2026 MLA|DLA Annual Conference has ended

Create Your Own Event

2026 MLA|DLA Annual Conference

8:00am EDT

Registration Table Open Chesapeake/Choptank Foyer

9:00am EDT

#MyReasonWhyDE Facilitator Training Brigantine Board RoomStacy Lane • Gail Bruce From Zero to Festival: How One Library Pulled Off a Big Event with No Budget (and How You Can Too!) WindjammerElizabeth Mayer • Kathryn Hatfield My First Art Class: Art Programs for Toddlers and Preschoolers Schooner BLisa Bintrim Navigate Uncertainty: Control Your Story, Amplify Your Impact Skipjack AElaina Norlin Stories of Sustainability: How Libraries Lead Climate Action in Their Communities Skipjack BLisa Kropp • Jennifer Ferriss Everyone Leads Schooner AKatie George • Jaleen Walker

12:00pm EDT

Boxed Lunch Pickup Chesapeake/Choptank Foyer

12:30pm EDT

DLA Annual Meeting Quorum Check-In Windjammer

1:00pm EDT

Creating in Canva for Cricut Skipjack BDana Alsup • Luz Flores How Libraries Actually Get Funded: Understanding Tax Policy, Budget Practices, and Your Fiscal Partnerships WindjammerJohn Chrastka Things from Future Libraries: An Interactive Workshop Skipjack APam Taylor • Tracy Miller Using Stories from the Library Community to Build AI Policy Schooner BTess Wilson Wonder Media: Media & News Literacy for Tweens & Teens Brigantine Board RoomCarrie Sanders

1:15pm EDT

BCMLA Cultural Conference Tour TBA

4:15pm EDT

Opening Keynote - Lisa Varga Choptank BallroomLisa Varga

5:30pm EDT

All-Conference Reception Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall Author Signing - Sia Willie, Melissa Trempe Exhibit Hall - Booth 22 Exhibitor Hall Open Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall

7:00pm EDT

Academic Libraries Meetup Windjammer DLA Meet-Up Galleon A/B/C BCMLA Meetup The Lantern Room

8:00pm EDT

Haunted Walking Tour TBA

7:00am EDT

Morning Yoga The Lantern Room

8:00am EDT

Author Signing - Gina Hagler, Antoinette Jones Exhibit Hall - Booth 22 Registration Table Open Chesapeake/Choptank Foyer Silent Auction Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall Exhibitor Hall Open Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall

8:30am EDT

Ignite Session #1 Clipper CMiriam Heard • Andrea Schuba • Aditya Desai • Brandt Van Unen Beyond the Ramp: Creating Truly Inclusive Library Experiences Skipjack AAM Dillon Legislative Update Cutter BTif Sutherland • Liz Sundermann-Zinger • Allison Jennings-Roche Make Good Choices: Decision Making Under Duress Choptank BallroomBrittany Cornish • Amy Dickinson • Amy Ford More Than Just Stories: Standing out with Accessible Library Marketing Clipper A/BAudrey Nakagawa • Nestor Diaz • Samantha Webster Prince George’s County Memorial Library System services for incarcerated and reentering individuals. Schooner AJaleen Walker • Cynthia Lawrence Training Staff in Services for Queer Patrons and Care for LGBTQ Co-workers Schooner BMike Kiel • Anna White • Micah Yankovich Truth First: Educating, Memorializing and Advancing Racial Justice in Maryland Cutter ALula Beatty • Karen Lee Scrivo • Amy S. Millin • J.P. Williams You’re Already a Project Manager: Identifying, Applying, and Leveraging Project Management Fundamentals Chesapeake E/FAbigail Williams

9:00am EDT

MLA|DLA: A Friendship Bracelet Station The Lantern Room

9:30am EDT

Financial Literacy Programs for Children from the ALA and FINRA WindjammerRebecca Maron-Ryan • Stacey Freedman Share-It in Maryland: from our shelves to yours through ILL. Chesapeake GEmma Beaven • Hannah Brady Stories Bring us Together: Connections through the Family Literacy Pilot Skipjack BCarrie Sanders • Mary Rayme The Anthropologist in the Library Galleon A/B/CLisa Bintrim

10:30am EDT

Author Signing - Laurie Carmody, Aimee Isaac, Debbie Levy Exhibit Hall - Booth 22

10:45am EDT

African American Subject Funnel Project Clipper CAaron M. Wilson AI Ethics Library Instruction and Educational Autonomy Clipper A/BErnest Anderson Crisis Communication: Telling the Public Your Story Schooner ATimothy Pratt • Jacob Gerding Empowering Library Staff and Customers: Building a Culture of Teamwork and Trust Galleon A/B/CCatherine Hollerbach • Christine Feldmann From Circle Time to Story time: Bringing Classroom Strategies to the Library Chesapeake EHilary Fudge Harvesting Stories: Cultivating Agricultural Literacy Through Our Shelves WindjammerTonya Wible • Victoria Stone Library on the Loose! Serving the Underserved through Mobile Library Outreach Skipjack BEwa Wojciechowska • Nicole Worth Practical Intellectual Freedom Strategies for Front Line Workers Cutter BSkip Dye • Rosie Stewart Recipes for Connection: Food and Making as Pathways to Community Cutter AJoe DiMaggio • Katie Haines Shared Stories, Shared Support: Building Inclusive Mentorship Communities Brigantine Board RoomShaunda Vasudev • TaChalla Ferris • Camille Robinson Short staffing and strategic thinking: Redesigning a service model using evidence-based practices Chesapeake GCatherine Johnson • Amanda Rudd The Joy of Queernorm: A Readers' Advisory Discussion Schooner BTeresa Miller • Theo Scully • Amanda Crabill Trouble with Teens Chesapeake FGretchen Benson • Tyler Chadwell-English

12:00pm EDT

Maryland Author Award Keynote Luncheon Choptank BallroomJohn Shields

12:30pm EDT

Author Signing - Ann McCallum, Meera Trehan Exhibit Hall - Booth 22

2:00pm EDT

Author Signing- John Shields Chesapeake/Choptank FoyerJohn Shields Refresh With Pets Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall Visit the Exhibitors Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall Poster Sessions Chesapeake/Choptank FoyerGary White • Pamela McClanahan • James Parrigin • Franklin Ofsthun • Emily Zerrenner • Melissa King • Kristina Banks • Olivia Rose Isaacs • Katie Delezenski • Theresa Bruce • Alexandra Trim • Caroline Haislip • Rosalyn Rivera

2:30pm EDT

Ice Cream Social Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall

3:00pm EDT

Black History Lives Here: Telling Our Stories Chesapeake GJulia Hughey • Rubab Azeem Don’t Buy (Into) It! How to spot AI-generated Content Choptank BallroomNatasha Finnegan • Emily Zerrenner • Sara Wheatley Leading Through Influence and Persuasion: An Excerpt from Everyone Leads Clipper A/BKatie George • Jaleen Walker Maryland Author Award Talk: The New Chesapeake Kitchen and Our Common Table Cutter AJohn Shields Maryland State Library Agency & Delaware Division of Libraries 2026 Update Cutter BAnne Hiller Clark • Morgan Lehr Miller Our Shared Shelves: How Collaborative Outreach Unlocks the Full Story of Our Communities WindjammerShaunda Vasudev • Natasha Griffin • Amelia Costello Our Stories, Our Advocacy: Making the Library Voice Heard Brigantine Board RoomJohn Chrastka • Catherine Wimberley Read It & Eat It: Building Community Through Edible Book Festivals Schooner AHeidi Herr Reading Buddies: An Innovative Approach to Addressing the Community's Reading Crisis Schooner BKatelyn McLimans • Jaclyn Cassidy • Carly Dabbs Reading with One Maryland One Book Clipper CAditya Desai School's Out! Building Local Partnerships with Schools Using *Their* Calendars Chesapeake FBernadette Davis Book Buzz 2026: New Stories for Your Shelves! Galleon A/B/CMeg Faller • Monica McAbee • Theo Scully • Amanda Crabill Let's Talk Stuff Skipjack ARebecca Lowe • Pam Oakley • Joe DiMaggio • Olivia Mirot Author Signing - Karen Leggett, Mirka Hokkanen Exhibit Hall - Booth 22

4:15pm EDT

ALA at 150: Pathways to Engagement and Professional Growth Cutter BAaron M. Wilson • Joseph Thompson Bringing Kindergarten to Libraries – How to Start a Kindergarten Readiness Program for Underserved populations. Schooner BDanielle Navarro • Missy DeCesaris Building Collections and providing services to all patrons during challenging times Chesapeake GGenive Purchase • Melanie Townsend Diggs • Alyssia Gilmore • Sophia Sotilleo Classic Book Clubs: Thinking With the Great Thinkers Chesapeake FDorothy Stoltz • Thomas Vose • Erin Hanratty From Page to Plate: Empowering Young Cooks with Library Kitchens WindjammerJaclyn Cassidy • Katie Haines • Ryan Ellis Historical Walking Tours: How to Make Your Story Interactive Schooner AMichelle Wynne-Feigin Home is here: Strengthening Maryland library partnerships with immigrant communities Chesapeake EAna Ndumu Ignite Session #2 Clipper CAmy Dickinson • Nicole Hance • Amanda VerMeulen • Fusako Ito • Claire Jeter • Megan Friend • Mina Seat • Shamica Terry Managing the Mess: Leading from the Middle When Everything is Hard Choptank BallroomBria Sinnott • Allison Jennings-Roche Nature's Pages: Nurturing Environmental Literacy from an Early Age Skipjack BMelissa King No Consultant? No Problem! In-House Marketing and Program Planning Brigantine Board RoomMallory Wareham Our Files, Our Selves: Digital Maryland, the DPLA, and the Power of Access Cutter AMegan Kean • Tracy Thompson • Kim Steinle-Super

5:15pm EDT

All-Conference Reception Chesapeake/Choptank Foyer ASRD Meet Up Michener's Bar Emerging Adults Interest Group Meetup Chesapeake/Choptank Foyer

6:00pm EDT

Thursday Evening Keynote and Banquet - Liz Gotauco Choptank BallroomLiz Gotauco

8:00pm EDT

Author Signing - Liz Gotauco Chesapeake/Choptank FoyerLiz Gotauco Pub Quiz Chesapeake E/F/GMichael Gannon Karaoke Windjammer

7:30am EDT

DLA Annual Breakfast Galleon A/B/C MLA Annual Breakfast & Awards Ceremony Choptank Ballroom

8:00am EDT

Author Signing - Laura Parnum, Veronica Jones Exhibit Hall - Booth 22 Silent Auction Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall Registration Table Open Chesapeake/Choptank Foyer Exhibitor Hall Open Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall

10:00am EDT

Friday Keynote - Cyndee Landrum Choptank BallroomCyndee Landrum Author Signing - Salvacion Monasterio, Doreen Hamilton Exhibit Hall - Booth 22

11:15am EDT

Balancing the Books: Intellectual Freedom in Technical Services and Collection Development Clipper A/BMaggie Saponaro • Kristina J. Alayan • Laura Bandoch Cents and Sensibility: Financial literary for your patrons. Schooner ATyler Lardy Collections to Creations: A Flexible Mindful Making Model for Teen Services Chesapeake FWitt Salley • Leslie Salley Ignite Session #3 Clipper CAmanda Kramer • Debra Elfenbein • Laura Aguilera Maintaining Our Virtual Shelves: Database Descriptions for Better Patron Engagement Cutter BNicole Kulp • Katie Delezenski Reading in the Psych Ward: Libraries Inside Institutional Walls Chesapeake GJoe Dacey • Tyson Fogel Share Your Story With Pride: Building a Community Driven Art Show At Your Library Skipjack AMargery Bayne Snack Attack at the Stacks: An Afterschool Cooking Program Schooner BStacy Lane • Gail Bruce Styling Creative Programs: The Modern Literary Salon Chesapeake ETisha Jasmine Chakraborty The Talbot County Free SEED Library Cutter AMissy Corley • Mikaela Boley Using the M in STEM: Engaging Children with Math WindjammerShannon Young • Marsha Quarles

12:00pm EDT

Boxed Lunch Pickup Chesapeake/Choptank Foyer

12:30pm EDT

Beyond Books: Empowering Public Librarians to Advocate for Unhoused Patrons Chesapeake GLaura Toner Build Your Outreach Kit Clipper A/BThomas Vose Embracing the Joy: Getting Comfortable with Romance Chesapeake EMichelle Halber Fundraising Without Fundraisers: Turning Awareness into Action Schooner BCathleen Sparrow • Bethany Kerley • Julie Kizer Ball Keeping You and the Library Safe: How to Handle Contaminated Materials Skipjack AChristopher Cannon Once Upon a Summer: Our Stories, Our Shelves, and the Maryland Libraries Summer Ideas Toolkit Clipper CKaren Earp Our Stories, Our Shelves, Our Trails: Connecting Communities to Nature Through Library Lending Cutter ADeb Spurrier • Mark Spurrier Shelf Censorship: Threats to the First Amendment's protection of intellectual freedom Galleon A/B/CAaron Terr Shorelines on the Shelves: Connecting Patrons with the Local Environment Chesapeake FBrittany Tignor Using Digital Tools to Preserve Organizational History Schooner AHannah Erickson • Paul Moreno Who's Going to Do It?: Utilizing Vendor Services to Fill Outreach Gaps WindjammerEtana Laing