Welcome to the Libraratory! 2024 VLA/VLACRL Annual Conference

Inspired by the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! program, we launched a higher education reading challenge to encourage students, staff, and faculty to read diverse stories outside of the curriculum and engage with the current book banning crisis in K-12 education. This session will discuss opportunities for collaboration outside of your library, how to set-up a similar program at your institution, and valuable insights learned from our collaboration with our School of Education and Human Development colleagues.

Shifting workshops from in-person to online allows us to offer sessions more frequently and on evenings and Saturdays; and it also allows for a broader reach to patrons who are not on campus all day. Additionally, it has proven to be less intrusive to work flow than setting up/ breaking down a classroom. No one showed? No problem! Just return to your tasks.

Shared digital workspaces are essential for daily operations, but frequent use presents challenges for discovery, collaboration, and usability. Optimizing these spaces requires personnel to evaluate and revise content. This lightning talk showcases a project manager’s effort to optimize the use of a shared digital workspace by taking a grassroots approach.

The excitement of 7-minute lightning talks at a conference is palpable, as these rapid-fire presentations condense a wealth of knowledge and innovation into a thrilling, bite-sized format. Each speaker, armed with their most compelling insights and discoveries, has just a few minutes to captivate the audience, sparking curiosity and igniting discussions. The fast pace keeps attendees on the edge of their seats, as they are whisked from one fascinating topic to the next, barely having time to catch their breath. This dynamic and diverse showcase of ideas not only energizes the room but also fosters a sense of community, as participants eagerly share their reactions and engage in lively conversations inspired by the burst of fresh perspectives.
Naming Cultures: Celebrating Linguistic Diversity with Veronica Fu;How to Partner with Student Organizations on Campus with Christine Forbes;Our Stories, Our Queries, Our Health: Health Information Seeking Behavior in the Context of Blackness with Dev Wilder;Whiteboards for the win! with Teresa Doherty

By partnering with the student organization, Dieverse Games Club, SU’s Smith Library has been able to increase programming, add a board game collection, and connect with more students. Come see how simple it can be to establish these partnerships at your institution.

Embark on a linguistic journey with a lightning talk introducing the Linguistic Diversity Showcase at the University of Virginia Library. Discover how library staff are engaged in celebrating the power of names to shape identities and foster cultural understanding.

Where we find our information, our actions, and trust are all byproducts of our positionalities, identities, and histories; and the same considerations should be made in our search for health information. We will address health information seeking behavior explicitly focus on the Black community, the role of libraries, and factors that acknowledge the intersections between search and identity.

Student generated content isn’t just for social media! Offer students an opportunity to share their thoughts on whiteboards or post-it note boards and you can learn so much. This review of an academic year’s worth of responses to weekly prompts may give you ideas for your own active engagement outreach.

Learn how the Virginia Library Leadership Academy (VALLA) Task Force challenged the status quo and built a foundation for reimagining VALLA. Hear about the leadership and planning required to determine library community needs, incorporate the values of equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and provide a framework for evaluation and sustainability.