From PLA to Practice: What I’m Bringing Back
I’m so grateful to have been selected to receive a scholarship to attend PLA this year. This was my first nationwide conference, and it was incredible to meet and learn from public librarians from across the country. It was extra special to attend in my home state of Minnesota and to feel like a bit of a host to out-of-state visitors.
I started the conference with an empty notebook, and by Friday afternoon I had filled it with not only a ton of free stickers courtesy of the exhibition hall, but lots of great information too! The first session that made me think, “Oh wow, I need to bring this back to my library!” was Beyond Drag Queen Storytime, presented by Jayne Walters from the Anne Arundel County Public Library. Jayne explained that while celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride in the library is important, it’s just as important to celebrate queer communities year-round. She shared a list of holidays throughout the year that librarians can use to develop displays and programs highlighting queer voices and experiences, along with resources to help make those connections.
One of my favorite unexpected parts of this career is making librarian friends. I’ve been lucky to work with Rose Oyamot, the Children’s Specialist at the Saint Paul Public Library, through our involvement with the Minnesota Library Association and other library spaces. That’s why I was so excited to see she was presenting a session at PLA called How to Play ‘Ukulele for Library Programs (No Experience Required). Rose taught the audience how to play three chords that can be used for many common storytime songs, shared some history of the ukulele (pronounced “oo-koo-le-le”), and even brought extra instruments for us to try. It was so much fun, and I’m definitely adding learning to play ukulele for storytime to my goals for this year.
One of the most inspirational sessions I attended was Gateway to Reading: Boosting Literacy with Resource Kits and Workshops, presented by Laura Polak, Kristen Sorth, and Nicole Clawson of the St. Louis County Library, along with Meredith Murray from Booksource. They discussed how the library partnered with Booksource to create a kit initiative called Gateway to Reading, which combines decodable books with resources to help families understand how to use them. They also hosted workshops where families could explore decodable games and learn more about the kits.
I was especially interested in this session because I recently purchased a set of decodable books and have been planning to expand that collection. Not only do decodables support general literacy development, but a dyslexia expert who conducted an audit of our library noted that they are particularly helpful for individuals with dyslexia, regardless of age. These kits feel like a natural next step, and I’m eager to reach out to Meredith at Booksource to explore how we might implement something similar.
There was so much more from PLA that I wish I could include here, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have attended such an inspiring conference. I’m excited to apply what I learned in Minneapolis and to continue building the connections I made there. Thank you to PLA for making this possible!
Tags: pla2026scholarship
