{"id":33240,"date":"2025-06-03T00:01:23","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T04:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=33240"},"modified":"2025-05-29T12:21:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T16:21:26","slug":"what-to-do-if-you-cant-make-it-to-ala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2025\/06\/what-to-do-if-you-cant-make-it-to-ala\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do if You Can’t Make it to ALA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The ALA Annual Conference is one of the highlights of the year for many librarians\u2014an inspiring mix of sessions, conversations, and ideas. But let\u2019s face it: attending in person isn\u2019t always possible. Whether due to travel costs, work commitments, or personal obligations, plenty of librarians won\u2019t be packing their bags for Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The good news? You can still stay engaged, learn, and connect\u2014even if you\u2019re not onsite. Here are five ways to make the most of ALA season from wherever you are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Follow Along on Social Media<\/strong>
    Twitter (or X), Instagram, and Threads will be buzzing with conference highlights. Follow hashtags like #ALSC, and #LibrariesTransform. You\u2019ll catch glimpses of key takeaways, speaker quotes, new book announcements, and more. Bonus: It\u2019s a great way to engage with the community and ask questions from afar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Connect with Colleagues Locally or Virtually<\/strong>
    Just because you\u2019re not at the conference doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t have meaningful discussions. Set up a virtual coffee chat with a colleague who is attending to hear about what they\u2019re learning. Or organize a local meetup or Zoom call with others who also couldn\u2019t make it and want to talk shop.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Explore Free or Low-Cost Professional Development<\/strong>
    Missed the in-person sessions? ALSC and ALA offer a treasure trove of webinars, toolkits, and archived content on everything from early literacy to inclusive programming. Check out: ALSC\u2019s Webinars and Online Learning<\/a> or ALA eLearnin<\/a>g. You can build your skills and stay current without the airfare.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Host Your Own “Mini Conference”<\/strong>
    Make a weekend or half-day retreat for yourself. Pick a few webinar recordings, read blog posts and comments, and jot down your takeaways. Bonus points if you create an action plan or share your insights with your team. It may not have vendor booths or tote bags\u2014but it can still spark new ideas and momentum for your work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Check the ALSC Blog<\/strong>
    During the conference, look for posts from our Conference live bloggers who will be sharing what they are learning and experiencing. (We are currently soliciting volunteers for this fun and important job!  If YOU are interested in participating as a volunteer conference blogger, just complete the     Conference Blogging Interest Form<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Missing out on ALA doesn\u2019t mean missing out on professional growth. With a little intention, you can still learn, connect, and feel inspired\u2014right from your library, your living room, or wherever summer takes you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Today\u2019s blogger is Whitney Hasler<\/strong>. Whitney is the Children\u2019s Services Supervisor at the Eldersburg branch of the Carroll County Public Library (MD) and a member of the ALSC Program Coordinating Committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The ALA Annual Conference is one of the highlights of the year for many librarians\u2014an inspiring mix of sessions, conversations, and ideas. But let\u2019s face it: attending in person isn\u2019t always possible. Whether due to travel costs, work commitments, or personal obligations, plenty of librarians won\u2019t be packing their bags for Philadelphia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[2745],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-program-coordinating-committee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33240\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}