Wednesday, January 24
The conference has 7 sessions each day (listed in Central Standard Time). This day has an opening session, followed by 3 sessions in the Management and Marketing tracks. You must register for each session individually.
9 a.m.
Neutrality Is Not An Option: Book Bans, “Culture Wars,” and Advocating for the Library (Opening Session)
Register
Coordinated book banning efforts have been underway for nearly 2 years, and each week brings with it new tactics from the censors to accomplish their work. This presentation will look at how these groups are organizing, the tools they’re using, and what potential next targets may be. The entire ecosystem of books, publishing, reading, and knowledge are under attack, threatening to make books and access to books a luxury. “Neutrality Is Not An Option” will explore the reality of why book bans are going to continue and how books represent the bigger agenda of erasure and eradication of marginalized people. The presentation will include how to respond to these challenges, the ways these issues impact the mental health of library workers, and how to engage citizens in standing up for their rights.
Kelly Jensen, Editor, Book Riot
The conference has 7 sessions each day (listed in Central Standard Time). This day has an opening session, followed by 3 sessions in the Management and Marketing tracks. You must register for each session individually.
9 a.m.
Neutrality Is Not An Option: Book Bans, “Culture Wars,” and Advocating for the Library (Opening Session)
Register
Coordinated book banning efforts have been underway for nearly 2 years, and each week brings with it new tactics from the censors to accomplish their work. This presentation will look at how these groups are organizing, the tools they’re using, and what potential next targets may be. The entire ecosystem of books, publishing, reading, and knowledge are under attack, threatening to make books and access to books a luxury. “Neutrality Is Not An Option” will explore the reality of why book bans are going to continue and how books represent the bigger agenda of erasure and eradication of marginalized people. The presentation will include how to respond to these challenges, the ways these issues impact the mental health of library workers, and how to engage citizens in standing up for their rights.
Kelly Jensen, Editor, Book Riot
10:30 a.m.
But We’ve Always Done it This Way!” Leading Staff Through Change to Elevate Your Services (Management)
Register
All too often, libraries find themselves set in a routine, recommending the same go-to titles and offering the same programs. As libraries work to make their services, collections and programs more inclusive, how do managers effectively make the changes to move beyond legacy practices and move their departments and libraries forward?
Implementing change can be a long and challenging process. Using examples from a Children’s Services Manager’s library and experience, this session will cover the basics for leading through change when you’re a new manager and employees push back and push hard. From implementing new ideas to letting go of outdated processes, we’ll explore ways to show staff how to embrace change, encourage out-of-the-box thinking and gain staff buy-in.
Joyce Arellano, Children’s Services Manager, Fountaindale Public Library District (Illinois)
But We’ve Always Done it This Way!” Leading Staff Through Change to Elevate Your Services (Management)
Register
All too often, libraries find themselves set in a routine, recommending the same go-to titles and offering the same programs. As libraries work to make their services, collections and programs more inclusive, how do managers effectively make the changes to move beyond legacy practices and move their departments and libraries forward?
Implementing change can be a long and challenging process. Using examples from a Children’s Services Manager’s library and experience, this session will cover the basics for leading through change when you’re a new manager and employees push back and push hard. From implementing new ideas to letting go of outdated processes, we’ll explore ways to show staff how to embrace change, encourage out-of-the-box thinking and gain staff buy-in.
Joyce Arellano, Children’s Services Manager, Fountaindale Public Library District (Illinois)
10:30 a.m.
Color Me Digital (Marketing)
Register
Does red really make people angry? Will blue help people trust your library’s brand more? Which colors work best in social media? The colors you choose really can make a significant difference in how people perceive your library and its promotional efforts. In this one-hour webinar, get a practical introduction to how color choices can affect your library’s online marketing.
Laura Solomon, Library Services Manager, Ohio Public Library Information Network (Ohio)
1 p.m.
Board Support for Success (Management)
Register
Cedar Rapids Public Library received the prestigious Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize from Library Journal in 2022. The library’s Executive Director Dara Schmidt noted that the Board of Trustees’ confidence in leadership and staff was what enabled the library to achieve its ambitious goals. According to Library Journal, “What has made all the difference is that the library’s ideas, large and small, are developed with input not only from leadership and the board but from staff, residents—both patrons and non-library-users—and partners.” Learn how staff can better align with their boards and stakeholders to become an invaluable community resource and make your job easier in the process.
Dara Schmidt, Director, Cedar Rapids Public Library (Iowa)
Board Support for Success (Management)
Register
Cedar Rapids Public Library received the prestigious Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize from Library Journal in 2022. The library’s Executive Director Dara Schmidt noted that the Board of Trustees’ confidence in leadership and staff was what enabled the library to achieve its ambitious goals. According to Library Journal, “What has made all the difference is that the library’s ideas, large and small, are developed with input not only from leadership and the board but from staff, residents—both patrons and non-library-users—and partners.” Learn how staff can better align with their boards and stakeholders to become an invaluable community resource and make your job easier in the process.
Dara Schmidt, Director, Cedar Rapids Public Library (Iowa)
1 p.m.
Storytelling for Impact (Marketing)
Register
From the beginning of civilization, storytelling has maintained a uniquely impactful position in defining culture, motivating action and bringing people together. Today’s marketers need to be better storytellers than ever before as more and more stories are told all around us.
Join Firespring’s Kiersten Hill as she goes through tips, techniques and tools to help the modern marketer tell better and more impactful stories to activate their audiences around ideas and actions.
Kiersten Hill, Director of Nonprofit Solutions, Firespring (Nebraska)
2:30 p.m.
Give All Your Power Away: Keys to an Organizational Remodel (Management)
Register
Has your library considered moving to a one service desk model? Is it time to break down the great Circulation-Reference Divide in your workplace?
Jocelyn will provide first-hand advice on how to make the library a great place for both your patrons and staff with some organizational remodeling.
Jocelyne Sansing, Director, Middleton Public Library (Wisconsin)
Give All Your Power Away: Keys to an Organizational Remodel (Management)
Register
Has your library considered moving to a one service desk model? Is it time to break down the great Circulation-Reference Divide in your workplace?
Jocelyn will provide first-hand advice on how to make the library a great place for both your patrons and staff with some organizational remodeling.
Jocelyne Sansing, Director, Middleton Public Library (Wisconsin)
2:30 p.m.
Get to "Why": Stop Taking Orders and Become a Marketing Guide (Marketing)
Register
Does this sound familiar: Library staff submit their "shopping lists" for promotional materials ("I'll take 100 bookmarks, 50 flyers, and a large poster mounted on foam-cor, please!"), only for you to see that these are probably not the most effective ways to promote their thing? Then come the grumblings, hurt feelings, negotiations, and compromises, and each of these cycles pushes the staff and the marketing department further and further apart.
Jacksonville Public Library struggled with this same cycle until they decided to change the process and use the power of story to build allies where there were once adversaries. In this session, discover how the marketing department uses a new form to begin conversations with internal customers. Learn how to connect with staff by focusing on helping them solve problems, rather than asking them to blindly guess at a solution.
Chris Boivin, Assistant Director of Community Relations and Marketing, Jacksonville Public Library (Florida)