Program Proposals Now Open: MLA|DLA 2026 Annual Conference

Proposals for 2026 MLA/DLA conference sessions can now be submitted.  If you are interested in participating in May's conference in Cambridge, you can submit a proposal for pre-conference sessions (Wednesday) or regular conference sessions (Thursday and Friday).  If you prefer to do a short presentation, you can submit a proposal for an Ignite session or a Poster session. 

Pratt always has a strong presence at the conference, and I look forward to seeing what our staff has to share with the MD library community.

Links for the online form and the proposal submission guide are below, or you can email Paula Mitchell for assistance.  Terrible puns for session titles are encouraged. 

Dear Maryland Library Community, 

We’re excited to announce the call for program proposals is now open for the 2026 MLA|DLA Annual Conference! Join us May 6-8, 2026, back at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, Maryland, as we explore this year's theme: "Our Stories, Our Shelves."

We look forward to seeing the programs you'll propose for what promises to be an unforgettable conference celebrating the power of stories in our communities and the library collections that reflect those communities.

Submission Guidelines
All proposals must be submitted through our online form. Proposals should clearly demonstrate relevance to library professionals across all sectors. Review our program proposal submission guide for a preview and descriptions of the form's questions. 

Proposal Submission Period: August 25 - October 17, 2025
Notification of Acceptance: December 2025

Program Proposal Form »

Don't miss this opportunity to contribute to a conference that celebrates the diverse narratives within our library community. 

We're Seeking Proposals For: 

• Pre-Conference Sessions
• General Sessions 
• Ignite Sessions 
• Poster Sessions

Questions? 
Contact the Conference Director, Paula Mitchell, at md.la.conference@gmail.com or check out our proposal submission guide. 

Sincerely,
The MLA|DLA Conference Planning Committee

This email was sent on behalf of Maryland Library Association located at 1401 Hollins St., Baltimore, MD 21223.

From the 2025 MLA/DLA Conference - Intentionality

Intentionality

 

/inˌten(t)SHəˈnalədē/

Noun

 

1. the fact or quality of being done on purpose or with intent:

The author’s choice here may not have been intentionally racially charged, but discrimination and prejudice are often not rooted in intentionality.

2. an attitude of purposefulness, with a commitment to deliberate action:

“Active hope” is a practice that does not require optimism; instead, it requires intentionality.

 

My strongest “take away”from the MLA/DLA 2025 Annual Conference was the importance of Intentionality, being mindful and intentional when completing library tasks and performing library duties. It can be difficult when things get hectic, but if you can slow down, take a breath, and think about what you are doing, then you can better incorporate best practices into your daily routine.

 

Maybe that means being aware that marginalized people feel the greatest loss of digital privacy and incorporating equity into privacy programming or anonymizing data when possible. Or it could mean something as simple as making ready-to-print resources available such as How Secure Is My Password? flyers.

 

With digital resources it may be as complex as revising metadata to ensure attribution and increase accessibility or as simple as spreading the word about databases that document lesser-known history such as Blacks of the Chesapeake. When working with displays and marketing, it means being intentional not just about diversity & ethnic representation, but also being intentional about diversity of format, diversity of lived experience, and diversity of tone.  Intentionality means focusing on materials that are positive in tone, books where members of the group accomplish something, not just materials relating what was done to them. (Though of course some of the latter are necessary for education purposes, they should always be balanced with some of the former.)

 

Intentionality means consciously incorporating balance, equity, diversity, and accessibility. Like any practice, it may be difficult at first, but as you practice and build the habit of intentionality, it will become an inherent feature of your librarianship.

 

Dorothy Reed

Adult Services

 

MLA Chats Series is starting: AI, library trends, and future-casting for October 10

MLA Chats: AI, library trends, and future-casting

Thursday, October 10th 2 - 3:30pm

Facilitated by Thomas Vose and Laura Bandoch
Register Here!

MLA Chats is a new virtual quarterly forum where MLA members can participate in a facilitated discussion on topics impacting their work and librarianship in general. October's session will focus on AI, library trends, and future-casting. This session will be facilitated by Thomas Vose (Director, Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County), and Laura Bandoch (Materials Assistant Director Harford County Public Library). This will not be recorded. 

Please feel free to reach out to Nay Keppler with any questions! nkeppler@bcpl.net

 

Note:  these are for information purposes only, and participants will not earn continuing education credit

Conference Share: Maryland Library Association - Morgan Stanton

Are Kids Reading Less, Or Is It Just Me?

I attended a presentation at the 2024 MLA/DLA Conference that was both terrific and
terrible. It was a wonderful presentation. What it presented was disturbing.
 
Marcus Zimalt is a librarian with Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Subjectively, it
seemed to him that not only were his students reading less, but even his own children. When he noticed (the few) kids reading it tended to be simplistic graphic novels or “comfort food” books, big on illustrations with basic vocabulary.
 
The data bore this out. Anne Arundel County Public Schools, with its mixture of
urban/suburban/rural families representing different races and income brackets, showed the
following statistics:
 
Total AACPS Fiction Checkouts by Year:
2013: 411, 381
2019: 388, 579
2023: 261, 414
 
This represents a 37% decrease since 2013, and a 33% decrease since Covid. As Marcus
Zimalt pointed out, students aren’t reading less so much since 2013 as they are since Covid-19.
 
Zimalt focused on the checkouts of Fiction because it engages the imagination, requiring
the reader to see the world through another’s point-of-view. It cultivates empathy along with critical thinking, sorely needed in a modern society bitterly divided.
 
Fiction circulation peaks in 4 th and 5 th grades, with the biggest drop occurring in the
transition to middle school. Here are the numbers: fiction circulation in 4 th and 5 th grades are over 53,000, dropping to 16, 823 in 6 th grade. The decline is steady in each successive grade until senior year, with 1,101 fiction checkouts. More second graders check out fiction books in one year than all high schoolers combined.
 
AACPS statistics reflect national trends. In 1984, 35% of 13 year-olds read for fun
“almost every day,” while 8% responded “almost never.” In the Stranger Things Opposite World
of 2020, only 17% of 13 year-olds read for fun, while 29% answered “almost never.”
 
There are gender differences. While both girls and boys read at an abysmal rate, the boys
are worse. Breaking down fiction circulation by gender, boys make up 43% of checkouts,
dropping to 36% in middle school and 30% in high school.
 
Zimalt points to two major factors contributing to the decline: the noxious combination of
lockdown and iPhone during the Covid-19 pandemic. Teenagers spend an average of 7 hours and
22 minutes a day in front of screens, not counting school-related work. This accounts for 43% of
their waking hours. He also speculated that some of the blame lies with our educational system
by quoting the following:
 
(When I was a kid) “the focus was on reading as many books as possible and engaging
emotionally with them as a way to develop the requisite skills. Now the focus on reading
analytically seems to be squashing that organic enjoyment….
 
This hyperfocus on analysis comes at a steep price: The love of books and storytelling is
being lost …
 
There’s a whole generation of kids who associate reading with assessment now.”
Katharine Marsh – The Atlantic.
 
From my experience, perhaps the library world bears some responsibility, too, with its
increased emphasis on “information services,” which is but a part of literacy and ultimately
wisdom.
 
I have been, and still am to some degree, an advocate of the notion that letting children
read whatever they want is the best way to cultivate lifelong readers, since they will associate
reading with “fun.” My daughter will be in sixth grade next year. When I was her age, I read
mostly comic books and pro-wrestling magazines. My son, currently in second grade, loves the
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series – wonderful books appropriate for an 8-year old. But Marcus
Zimalt convinced me that children also need gentle nudging. If they liked RL Stine, maybe
they’ll like Stephen King. The Shining was my first “real” horror book, and I read it when I was
twelve – maybe even eleven. It’s still one of my favorites.

Zimalt further recommends actively “selling” chapter books through book talks and eye-

catching J Fiction displays. Make sure these books with attractive covers face outward, create

book tables, and otherwise lose any guilt of “Barnes and Nobelizing” your sections. Add staff

and patron recommendation tags. Look into generifying your collections and don’t forget to

watch the data. Finally, embrace your vital role as a library worker to “grow readers.”

MLA/DLA 2023 Conference "Leveled Up" to Success

 

Over 600 staff members from Maryland and Delaware libraries gathered in Cambridge for the 2023 MLA/DLA Annual Conference.  Conference director Kelsey Hughes and co-director Anita Crawford, and the entire conference committee, brought together exciting guest speakers, authors, and an interesting group of vendors.  With over 60 breakout sessions, 3 Ignite sessions, MLA and DLA member meetings, a tech playground, a meetup with the new BCMLA, and a return visit from Pets on Wheels of Delmarva, attendees had plenty of opportunities for learning and networking.

There were also lots of fun activities, including s'mores by the campfire, karaoke, the silent auction, the Harriet Tubman Visitor Center Tour, and morning yoga on the lawn. The now infamous pub quiz was well attended, and the EPFL team of Julie Johnson, Heather Yost, Kinshasa Vargas-Pile, guest Heather Riley, and yours truly, held our own against much larger teams, even winning a round and coming in second in several others. 🏆 

Thanks to all staff who participated as committee members, program presenters, or attendees.

Lisa R. Kenyon

Staff Development and Training

MLA is turning 100! Celebrate with the Centennial Carnival in November

 

MLA Annual Conference Funding Deadline is March 10, 2023

 

Registration for the MLA/DLA 2023 conference is now open.  If you wish to attend the conference, submit your signed and completed paperwork to the SD&T Office by the end of the day on Friday, March 10, 2023.

To request funding, please complete and submit the 354 (request for funding), the MLA 2023 information page, and a  copy of the registration form.    All of these forms have been saved for you on the shared drive in Shared (S:) > Training > MLA 2023

The conference information can be found here https://www.mladlacon.com/

You can view the conference brochure here  https://bit.ly/mladla2023

The breakout session for Ellen Oh is missing from this version of the brochure, but it will be on Thursday from 3-4.  I will send out the corrected brochure link when it becomes available.

The hotel allowance for the conference is $225/night, and the food allowance will be $25 for travel days and $50 for conference days.  You may also request a ticket for one of the conference meal events, such as the author breakfast on Thursday.  Please include this amount in the registration column on your 354.

If you have any questions about these forms, please contact SD&T.

Winter 2023 Crab is now available on the MLA website

The new Crab issue is available now on the MLA website. 

Included in this issue are photos from the LATI Fall 2022 graduation, an article about the Intellectual Freedom Panel's Banned Book Week Event, and book reviews from the Reader's Advisory Interest Group.

Also included is the MLA's new strategic vision focusing on collaboration, advocation, and education, and enumeration of it's core values.  

Take a peek at what's going on around the state and at MLA.

Drexel MLIS discount for MLA members

If anyone on staff is thinking about applying to the MLIS program at Drexel, you can use the Maryland Library Association partnership for tuition reduction: https://online.drexel.edu/mla.

On the online application there is a section called Partnerships where the applicant can self-identify as a member of Maryland Library Association in the partner search-box. This action will connect their MSI in Library & Information Science 25% tuition reduction to the applicant’s file and if accepted into the program, will automatically be reflected in the student’s billing profile. No additional action would be required to receive the discount.

If you aren't a member of MLA you can join before you complete your application and get this discount.

Fall edition of the CRAB is available

The new Crab issue is available now on the MLA website.  The Crab is now publicly available, you do not have to be a member of MLA.

MLA/DLA conference proposals due by October 8

The MLA/DLA Annual Conference will take place this year from May 10-12, 2023 in Cambridge, Maryland. The annual conference strives to build and promote a strong, engaged, knowledgeable, diverse, and inclusive library community to advance the transformational impact of library staff and libraries. MLA/DLA seeks proposals and speakers representing the full range of library organizations (academic, school, public, specialized, etc.) and positions within the library. 

Programs will be selected with an eye toward amplifying underrepresented groups that have been historically marginalized or excluded due to race, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ability, religious identity, economic background, educational background, age, or other factors.

Another option for the conference is the Ignite Talks series.  What is something that you are passionate about in libraries that you tell us about in 10 minutes? Ignite Talks can look like storytelling, a how-to, or a research share – anything that sparks interest. Ignite Talks are a great opportunity to try presenting for the first time, to share experience or lessons learned, or to make your colleagues laugh with an entertaining topic and slides. We can’t wait to hear about your passions!

Please consider submitting a proposal using this form (https://forms.gle/K5HwKz3J3gE57xge9) and sharing it with colleagues.   If you have any questions, you can email kelsey.hughes@hclibrary.org or md.la.conference@gmail.com. 

All proposals will be due by October 8.

MLA/DLA Annual Conference 2022 - Law on the Frontlines: A Great Refresher!

Law on the Frontlines: A Great Refresher!

Presented by Joan Belistri, Catherine McGuire, and Reena Shah

Not sure who is really behind that Maryland Self Help Law Center phone number??

At this session I was assured the callers we refer would be talking to attorneys dedicated to assisting people in low-medium income brackets navigate the legal system. When librarians refer a customer to the Self Help Law Center the volunteer attorney will be a pro bono lawyer, college or academic faculty lawyer, a lawyer from one of the Judiciary departments, Bar associations, law school clinics or other Court approved legal organizations. 

Providing Legal Information

The panel discussed current and applicable resources valuable to public library librarians and their customers. Here are some refresher highlights.

1.Instead of Black’s Dictionary the panel suggested Cornell’s Legal Terminology which allows for more flexibility. The librarian can utilize it whether addressing a patron in person, through Libchat or Libans. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex

2.Nolo.com is another common resource useful for forms, brief explanations

Legal Encyclopedia, Legal Forms, Law Books, & Software | Nolo

3.Maryland Peoples’ Law Library offers vital legal information for self litigants and Court Help on specific Law Topics. Homepage | The Maryland People's Law Library (peoples-law.org) (PLL)

The “Other Help” page relates well to the recognizable kinds of everyday law questions librarians receive by phone. https://maryland.freelegalanswers.org/OtherHelp

Providing Referrals to Other Organizations

The panel emphasized that often users are looking for help librarians cannot provide but that can be found on websites like those discussed:

• Maryland Court Law Libraries

• PLL Legal Services and Directory

• PLL includes a Maryland Legal Services Directory

Legal Services Directory | The Maryland People's Law Library (peoples-law.org). The directory

Is comprised of organizations that offer no cost or low fee based legal services such as CASA. 

• PPL Legal Clinic Calendar Legal Clinic Calendar | The Maryland People's Law Library (peoples-law.org) includes Pratt’s Lawyer in the Library and similar events throughout Maryland.

• Court Help Centers Maryland Court Help Centers | Maryland Courts (mdcourts.gov)

Likewise, the panel reiterated that librarians distinguish between what they can do: Provide information, a resource or referral that might help. Librarians cannot provide legal advice; an interpretation of a legal subject or help users fill out legal forms.

This session covers the basics and the Advancing Justice Access and Navigate Maryland Legal Information, Court Tools and Resources session provides a more in-depth look at the People's Law Library website, the State Law Library website and more.

Rose Anne Ullrich, Librarian

Information Services

MLA/DLA Annual Conference 2022 - Back together again

The MLA/DLA conference returned to Cambridge, MD this year to the delight of attendees.  There is something about meeting in person that just makes a conference a better experience, especially when you are with a group of fantastic librarians and staff from Maryland libraries.

Tuesday was a beautiful day to drive to the Eastern shore, and check in to the Hyatt in preparation for the pre-conferences on Wednesday.  An interesting array of pre-conferences were attended by EPFL staff, including the "Everyone Leads" follow-up workshop and the adult programming unconference.  Bright orange backpacks, colorful badges and committee ribbons were available for participants, and by Thursday morning we were ready for the breakout sessions, visiting vendors, and the MD author award luncheon.  Whenever we feature a poet they always bring a tear to your eye, and Afaa Michael Weaver's reminiscences about growing up in Baltimore was no exception.

As always, the social events including the pub quiz and scavenger hunt brought extra fun to the conference, and the De-Stress with Pets puppies brought smiles to many faces.  The drive back on Friday was a bit nasty with the rain and traffic, but overall a fantastic event.

Lisa R. Kenyon
Staff Development and Training Coordinator

It was great to meet the new ALA president Patty Wong

Remember this viral sensation?  It was in the vendor's room.

Lots of good donations for the silent auction!

A Quick Guide to MLA funding for this year

 If you are requesting funds to attend the MLA/DLA annual conference this year, here is some information you will need.

The correct hotel amount is $210.30 per night.  This total will not be reflected in your original reservation information, but it includes the resort fees and omits the relevant taxes.  We will provide the hotel with the names of the staff who are attending and they will ensure that the tax free information is applied to your final bill. 

The food allowance is at the usual rate:  $25 for travel days and $50 for full conference days.

The library will pay for one conference food event on Thursday, either the Author Award Luncheon or the Keynote dinner, in addition to the usual food allowance.  

If you wish to attend one of the pre-conference events, you should include a separate justification for this expense in your goals and intentions statement.  How will the library benefit from your participation?

Send a completed registration form with your request, but do not include any personal details in the payment section (e.g. credit card numbers for your hotel deposit ).  Your registration will be paid directly to MLA and then you will be able to make your hotel reservations.

Please indicate which sessions you plan to attend as part of your goals statement, and also if you are serving on a committee related to the conference and/or if you are presenting at the conference.

Please include your home address on the goals statement if it is different from the address on your registration form.  Please include your MLA number if you are a member.

Just a reminder -- your completed forms are due prior to March 11.

Thank you, and please call us if you have any questions.

Funding for MLA is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act Administered by the Maryland State Library.

MLA/DLA Conference 2021 registration now open

Registration is now open for the 2021 combined Maryland and Delaware annual conference. The conference will be held the first week in May, and will be virtual again this year.

If you wish to receive funding to attend the conference you must complete the "Request for Authorization for Leave and/or Expenses" (Form 354), and submit that to your supervisor along with your goals and intentions statement and a copy of your completed registration form.  The forms may be sent by email to the required supervisors.

Your goals and intentions statement must include at least 6 sessions that you will attend at the conference, along with a strong rationale for each.  What do you hope to learn at/bring back from each session and what do you hope to do with the knowledge you gain?   You may substitute other programs during the actual event, as long as you attend at least 6.

You must also include a justification for any pre-conferences you wish to attend, with the same information.  Please include your MLA membership number on the form if you are a member.

Applications must be received by March 19, 2021 to be eligible for funding.

If you have any questions, contact SD&T.

 

MLA/DLA Annual Conference 2021

May 3-7, 2021

Here is a link to the brochure:

https://www.mdlib.org/files/docs/conference/MLAProgram2021.pdf 

Here is a link to the registration form:

https://www.mdlib.org/ev_calendar_day.asp?date=5%2F3%2F21&eventid=115

Top Five Qualities of a Successful Goals and Intentions Statement

Your Goals and Intentions Statement doesn't have to be long, but it does need to have all of the necessary information.  Here are the top five aspects of a well-written Goals and Intentions Statement:

1. The statement briefly describes the event, its intended audience, and its purpose (2-3 sentences maximum)
2. The requesting staff member clearly demonstrates their interest in the event/program and why they wish to attend.
3. A clear connection is made between the purpose of the training/conference and the position of the staff member.
4. The statement includes information about what the staff member hopes to learn at the program.
5. The staff member explains what she/he/they want to do with the information learned at the event once they return to the library.

Here's what it might look like all together:

I would like to attend the MLA/DLA Joint Library Conference in Cambridge, MD from May 1-3, 2019  The MLA conference brings together library staff from across Maryland to discuss relevant topics and issues. 

There are many programs offered at this year’s conference that would benefit the library, the HR department, and the SD&T office.  On Wednesday morning, there is a pre-conference on making sense of library management.  This program will be very helpful when we start to plan the new EPFL leadership program.   

On Thursday, there are programs supporting inclusion at the library, as well as creating engaging multimedia and updates on statewide MLA programs.  There is also a program discussing methods for teaching adults, which might offer new information that would support our program offerings.  

On Friday, there is a program about teaching online, which is something I’d like to start doing in the future to expand SD&T programming, as well as a program on getting staff to advocate for their library.

The sessions offered at the MLA conference this year will support and contribute to the programs offered by SD&T in the upcoming year.  I will also be sharing the leadership program information with other HR staff at an upcoming meeting, and updating them on various state-wide issues we've been discussing this year.

MLA Conference Dates set for 2020

The MLA/DLA annual conference will be held from May 6-8, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, Maryland.

The theme for this year is "Into the Roaring Twenties" and a full schedule of preconferences, keynote speakers, and breakout programs is scheduled.  

Watch for more information on the conference website https://www.mladlacon.com/

We'll be announcing the application deadlines as soon as the registration information is posted.

MLA 2019 - Using Children's Literature to Help Children of Trauma

The theme of “What if…?” at this year’s MLA conference inspired librarians to focus on the
possibilities of librarianship and ways we can improve our services to have a greater relationship
with our community. One program particularly made me consider our potential to facilitate healing
with our youngest customers.

In the program “What if…We used Children’s Literature to Help Children of Trauma Heal?” Dr.
Colleen Lelli outlined the needs of young children exposed to trauma and how we can use children’s
literature to create “bibliotherapy” opportunities for conversations and healing around  books. She
outlined the effects of acute (short term) or chronic (repeated) stress and how toxic stress can
manifest in children’s behavior. She explained that stress comes in different levels.

While mild/moderate stress can be motivating for a child, chronic or toxic stress quickly leads to trauma. She also explained that our understanding of trauma is constantly changing and affects something like 66% of the population, but our vocabulary for dealing with it is unfortunately limited. This is especially tragic for children affected by chronic/repeated stress, which can have the effect of
limiting children’s receptive and expressive vocabulary, leading to confusion and trouble with
problem solving. Dr. Lelli left me with many simple strategies I’m excited to implement when
working with our young customers.

Here are some of the simple strategies offered for helping children connect with texts:

• Since children of trauma are often unfocused readers, ask them questions of the text to keep them focused on subtler details. 
• Since they often act instead of plan, set goals for them to help with their task analysis and participation in classroom activities. 
• Practicing simple phrases like “Please focus on the directions I’m about to give,” cues these children to be prepared for the directions. Asking them to summarize directions once you’ve given them reinforces these connections.
• Create visual task cards to show each step of a task, and have children work in groups so that they can summarize together what they have heard. 
• To help with expressive language encouraging children to use graphic organizers to keep track of ideas they are interested in writing or talking about.  Encourage them to practice talking about areas of personal interest for 2-3 minutes at a time. 
• Provide children with verbal prompts to solve problems and resolve conflicts with peers.
• Try exercises like cutting up a comic strip and asking them to put it in the correct sequence can encourage critical thinking. 

Matthew Hickey
Children's Dept. CEN

Further reading:
https://goo.gl/tYicwz - Books to Teach Grit and Resilience
https://tinyurl.com/y5jy5xb8 - Books in which Children Witness Violence or Trauma

MLA 2019 - William G. Wilson Maryland Author Award winner Mary Amato

The 2019 winner of the William G. Wilson Maryland Author Award is children’s author Mary Amato.  Ms. Amato is an author of YA books, poetry, plays, and songs, and her books won numerous awards including The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators National Magazine Writing Award and Nonfiction Book Grant, the Beehive Book Award, the Buckeye Children’s Book Award, and the Arizona Young Readers Award.  She is also the founder of The HIVE, The Brown Bag for Creatives, and the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. Arts Salon and co-founder of the Firefly Shadow Theatre.  Ms. Amato works with numerous non-profits in Maryland and teaches workshops on writing and the creative process.  She also gives ukulele lessons. 

Starting with a song written just for the award luncheon, Ms. Amato shared that when she was a child she knew every inch of her public library, where her “friends in fiction” would put images in her head.  After the luncheon, Ms Amato signed copies of her books and chatted with many of the attendees.  For her afternoon program, she used examples of her works and those of other children’s authors for her discussion on how to incorporate themes and songs into programs for children.  Passing out several of her own ukuleles, Ms. Amato discussed how useful the instrument can be not only for singing with children, but also how easy they are for children to learn to play and how suited they are for little hands.

As part of Ms. Amato’s lively and fun program, attendees worked together to re-write “Row, Row your Boat” as a library based song, and then the group sang their creation “Read, Read, Read your book” while accompanying themselves on the ukuleles. 

Lisa R. Kenyon

SD&T

Recommended (by me) reading:  

Open Mic Night at Westminster Cemetery Sixteen-year-old slam-poet Lacy Brink wakes up dead—and confused—in Westminster Cemetery. It’s the job of Sam, a young soldier who died in 1865, to help her adjust to the strict rules of the afterlife. Lacy proposes hosting an open mic; and when Sam and the other ghosts finally express themselves, surprising emotions emerge in this darkly hilarious tale about truth, forgiveness, and love. Contains explicit language and mature themes so probably best for mid-teens and up. 

Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook  In this humorous and touching mystery, fifth grader Edgar Allan tries to catch a thief who leaves poetry instead of fingerprints at the crime scenes. Recommended for ages 8-12. 

Note:  although these are YA books, both can be enjoyed by adults

MLA 2019 - Two Favorite Programs

Two workshops at this year’s MLA Conference really stood out to me: What If … You Could Make Sense of Management and What If … Equality Is A Reality.

The What If … You Could Make Sense of Management Workshop was extremely helpful to me as a first time supervisor. This workshop was led by Professor Brian Butler from University of Maryland’s iSchool. The focus of the workshop was on how to navigate the creation of your personal leadership toolbox in order to make dealing with the myriad of issues and personalities that you are responsible for less stressful and more effective. We discussed the various stakeholders that are involved in the operations of a public library and the many demands that they make on our resources. It was really helpful to hear from peers from different types of library environments and with different levels of management experience on how they deal with these, often conflicting, demands on their resources. Some of the issues discussed were ones that I have already had to deal with as a new supervisor and some of the issues were ones that I had not considered. The end conclusion of this workshop was that management is hard and if you think that it’s easy or that you have a one-size-fit-all solution, then you are doing it wrong.

The other workshop that I found particularly compelling was What If .. Equality Is A Reality. This workshop was led by Dr. Michael Edge from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Education at Wilmington University, and his ability to combine his life experience with the topic matter was compelling. He spoke about implicit biases and how they impact our relationships with one another. While I’ve been to several trainings that have discussed implicit biases in some form or another, Dr. Edge spoke on this sensitive topic in a way that was both highly impactful and not at all blaming or shaming of the participants. One of the things that he brought up over and over again was that you can not blame someone for having implicit biases, they are something that are formed in your childhood by circumstances that you have no control over because you were a child.

This was a welcome approach to the topic since many such trainings on implicit biases have a tone that seems intended to instill a sense of guilt in participants. This approach led to a more open and, in my opinion, honest discussion of the participants’ experiences with implicit biases. The workshop discussed how these biases impact our interactions with customers, both internal and external, and our ability to give excellent customer service. The only downside of the workshop was that it was too short to cover the breadth of the topic.

Kalyn Shields

Pennsylvania Avenue Branch