Libraries are increasingly expected to serve as dynamic, engaging environments that support learning, creativity, and social connection for children and teens. This session explores how intentional design choices can transform youth spaces from passive service areas into active, interactive environments that respond to evolving community needs. Examples will be shared from recently renovated and newly constructed public library spaces across multiple systems, including several award-winning projects, this presentation will highlight practical design strategies that support play, exploration, collaboration, and teen engagement. Attendees will examine how elements such as flexible layouts, interactive features, embedded technology, sensory considerations, and age-appropriate zoning can foster meaningful experiences while remaining adaptable over time. An example of a re-design of an existing children’s space at a Main Library will be shared that shows a correlation between the new design and an increase in user visits and circulation. The session will also address how libraries can balance creativity with operational realities such as durability, supervision, inclusivity, and budget constraints. Participants will leave with concrete examples, guiding principles, and a framework for evaluating or reimagining their own children’s and teen spaces, whether planning a major renovation or making incremental improvements within existing footprints.
The Classification and Contextualization Task Force at [NAME] Library was created to tackle the problematic classification patterns evident in Library of Congress Classification (LCC) and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). We believe that these categorizations are harmful and offensive to our diverse user base, and that using them without acknowledging their harm contradicts Auraria Library’s values of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Our goal was to address this issue by: • Displaying signage addressing problematic LC areas in the stacks • Creating a web page to further address and acknowledge biases within LC • Gathering feedback from the campus community The task force was split into three subgroups: • The signage subgroup: created alternative classification categories, as well as signs to display them in the stacks. • The website subgroup: provided context and background on the project, and listed additional details on each LC area addressed by the signage. • The Outreach subgroup: sought feedback from relevant campus departments and groups about the signage text. This presentation will detail the group’s efforts and will summarize the outcomes of the project and the feedback received from the campus community.
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.
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.
