you are new to this report or need a refresher on all that it entails. For more information, visit the Upcoming Webinars page.
Literacy Everywhere Contest
September 12, 2025
Literacy is everywhere! What does it look like for your family? Share a photo, video, or artwork showing us how your family reads, learns, and plays together! Family literacy means spending time reading, learning, and playing together–anywhere and anytime! A family can include parents, grandparents, siblings, caregivers, or anyone who joins in. Show us how your family comes together to read, learn, and play in all kinds of places and at all ages. You could win $1,000 in cash and a trip to the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy’s National Celebration of Reading in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit the contest website.
Texas Library and Archives Foundation Scholarships
September 15, 2025 | 12:00 Midnight (Central)
The Texas Library and Archives Foundation (TxLAF) has announced its annual Martha Wong Scholarship opportunity, as well as the new Mark Smith–Gloria Meraz Scholarship, for students in a Texas library/information science or school library certification program. Both scholarships will award a reimbursable grant of $2,000 that may be used for tuition or required textbooks.
Through these awards, the Foundation encourages Texans to pursue a degree from a Texas library/information science graduate program or school library certification program. These scholarships have been generously funded by Dr. Martha Wong, Chair of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Funds will be used for the January 2026 semester. Eligible applicants must live in Texas or work in a Texas library and should have the intention of pursuing a professional library position in Texas after obtaining their degree. For full grant details and to apply online, visit the Foundation’s website at www.txlaf.org/scholarship. The deadline to apply is 12:00 midnight (central) on September 15, 2025. Applicants will be notified by October 15. Questions may be emailed to txlafinfo@tsl.texas.gov.
Preparing Your Library for Weather Emergencies
September 19, 2025 | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM (Eastern)
This one-hour session will equip participants with practical strategies to prepare their library or worksite for environmental disasters. Attendees will learn how to assess potential environmental threats, create a site-specific disaster preparedness plan, and assemble emergency kits. The session will also provide guidance on first response actions during weather-related and other environmental emergencies, helping participants build confidence and take proactive steps toward preparedness. For more information, visit the course web page.
Walmart Spark Good Local Grants
October 15, 2025
Each year, Walmart U.S. stores, Sam’s Clubs, and Distribution Centers award local cash grants ranging from $250 to $5,000.Local grants are designed to support local organizations that meet the unique needs of the communities where we operate, build pride among all associates, and deepen relationships with our customers. For more information, visit the grants webpage.
Children’s Book Project Grants
October 15, 2025
The Pilcrow Foundation, a national non-profit public charity, provides a 2-to-1 match to rural public libraries that receive a grant through its Children’s Book Project and contribute $200-$400 through local sponsors for the purchase of up to $1,200 worth (at retail value) of new, quality, hardcover children’s books. They provide a list of over 500 hardcover children’s books from which grant recipients can select books best suited for their community. The book list includes award-winning and star-reviewed titles from educational and literary organizations. For more information, visit the program website.
Call for Proposals
October 22, 2025
At the end of each year, the Rural Library eSummit brings together more than 500 rural library practitioners and friends from across rural America to celebrate their role in building strong communities. At the eSummit, practitioners learn more about using cradle-to-career strategies to address educational and health disparities as well as having the chance to access resources needed to do this work. During the eSummit, incentives will be shared, and networking opportunities will abound!
The Rural Library Network eSummit will showcase the power of rural libraries to lead movements, activate partnerships, strengthen systems, and serve as “bright spots” across the country. Thus, they invite breakout session proposals that highlight real-world strategies, bold ideas, and replicable (scalable) models. Whether you are leading change in a single community or building statewide momentum, they want to hear from you. For more information, visit the event website.
NextGen Virtual Summit
October 22, 2025
The NextGen Summit inspires government innovation and provides training and leadership opportunities for public servants. Since 2010, the FREE two-day summit has inspired over 5,000 federal, state and local government employees to become the leaders government needs. 2025 will be the 16th year GovLoop has hosted the NextGen Government Training Summit. They are excited to offer two dates for the virtual summit this year; both dates will be free to all attendees. For more information, visit the conference website.
Certified Entrepreneurship Librarian Rural Libraries Scholarship
November 15, 2025
Registration is currently open for Libraries as Launchpads Certification One – Entrepreneurship Librarian Certification Program. The program is offering 3 free seats to small and rural libraries based on identified needed and ability to fully commit. In addition to the scholarship application, participants also need to fill out the registration form for the program. On the question regarding payment, mark that you’re applying for the Rural Libraries Scholarship. For more information, visit the scholarship webpage.
Ongoing Tools
These tools are available for free unless otherwise noted. Descriptions are provided by host organizations.
Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) Newsletter
The most recent edition features information about the newest CSLP slogan and theme, new board members, annual survey, the manual program contest, and a program highlight. Read the CSLP newsletter online or subscribe and receive it in your inbox each month.
Ideas & Inspiration from Demco
Ideas & Inspiration from Demco is an all-in-one online resource that blends practical programming ideas, themed activity calendars for all ages, design inspiration via image galleries, and expert-led webinars. It’s designed to help librarians and educators enrich their spaces, engage their communities, and enhance learning experiences both physically and virtually. For more information, visit the program website.
Conducting an Exit Interview (webinar)
No matter how great an organization is, people move on to other jobs. Some leave because the job is a bad fit. Others depart for more money, a better schedule, or career advancement. It can be challenging when someone leaves an organization. You might feel unprepared or stressed by having to hire and train someone new. But turnover can be a good thing. When someone leaves, you can take time to learn more about what employees think about the organization. An exit interview is a chance to talk with employees before they leave. Thoughtful exit interviews give you important feedback so you can sustain what’s working—and change what isn’t! For more information visit the webinar webpage.
Developing and Implementing Policies
Policies help guide business operations and employee performance. No matter how big or small your organization is, it should have policies to help staff understand what you expect of them and what they can expect from the organization. Good policies help people make decisions at all levels of the organization so that employees can work independently. Writing strong policies takes time, and it can feel overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. But the result is a workplace with improved effectiveness, efficiency, and communication. For more information visit the webinar webpage.
Navigating the Silence: Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Older Adults (article)
“Navigating the Silence” is a blend of evidence-based insight and actionable tools that highlight the urgent public health implications of social isolation while demonstrating how geospatial analytics can drive targeted intervention. Given that libraries are uniquely positioned as safe, social, and accessible community anchors, this resource can help frame programs, partnerships, and grant proposals around evidence-based data and ensure services respond directly to the needs of isolated older adults in your service area. Read the full article on the PolicyMap blog.
Resource Rural Storytelling
Resource Rural’s National Hub is working with partners across the country to enable rural and Indigenous communities to access federal dollars. Their work focuses on documenting and sharing stories by working directly with local organizations to identify stories and talk with local people to hear in their own voice why they’ve taken on this work and what they’ve achieved in their community. By documenting and sharing these stories, Resource Rural will ensure communities and local people see that their contributions are recognized and valued, and that more people learn about the inspiring ways in which rural and Indigenous people are using federal investments to make the places they live in and love stronger. For more information, visit the organization’s online submission form.
TSLAC CE Calendar
The TSLAC Continuing Education (CE) calendar is based on the National Calendar of Library Webinars, a centralized resource for discovering both free and paid webinars related to library services and professional development. This national calendar is maintained by WebJunction, an initiative of OCLC dedicated to providing accessible learning opportunities for library staff. Through this collaboration, TSLAC helps connect Texas library workers to a broad range of high-quality training events happening across the country. For more information, visit our CE Calendar webpage.
WebJunction
WebJunction’s course catalog is free to library staff everywhere. They offer library-specific self-paced courses, webinar recordings, and other learning materials. Certificates of Completion are available to help library staff meet continuing education credit requirements. Create your free account and start learning today. For more information, visit the program website.
Need more support?
Resource Archive
Wish you had access to a repository of all the tools that are featured in the monthly Library Management Updates? Check out our Resource Archive for more information.
Continuing Education
In addition, be sure to peruse our continuing education offerings. Our resources are constantly updated, so check back often.
Questions?
For more information, visit our management services page or contact Christina Taylor at ctaylor@tsl.texas.gov.
