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The New Mexico State Library has released its schedule of professional development opportunities for December, highlighting a variety of virtual conferences, webinars, and training sessions aimed at library staff and managers. The calendar is hosted by the Maine State Library as part of a national initiative.
A major event this month is the Penguin Random House Winter Book & Author Festival 2025 on December 4. The festival, organized in collaboration with Library Journal and School Library Journal, offers author panels, interviews, virtual shelf browsing, audiobook discovery, and access to eGalleys. Registration information can be found at https://www.libraryjournal.com/event/prh-winter-festival-2025.
Other scheduled programs cover topics such as accessibility (“Accessible by Design: Preparing Your Library Website for the 2026 Accessibility Rule” on December 10), advocacy (“The Neuroscience of Customer Testimonials” on December 11), assessment and planning (including “Building Resilience through Adaptive Management” on December 1), board governance, management strategies, programming ideas for children and teens, communication methods for nonprofits in 2026, legal research guidance from the Law Library of Congress, technology integration like artificial intelligence in libraries, volunteer engagement practices, and more.
In addition to live events, the At Your Leisure section offers pre-recorded webinars that participants can view at any time. These include sessions on low-budget programming ideas for libraries (“Big Programming Ideas for Small Budgets”), strategic planning for funding (“Building a Fundable Strategic Plan”), and strategies to address burnout among public library workers (“Rekindling from Burnout: Lessons and Strategies for Public Library Workers”).
New resources have been added to the NMSL Professional Development Niche Academy Learning Platform. Recent tutorials focus on basic librarianship skills such as policy writing and strategic planning. There are also modules dedicated to library boards—covering topics from advocacy to hiring directors—and digital literacy resources like the “Digital Inclusion Playbook.” Access to these materials is free for New Mexico public library staff through the state’s subscription; however, users must create an account and some content may require additional approval.
For further information about accessing Niche Academy content or professional development offerings from NMSL, Ada Negraru serves as Continuing Education Coordinator.
Each month’s release features a highlighted reading relevant to librarianship. This month’s selection is Hillary Dodge’s “Gather ’round the table: food literacy programs, resources, and ideas for libraries,” published by ALA Editions in 2020. The book provides guidelines on integrating food literacy into library programs and collections. It includes practical tools such as community food assessment kits and lists of culinary resources.
Additional recently acquired titles related to library science are available through the New Mexico State Library’s LibGuides collection or via the New Mexico Reads portal at https://nmreads.boundless.baker-taylor.com/ng/view/library.
