-ARLA 2023
First time in ArLA conferences, and it
was so great!
I was invited, with four more
coworkers, to participate in Arla Conferences. This year, it was celebrated in
Hot Springs on the weekend of Oct. 13- 15. As a recent graduate in my career, I
was excited about this opportunity to add more knowledge about the field and
extend my networking with colleagues. Also, I had a chance to meet in person
great professionals in this area whom I had been in touch with during my
master's studies by e-mail or phone and who made that path smoother.
Arla included many good conferences
and diverse themes to explore. For example, two of my favorite conversations
were Unlocking Opportunities: Libraries Level-Up Workforce Development, and
Passive Programs! Ideas for Short Staffed Days & Tiny Budgets. The
first one was presented by Melissa Taylor, Chris Moody, and Amanda Johnson.
They discussed how Fayetteville Public Library has embraced innovation in
workforce development with simulated learning and online resources. I liked the
whole presentation. They looked self-confident, and the conversation was
interesting. Also, they shared a list of businesses or organizations in
Northwest Arkansas to ask for funds if someone of the assistants would like to
do the same in their libraries. Also, they showed a list of community partners
to offer this kind of training in information technology, live event
production, heavy equipment operation, various skilled trades, and more.
The second
conference, Passive Programs! Ideas for Short
Staffed Days & Tiny Budgets were about self-guided
activities suitable for all ages that librarians can plan for tight budgets and
small staff departments. As a children's librarian, I felt proud about our
department's work in Children's because most of the ideas the presenter showed
for passive programs are activities we already do in Springdale Public Library,
like Scavenger hunts, color sheets, or art crafts. Still, I took notes from the
presenter's new ideas to tell the rest of the team at Children's.
Our fun activity this weekend was the eclipse viewing on Saturday, October 14. Organizers gave us a pair of solar viewing glasses in our Registration Bags. It was great that they considered this non-usual natural/cosmic event.
The Opening General Session was in
charge by Kathy Dempsey, author of the popular book The Accidental Library
Marketer. The name of this session was Libraries are Essential. The presenter
explained to the audience the importance of our library work and how we can
market its value to promote its goodness and find support to help our community
become more educated, linking them with accurate information and technologies.
She shared The Cycle of True Marketing, which allows libraries to communicate
more effectively based on the focus group. Also, she talked about The Five
Rules for Articulating Our Value, where my favorite was "Focus on
benefits, not products or services." Being the libraries, the kind of
institution that promote services and do not sell them, sometimes it can be
stressful to find a way to market specific programs and arouse participants'
interest. The author showed attendees another point of view to center our
marketing on our program benefits, telling patrons their "why"
instead of their "what." For example, we don't offer Storytime; we
provide early literacy and language development through Storytime.
For three days, I added knowledge in
the library fields, interacted with colleagues, met new people and authors,
explored Hot Springs, and learned about new technologies, books, and services
in the information organization field. After the conference, I arrived home
feeling proud of the profession. I finished that weekend empowered, energized,
and ready to serve my community better from my position as a Children's
librarian at Springdale Public Library.