2026 MLA|DLA Annual Conference

From developing fine motor skills, to building vocabulary, to introducing STEM concepts, to improving social-emotional skills, art programs can contribute enormously to early childhood learning and literacy development. But planning and running art programs for young children at the library can feel overwhelming, especially if you feel like your own art skills peaked in kindergarten. In this half-day workshop, you'll learn step by step how to plan and run an art program for toddlers and preschoolers, and get hands-on practice with two art projects designed for young children at libraries.

Libraries stand at a crisis point, contending with sweeping budget cuts, escalating censorship, and intensifying onslaughts of misinformation. Now more than ever, libraries must take control of their stories to counter misleading rhetoric and build support as traditional revenue streams disappear.

This workshop will empower participants to:
Master Your Narrative: Develop compelling, data-backed stories to safeguard the library’s role as a community cornerstone, vital for education, democracy, and equity.
Persuade with Purpose: Use strategic communication to build stakeholder support and withstand attacks.
Optimize Your Work-Life: Learn practical tools for burnout prevention—streamline workflows, prioritize high-impact services, and recover energy in challenging environments.

Maryland and Delaware have experienced the effects of climate change; it has become clear that libraries are critical to community resilience. Climate action can be overwhelming and sometimes debilitating when the solutions seem out of your control. In this session, leaders from the award-winning Sustainable Libraries Certification Program from the Sustainable Libraries Initiative will demonstrate how the program can bring about organizational transformation. They will provide examples from different library settings where leaders used replicable steps to conserve natural resources and ecosystems, that also help with social and economic development of their local communities.

Everyone Leads examines leadership: leadership qualities, applying leadership skills, and strategies for growing into leadership. A great introduction for emerging leaders or a refresher for experienced leaders, Everyone Leads draws on both the knowledge of published experts and the experience and insights of the class participants.

Participate in open and honest conversations. Create connections with other leaders. Learn to lead from any position. Map your own leadership path. Apply your knowledge and skills to enhance your organization.

Canva and Cricut machines are great tools and combined you can create anything! This session will demonstrate how to find and create images in Canva, transfer them to Cricut Design Space, and cut them with a machine. We will review Canva basics, Cricut Design Space basics, and intermediate skills in both. Leave with programming ideas and inspiration for jazzing up your library space. Laptops are encouraged so attendees can follow along. Cricut and Silhouette machines will be on site and attendees are welcome to bring their machines, too.

We’re taking an imaginative deep dive into the future of libraries! In this interactive workshop, you’ll transform everyday objects into visionary “artifacts” from libraries yet to come.

Whatever wild future you imagine for libraries, this hands-on experience will sharpen your design-thinking, ignite your creativity, and connect you with others who are working to shape what’s next for libraries.

While AI represents potential, it also poses real harm. As information professionals, library workers have a responsibility to understand this technology and the implications of its widespread use. Library Freedom Project will present strategies for those curious about the use of AI in their institution, opportunities to share stories and experiences of AI, approaches to assessing the privacy risks AI poses for our communities, and resources for continued learning. Participants will work together to build actionable frameworks for analyzing, designing, and implementing AI policies in their libraries that support the values of the communities we serve and of the profession at large.

The Wonder Media: Ask the Questions! website helps tweens and teens develop media and news literacy skills through engaging content and activities. Attendees will discover programming resources, co-designed by public and school library staff, that feature interactive activities for ages 10 and older and promote the critical, intentional, and safe use of digital media content. The basic concepts of news and media literacy will be covered, along with exploration of the website’s games, videos, quizzes, and other resources. They will gain ideas and strategies to help create passive and active programming for tweens and teens around media and news literacy.