2026 MLA|DLA Annual Conference has ended

2026 MLA|DLA Annual Conference

Melissa Johnson

Greenwood Public Library

Director

Greenwood, DE

4:15pm EDT

Opening Keynote - Lisa Varga Choptank BallroomLisa Varga

8:00am EDT

Registration Table Open Chesapeake/Choptank Foyer Exhibitor Hall Open Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall Silent Auction Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall

8:30am EDT

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

9:30am EDT

The Anthropologist in the Library Galleon A/B/CLisa Bintrim

10:45am EDT

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 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 Trouble with Teens Chesapeake FGretchen Benson • Tyler Chadwell-English

12:00pm EDT

Maryland Author Award Keynote Luncheon Choptank BallroomJohn Shields

2:00pm EDT

Visit the Exhibitors Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall Refresh With Pets Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall

2:30pm EDT

Ice Cream Social Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall

3:00pm EDT

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 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 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

4:15pm EDT

ALA at 150: Pathways to Engagement and Professional Growth Cutter BAaron M. Wilson • Joseph Thompson 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 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

6:00pm EDT

Thursday Evening Keynote and Banquet - Liz Gotauco Choptank BallroomLiz Gotauco

7:30am EDT

DLA Annual Breakfast Galleon A/B/C

8:00am EDT

Silent Auction Chesapeake Ballroom / Exhibitor Hall

10:00am EDT

Friday Keynote - Cyndee Landrum Choptank BallroomCyndee Landrum

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 Reading in the Psych Ward: Libraries Inside Institutional Walls Chesapeake GJoe Dacey • Tyson Fogel 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 Who's Going to Do It?: Utilizing Vendor Services to Fill Outreach Gaps WindjammerEtana Laing