Cyndee Landrum is Acting Director of IMLS (since January 20, 2025). With over 20 years in public libraries, she previously served as CEO-director of Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library and held leadership positions in Illinois, Pittsburgh, and Arizona. She's been active in professional... Read More →
Who decides what goes on the shelves? This panel explores intellectual freedom in action—covering acquisitions, cataloging, and censorship challenges—and offers strategies to keep libraries open, diverse, and inclusive.
Financial health is about more than just your credit score. In this session, we’ll explore the four key components of true financial wellness: Spend, Save, Borrow, and Plan. Patrons will learn how each area impacts their overall stability and long-term goals. Participants will also have the chance to confidentially determine their own Financial Health Score. By the end of the session, patrons will leave with a clearer picture of their financial strengths and steps to improve areas that need attention, helping them build a stronger, more balanced financial future.
Learn a flexible, low‑cost studio model that invites teens to tell their stories, connect to collections, and practice calm through creative making. Co‑developed by a public librarian and a high school English department chair, Mindful Making pairs a two‑minute grounding, a prompt menu, and adaptable stations that use supplies on hand. Exemplars include gratitude journaling informed by a Writer's Notebook practice, watercolor reflections, mini zines, and collage. The model centers access with visual schedules, large‑print prompts, scent‑free supplies, and a low‑stimulus option. Attendees leave with run‑of‑show instructions, prompt menus, substitutions, and evaluation tools for Teen Mental Health Week and beyond.
Until September 2024 database descriptions were maintained solely by the SU Serials and Electronics Resources Librarian. With the upcoming Springshare improvements to A-Z lists, it was a convenient time to reconsider descriptions and other facets of maintenance. A collaboration between this program’s panelists resulted in new procedures and standardizations. This program showcases the result of this collaborative effort to provide better descriptions of library databases. This session will teach how to provide flexibility within standard processes for continued A-Z list improvements. Participants will be provided with database descriptions to rewrite for specific intended audiences (k-12, academic, public).
Libraries give patrons a sense of safety, refuge, and peace that is difficult to find in many communities. Nowhere is this more true than in psychiatric hospitals, where libraries can be a beacon of stability in the mental turmoil that comes with psychiatric hospitalization.
Tyson & Joe will share stories from their institutional shelves to guide participants through strategies for making their physical spaces more welcoming and highlight opportunities to make personal growth more accessible to patrons. The result is a more inclusive community for all patrons regardless of neurotype or mental health status.
Learn how to design a community-driven Pride art show that uplifts LGBTQ+ voices and fosters inclusion. This session will share strategies for building strong community and organizational partnerships, creating safe and flexible submission processes, and engaging participants of all ages through art-based programming. Attendees will gain a replicable framework to adapt in their own libraries, transforming their spaces into platforms for creative expression, connection, and celebration.
Learn how to create a fun, educational afterschool snack program for kids and teens using your library’s cookbook collection! This session will guide librarians through planning and running hands-on snack-making workshops that teach basic cooking skills, promote healthy eating, and engage youth with library resources. Discover tips for selecting kid-friendly recipes, organizing supplies, ensuring safety, and building partnerships. Perfect for libraries of all sizes—no kitchen required!
While libraries don’t usually offer haircuts, they can create a stylish opportunity for patrons to share humanistic ideas and personal projects, learn, and encourage a creative community through literary salons– themed, intimate gatherings where participants freely discuss literary and artistic subjects. Historically, salons opened doors for individuals of all backgrounds to explore and exchange new ideas, especially in the face of censorship. This session will be held as an interactive salon simulation, where attendees will learn how to create similar spaces in their libraries.
Library Branch Associate II, Wicomico Public Library, Centre Branch
Hiya from the Eastern Shore! Talk to me about...anything! I'm mostly involved with adult programming, reference, and nonfiction selection. I also currently chair the Emerging Adults Interest Group (EAIG)-- please do reach out if you are interested in becoming a fellow "EAIGgie... Read More →
Friday May 8, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT Chesapeake E
Libraries are the pillar of community resources and access; in partnership with the Talbot County Free Library, the Talbot Master Gardener volunteer program started a seed library in 2018 to help provide food resources, genetic preservation, and educational outreach to constituents. By engaging our community in workshops and events, the program emphasizes an educational mission.
Horticulture Educator & Master Gardener Coordinator, University of Maryland-Extension, Talbot County
Mikaela (she/her) is the Horticulture educator for Talbot County and coordinates the local Master Gardener volunteer program; if you ask her questions about plants, you'll be there all day!
STEM programming in libraries often emphasizes science experiments, building, or computer activities, while the "M" for mathematics is frequently overlooked or minimized. What if math took center stage? How could a math-focused program be structured, and how would it foster an appreciation for mathematics in children of all ages?
Public library staff are on the front lines of serving patrons experiencing homelessness, yet many feel underprepared to respond with confidence, empathy, and equity. This session provides a practical framework grounded in ALA policy, trauma-informed service, and advocacy strategies to support unhoused patrons while maintaining professional boundaries. Participants will explore barriers faced by unhoused community members, practice tools for reducing conflict and stigma, and discover resources to strengthen both individual service and institutional culture. Attendees will leave equipped to serve unhoused patrons with greater skill, compassion, and effectiveness - inside the library and beyond its walls.
Youth Services Library Associate, Wicomico Public Library
I’m a public librarian (she/her) specializing in youth services, with a particular passion for early literacy, inclusive programming, and community-centered library work. I love talking about storytime design, play-based learning for ages 0–5, and building programs that are welcoming... Read More →
Learn how developing an outreach kit can up your game in your community. By preparing an easily transportable kit, you and your staff can be prepared to take part in community events throughout your service area. This program will explore the materials such a kit can contain, the places you can take it, and encourages participants to share their successes in this area as well. This program effectively encourages participants to ask the question: "How far down can I usefully scale my library in a way that I can take with me?"
Thomas Vose has been director of the Ruth Enlow Library since 2017, and was previously a librarian in California. He received his MLIS from UCLA (2006), as well as an MA in history (2003) from UC Riverside, and was a Eureka! Leadership Institute alumnus (2009). Thomas is active... Read More →
Friday May 8, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT Clipper A/B
The romance world is often intimidating for library staff, yet the demand among patrons is high. The goal of this roundtable discussion is to gain a comfortability with Romance materials in way that reflects the joy of the genre. We will address some of the barriers that cause discomfort, discuss recent changes in publishing that have affected the genre, and provide resources for romance books in the YA and teen section.
No foundation? No friends group? No problem. Learn how your library can use Library Giving Day as a springboard for year-round advocacy and donor engagement—without dedicated fundraising staff. Discover simple messaging strategies that empower staff, trustees, and board members to turn everyday conversations into increased public funding and private support. You'll leave with practical tools to launch or grow fundraising efforts, energize stakeholders, and build lasting community investment—all tailored for libraries of any size.
Libraries frequently encounter contaminated materials—from mold and fluids to bed bugs and other pests—that can pose risks to staff, patrons, and collections. This session equips library staff with the knowledge and tools to safely identify, isolate, and manage contaminated or infested materials while minimizing disruption to services. Participants will learn best practices for containment, cleaning, and communication, using real-world examples from Enoch Pratt Free Library and State Library Resource Center. Attendees will leave prepared to adapt or strengthen their own library’s policies and maintain a safer environment for all.
Tell your summer reading story with the Maryland Libraries Summer Ideas Toolkit! This collaborative statewide resource was created to help librarians design, plan, and execute dynamic summer reading programs. In this session, learn how the toolkit came to life, meet the team that maintains it, and explore its shared materials and custom-built apps. Participants will discover practical ways to use, update, and contribute to the toolkit—ensuring it continues to reflect our stories and strengthen our shelves across Maryland’s libraries.
Our stories live not only on our shelves, but in the trails we walk together. This session explores how lending park passes expands access to the great outdoors, while supporting community wellness, equity, and storytelling beyond library walls; bringing new customers to the library; and creating awareness of library services through cultivated partnerships. Learn practical tips for starting a program, building partnerships with park agencies, and promoting nature as part of your library’s collection.
Libraries remain an active front in the nation's culture wars. Over the last few years, state and local governments around the country have sought to narrow the range of ideas available for exploration in these vital democratic spaces. But those on the side of freedom are fighting back — in both the court of law and the court of public opinion. This session will explore the First Amendment's protection of access to information in public libraries and survey recent censorship trends and legal developments.
If we can't bring every patron to the bay, can we bring the bay to every patron? Explore the benefits and challenges related to having an aquarium in the library while learning how you can bring this program to your patrons. Presenters from the SDHS Library and Maryland Coastal Bays Program will share their story and set you up for developing an aquarium based program in your library.
Organizational history and institutional memory are ephemeral and often lost as years pass. Informational institutions can implement strategies to preserve their own history. Internal and external stakeholders alike benefit from such cultural preservation initiatives. The Prince George’s Room of the Hyattsville Branch (PGCMLS) has been digitizing old memorabilia and historical documents that document library system history. Digital tools such as Omeka and Google Drive have been essential to our digital preservation strategy. We will discuss the use of Omeka as a digital exhibit space and a repository and how we connected it to a public digital special collections page.
Librarian I, Prince George's County Memorial Library System
I am a librarian specializing in Special Collections management, Public Services, and Digital Preservation. I bring over ten years of experience in public libraries. My expertise includes providing reference services, designing programs and activities to enhance information access... Read More →
Friday May 8, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT Schooner A
This session is aimed at librarians looking to increase faculty engagement at the Library but do not have significant resources or time to allocate to the endeavor. Presenters will share their experience using vendor services to decrease administrative labor and maximize engagement. Attendees will learn to plan a vendor day at their library where faculty can directly engage with content providers, see live demonstrations of products, and learn to integrate content into course shells. In small groups, presenters and attendees will design an event shell to take back to their libraries.
