PLA Conference Recap

Submitted by Sarah Brubaker, Sarah Reynolds and Amy Szvetecz

Sarah Brubaker, Sarah Reynolds, and Amy Szvetecz had the opportunity to travel to Columbus, Ohio the first week of April to attend the Public Library Association conference. Together they attended 27 sessions, met several vendors, and heard inspiring keynote addresses. Here are some highlights and key take-aways from the conference.

From Sarah Brubaker

How to Say the Hard Things: Lessons Learned in Years of Crisis

Crisis communication is not used only when we are in a state of emergency. A crisis can be any time we are dealing with the unexpected, when there are increased resource needs, or when you experience hypervigilance, anxiety, and stress.

There are three C's of Crisis Communication:

• Clarify - What is the person actually asking?
• Connect - How can you relate to their point of view?
• Conflict - Are you trying to make the person “realize they’re wrong?” 

When having difficult conversations, compassion was the most valued trait when on the receiving end, but accuracy was the most valued trait when delivering a difficult message.

Older Adults Need Jobs
Why are people returning to the job search after 60? 30% of retirees are seeking a way to fill their time, but 50% can’t support their lifestyles with their retirement savings. This library addressed the need by doing a 5-part program series “Approaching the Job Search After 60.” The individual sessions were:

• Getting Work-Ready
• Writing a 21st Century Resume
• Looking for Jobs in All the Right Places
• Interviewing
• Job Fair for 60+ Job Seekers

Key Takeaways

• Trauma Informed Practices: Both staff and patrons have experienced higher levels of traumatic experiences since the pandemic, so our practices should adjust accordingly.
• Anti-Racist Behavior: It’s not enough to avoid racist behavior, but we need to proactively support and promote people of color in our community, on our shelves, and in our staff.
• Preparing for the Unknown: Book bans, crisis communication, and staff burnout were just a few hot topics that indicated libraries are braced to prepare their staff for difficult circumstances.

From Sarah Reynolds

Media Training: When Your Library IS the Headline
This half-day pre conference focused on preparing staff for handling media attention in the current environment. When communicating with the press, it is important to be clear, concise, honest, ready, and in control.

Presenters offered practical tips such as creating a Media Relations Toolkit that includes:

• Talking points and statements
• Press releases and social media statement templates
• CIty/Council and board email templates
• Media runs/advertising campaigns
• Explanation of brand values and how they are relevant to the community

Don’t Sweat the Difficult Conversations
This session gave practical tips on how to have successful conversations about difficult topics with honesty and respect and without anxiety. The panelist represented both union and non-union libraries, which gave an interesting perspective on issues other libraries encounter. Presenters gave several staffing scenarios and then offered best practices in addressing each situation. Some key points included:

• It is easy to overlook behavior issues with a good employee, but not best practice. If it is a new behavior, investigate and reinforce policy/procedure. If it is old behavior that has yet to be addressed, address it anyway! Standards exist for a reason.
• Course correction is not discipline but a way to proactively train your staff. However, if it is not offered in a timely manner, it is punitive, not corrective.

From Amy Szvetecz

Building a Learning Organization within an Evolving Library Landscape
This half-day seminar focused on making training more effective. This includes more intentional upfront approaches and post-evaluations to continually improve training. Strategies discussed:

• Think about things like generational differences, experiential vs. transactional learning, and the importance of encouraging reflection.
• How to adapt collaborative models to create a continuous learning environment.
• Real World Example - Chicago Public Library New Manager Training: Using this model, training went from one 7 hour lecture to multi-day, discussion-based format with follow up support and addition of mentors

Key Takeaways

• In order to make training as effective as possible, you need to continually evaluate it. It should not be static, but evolve based on continuous feedback. 
• Consider feedback from the bottom up not just from top down.

Creating a Playful Window Into the World 
This panel presentation featured an Architect, Designer, and library staff  who used their combined expertise to design their children’s spaces. Their completed design focused on the importance of play. They recommended a formula for designing spaces for youth:  ⅓ collection, ⅓ seating, ⅓ experiential space.

Key Takeaways:

• Design needs to account for community needs - housing, green spaces, parks. For example, Forsyth County has ample green space and parks/recreational facilities, so playground-type structures are not necessary in FCPL libraries. However, inner-city libraries, without as many play spaces, could benefit from such structures in public libraries. 
• What should the role of play take in the library? And what kind of play?
• Need to incorporate the other 5 Early Literacy Principles (Read, Talk, Sing, Write) in library facilities to provide the most effective early literacy environments. 

As you can tell, this was a conference jam-packed with information! Here is a full listing of the programs and who attended. Please reach out if you would like more information about a session.