2026 Wyoming Library Association Conference

In this session, attendees will hear from Wyoming Community Foundation staff about grant opportunities available to libraries across the state, including the Competitive Grant Cycle and Continuing Staff Education (CSE) grants through the WYCF McMurry Library Fund.

Alongside an overview of available funding opportunities, attendees will also receive practical Grant Writing 101 guidance designed to help libraries craft stronger proposals. This session will explore how to communicate impact, align requests with funder priorities, and tell meaningful stories about the role libraries play in their communities.

Destination Imagination® (DI) is a global, volunteer-led nonprofit organization that encourages student participants to work together to solve open-ended challenges using storytelling, engineering, improvisation, art and critical thinking. Destination Imagination is a strong fit for library programming because it is inclusive, low-budget and encourages hands-on learning for a wide range of ages and interests. Learn about Destination Imagination and how to implement it into your afterschool and homeschool programming. Practice your own creative problem-solving skills with hands-on “Instant Challenges.” For the Instant Challenges, you will use everyday materials like straws, paperclips, and mailing labels to create STEAM-driven solutions (think building a bridge to hold pennies, designing a fish that could survive on Mars, etc.)

Library Shark Tank is an interactive, game show–style session designed to showcase innovative, low-cost programming ideas while fostering collaboration across Wyoming libraries of all types and sizes.
Participants will experience firsthand how collective creativity, supportive leadership, and shared resources can strengthen communities statewide. This session emphasizes that impactful ideas don’t require large budgets; just collaboration, adaptability, and a willingness to try something new.