All times listed are Central Time

8:30 – 9:30 am – Registration & light breakfast

9:30 – 9:35 am – Opening remarks

9:35 – 10:30 am – Keynote address, “Intellectual Freedom in Crisis Times: Defending Library Values,” presented by Tess Wilson from The Library Freedom Project

It’s a difficult time to be a librarian, to put it mildly. Across the country, book challenges have increased by an order of magnitude. Storytimes face reactionary attacks, terrorizing children and parents. Legislators propose anti-speech laws that harm our community members and potentially criminalize our work as librarians. In academic libraries, harassment campaigns from reactionary forces can push people out of their jobs. This is the reality of what we’re up against. How can we defend ourselves, our communities, and our values in this climate? Tess Wilson, deputy director of Library Freedom Project, will present this keynote on how librarians can stand up for democracy during crisis conditions. She’ll present practical strategies for organizing against attacks before, during, and after they happen. The goal of this talk is to help energize library workers to stand up for what we believe.

Tess Wilson loves talking loudly about digital literacy, equitable access, and citizen science. Most recently, she was a co-author of an ALA United for Libraries Action Planner and contributed a chapter to ACRL’s Data Literacy Cookbook. She currently serves as the deputy director of Library Freedom Project. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering with her local watershed and making art of all kinds. She collects big books and small rocks.

10:30 – 10:45 am — Break

10:45 – 11:45 am — Session One

“Do You Q? Using Q Method to Find Library Community Data”

Mary Jordan, St Cloud Technical and Community College

I like to use Q Methodology – a way to combine quantitative and qualitative information about your subject. In this study, I started by looking at my own library’s community (faculty, staff, administrators, students) to find grouping of people and their needs from our library. Then I distributed the Q sort to other community college libraries, to uncover groupings of things offered to their own communities – what is working and what is not. I’ll review the material I have found in this study, and then talk about how library people can use Q themselves to do some exploration of their own communities!

“Anatomy of a Book Challenge: Alchemy on Display”

UW-La Crosse’s Murphy Library received a challenge to a book in a Pride display in the library. This presentation will look at the rise in book challenges in libraries over the past few years, including the unique nature of challenges to materials in academic libraries, outline the process we took in responding to the challenge we received, and examine the decisions made in adding a challenge policy to our overall collection development policy. Attendees will gain perspective on how to respond in the event of a book challenge, from whom and where they can receive assistance in responding to the challenge, and how they may wish to formulate their own policy in the event of a challenge at their library.

“Emergency Preparedness through Partnerships”

Mary Coburn, University of Minnesota

The Minnesota Alliance for Heritage Response (MN-AHR) is a statewide network of museums, archives, libraries, performing arts organizations, historic preservation groups, and emergency responders dedicated to preparing for and responding to disasters affecting collections and historic properties. In this session, presenters from MN-AHR will introduce our organization and will discuss Emergency preparedness and the importance of relationships for effective emergency response. Representatives from the Fire Department will talk about fire safety response/training opportunities. If time allows, the fire department would go through some hands on fire extinguisher training. Additionally, we will provide resources for creating emergency plans and salvage/recovery methods and supplies.

“Student & Librarian Reflections: Co-creating a User-centered Research Support Service”

Bekky Vrabel, Hannah Jones, Kirralee Odipo, Oliver Yehlik, and Shelby Suhr, University of Minnesota – Duluth

In summer 2023, the Kathryn A. Martin Library began preliminary discussions with University Honors to launch a peer-research support service. In fall 2023, librarians consulted scholarly literature on the development of a peer-research service at other universities and formed a working group to outline a structure and training schedule. However, due to time constraints, we quickly realized there wouldn’t be enough time to launch a full service. Instead, we interviewed and hired four University Honors students to collaborate on building the good bones of a student-led peer-research support service to be launched in fall 2024.

The session will provide a brief introduction of how the project came to be and attendees will hear from librarians and the Research Support Peer-Mentors about their experiences co-creating a user-centered service. Led by student experience and expertise, this initiative is one approach that UMD librarians have taken to embody the mission and vision of the Kathryn A. Martin Library while strengthening the role of an academic library in supporting undergraduate research.

Attendees will learn about the importance of centering users in service creation, including the voices and perspectives of those who don’t have a formal background in library work, and the opportunities of embracing unexpected pivots in service planning and design.

11:45 am – 1:00 pm — Lunch

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm — Session 2

“Rebel Reads: Challenging Perceptions on College Campuses”

Helena Sumbulla; Kate Hinnant, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

The organized efforts of book bans and challenges in recent years have put public and school libraries in the national spotlight. While academic libraries have not faced a similar number of challenges, we believe academic libraries have a responsibility to explore the questions and cultural conversations surrounding book banning. In this presentation, we will discuss a multi-year student-faculty collaboration undertaken at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to examine both banned and challenged books as well as the cultural discourse surrounding their attempts at removal. We began this project with the formation of a student reading group, titled the Subversive Book Club. Our first book was the #1 most banned book in the last three years, Genderqueer by Maia Kobabe, and we continued to read graphic novels, novels, and short stories (with their movie adaptations). Working with student researchers, we developed a curriculum that included discussion questions for each of the works that we read, and an accompanying LibGuide with background information for each title. Our goal is to expand this project to other libraries in the UW System to encourage fruitful civic conversations on other campuses without duplicating collection cost.

Attendees of this breakout session can expect handouts with resources to facilitate conversations on each of the books that we have covered so far, as well as a QR code to our LibGuide. Resources about book banning and its history will also be provided.

“Snapshot: Using Photos and Surveys to Advocate for Patron-Centered Library Spaces”

Patrick Leeport, Bemidji State University/UW Madison

As the use of libraries evolves, critical changes to the physical space of libraries must respond to the needs of library patrons. Often, changes are based on the assumptions of architects, administrators, and library staff, all while navigating the fluctuating budgets and varying responsibilities found within all types of libraries. While these voices and concerns are important, it is critical to center the needs of library patrons in order to authentically and effectively advocate for meaningful changes.

As UW-Madison’s iSchool Library is preparing a transition to an entirely new building, students in the LIS 654: Information Services Management class looked to better understand the existing needs of iSchool students. The move to a new building, which includes new connections and collaborations with additional departments, provides an opportunity to better meet patron needs, while simultaneously facing challenges in downsizing print collections and leaving a familiar space. This project explored methods to capture patron needs in terms of physical library space. Specifically, the project compares photo elicitation methods and traditional space surveys.

The main focus of the presentation will be an analysis of the process students carried out, from question/prompt generation through analysis and presentation of data. While the findings of the study are local and study participants were limited to students in the class, we will present a comparison of results to demonstrate the different types of data collected through the two different methods. Specific benefits and limitations of each process will be presented, as well as considerations as to how these methods can complement one another. In this way, attendees will consider how using surveys and/or photo elicitation methods may aid in advocating for patron-centered changes to physical library space in both academic and public library environments.

“From College to Corrections”

Jennifer Lund, Department of Corrections, Minnesota Correctional Facility – Moose Lake 

After 16 years in academic libraries, I left my role as Business and Economics Librarian at the University of Minnesota – Duluth to become a librarian for the Department of Corrections at a medium-security prison in Moose Lake, Minnesota. In this session, I’ll share how I’ve managed the transition and challenges of being a solo librarian serving a diverse and high-needs population with limited resources. Attendees will learn about advocating for information access, creating equitable schedules, and managing the collection—all while navigating the constraints of limited capacity, safety and security, and DOC policies.

2:00 – 2:15 pm — Break

2:15 – 3:15 pm — Session 3

“Developing a Strong Library Board That Works”

Nicole Miller, Cannon Falls Library, Cannon Falls, MN

One thing they don’t cover in library school is how to build a strong library board that works well with the director, supports the library’s mission, and works to promote the library in the community. The most often imparted advice that library directors share with one another to fill their boards is to find heavy library users and invite them. Many of us have experienced the pitfalls of following this advice. For some of us, that became glaringly apparent in 2020 when Minnesota libraries were directed to follow their local governing bodies to determine if they were essential services. In my 12 years as a library director in Minnesota, I have tried multiple tactics to board development, learned a few lessons, and finally stumbled upon a strategy that works. In 2020, the library board I had built took charge in supporting the library, its mission, and our staff so we could continue providing top notch services while keeping staff and patrons feeling safe and secure. I will share the lessons I learned as I stumbled along following conventional wisdom and my current strategies for board development. While my strategies work primarily for governing library boards that are appointed to their seats, I will strive to make the tactics applicable to elected board positions and advisory boards.

“Elevating Diversity within Database Collections: A DEIA Perspective**”

Ann Kaste and Carla Pfahl, Minitex

“In the evolving landscape of library services, the importance of incorporating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) principles into all facets of library operations has never been more critical. Traditionally, libraries have focused on applying these principles primarily within their print and ebook collections. However, a burgeoning area of focus—yet underexplored in scholarly literature—is the application of DEIA principles to database holdings. This session, led by the Minitex Outreach & Instruction Librarians, delves into the nuanced process of examining database collections, journal title lists, and the intricate negotiations with vendors to ensure DEIA content is prioritized in both specialized, topical databases and expansive multidisciplinary databases.