Digital confidence grows through repeated practice. During the “PLA Update: DigitalLearn Reborn!” session, Michelle Frisque, ALA Broadband Consultant, introduced the relaunched DigitalLearn.org. DigitalLearn is PLA’s free digital literacy resource for learners and trainers in English and Spanish.
Category: Guest Blogger
Catching up with old friends, and making new friends at #alaac26
The ALA annual conference offers an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, share experiences, and discover the latest trends in libraries. For a long time, I was the only youth services staff at my library, and I especially enjoyed ALA Annual because it was one of the few places where I could meet other children’s and teens’ services librarians and share ideas. Now that I work with a small team of dedicated children’s and teens’ services staff, I still value the connections I’ve made at ALA, and I’m looking forward to meeting new people this year too. There’s no place like a conference to meet motivated, energetic, and dedicated professionals! Librarians are always happy to share ideas and brainstorm and it’s refreshing to hear about what librarians are doing in other systems. Panels are great, but some of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had at annual are casual conversations—in line for…
Data, Metrics, and Storytelling for Advocacy at #alaac26
One of the highlights of my day on Saturday was the panel on the Invisible Labor of Library Work: Data, Metrics, and Storytelling for Advocacy. Let’s face it, most of the children’s and teens’ services librarians I know are great at hosting programs, but need help gathering data. This program promised to demonstrated how “data and storytelling can be used to strengthen advocacy, funding, and public understanding of the library’s role in the community,” but it offered so much more. The panelists all highlighted that any data gathering shouldn’t be done for the sole purpose of gathering numbers, but to help us advocate for our users and for each other. All panelists provided examples of how clear policies can help library workers carve out time for this important data collection. They also spoke about the need to build in support for staff so that all library workers can find success….
#ALAAC26: Private Discovery by Design for Young People
Young people often come to libraries with partial answers already in hand. Search results, social feeds, and conversational AI systems may have shaped the answers they bring. Private discovery asks how much a young person must reveal before reaching help. Amanda Gray Perry of the University of Notre Dame moderated Core’s Top Tech Trends panel. Speakers working in public libraries, academic libraries, and library technology examined AI, metadata infrastructure, discovery tools, and media access. In my presentation, “Private Discovery by Design: AI Infrastructure in Teen Services,” I posed the question directly: When does a teen’s inquiry become data? Values Before Tools Nicole Steeves, Director of Library Technology at Chicago Public Library, set out a values-based approach to AI. She argued for AI investment when a proposed use improves patron service, protects privacy, preserves staff expertise, and includes human review. She drew clear limits around reference search, readers’ advisory, and traditional…
I’ll take #alaac26 with a cup of tea, and a side of comics, please!
I’ve been hearing about the Magical Comics Tea (a ticketed event sponsored by the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table) for years, but missed out on tickets until now. The event didn’t disappoint! Over the course of the event, I had the opportunity to meet 15 comic-creators! Attendees are seated at small tables and the comic creators rotate between tables and spend about 5 minutes with each group. Does this sound a lot like a game of musical chairs to you, too? This event is structured much like YALSA’s coffee klatch, and I was impressed that all of the creators managed to keep their energy up as they chatted with all of us. The event was a whirlwind, and excellent fun!
Can Your Community Survive the Summer? Tips & Ideas from #ALAAC26
To kick off day two of #alaac26, I attended a session* called “Sustaining Your School Library Community Throughout the Summer: A Beginner’s Toolkit,” presented by DoMonique Arnold and Harrison Price. Start with Three Determining Factors My biggest takeaway from this session was the list of three determining factors for a successful summer program: 1. Student Interest If you’re going to go through all of the trouble to create a summer program, it’s crucial that you choose a direction that suits your community. Find out what could be the best fit through discussions or polling with your advisory group, library regulars, and/or book clubs – wherever your community is gathering, you can have a conversation! And, don’t feel like it has to be a big deal… feel free to add in your question(s) alongside any announcements you’d normally make. 2. Student Capacity Although, it may feel like some things slow down…
International Librarianship, Storytimes, and Rachel Maddow
My first day of #alaac26 programming was better than I expected. And my bar was very high, considering I heard from everyone who had been to this conference before: “You are going to love it!” Well, they were right!
An Author’s Top Takeaways from the Library Insights Summit
Attending the Library Insights Summit – co-located with the #alaac26 – offered me great opportunities. As a debut author with my first book coming out this fall, one of my top priorities for ALA Annual 2026 is connecting with librarians so that I can better understand how they select the books they’ll feature in their libraries.