The American Library Association Conference & Exhibition
June 2021
Thanks to the generosity of CLRC, I was able to attend my first-ever American Library Association conference (virtually).
It was difficult to choose which session to attend first because there were so many excellent topics discussed. Thankfully, ALA has provided access to the recordings of many of the live sessions and featured speakers.
The sessions I’ve attended thus far are:
- Accessible, Not Just Discoverable: Ensuring Accessibility in Digital Collections
- Adapting Library Spaces . . . For Whatever Comes Next
- Ask the Experts: Boards of Trustees; Beyond Picture Perfect Diversity: How to Create a Sense of Inclusion
- Born Accessible: Creating Equal Digital Learning Experiences for All
- Building on Success – Resource Sharing and Interlibrary Loan Technologies on the Horizon
- Can I Wear or Say That? Free Speech in the Workplace
- Challenges & Crises: Preparing Your Board of Trustees
- Change as Noun and Verb: A Transformational Approach to Change Efforts That Don’t Suck
- Collection Budget Reductions! Strategic approaches to problem solving the [bleep!] out of this mess
- Conducting and Supporting Research Synthesis: Librarian Roles, Competencies, and Collaborations
- Conflict & Inclusion: What’s in Your Toolkit?
- Copy, Paste, and Adapt: A Cross-disciplinary Collaborative Study of Information Literacy Retention
- Critical Digital Literacy: Empowering Students to Build a Better World
- Cultural Responsiveness in the Library: Centering Equity Beyond Collection Development
- Design Considerations for Libraries Responding to Infectious Disease Concerns
- Follow the Money: Help Watchdogs, Whistleblowers, and Our Communities Find and Understand Financial Trails and Organizational Relationships
- Generating Professional Best Practices to Combat Dis- and Misinformation, Resist Burnout, and Empower Our Communities
- Going Forward from the Pandemic: Libraries as Entrepreneurial Hubs
- Governing a Crisis: Tips for Boards during Emergencies and Disasters
- Hostile Funding! Building a Budget Negotiation Plan that Wins Over Hostile Funders
- Inclusive Design: Using Universal Design for Learning in the Library
- It’s Alive! Bring History to Life with Primary Sources from the Library of Congress and Other Resources
- Kayaks and Cameras: How Community Partnerships Provide Access to What Was Once Inaccessible
- Leadership Development for All
- Leading with an Identity Conscious Mindset
- Learning Library Advocacy by Doing: LIS Graduate Student Advocacy Internships
- Librarians’ Roles During Emergencies and Natural Disasters
- Library Advocacy for State Chapters; Simple Goodwill Campaigns
- Library Budgeting: Working with What You Have and Advocating for What You Need
- Library Impact on Student Success
- Library Services & Programs for Older Adults: The Top 10 Ways!
- Library Support for Financial Capability: Building a Money Smart Community
- Make an IMPACT: Empowering Employees to Lead from Anywhere
- Managing Change: How to Lead in an Ever-changing World
- My Virtual Library and How it Serves My Students
- New Trends in Performance Management
- Online Instruction For All: Accessibility, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in Online Instruction
- Online Library Instruction Assessment: Passing Fad or Curriculum Staple?
- Open Access Books: How to Find, Acquire, and Use Them
- Practical Privacy for Library Advocates: Developing a Security Mindset in Uncertain Times
- Reimagining Your Library’s Outreach Program to Successfully Expand Your Library’s Reach into Your Community
- Restoring Media Literacy in a Post-Truth World
- Seamless Library Services: Invisible Labor as the Thread
- Show Me the Money: Tips for Writing Successful IMLS Grant Applications
- Strengthening Societies: Libraries as Critical Institutions in Helping Communities Manage Change
- The Impact of the CARES Act on Library Services Through IMLS Grants
- The Power Went Out – Who You Gonna Call? Being Prepared for Library Emergencies & Communicating Quickly
- Transforming Our Libraries for Everyone: Trials, Tribulations, and Successes
- Using Learning Analytics to Support Students in the Academic Library
- We Survived: Continuing Library Services and Boosting Staff and Community Morale and Wellness During Crisis
- Why Psychological Safety Matters More Now Than Ever
I learned many new best practices from each session and have already started implementing some of them in my role as MWPAI Library Services Director and board member for CLRC & Utica Public Library.
Of the celebrity speakers, my favorite was actor Danny Trejo discussing his new book. He was very open in sharing with attendees the positive impact that the prison library, and other libraries, and their staff have had on his life.
Kathleen Salsbury
Library Services Director, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute/PrattMWP
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