Hoot-Con

Mark your calendars for March 6, 2026, when OWLS member library staff flock together at the Kimberly Municipal Complex for a full day of inspiration, discovery, and community. Hoot-Con is our annual one-day conference where ideas take flight—featuring a wide range of sessions designed to spark creativity, strengthen skills, and celebrate the amazing work happening across our libraries. Whether you’re looking to spread your wings or perch with colleagues to exchange fresh ideas, this is the place to be.

Agenda and registration information will be swooping in soon—here are just a few of the confirmed sessions!

• BadgerLink Resources for Public Libraries – BadgerLink is Wisconsin’s Online Library, a collection of over 60 online resources and databases. With so much to offer you as a librarian, as well as your community members, patrons, family members, friends, and colleagues, it can be overwhelming at a glance. This session will highlight the BadgerLink Resource Guide for Public Libraries and dive in to what’s really available, so you can be prepared to share BadgerLink resources with any Wisconsin resident at any time.
• Understanding AI: Building AI Literacy and Using AI to Enhance Access to Diverse Knowledge – This session builds practical AI literacy and explores AI as a tool for improving efficiency, expanding access to diverse sources of knowledge, and enhancing accessibility for both staff and patrons. Attendees will learn best practices, prompt-engineering fundamentals, and real-world applications for drafting, reviewing information and data, and gaining actionable insights—while maintaining ethical, transparent, and responsible use aligned with library values.
• Evaluating AI Tools: A guide for staff and patrons – This program is designed to help you make informed choices when using AI tools and when assisting patrons with AI, while reinforcing that users remain responsible for assessing risk and how they use AI generated output. This program provides a practical framework based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology AI Risk Management Framework. By the end of this training, you will be equipped to perform a Risk vs. Benefit assessment. This training is not about providing legal advice or pushing specific products but about providing the skills to assess a tool.
• Website Accessibility for Libraries: Practical Steps, Real Impact, and What’s Coming Next – This session introduces library staff to the basics of website accessibility, why it matters, and what new accessibility expectations mean for public library websites. We’ll focus on practical, high-impact improvements libraries can make right now—such as accessible calendar views, avoiding sliders, proper heading structure, and document practices. The session will also clarify staff roles, available support, and next steps to help libraries move forward with confidence.
• Beyond the Stacks: We’ve Got You Covered – Enhance your library’s visibility and impact far beyond its physical walls with outreach programs and community collaborations. This session will help you pack your “go bag” and be quickly prepared to participate wherever the road takes you.
• The Three Sisters Garden: Growing and Learning Together Through Indigenous Knowledge – This session explores our journey from soil study to seed library programs, highlighting our first experience with companion gardening programming and the integration of Indigenous knowledge in partnership with 1000 Islands Nature Center.
• I’m a Librarian Not a… : Tools, Techniques, and Tips to Create Engaging Programing When You’re No Expert – Karen (not a musician) and Peter (not a naturalist) share how they’ve created engaging music and nature programing at their local library.
• Basic Collection Analysis and Assessment Tools – Regular analysis helps ensure our library collections are healthy and doing what we need them to do to support our readers and the library’s goals. Holly and Meredith will introduce you to three helpful collection metrics—turnover rate, collection age, and usage by location. They’ll walk you through running the reports you’ll need in CARL, using the data from those reports to calculate these metrics, and what these results can tell you about your collection.
• Facebook for Library Marketing – Facebook remains the largest social media platform in the world, with 69% of people checking their Facebook daily. Find out how to make the most of Facebook for library marketing. Topics will include safety, the latest algorithms, monetization, and more.