I attended the three days of the fully virtual MLA 2021 conference. Since I attended many of the class sessions, I will highlight a few sessions that stood out to me.
The MLA Public Library Division Meeting: Since I am currently not an MLA member, I typically have not attended the board meeting sessions. However, since it was virtual this year I thought I’d pop in and just listen. It was really interesting to hear what the public library board of MLA has been working on and what the goals are for the next year. I was happy to hear that MLA’s focus for 2022 includes: equity, diversity and inclusion issues, intellectual freedom and censorship issues, staff support, technology literacy, and mental health. I was glad that I attended the meeting.
The Secret Life of Grants: This session was valuable. The presenters de-mystified the grant review process as well as gave out great tips for writing grant applications.
Library Workers as a Vocation: The Hidden Cost of Work as a Calling: The title of this session caught my attention. The session was interesting and there were some valuable conversations during the breakout rooms. It was interesting to find out that the overall morale of library staff is low according to the survey results gathered by the presenters. This study was focused only on academic libraries but it sounds like it applies to public libraries as well – during the breakout rooms many public librarians agreed with the study’s results. It leads me to question and think about ways to improve support and morale for library staff.
The Escape Room session: Escape rooms are fun activities that can be done either in-person or digitally for a wide range of ages. This session walked participants through the steps the presenting academic library takes to create their annual library escape room for student orientation week. I noted some good ideas for future escape rooms.
The final keynote speech from Tracie Hall: This was my favorite session by far. I found Tracie to be very motivating. From the three waves of libraries to the concept of information being a social justice movement to the literacy and information access statistics for Minnesota, Tracie communicated the need and pathways in which libraries can meet these needs now and for the future.
Some of the other sessions I attended included:
– How to be a more inclusive library leader- and yes, you are a library leader
– The keynote speech from Sofia Leung
– What we didn’t learn in library school: project ready supporting diverse youth
– How to create more visibility for your online services
– Look what I found at the library- visual merchandising ideas for libraries
– Checking your freedom