Author Archives: Holli Duggan

CE Grants: Applications Open for ARSL & MPLA Conferences!

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Apply now for a $500 grant to attend the ARSL 2025 Annual Conference or the
MPLA-ND-SD 2025 Tri-Conference!

Application Deadline: Wednesday, July 9th, 2025

The purpose of these grants is to assist Nebraska libraries in improving the library services provided to their communities through continuing education and training for their library personnel and supporters. Successful applications will show how attending this conference will support the library’s mission.

Eligible costs include:

  • Registration
  • Travel
  • Meals
  • Lodging
  • Preconference fees (but does not include networking or social events)

The applicant must be either 1) employed in an accredited Nebraska public library or a state-run institutional library at the time of application and for the duration of the conference, or 2) a current board member of an accredited Nebraska public library at the time of application and for the duration of the conference.

For more information on the application process and application forms, please see:

***Library Board Members: The Fern V. Heim Library Trustee Scholarship is still open for applications until August 1st! ***

If you have any questions, please contact Holli Duggan.

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (6/23 – 6/27)

Posted on June 24, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (6/16 – 6/20)

Posted on June 16, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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United for Libraries Virtual 2025: Statewide Registration

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Holli Duggan
Blue text on white background, to the left of an image of an open blue book with red stars. Text reads "United for Libraries Virtual 2025" Smaller red text underneath reads "Trustees, Friends, Foundations"

2025 United for Libraries Virtual: Trustees, Friends, Foundations

Tuesday, July 29th – Thursday, July 31st

The Nebraska Library Commission has purchased statewide registration! All library directors/staff, Trustees/board members, and Friends of the Library and Foundation representatives receive FREE live registration and/or on-demand viewing – a value of $149 per person.

Registration includes live attendance and on-demand access to three full days of programming, expert speakers, microlearning sessions, and the “Virtual Gala Author Tea.” Programming runs from 10:00 am CST to approximately 3:00 pm CST daily with scheduled breaks. Registrants may participate in some or all program sessions live, and/or watch recordings on-demand.

Sessions include:

  • Tuesday, July 29th – Trustee Day
    • Get Familiar with Freedom of Information Laws
    • Meetings That Matter: Driving Results, Not Just Discussions
    • Public Official Basics for Trustees: Introduction to Public Administration and Public Finance
    • Top 10 Things Library Board Members Should Know – But Often Don’t
    • Why Is It Always a Battle?: Concerns of Public Library Trustees in the United States
    • Keynote – Austin Channing Brown
  • Wednesday, July 30th – Foundation/Fundraising Day
    • Library Storytelling: How to Find Memorable Library Stories to Use for Marketing and Promotion
    • Let Your Impact Ring! Sharing Your Library’s Successes so Funders Will Listen
    • Overcoming the Barriers to Library Fundraising Success
    • Strengthening Library and Foundation Relationships: The Role of the Memorandum of Understanding and Relationship Committee
    • Virtual Gala Author Tea
  • Thursday, July 31st – Friends Day
    • Friends for Everyone: Inclusivity and Accessibility Best Practices
    • Get Strategic: Creating a Strategic Plan for Your Friends Group
    • Gnomes Need Homes: A Different Type of Silent Auction!
    • Lessons from a New Board President
    • Library Funding 101: Understanding How Things Get Paid

Special Events:

  • Keynote – Tuesday, July 29th (3:30 pm CST)
    • “Austin Channing Brown is an author and speaker providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America. She is the New York Times bestselling author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, a Reese’s Book Club pick. Her work has been featured by outlets such as On Being, Chicago Tribune, and WNYC. Her new book, Full of Myself, releases in August 2025.”
  • Virtual Gala Author Tea – Wednesday, July 30th (3:30 pm CST)
    • Join United for Libraries for our 2025 Virtual Gala Author Tea. Bring your beverage of choice and enjoy authors talking about their writing experience and latest books. Moderated by Donna Seaman, Editor of Adult Books, Booklist.
    • Invite your library staff and patrons! More details coming soon.

Registration Options – Choose one of the options below to register:

  • Statewide Free Registration Form
    • Allow one business day for registration.
  • ALA eLearning Website via the Nebraska Statewide Access Course
    • Must be enrolled in the Nebraska access course to register. You will be prompted to login, if not already logged in.
  • Email United for Libraries
    • Email united@ala.org
    • Include your full name, email address, library, and primary role on behalf of your library.
    • Allow one business day for registration.
  • Bulk Registration
    • Library directors may email united@ala.org
    • Include full name, email address, and primary role on behalf of the library for each individual to register.
    • Allow two business days to register.
  • For registration questions, contact United for Libraries staff by email at united@ala.org or by phone at (312) 280-2161.

If you have any questions, please contact Holli Duggan.

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (6/9 – 6/13)

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (6/2 – 6/6)

Posted on June 2, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Fern V. Heim Trustee Scholarship: Applications Open!

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Holli Duggan
Two logos side by side. On the left side, ARSL 2025 in blue text with a yellow and red hot air balloon on top of an orange rectangle with "Libraries Rise" in white letters. On the right side, blue text "Nebraska Library Association Annual Conference 2025" on top of larger blue text "Soaring to new heights" next to a blue and yellow hot air balloon.

Apply for an individual $500 scholarship to attend either the NLA 2025 Conference in York on October 22nd-24th or to the ARSL 2025 Conference in Albuquerque, NM on September 17th-20th!

The Fern V. Heim Scholarship for Trustees was established by her friend, Mary Louise Dutcher, to honor Fern’s dedication to small public libraries and their trustees. Although Fern’s library career began in special libraries (Head of the UNL Chemistry Department Library, Serials and Circulation Departments of UNL Love Library, and then Director of the Research Library at Goodrich Tire and Rubber in Akron, Ohio), her work at the Nebraska Library Commission was devoted to public libraries. Recognizing that few small library budgets could provide support for librarians, let alone their volunteer trustees, to attend professional meetings, she encouraged them to go whenever possible (at their own expense) if only for a portion of the meeting. As her legacy, it is fitting to assist those trustees through this scholarship program.

**This scholarship is open only to current Nebraska Public Library Board Members!**

The Fern V. Heim Scholarship Award was established to provide assistance to current public library trustees with preference to members of the Nebraska Library Association Public Library and Trustee Section (PLTS) for attendance to the Nebraska Library Association Conference or the Association for Rural and Small Libraries Conference.

Applications due by August 1, 2025!

For more details and application:

Please submit all grant application forms and questions to:
Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (5/19 – 5/23)

Posted on May 19, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (5/12 – 5/16)

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Holli Duggan
"Continuing Education: Weekly Resources" on green oval background


Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (5/5 – 5/9)

Posted on May 6, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (4/28 – 5/2)

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Friday Reads: “Cinder” by Marissa Meyer

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Holli Duggan
Book cover of "Cinder"

Cinder is the first book in Marissa Meyer’s young adult fantasy/science-fiction series, “The Lunar Chronicles” (and is her debut novel). This series follows classic fairy tale characters as they’re rewritten into Earth’s only hope for survival against powerful villains from a lunar colony.

Among the crowded streets of New Beijing, humans are battling a increasingly deadly virus outbreak. Cinder works as a skilled mechanic with her best robot friend, hiding the fact she’s a cyborg. As a cyborg, she could be “traded in” to be a research subject at any time by her stepmother, who threatens her so daily.

Cinder is approached by Prince Kai one day to fix his android, leading to a royal invitation (of course). Between the Prince, her beloved sister’s illness, and past secrets, she quickly finds herself in the center of an intergalactic struggle – complete with an evil Queen.

Meyer, M. Cinder. Square Fish. 2012.

The series continues with Scarlet – a spaceship pilot searching for her grandmother, Cress – an imprisoned computer hacker, and Winter – a kind and beloved Lunar princess. As the plague mutates, dangers grow, and the Queen continues to gain power, all four must team up to fight evil and save the world.

Book cover of "Scarlet", "Cress," and "Winter"

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (4/21 – 4/25)

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (4/14 – 4/18)

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (3/3 – 3/7)

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit NLC: Free Webinars or WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (2/3 – 2/7)

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit NLC: Free Webinars or WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (1/27 – 1/31)

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit NLC: Free Webinars or WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (1/20 – 1/24)

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit NLC: Free Webinars or WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (1/13 – 1/17)

Posted on January 13, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit NLC: Free Webinars or WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan

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Continuing Education: Weekly Resources (1/6 – 1/10)

Posted on January 6, 2025 by Holli Duggan

Below is a list of free training opportunities coming up this week and some recently recorded webinars! There is also a monthly list of free training resources which is compiled each month by the Maine State Library and WebJunction.

Many webinars are recorded and can be watched later.

For more information, please visit NLC: Free Webinars or WebJunction: Free Training

To submit CE hours for the NLC certification programs:

Questions about CE hours or the certification programs, please contact: Holli Duggan









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