Dr. Walker will discuss the ways the local bookmobile and libraries multiplied his love of books and early literacy and how integral library archives and research have been to achieving the status as the most prolific poet of historical poetry writing today.
This study examines the selection of print monographs during several social movements, before and after the COVID-19 protocols in 2020 and 2021. Social movements, such as the Black Lives Matter Protests, the parental rights movement, and the anti-vaccination backlash during the height of COVID-19 in the United States, along with the subsequent changes in public opinion, appear to have increased interest in the selection and use of print monographs for teaching and research. This longitudinal study examines the selection habits of collection development librarians and the circulation of those materials by patrons at a large academic research library from 2017 through 2024.
This poster focuses on how Supply Chain Operation Reference – Digital Standard (SCOR-DS) can help identify different areas for improvement which can eventually provide new opportunities for better service. By exploring the applicability of the SCOR-DS model in optimizing library offsite fulfillment workflows, libraries can assess in a new way whether improvement can be made in request processes and performance within the context of the library’s strategic goals.
Translating SCOR-DS's processes and performance into library storage workflows reveals similarities to Plan, Order, Source, Transform, Fulfill, and Return as well as performance metrics like responsiveness, reliability, and agility. A library can use SCOR-DS's Orchestrate activities to assess their processes and their alignment with organizational goals and priorities. Existing measurements of improvement, such as turnaround time for patron requests, can be analyzed further with SCOR-DS. This poster will also share the new meaningful and measurable metrics that were identified.
This poster presents the development of a Spanish‑language collection at a community college designated as a Hispanic‑Serving Institution (HSI). The project advances culturally responsive librarianship and underscores the responsibility of academic libraries to cultivate collections that reflect and support the linguistic and cultural identities of their students.
The college enrolls a significant number of native Spanish speakers, bilingual students, and English‑language learners. Prior to this initiative, the library’s Spanish‑language holdings were limited in scope, outdated, and misaligned with student needs. Notably, the collection consisted primarily of fiction and lacked the academic and reference materials students sought to support their coursework. Through a community needs assessment, intentional and culturally informed collection development, and enhancements to cataloging and metadata practices, a robust and academically relevant Spanish‑language collection was established.
Early indicators show increased circulation and a rise in reference inquiries related to Spanish‑language resources. This project demonstrates how identity‑informed and community‑centered collection development can strengthen representation, foster a sense of belonging, and enhance academic success within community college libraries.
This poster chronicles an iterative, hands-on project to automate the generation of structured MARC holdings fields (853/863) from 866 textual holdings statements — and the challenges of making that process portable across institutions. Beginning with a colleague's existing automation script, the presenter adapted the tool to their own branch collection through self-directed learning, without a formal programming background. When it became clear that the pattern-matching rules at the heart of the tool would need to be rewritten from scratch for every institution's unique holdings formatting conventions, the presenter turned to AI — exploring several distinct approaches: using AI to write and refine those matching rules directly from sample data; using AI to survey and cluster the range of formatting patterns present in the holdings data; using AI to build a reusable pattern-detection tool; and using AI to interpret holdings statements record by record, bypassing hand-crafted rules entirely. The presentation evaluates the trade-offs of each approach and reflects on what these experiments reveal about where AI assistance is genuinely useful in technical library workflows — and where human cataloging expertise remains essential.
Starting a new leadership position often involves learning institutional culture, building relationships, and assessing departmental priorities. Beginning this role during a major facilities disruption, however, presents additional challenges. This presentation explores the experience of a new academic library director who assumed their position just as the library prepared for a significant renovation requiring the relocation of services, staff, and collections into temporary spaces across campus for approximately two years.
The poster presentation reflects on how managing a large-scale move and renovation project shaped early leadership priorities, communication strategies, and decision-making processes. Topics include supporting staff through uncertainty, maintaining core library services in temporary environments, and building collaborative relationships with campus partners during a period of significant change. The poster will also highlight lessons learned about flexibility, transparency, and change management while leading a library through physical and organizational disruption.
This poster presentation offers practical insights for new and aspiring library leaders who may encounter large-scale projects, facility renovations, or institutional transitions early in their leadership roles. Participants will gain strategies for navigating complex change while supporting staff and sustaining library services.
Book displays as a tool to highlight collections and draw people into the library have re-emerged and become enthusiastically embraced by librarians in our academic library. They have become a dynamic way to acknowledge events, celebrate holidays, and to spotlight any number of academic or recreational topics. In addition to the work individuals do to design and produce displays, coordination between library units and management of these book displays (and often their online Alma/Primo VE counterparts, we refer to as “Featured Collections”) has become increasingly complex and dynamic. Planning space, processing display books into temporary locations, and maintaining a system for collecting circulation statistics are all part of the equation. This poster will provide detailed information on what has become a fine-tuned book display workflow and describe the innovative ways in which we have leveraged functionality and metadata fields in Alma to track statistics and make sure lingering/legacy book display metadata is cleared after they come down. The process for streamlining the work to produce online featured collections based on book displays will also be illustrated.
Academic libraries invest heavily in ebook collections, yet the quality of metadata associated with those records varies significantly depending on whether records are vendor-supplied or professionally created. This mixed-methods research examines the relationship between ebook metadata quality and discoverability in academic libraries, comparing data by source and assessing their impact on institutional return on investment. The research synthesizes findings from original quantitative and qualitative data collection to build a comprehensive picture of how metadata decisions shape access to library collections. Preliminary findings suggest that vendor-supplied records frequently lack essential elements such as subject headings and classification codes, and that when these elements are absent, discovery system features designed to surface content cannot function effectively. The result is a measurable gap between what libraries pay for and what their users can find. Findings have practical implications for academic library administrators and collection development professionals making procurement and resource allocation decisions. The poster presents those findings and offers a framework for evaluating institutional investments in discovery platforms, descriptive practice, and ebook collections.
Ever try to pull cataloging stats in Alma only to have the nefarious “System” take credit for all your hard work? Alma knows how many records were imported, what happens upon import, and who imported them; it’s just not very good at telling you through Analytics. This poster shows how to use OpenRefine and the Alma Jobs API to gather statistics on records imported to Alma via an Import Profile. The Alma Jobs API is more detailed than what Analytics reports on and the API correctly attributes work to staff accounts making end-of-year statistics more reliable.
Cataloging is a shared enterprise. A bibliographic record created by one cataloger in Connexion can be enriched by catalogers around the world. But if your library catalog is not synched to Connexion, many of these bibliographic enhancements – things like summary notes and tables of contents – won't ever appear in your records. We work in one such library, so we developed a process for adding these enhancements (specifically the 505 and 520 fields, though the process could be adapted to work for other fields) from Connexion records into our integrated library system.
Since implementing this workflow, we’ve enhanced thousands of records in our catalog, greatly increasing the accessibility and discoverability of our collection. While it is an involved process, we have broken it down into manageable steps that other libraries will be able to replicate and modify to their own needs. In addition to Connexion, we relied on open-access tools such as MarcEdit and Notepad++ to efficiently batch edit data. In this poster, we will provide access to step-by-step documentation so that other librarians can replicate this work at their institutions.
Just as cataloging is a shared enterprise, we believe these sorts of technical workflows ought to be as well.
Does the term “operational planning” make you feel confused, overwhelmed, or disengaged? Traditionally, operational plans are developed through a top-down approach, with management setting goals that support the strategic plan. Beginning the summer of 2024, a large library division turned this approach on its head. By reimagining operational planning as a more intentional, collaborative, and inclusive process, they invited input and feedback from all division employees, regardless of position. Currently in its second full cycle, this presentation will describe the iterative process that enabled the incorporation of diverse perspectives and drew on the management team's expertise. The result? An operational plan that empowers employees at every level to take on leadership roles, contribute to decision-making, and collaborate across departments. This poster presents a multi-year case study of that iterative process. Now in its second year, with a third year of data available by the time of this presentation, this work demonstrates that collaborative operational planning is not a one-time experiment but a sustainable, evolving practice.
What categories of students use library spaces? To support university-wide student success efforts we paired library entry data with student demographics (major, academic level, campus location, financial aid status, etc.) to identify broad categories of students who are and are not using our spaces. This information will inform targeted outreach to library users and non-library users, and decision making about our services and spaces.
Through annual goals libraries can pilot new initiatives, realign their community focus, and enhance their core work. Although most teams have some kind of mechanism for goal-setting each year, forward-momentum on these projects can be difficult to maintain. Lack of buy-in from team members, missing accountability structures, and poor prioritization can often lead to languishing goals, incomplete projects, and low team morale. For annual goals to be successful, library teams need to ensure that the goal development and implementation process includes shared decision-making, accountability, and meaningful assessment.
This poster presents a practical project management framework developed and tested within an academic library department to support collaborative annual goal development and implementation. This framework includes a process for brainstorming library community needs, addressing library worker capacity, and ensuring the team’s professional development. Its implementation resulted in better departmental communication, individual and team accountability, and successful goal completion. This poster will detail a step-by-step process for team-led goal creation, a project timeline template, and best practices for setting realistic project benchmarks. This framework can be successfully scaled to all library types. Lastly, this poster will include methods for project documentation and assessment check-ins, as well as recommended resources for goal management.
Over the past year, we have seen changes in shipping across our non-US print serials. We were dealing with added fees and shipments being held until vendors could figure out what new rules meant for them and their business interests. This led to late shipments and inconsistent costs. Late shipments means that claiming is harder and we may not be able to replace lost issues resulting in an incomplete run and a backlog in our binding process. Also while the base cost of serials comes from Collection Managers’ subject funds, our shipping and extra fees come from a separate line. This poses an interesting conundrum as we also initiated a serial review in this same year to help offset future budget cuts. When Collection Managers are looking at past and projected costs they aren’t seeing the full picture. Will their decisions be offset by increasing fees? We will look at cost data and compare past years, along with providing examples of how we worked through these roadblocks with vendors and how we communicated with Collection Managers so they have the information they need to make the right choices for the library and our users.
Video games are increasingly acknowledged as significant cultural artifacts and valuable sources for interdisciplinary research. As interest in gaming continues to rise across fields such as computer science, digital media, and human-computer interaction, libraries have a unique opportunity to enhance their collections to promote both academic scholarship and student engagement.
This poster outlines the development of a circulating physical video game collection at an academic library. It details the transition from informal support of gaming resources to a structured collection development and service model. Key areas of implementation include defining the collection's scope, acquisition strategies for retail media, considerations for cataloging and processing for games, and circulation workflows for multi-component materials.
The poster also explores how gaming collections can support student success and contribute to the library's role as a campus community space. By treating games as legitimate scholarly and cultural artifacts, libraries can also support faculty and researchers working across disciplines where gaming intersects with coursework and study. Practical lessons learned during planning and implementation will be shared, along with recommendations for libraries interested in developing similar collections.
In an increasingly digital society, access to technology and digital skills is essential for education, employment, and civic participation. Yet many underserved communities worldwide continue to face barriers such as limited connectivity, affordability challenges, and lack of digital literacy.
This poster explores how libraries are actively promoting digital equity through community-based, low-cost initiatives that expand access and inclusion. Using practical examples from Indian libraries, it highlights strategies such as free public internet access, digital literacy training for diverse age groups, mobile library outreach, and partnerships with local organizations.
The presentation connects these grassroots efforts with global library trends focused on access, equity, and community empowerment. It demonstrates how libraries, regardless of size or funding, can become digital inclusion hubs that support lifelong learning and social participation.
By sharing adaptable approaches from a developing context, the poster encourages cross-cultural learning and offers actionable ideas for libraries seeking to reduce the digital divide in their own communities.
This digital and interactive project invites users to explore Indigenous narratives through georeferenced points on Google Earth. Each location combines oral histories, photos, and contemporary landscapes from the Museu da Pessoa archive in Brazil, offering an immersive journey into memory and territory. The project promotes inclusive and democratic access to cultural heritage using free tools such as Google Earth and 123apps.com. It allows educators, students, and the general public to engage with Indigenous knowledge through open, accessible, and interactive learning. By connecting memory, territory, and digital storytelling, Living Lands and Memories demonstrates how libraries and cultural institutions can integrate free technologies to preserve and share voices that are often underrepresented. The poster will showcase visual elements from the interactive map and include QR codes linking to the project and the Museu da Pessoa platform
Shrinking library budgets are a constant reality. In recent years acquisitions and collection librarians have worked to find the compromise between staying within the budget and meeting the needs of their users. Each year that goal gets harder. Finding transparent and reproduceable methods to evaluate journals year to year are necessary to keep libraries relevant and in-touch with their users. My poster outline the rubric I developed to evaluate journals and use in conjunction with cost-per-use.
The Kentucky Geological Survey hosts dozens of websites and thousands of online materials for public view, including real-time monitoring data about water, seismic activity, and more. This poster will include an overview of [NAME]’s Accessibility Plan and how [NAME] websites, including interactive tools, have been redesigned, remediated, or archived to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards to accommodate a larger potential audience for [NAME] information, data, and resources.
For more than a decade, the Association for Library Service to Children has been encouraging children's and youth librarians to serve in media mentorship capacities to guide children and families in their use of technology and media. Yet little empirical research exists to validate the extent to which children's librarians are serving in this capacity nor the extent to which they feel prepared to do so. This poster will share findings from a research project exploring children's librarians' enactment of media mentorship and offer implications for practice.
Mentoring can be a key to success in any field, but it is especially important to early career librarians who are navigating the promotion and tenure process. At our academic library, a mentoring program had been in existence for over a decade, but the process was mostly ad hoc, and there was very little guidance or oversight. Seeing the need for an updated approach, we formed a task force of librarians from different units to revise and update our program. This poster session will describe our process for defining, structuring and implementing a new mentoring program that we hope will meet the needs of our newest colleagues, both tenure track and nontenure track.
This poster session covers a new initiative of setting up mobile satellite libraries in underserved communities through community partnerships. It will explain how to find a location, how they are set up, the cost, and the success.
The Open Rules for Cataloging (ORC) is an open-source cataloging code currently under development by practicing catalogers to provide free, pragmatic, and ethically grounded guidelines for describing library resources. ORC responds to the growing need for accessible cataloging standards that are not locked behind paywalls and that reflect current library workflows. The project focuses on bibliographic resources commonly encountered in school, public, and academic libraries, beginning with non-rare monographs. ORC adheres to the IFLA Statement of International Cataloging Principles while emphasizing user convenience, accuracy, economy, interoperability, and openness. The guidelines are designed to be straightforward, compatible with shared cataloging environments, and primarily usable in MARC-based systems while supporting broader metadata exchange. By prioritizing clarity, consistency, and data reuse, ORC aims to empower catalogers and support discovery across evolving technology platforms. This poster introduces the vision, scope, and principles of ORC, explains why a freely available cataloging code is needed, and invites participation from the cataloging community.
Therapy animals can be a low-barrier tool for promoting mental health in library spaces. Learn the process of developing and implementing therapy animal visits designed to support patron needs such a stress relief and reducing social isolation. Attendees will learn the science behind therapy animal visits and their mental health benefits, best practices for partnering with certified therapy animal organizations, and practical considerations like scheduling, risk management, staff training, and accessibility. Whether you're just curious or ready to launch your own program, this session offers actionable insights, inspiring examples, and a compassionate lens on how libraries can become healing-centered spaces. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with therapy animals during the presentation and will receive a guide on how to run a successful program.
Library middle managers operate at the intersection of multiple, often competing expectations. They answer upward to senior leadership, support and guide frontline staff, respond to patron needs, and collaborate with campus or community partners. This constant shifting of focus and priorities and buffering of competing needs creates conditions ripe for cognitive exhaustion, where managers must rapidly toggle between conflicting demands and emotional tones. Over time, the cumulative strain of these rapid pivots contributes to pivot fatigue, an exhaustion born from perpetual change, shifting directives, and the pressure to always remain adaptable.
This presentation will define and introduce the framework of change exhaustion, emotional whiplash, and pivot fatigue, specifically within library middle management roles and discuss their implications for leadership and staff support. In addition, it will explore how organizational structures, expectations, and dysfunction exacerbate these challenges and contribute to the pivot fatigue cycle. The presenters will also share practical tips and coping strategies to support middle managers who find themselves stuck in the pivot fatigue cycle.
Large research universities have incredible library collections, fostering research across many disciplines and spanning decades of collection development. The library catalog returns a wealth of information, but how physically discoverable are those items on library shelves? This poster looks at the prevalence of collection mapping, particularly shelf or range-level collection mapping, at R1 universities. It also serves as a way to highlight a case study of implementing such a system at my large university library, hopefully making the process easier for other libraries to implement at their own institutions.
In lean academic library environments, role creep often produces overload, diluted authority, and blurred accountability—particularly in e-resources and serials work. This poster applies job crafting theory to Metadata & Collections practice, positioning it as a self-directed strategy for counteracting role displacement and restoring delegated authority. By comparing an original job description with current responsibilities and quantifying work through a time audit, the poster demonstrates how intentional adjustments to tasks, relationships, and cognitive framing restored role clarity. Outcomes included clearer documentation of continuing resource obligations, reduced duplication of effort, and improved supervisor clarity. The poster also explores the psychological dimension of role drift: when professionals are distanced from the work that defines their expertise and the rationale for evolving expectations is not clearly articulated, alignment between role and professional purpose can weaken. The poster argues that sustainable job crafting requires both individual agency and explicit leadership support and offers a transferable framework for technical services practitioners navigating role expansion and authority diffusion.
As textbook affordability remains a persistent challenge in higher education, libraries are uniquely positioned to advance adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) as a strategy for reducing financial barriers and promoting educational access. This poster describes how librarians used the GOST Framework (Goals, Objectives, Strategies, Tactics) to design and launch an inaugural Library OER Faculty Champion Award aligned with their Strategic Plan 2025–2030.
While briefly outlining the award’s development and implementation, the poster centers on how the initiative was evaluated following its first cycle. It examines how librarians assessed the award criteria and rubric, the nomination and selection process, promotional strategies, and the effectiveness of campus partnerships that supported the launch. Through this evaluative lens, the project identifies refinements for future iterations and demonstrates how recognition of faculty engagement with OER reinforces student affordability, inclusive access, and equitable teaching practices as core institutional values rather than peripheral initiatives.
In addition to evaluating the full process, this poster shares outcomes from the first award cycle, including faculty participation, campus response, and lessons learned related to OER visibility and adoption. Attendees will gain practical tools and strategies for implementing sustainable library initiatives promoting student affordability, student success, and inclusive pedagogy.
The Core Leadership and Management Competencies Working Group is conducting a comprehensive review and revision of the division’s leadership competencies framework. Since the last revision by LLAMA in 2016, the professional landscape has shifted significantly. Libraries are navigating increased organizational complexity, heightened attention to equity and inclusion initiatives, evolving workforce expectations, and rapid technological change.
This poster shares an in-progress update on the revision process, including emerging themes, proposed structural reframing, and areas under active reconsideration. In addition to updating language and scope, the working group is examining how leadership competency frameworks function within broader institutional and systemic contexts and power dynamics, including whose leadership is recognized, cultivated, and rewarded.
Attendees will learn about the revision methodology, key areas of expansion (including culturally responsive leadership, inclusive decision-making, and organizational context awareness), and be given opportunities to provide feedback before the revised competencies are finalized in 2027.
This session invites community input to ensure the revision process reflects the realities, values, and future direction of the Core community and the broader profession.
Learn how to frame the needs of a building project to achieve a successful outcome and how to write a Request for Qualifications/Proposals that encapsulates what is really needed by the community. When searching for a design team for your building project it is important to balance concrete requirements with opportunities for creativity in a way that submissions can be compared apples to apples. Additionally, unpack the full costs of building projects including hard costs, soft costs, design fees and escalation for realistic project planning.
This poster session presents the opportunity for libraries to hear from their RFQ/P respondent before issuing the RFQ/P. Understanding how the design professional reads and understands the request in the context of the design process can help a library target their building project accurately and efficiently. Addressing the library's most essential needs is key as library funding across the country is cut.
How many of your team members are second-career librarians? Have you wondered how this might affect their approach to librarianship and the skills they bring from previous careers? After surveying more than 500 academic librarians across the United States, we found that nearly 70 percent did not begin their professional lives in the library field. These findings challenge the long-held perception of librarianship as an early or primary career choice and highlight trends with significant implications for library education, recruitment, leadership development, and burnout prevention. This session's speakers will detail the findings and discuss how library leaders can leverage their team's diverse experiences. Further, as burnout remains a leading issue in librarianship, understanding the motivations and needs of second-career professionals may offer new pathways for strengthening the future of the academic library workforce.
How does a library with limited staffing address problems with legacy metadata? At [NAME] Library, the answer is to pinpoint the greatest need. In this case, we have started "Subject Heading Triage." This poster will show how we identified and remediated outdated, insensitive, and harmful subject headings in a large academic cataloging.
The project focuses on a specific pain point: "CarP" records—minimal-level entries migrated from the physical card catalog in the 1990s that have remained largely untouched. We utilized an article by Steven A Knowlton (2005) to isolate the most egregious subject headings of the 20th century. Then using a shared spreadsheet, the department located and updated these subject headings that would otherwise be missed.
Viewers will learn how to: 1. Isolate legacy record sets (like CarP) in need of remediation. 2. Prioritize remediation efforts using established scholarship. 3. Execute a "worst-first" strategy that makes the catalog more accessible despite limited resources.
As academic institutions embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for efficiency, a critical equity gap has emerged: the commercial exploitation of Open Access (OA) scholarship. While courts increasingly view AI training as transformative fair use, this legal framing often benefits commercial entities more than the academic creators providing the material.
This poster explores the dual-sided copyright risks facing today's researchers. First, the permissive nature of OA licenses allows AI companies to ingest scholarly content without compensation. Second, authors may unknowingly surrender their intellectual property by feeding unpublished manuscripts into tools that prioritize corporate profit over the mission of open knowledge.
To address these challenges, the poster introduces a "Copyright Self-Defense" checklist. This framework provides a path for librarians to advocate for researcher rights without impeding institutional AI adoption. The goal is to move beyond basic AI literacy toward a practical, librarian-led guidance model. By highlighting technical and rights-based recommendations, this session empowers libraries to protect their community’s intellectual output and remain steadfast in the mission of open scholarship.
To be strategic, libraries commonly track numbers for an exhaustive list of services and systems. We track numbers for reference, teaching, hires, seats, square footage, loans made or received, resources catalogued, clicks on pages, downloads, money spent, etc. We use these numbers to evaluate if we’re meeting service needs, to anticipate future needs, and to follow changes over time. But when we list out all of the questions we wish we could answer (and answer now), we can’t always match those questions to the data we currently gather.
In order to prioritize assessment work and devise an assessment plan at our library, I began by collecting information about both what data we already gather and what answers we wish we had. The results highlighted a gap in our data collecting, which has been heavy on numbers and light on the qualitative assessment that would answer questions like: “what do students do when they run into a dead-end in our discovery tool?” “What do students like and dislike about our spaces?” “Where else are students going to find resources if not to resources we provide (and are they successful)? This poster will document my method and findings.
In an increasingly complex and global open access publishing landscape, collaboration among stakeholder groups is more urgent than ever. Through storytelling and network visualizations, this poster will reveal how the transformation of scholarly communication requires bringing together individuals with expertise in publishing, licensing, information technology, metadata, digital preservation, and marketing as well as research, teaching, and learning. All libraries and library workers have meaningful opportunities to engage in various ways with open access. From our vantage point at a nonprofit membership organization, we contend that radical interdependence lies at the heart of the strategic collaborations needed to advance open access. Our partnerships with libraries of all types and sizes, publishers of all sorts, and library consortia around the world have surfaced many inspiring examples of radical interdependence in action. All too often, those examples are invisible to stakeholders beyond those directly involved. By visualizing interconnections and sharing stories in this poster, we seek to facilitate discussion on how all library workers and other stakeholders can work together more effectively to fulfill the promises of the open access movement.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology that the public is using increasingly for menial tasks such as creating a grocery list or writing an email; but what happens when an individual seeks AI guidance about their physical health before seeking guidance from a human clinician? This poster presentation will highlight the progress and findings of a microstudy based in Louisville. The study is focused on how consumer health information is being sought out by human users and then disseminated via artificial intelligence large language models (LLMs). The presenter will report on background literature regarding AI and consumer health in a succinct format, such as pros and cons. After briefly touching on background information, the presenter will discuss how the study has been conducted (via one-to-one interviews with local Louisville (residents), then share thematic findings based on the verbal interviews and testimonies of the study participants. All data reported will be based on de-identified, anonymized testimonies to protect the privacy of every participant. Towards the end of the presentation, the presenter will discuss future implications and how librarians can promote technological/AI literacy and health literacy among their patrons.
Organizations that serve vulnerable populations often rely on both safety personnel and social service professionals to create stable, supportive environments. While these teams share a common mission—protecting and supporting individuals—their roles, training, and operational priorities can differ significantly. Successfully integrating these groups requires thoughtful planning, clear communication, and a shared understanding of goals. This presentation explores the process of combining safety and social services teams into a cohesive, collaborative unit. We will examine common challenges organizations encounter, including cultural differences between departments, role clarity, communication gaps, and balancing enforcement with compassionate care. The session will also highlight strategies for overcoming these obstacles through cross-training, policy alignment, and leadership support. In addition to discussing potential barriers, the presentation will showcase real-world successes that demonstrate the benefits of integration. Participants will learn how unified teams can improve responses, strengthen relationships with patrons, reduce behavioral escalations, and create safer environments for both staff and those they serve. Attendees will leave with practical insights, lessons learned, and actionable strategies for fostering collaboration between safety and social service professionals. Whether your organization is considering integration or refining an existing model, this session will provide valuable guidance for building a coordinated approach that enhances both safety and support.
Designing inclusive, supportive library environments requires thoughtful attention to the needs of neurodiverse users and others with sensory-processing differences. This session explores how a private, four year institution’s academic library collaborated with campus partners and students with disabilities to create a dedicated sensory space—an intentionally calming environment that supports emotional regulation, focus, and well being. Grounded in a multi tiered user research framework, the project centered students who self identified as having sensory needs and invited them to directly shape design decisions, furniture and equipment selection, and overall functionality. The session will trace the full lifecycle of the project, including building cross-campus coalitions, aligning the initiative with institutional priorities, securing external grant funding, and managing a multi year planning and implementation process. Presenters will share high level findings from user research; examples of effective collaboration with accessibility services, counseling staff, and facilities teams; and practical guidance for developing policies, budgeting, procurement, and long term sustainability. Participants will leave with adaptable strategies for replicating sensory spaces in academic, public, or specialized library settings. By highlighting the social model of disability and emphasizing meaningful inclusion, the session demonstrates how libraries can transform physical spaces to better support neurodiverse community members and advance equity within their organizations.
As generative AI floods the publishing market, libraries face a new frontier in collection management. This presentation explores the critical intersection of Artificial Intelligence and collection development, addressing the fundamental question: Should we include AI-written books in our stacks? We will dive into practical strategies for identifying AI-generated content using specialized checklists and red-flag indicators. Beyond identification, we will discuss the policy implications for your library—examining whether your current Collection Development Policy is equipped for this shift or if new standards for "quality" and "authorship" are required. The session covers the entire workflow of a suspected AI book, from the selector’s decision to buy or bypass, to cataloging options and MARC record notations, and the ethical implications of creating an original bibliographic record to add to OCLC. We will also share templates for communicating with requestors and discuss the ethics of warning the broader community through reviews. Attendees will leave with a draft AI checklist and a wealth of resources to help their institutions make informed, consistent decisions. Join us to discuss how we can maintain high collection standards while navigating the complexities of machine-authored literature.
Emerging technology trends are rapidly evolving and have the power to transform the way libraries operate. Stay ahead of these changes by joining our Top Tech Trends panel! Our expert panelists, representing a diverse range of libraries, will share their insights on the latest technological developments and their potential impact on library services and staff. This session will explore key trends shaping the future of libraries and provide valuable perspectives on how to navigate these innovations. Come ready with questions—our panelists are excited to discuss and engage with you!
Shared print and preservation are strategies in support of libraries’ mission to provide access to collections. Shared print programs enable libraries to coordinate information resource holdings across institutions in service of efficient, long-term access to the collective scholarly record. Library preservation programs focus on the protection of library materials and mitigation of deteriorating forces that threaten long-term access. While these programs are not two sides of the same coin, they offer complementary strategies in pursuit of a mutual goal. However, just as no retention commitment can protect a book from unrecoverable damage in a mold outbreak, repairing a damaged book is of no use to a partnership program if the owning library withdraws its commitment. This session will explore areas of mutual concern and interest for shared print and preservation. Using "A Model to Determine Optimal Numbers of Monograph Copies for Preservation in Shared Print Collections" (Bogus et al, 2023) as a springboard, we will offer considerations and questions for collection management and preservation decisions. We will look at both areas of practice as mutually beneficial, but also as areas of expertise raising important considerations for each other. The resulting discussion will surface a shared agenda for future investigation.
Academic libraries increasingly recognize that cultivating effective senior leaders is essential for the profession and for the stability of our organizations, yet little is known about what motivates, prepares, or discourages librarians from pursuing these roles. At the same time, the profession faces impending retirements and growing uncertainty about whether the existing pipeline can meet future leadership needs. Drawing from a systematic review on career advancement in academic libraries, this presentation will summarize recent research on the experiences, challenges, and turning points that shape librarians’ trajectories toward (or away from) senior leadership roles. The authors will highlight key findings, including the outsized importance of leadership institutes, mentorship, and “stretch” assignments, the paradox that many crucial leadership skills cannot be acquired until one already holds a leadership role, and the continued impact of racism, sexism, and organizational culture on advancement opportunities. The presentation will also consider how unclear advancement pathways, limited mid‑career support, and inequities in access to professional development constrain the leadership pipeline. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of what supports or discourages librarians’ pursuit of senior roles and how institutions can more effectively cultivate a diverse and well‑prepared generation of future library leaders.
Libraries have long embraced open-source software as a practical alternative to costly proprietary systems, but participation in these communities often stops at the download. Many library staff assume that contributing back requires programming skills they don’t have — leaving a significant gap between what libraries consume and what they give back to the tools they depend on.
This session challenges that assumption. Contributing to open-source projects takes many forms: writing documentation, translating interfaces, submitting bug reports, testing new releases, and advocating for features that serve library-specific needs. None of these require writing a single line of code.
Drawing on real examples from libraries of varying sizes and resource levels, this session explores what motivates institutions to start contributing, what barriers they encounter, and what sustainable participation looks like when staff are already stretched thin. The session also addresses how to make the case to administrators that time spent on open-source contribution is time well spent.
Attendees will leave with a clearer picture of the contribution landscape, concrete first steps regardless of technical skill level, and a framework for building institutional support for ongoing participation.
Middle‑management leaders serve as the crucial link between organizational strategy and day‑to‑day operations, translating broad vision into practical action while advocating for both staff and community needs. This session explores what happens when that translation is successful: When active listening, shared leadership, and the intentional elevation of staff and stakeholder expertise fuel forward movement. We will share key strategies to narrow approaches and strengthen outcomes from our own successful and less successful attempts. Presenters from two distinct roles will share how they navigate the complex work of acting as interpreters, coaches, and connectors between organizational strategy, decision‑makers, and frontline realities. The session examines two essential concepts: how leaders can support staff in embracing change even without direct decision-making authority, and how they can identify and elevate staff expertise to build collective ownership confidence, and psychological safety in the workplace. Participants will walk away feeling confident in providing responsive communication and an articulated “why”: to create alignment across departments, differing team structures, and diverse operational models, connecting systemwide goals and vision into everyday work that centers community impact and user experience, and recognizing shared power as a form of self-care.
The Zine Subject Thesaurus (ZST) is a set of subject terms that can be used to catalog zines and other alternative publications or content. Developed in 2008 for the Anchor Archive Zine Library catalog and recently expanded, the ZST aims to better describe topics in radical materials and to address issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in standardized subject headings. The ZST has over 1800 terms and is now used by zine collections worldwide, collectively maintained by members of the zine and zine library community. Two members of the Zine Thesaurus Management Collective will introduce participants to equity issues in existing subject heading vocabularies, explain how to use the ZST to ameliorate these concerns, then lead participants in a brief edit-a-thon. Participants will work collaboratively to suggest terms, evaluate terms, choose preferred terms, and create relationships with other terms in the Thesaurus. In a think-pair-share activity, attendees will reflect on and discuss their newfound insight into how to use the ZST and other tools to apply respectful, up-to-date terminology that accurately reflects language used by marginalized creators.
What makes a library safe? This question is at the forefront of every librarian’s mind. Too often, safety is addressed primarily through technology—security gates, cameras, and sensors. While these tools can be effective, they are not enough on their own. A truly safe library begins with intentional, well-designed spaces that naturally support visibility, accessibility, and positive use—helping to prevent crime before it occurs. This session explores how thoughtful architectural and interior design, guided by Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles, can enhance safety while preserving the welcoming, civic spirit of libraries. Through real-world examples, practical strategies, and case studies, participants will learn how good design can quietly protect both people and collections—without relying solely on surveillance or barriers.
This presentation will explore the vital role that librarians play in disaster preparedness, emphasizing how preserving communities’ experiences and ensuring the sustainability of information and knowledge are vital for disaster response. The presenters will incorporate the IDEA model — Integrity, Data, Evidence, and Action — in this session and highlight best practices for data-driven, strategic risk and crisis communication. There will also be real-world examples and lessons learned from disaster scenarios, showcasing how libraries can safeguard both physical and digital materials to protect local history and lived experiences. Attendees will gain insight into proactive planning and collaboration with emergency services. From this session, librarians will leave by embracing their role as stewards of cultural preservation and sustainability, by helping communities recover and respond to future challenges.
As communities demand greater flexibility, many public libraries face the challenge of expanding access while navigating stagnant budgets and staffing shortages. This session explores the emerging "open library" model, which leverages specialized facility design and integrated technology to support unstaffed hours for extended service to patrons. Through the lens of recent case studies across the US, including rural and urban branches, we will examine how specific architectural interventions and hardware solutions allow libraries to increase open hours. The discussion will cover the essential technical infrastructure required, such as automated building controls, integrated security systems, and self-service kiosks. We will also address the "human" side of the transition: safety protocols, user agreements, and communication strategies that ensure staff and community buy-in. Attendees will walk away with a framework to evaluate their own facilities for "open access" suitability and the tools to frame this model as a value-added service for their community.
This session highlights standout furniture and equipment recognized in the ALA Core Best Furniture & Equipment 2026 Product Selection Showcase. Attendees will explore thoughtfully curated products across key library categories from furniture, to materials to shelving that have stood through the rough use and abusive of the library. The showcase emphasizes flexible, durable, sustainable, and design-forward solutions that respond to evolving library needs. Featured products demonstrate trends such as modular collaboration zones, privacy-forward seating, mobile and height-adjustable workstations, bleach-cleanable upholstery, high-durability materials, and adaptable table systems for maker and multipurpose spaces.Participants will gain insight into evaluating furniture for function, longevity, cleanability, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness while balancing aesthetics and user experience. This session equips library professionals with practical strategies for selecting furniture and equipment that support active learning, community engagement, and future-ready library environments.
Public libraries are no longer just talking about AI; they are putting it to work! This panel will feature leaders from multiple library systems sharing how they are advancing AI through strategy, staff enablement, public engagement, and pilot projects. Panelists will discuss practical lessons from early implementation, including how they are selecting use cases, supporting internal adoption, exploring emerging tools, and connecting AI efforts to access, equity, and community needs. The conversation will also highlight how libraries can create meaningful public learning opportunities, including youth-centered and creative applications, while staying grounded in responsible use and service impact. Attendees will gain practical insights into how libraries are moving from AI exploration to execution, along with adaptable ideas for launching or strengthening their own efforts.
Have you considered consulting after you retire? While working full time? Or even as your next career? This fast-paced panel of library consultants will share how they got started, offer practical advice and hard-won lessons, and show how they are using their expertise to support libraries across the field. Bring your questions.
Organizations committed to equity often focus on representation, yet cognitive diversity is frequently overlooked in conversations about inclusion. Many professionals with ADHD and other neurodivergent traits bring creativity, pattern recognition, and innovative problem-solving to their roles, but traditional workplace structures may unintentionally discourage these strengths. This session explores how leaders can better recognize and support diverse thinking styles within teams. Drawing on lived experience with ADHD and leadership perspectives from organizational environments, the presentation highlights how neurodivergent professionals often develop resilience, adaptability, and unique approaches to complex challenges. Participants will explore practical strategies to foster inclusive collaboration, reduce barriers created by traditional workplace expectations, and create environments where diverse thinking styles contribute to stronger teams and more innovative outcomes.
Academic libraries are among the most heavily used buildings on campus, yet major capital projects are increasingly delayed, reduced, or broken into funding cycles tied to state appropriations, donors timelines, or campus priorities. When comprehensive renovation is not possible, library leaders must move forward incrementally without losing momentum or vision. This session brings together library leaders who have navigated multi-phase renovation efforts over many years. Each panelist will briefly share their institutional context and key decision points via the three lenses: A Tactical lens considers service continuity, swing space limitations, sequencing and operational impacts; a Business lens looks at capital finance strategies, funding cycles, costs over time, alignment with building systems and the big umbrella within which the library fits; and a Human lens which brings aspirational/value-based thinking addressing access to library services during projects, staff and student experience during construction, and equity implications of phased disruption. The moderated discussion will explore how to prioritize phases, integrate deferred maintenance with programmatic change, maintain service continuity, and align incremental projects with a long-term master plan. Participants will leave with practical frameworks and leadership strategies for advancing meaningful renewal when capital arrives in pieces rather than all at once.
The last 24 months have been a rollercoaster for online resource access. Rapid changes in browser technologies and evolving regulatory frameworks have introduced new barriers and uncertainties, making it harder than ever to provide users with seamless, secure, and reliable access to the scholarly content they need. These challenges are reshaping how libraries, publishers, and service providers think about authentication and access.
SeamlessAccess is an initiative dedicated to improving the access experience by offering a collaborative framework that helps the community navigate the complex intersection of technology, policy, and user experience. Positioned at the crossroads of these evolving challenges, SeamlessAccess develops solutions grounded in four guiding principles: usability, privacy, reliability, and security.
This session will explore these principles, highlight the latest developments in the resource access ecosystem, and discuss the ongoing development of the Access Audit Toolkit – a practical framework for auditing resource access. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the shifting access landscape, practical strategies for evaluating and improving resource access, and a stronger sense of how SeamlessAccess supports libraries.
This presentation will share findings from our 2026 survey on the current use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by library technical services workers. A brief introduction to various AI tools will be provided for those who have not yet engaged with these tools. Our research data provides the first comprehensive view of AI adoption in technical services. We will share information from our research about who is using these tools (e.g., types of libraries), where they are most commonly deployed (e.g., cataloging department), and how they are being implemented to strengthen technical services workflows. Attendees will learn about some practical project examples of AI-supported work across various areas of technical services. These examples may be adaptable/transferable to their own institutions and/or spark some ideas on how attendees can use AI tools in their own work. The session is designed to be interactive with the audience participating in real-time polls and a discussion/sharing about their AI experiences within technical services. This topic and discussion will be of interest to any library technical services worker, whether you are someone just beginning to explore or an experienced user, we are all learning together.
Creating effective study environments is essential to supporting student success, especially as academic libraries face increased demand for quiet, focused spaces. At the Redacted Library, staff found that furniture selection, layout, and sightlines influenced noise and disruptive behavior more reliably than policy enforcement alone. This session reframes space planning as a behavioral intervention by illustrating how intentional design can shape conduct amid rapid enrollment growth and post pandemic shifts in student behavior. Drawing on five years of behavioral data, QR based noise heat maps, and iterative redesigns, we highlight clear furniture and behavior correlations: lounge seating, large group tables, and movable soft chairs tend to attract social clustering, while anchored single seating, study carrels, structured layouts, and improved visibility significantly reduce disruptions. We introduce a practical Behavior by Design Toolkit to help libraries assess spaces, map behavior patterns, and select furnishings that reinforce desired norms. Attendees will gain evidence-based design principles, heat mapping templates, and guidance for furniture decision making. These insights extend beyond quiet zones. The same behavioral patterns inform the design of group study rooms, collaboration hubs, and learning commons, demonstrating how intentional space planning creates environments that naturally support their intended uses.
For years, librarians have been hearing promises about the potential of linked data and identity management to transform workflows and enhance discoverability, but most catalogers have had little opportunity to put these ideas into practice, particularly those working at institutions without extensive resources for development of emerging metadata technologies. This presentation, drawing on the presenters’ recent project to rescue an endangered dataset documenting their institution’s early women faculty, will discuss low-barrier approaches to linked data and identity management, incorporating Wikidata and participation in the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Entity Management Cooperative (EMCO). In 2024, the metadata team learned that, due to security concerns, the library’s technology department would be taking down a local database that contained extensive information about the often-overlooked women faculty who formed the backbone of the institution in its early years as a teaching college. The team saw this as an opportunity to rescue this data and give it new visibility in the larger information ecosystem of Wikidata. The presenters will share their experience working on this EMCO pilot project, and will provide practical strategies and tools for sharing and visualizing institutionally important data in Wikidata that attendees can apply to their own projects.
As library leaders, it is important for employees to hear that you trust them. Of course, you have already placed trust in your employees – you have hired them! But saying the words out loud is powerful. It is an agreement, an understanding, and it requires commitment from both parties. The first commitment is on the part of the library leader who is extending trust. She is saying, “I trust you to do your best and to consider your actions. I also trust you to speak up when you need help, or when something goes wrong. I can’t help if I don’t know that a problem exists.” The second commitment is on the part of the employee. By accepting the trust of the supervisor, the employee promises to do their best not to let the supervisor down, but also to trust her at her word – that she will support the employee if a mistake occurs. These three words can change the way employees view library leaders, but they can also change how employees view themselves. Saying, “I trust you,” creates a learning opportunity, and a chance for employees to grow, which is empowering.
A new County public library in a diverse neighborhood adjoining a mid-sized Mid-Atlantic city opened in 2019 following an ambitious, community-engaged design process. Workshops were held. Surveys were conducted. Voices were heard. But five years later, a critical question remains: Did the building deliver on its promise of access and equity? This session moves beyond design intent and into lived experience. Through a cross-stakeholder conversation, a librarian, the architect, and a graduate researcher examine what worked, what surprised them, and what the data reveals about how the community actually uses the space. Drawing on post-occupancy surveys and interviews with patrons and staff, the panel will discuss findings related to seating choices, spatial zoning, interior design decisions, and user satisfaction. Where did early community input shape outcomes? Where did reality diverge from expectation? And how can libraries better translate engagement into measurable impact? Rather than presenting a single narrative, this session stages a candid dialogue across roles and perspectives. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for turning community engagement from a checkbox into a sustained, research-informed partnership — ensuring that public libraries are not only designed for communities, but truly shaped with them.
