PLA Conference Information and Deadlines

 

Registration for the PLA 2026 conference is now open.  The conference will be in Minneapolis from April 1-3, 2026.  Please note that these dates overlap with both Good Friday and Passover.  

https://www.placonference.org/registration

The application deadlines are 

      PLA members January 2, 2026.

      ALA members and non-members  February 6, 2026.

Staff interested in attending the virtual PLA events should apply by February 13, 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact SD&T for assistance.  

Conference share: Public Library Association - Dorothy Reed

PLA 2024 Day 1

Today's themes: change management, building a data culture, and addressing the needs of underserved adult communities

Quote of the day: "It's okay to set goals and not meet them, if you learn something from the less successful outcomes."

Top takeaways:

Leverage your community; the more you interact with community partners, the more your relationship with them improves.

Don't be overwhelmed; start small if necessary and build. Don't succumb to an all or nothing mindset. Continuous improvement is the way forward.

Many adult communities are underserved such as the intellectually and developmentally disabled and older job seekers who've often been recently laid off. Targeted programs can address the needs of these communities while increasing engagement.

The five-session model for job seekers that was presented for older adults could be modified and targeted for other demographics such as young people looking for a first job, recently incarcerated, etc 

Emerging trends worth exploring:

Expanding Book a Librarian to include Book a Job Search Trainer and Book a Digital Navigator

Targeted database-training sessions are in demand, for instance job seekers appreciate sessions focusing on how to use Learning Express Library

I have PDFs of the presentations and resources from the following sessions: Beyond the Numbers: Building a Collection of Data-Informed Decision Making, We See You: Programming for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and Older Adults Need Jobs! Empowering Seniors to Rejoin the Workforce. I'm happy to share the PDFs with anyone interested.

PLA Day 2

Today it was all about the books, 'bout the books, 'bout the books, including a Booklist presentation of upcoming releases from adult publishers, a mystery authors panel discussion, and panel sessions on genrefying collections and diversifying displays.

Quote of the day: "I didn't grow up with a great deal of money, so libraries were always the path to books for me. There's a mutual admiration society between us." Craig Johnson

Top Takeaways:

Upcoming book releases that build off of existing media include: 

Tangled up in You, the first title of the Meant to Be series, contemporary rom-com reimaginings of Disney stories.

Lisa Jewell authored Breaking the Dark, a Jessica Jones novel, the first entry in the Marvel Crime Series.

X-Files: Perihelion is an extension of The X-Files television series.

Mystery authors reaffirmed the importance of libraries in writing and building a career as a

writer.

Genrefying your collection can help deal with difficult layouts and space constraints as well as increase circulation by making titles easier to find.

People need to see themselves represented in the library and our displays are the most visible part of the library. Strive to include diverse materials in all displays.

If you're interested in more information about Genrefying Your Public Library or Diversifying Your Displays and Book Lists, I'll be happy to send you resources from the presentations. 

PLA Day 3

Today's theme: Diversity & Accessibility

Quote of the day: "Data doesn’t lie, but it sure will hurt your feelings.”

Top Takeaways:

Quick tips to help accessibility that can be handled by staff or facilities fairly quickly include: increasing space between aisles, moving coat hooks that are too high, replacing doorknobs and faucets that require grasping, rearranging furniture, wrapping pipes under sinks, and adjusting heights of tables and shelves. Trackball mice and large-print keyboards are easy additions that increase computer accessibility.

Materials need to be tagged in some way to allow tracking of diversity-category percentages both within the collection and within new purchases. The 690 field in MARC records works as a locally created access point. BCA allows for an EDI tag and facilitates tracking through the Data Dashboard. Tracking ensures that future goals are met. Keep in mind that changes in terminology may require updating your categories. 

A diverse collection requires consideration of demographics (racial, cultural, ethnic, religious, ...), formats (to accommodate differing abilities and challenges) and world languages. Diverse collections must be discoverable in the catalog via MARC records and accessible to the public without requiring staff assistance.

What is the heart of your community? What do they need? Build a need-focused specialty collection for each location. Block holds for these Community Collection items so that they can only circulate from their home location.

Be Community Facing – show your face at every community event possible.

Expand beyond the walls of the library. Establish Satellite Community Collections at daycares, senior centers, social service offices,hospitals, barbershops, and anyplace that has a waiting room.  

If you're interested in more information about Access Denied: The Journey to Make Your Library More Accessible, After the Audit: Sustaining Steps to Maintaining a Diverse Collection, or Curating Diverse Community Collections for Patron Engagement, I'll be happy to send you resources from the presentations. 

PLA Conference Funding Deadline is January 1, 2022

If you wish to attend the PLA conference in March, your signed/approved funding request needs to be received by SD&T before January 1, 2022. 

Be sure to include all needed information so your registration can be completed, especially your ALA membership number if you have one.

PLA 2018: The Accidental Trainer: Teaching Technology in a Modern Day Library

So often as programming librarians we create our own presentations for workshops from scratch. I have found over the years that had I checked online I would have had a nearly there version that could have cut down on planning time while still being a high quality, unique program. Even so, putting together a detailed and intentionally educational program can be quite time-consuming. This is especially the case for librarians responsible for prioritizing the needs of patrons approaching their desks in addition to planning programs. There may be a few minutes here and there for planning but no dependable blocks of time. Creating materials for teaching technology and computer skills is just as time consuming.  

Fortunately, in 2015, the staff at Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, IL developed a grant funded digital literacy toolkit for trainers.  This initiative continues via a partnership with the Public Library Association. The toolkit consists of an instructor’s guide and all necessary materials for each computer course. The toolkit is valuable because they follow best practices for quality e-learning content development. The trainer website can be found at https://training.digitallearn.org/  and the learner website is https://digitallearn.org/ .

During The Accidental Trainer workshop, I realized the importance of ensuring busy librarians have structured tools for creating programs and workshops that lessen the burden of planning, yet provide the freedom to add important personalized details.

Here are some of the highlights of the DigitalLearn Trainer website:

• Includes a content outline and agenda, topics, talking points and a step by step guide.

• Provides templates to create your own Powerpoint presentations and videos using Articulate Storyline software.

• Provides handouts that include screenshots to give to patrons in addition to a well-designed survey for evaluation of the course.
• Provides complete course material for relevant topics addressing hardware, software and applications, Google tools, Microsoft tools, resumes, social media and more. One course example is entitled: Learn how to build your own computer and perform basic computer repairs in this three-part, hands-on series https://training.digitallearn.org/courses/all-about-computers.

Rose Anne Ullrich
Info. Services

PLA 2018: Spark Talks II

The PLA 2018 Conference in Philadelphia was my first time attending this event. An interesting session I attended on Friday, March 23 was Spark Talks II. This session had a unique format: there were six presenters, and each was given five minutes to present a topic. The goal of the session is to spark ideas to pursue later. The topics included later literacy for teens, using MakerSpaces with the homeless, reliable sources of medical information, recognizing people with non-binary gender status, the strength of teen services staff, and quick and easy database training for library staff. My favorite of these topics was later literacy. The speaker argued that while there is an overwhelming focus on early literacy, there is very little attention paid to later literacy for teens. She used the example of author Jason Reynolds, who has stated that he had not read a book in its entirety until the age of seventeen. She offered five elements to later literacy (to match the five elements of early literacy) that teens should focus on: reading, writing, remixing (i.e. blackout poetry, fan fiction, etc.), hanging out, and creating. This was an insightful talk, and I hope this talk gets expanded into a full workshop at a future conference. 

Another Spark Talk that captured my interest discussed how to serve homeless patrons using the library's MakerSpace. This is not a connection one might usually consider when serving the homeless, but the presenter argued that learning the skills offered by a MakerSpace can help patrons gain some measure of independence, and access to community resources they may not encounter otherwise. She used the example a female patron, who had been living in her vehicle, to demonstrate her point. The patron used the MakerSpace to learn how to make small, decorative accessories, and after having her work noticed, was able to start a small business selling her goods. The money she earned allowed her to get an apartment, and a measure of financial stability. Her story reveals the vital link between developing practical skills and gaining ground toward employment and independence for people experiencing homelessness. 

Spark Talks was definitely one of the most interesting experiences I had at the PLA 2018 Conference, and hopefully, it is an event that will be adopted at other conferences in the future.

Anjanette Wiggins
Forest Park Branch

PLA 2018: Simply-e App Project

At PLA, I attended a workshop devoted to the Simply-e APP which is being developed by NYPLA and ALA librarians. This was the best presentation of this project I have seen yet. The presenters explained the project’s goals: 1) to simplify the user experience 2) to allow users to access data from different providers on one app, and 3) to help libraries gain more leverage when negotiating with vendors of the popular electronic formats. 

Several MD counties are piloting this app this year. The workshop recommended that interested librarians download the app to learn how it works. They also asked us to encourage co-workers to explore the app as well.

https://www.nypl.org/blog/2016/07/21/introducing-simplye

Sarah Kuperman

Collection Management Department

PLA 2018: South Philadelphia Library Tour

One of my favorite things to do when visiting a city during a conference is visit local libraries and
meet with the staff. As host library of the PLA conference in Philadelphia, PA, The Free Library of
Philadelphia offered tours of some of their newly renovated and modernized locations, including the
South Philadelphia Library. In June 2016, this branch reopened in the brand new South Philadelphia
Community Health and Literacy Center, which combines the services of a library, recreation center, city health clinic, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) pediatricians’ offices in one building. As many of you may know, the Hamilton Branch Library serves as a safe, after-school space for approximately 100+ students in a neighborhood that lacks a much needed recreation center. I was therefore very excited to see how a library and a recreation center might coexist in the same physical space.

What I found was a beautiful, bright space for the library, located on the first floor. All the furniture is moveable and is easily arranged for programs, including small concerts. The second and third floors host the health clinic and pediatricians’ offices. The recreation center, complete with an outdoor playground and basketball court, can be found in the back of the building. Library staff indicated that the building partnership has brought in more customers and boosted circulation, particularly in the area of health education. The library even has blood pressure cuffs and kitchen scales to loan. The shared space with the recreation center has allowed children the best of both worlds – completing homework assignments and participating in programs in the library as well as blowing off steam playing in a supervised environment at the rec center. The South Philadelphia Community Health and Literacy Center is truly a result of responding to community needs. I see a similar need in Hamilton. How wonderful it would be to combine a library and recreation center in the same place, creating a focal space for the community.

Laura Millay
Hamilton Branch