Welcome to the Libraratory! 2024 VLA/VLACRL Annual Conference

Join us in the Norfolk Foyer as we cut the ribbon and officially welcome you to Norfolk! Registration desks are in the REAR of the Norfolk Ballrooms. Registration Desks are marked for last names beginning with A-L and another for M-Z.

VLA President Nan Carmack and VLA Conference Chair Natasha Payne-Brunson welcome you to the Opening General Session of the 2024 VLA Conference!
State Librarian Dennis Clark will provide remarks, and we will honor our Award & Scholarship Winners for all of their hard work and dedication.

The Keynote Address will be given by Megan Lotts. Description: In the 21st century there is a constant rise in library patron needs and expectations. As dwindling budgets and less staff prevail, organizations are looking for new models to enhance engagement as well as illustrate the impact libraries have within their communities. The key ingredient is creativity, which acts as the lynchpin of functioning successfully as a team as well as impacting communities in positive ways. Looking through a “creative” lens focuses on “what is possible” and encourages individuals and organizations to reflect and strategize while working in unconventional ways using tools which are readily and easily accessible for teaching, learning, or solving problems. Throughout this presentation viewers will learn more about creativity, play, and how to implement and embrace this culture within their own libraries and work lives. 

Biography: Megan Lotts is the Art Librarian at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where she embraces creativity and play when teaching, building collections, engaging with colleagues, working with patrons’, and facilitating programming and events across the New Brunswick campuses. Lotts has presented her research both nationally and internationally and has published articles in portal: the Libraries and the Academy, Art Documentation, Journal of Library administration, and more. In 2021 the American Libraries Association published her first book Advancing a Culture of Creativity in Libraries: Programming and Engagement. Her second book, “The Playful Library: Building Environment for Learning and Creativity” will be in print in the summer of 2024. Her research interests include creativity, outreach & engagement, makerspaces, play, and the work of library liaisons. She is known for her work implementing LEGO® play, a culture of creativity, curating the exhibition spaces at the Rutgers University Art Library, and teaching a semester-long seminar “Playing to Learn in Higher Education.” Megan earned her MFA (2004) and MLIS (2007) from University of Wisconsin-Madison and has a BFA in Painting (2000) and BFA in Art History (2002) from the University of Illinois- Champaign-Urbana. She currently lives in New Brunswick, NJ and continues to create site-specific conceptual works of art.

Box lunch tickets are $30 and must be purchased in advance. Please come to the Norfokl ballroom to pick up your meal. Special orders (such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or allergy meals can be picked up at the VLA Registration desks in the rear of the hall.)

VLA is partnering with Bikes for Goodness Sake to build aluminum bikes for kids in Norfolk. This event replaces our traditional all-conference social. Technicians will be on hand to assist and test bikes. Don't feel comfortable building a bike? We have lots of other creative projects with which you can assist.

We are seeking a sponsor for this event; if no sponsor is found, we will have to ask for contributions from participants. Interested in sponsoring a bike or a bunch of bikes? Please contact VLA's Executive Director, Lisa R. Varga at vla.lisav@cox.net for more information.