- Mikayla Wobrak
- Mar 27, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 5, 2022
At 11 o’clock Wednesday night, my friend from library school and I embarked on an all-night road trip from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. We weren’t about to let a freak spring snowstorm stop us from attending our first professional librarian conference as MLIS students, so we timed our departure to avoid dangerous driving conditions.
Once we got there, I was overwhelmed by excitement — and by the sheer number of librarians and other like-minded professionals I got to meet. I was quite happy with most of the program sessions that I chose to attend, and I felt as though I got a lot of great, practical ideas that I will be able to take with me into my future career. I learned that the Department of Justice provides an accreditation program that allows librarians to provide immigration services in the public library, and I learned that Drag Queen Storytimes are a great way to get children comfortable with the complexity of gender and gender expression. I was especially pleased by a session on creating programs for teens about “How to Adult” — it really made me appreciate how libraries are in a great position to teach practical life skills that young people may not be learning either at school or at home. The presenters gave us a great framework for several programs that I wish I would’ve had at my library growing up. Another session on Maker Mobiles produced a lot of great ideas for successful maker programs in the library and the community at large.
One of the most interesting ideas that I took from the conference was something that was said by the presenters of a session on supporting patrons of color in libraries. They discussed how a police/security presence in public libraries could potentially be a barrier of access for some patrons of color, and although there are situations where action by security may be necessary and that following library policies are important, we need to be sure that the enforcement is not disproportionately and overly punitive. Like, do people really need kicked out of the library for eating food or being a little noisy? Or could we have a conversation with them before involving security? The presenters also proposed the idea of training contracted security staff in the library code of ethics so that security does not inadvertently detract from the library’s role in making education and information open to everyone. As librarians, we don’t want our patrons, and especially marginalized patrons, to feel that our library is a hostile environment or that they are not welcome.
Aside from the programs, I gotta say all the free swag was pretty cool, too. I am a little intimidated by the stack of 20+ free books and ARCs (advanced reading copies) I got that are now perched atop my nightstand in my room, but so many of the books look like awesome reads. I’m very excited to sink my teeth into Tee Franklin’s comic Bingo Love (about two girls who fall in love at church bingo, break up because of disapproving families, and are reunited 50 years later at a nursing home!), as well as The Universe is Expanding and So Am I by Carolyn Mackler (the long-awaited sequel to The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things), who I also got to see speak at the Books that Work for Teens and Adults author panel. Perhaps I will start publishing some reviews here since I have such a hefty stack of books to get through!
After such a whirlwind week, I came home yesterday a little exhausted and a lot more energized going into the last couple semesters of my LIS program. I think I definitely have a clearer idea of the kind of librarian I want to be and the diverse, community-oriented services that I see myself supporting in the future. I am certainly glad I was able to make the time to make this trip while I was still in school, so that I can put my best foot forward from the beginning of my career.
A list of program sessions I attended at PLA 2018:
Providing Immigration Services in Public Libraries: Making It Possible is Not Impossible
Millennials Take Over the Library
Push Comes to Shove: Supporting Patrons of Color in Your Institution
Libraries Aren’t Neutral: Programming and Resources for the Political Climate
Drag Queen Story Hour: Reading Fabulously
MakMo: The LA County Library’s MakerMobiles
How to Adult: Teaching Life Skills to Teens
AAP Crossover Appeal: Books that Work for Teens and Adults
If you attended PLA 2018, what was your favorite program you attended? What is the one piece of information you found to be the single most helpful thing that you will be taking back to your library? Feel free to comment if you would like to connect and chat about your experiences!