MLA 2024 Conference

This session offers an opportunity to connect over what conference attendees are reading, listening to, or watching. Come do some accidental networking and get some great suggestions!

Traditional metrics for assessing library usage, such as circulation and visits, have slowed in recent years. Yet those who work in libraries continue to see how patrons find unique value in coming to the library. Is our data keeping up? In this session, we’ll interrogate the forms of data we use to tell our libraries’ stories. How do traditional statistics and new indicators work in concert to illustrate the changing ways libraries serve our communities?

In this session we will talk about how our Latio Book Club began, where its roots originated, what hurdles we have encountered over time, and our plans moving forward. Topics will include eqity and engagement and the importance of reaching out to create a welcoming space for everyone.

Genrefication has been discussed in library circles for more than 20 years now. Have you taken the leap? Have you decided not to? Our team will share our experience of grappling with the question of whether or not to re-organize our secondary school library collections according to Reader Interest Classification, and ultimately deciding to make the shift in Spring 2024. Participants will hear our honest evaluation of benefits and challenges, our process for getting the work done, and initial reactions from our patrons–and have a chance to share their own thoughts and experiences.
Target audience: School library media media specialists, gr. K-12; interested public librarians

Meet up with library managers and other middle managers for an open discussion about the joys and perils of our jobs, idea sharing, and the opportunity to connect with folks doing similar work. This session is inspired by the successful 2023 session Directors' Roundtable.

Library patrons come in all shapes and sizes – that’s just a fact. It’s also a well-documented fact that people in fat bodies experience increased social stigma, body shaming, and spatial discrimination within built environments. And yet, conversations about IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility) rarely include body size. When you design your services and spaces, are you considering whether they are accessible, comfortable, and welcoming for all sizes of patrons and staff?

This presentation will provide attendees with an introduction to the concept of anti-fat bias, how it fits into IDEA frameworks, and how it can manifest and be addressed in a library context. We will also discuss the complicated issue of how we talk about body size, and the historical and political contexts of the “F” word. This session will be valuable to library staff of all types who are invested in creating inclusive and accessible spaces for patrons and staff. Attendees will leave with learning resources and tools to reflect on their own internal biases and advocate for fat bodies in the library.

This presentation will highlight what standards and benchmarks in the 2021 Minnesota K-12 Social Studies standards contain research-related skills as well as examining the K-12 sequence of the skills and topics from a library media specialist perspective.

Library media specialists across the state support and collaborate with classroom teachers on student research in schools and it is important that they know and understand the academic standards that classroom teachers use as a basis for their instruction. Librarians can use the information from this presentation to suggest collaborations with social studies teachers as well as to consider how their collection can support students and teachers.

The Minnesota legislative season moves quickly, and it can be hard to know when opportunities to speak up will arise before they’re right in front of you. Attending Library Legislative Day sounds good in theory, but what do you do when you get to (or before going to) the capitol? Legislators are people too, contacting them isn’t as hard as it seems. Learn how to prepare to raise your voice on behalf of libraries so you’re ready with anecdotes and data that can make an impact on legislative decisions. Topics to be covered will include Library Legislative Day, testifying at committee hearings, contacting legislators, local advocacy, and more!