NLA/MPLA Joint Conference

Hello everyone! Please join us, Liz Dukelow and Lyndsey Kopsa, as we geek out over Anime and Manga! This session is great for newbies or hard core otakus! We cover a variety of topics including but not limited to: tropes, Japanese visual language, purchasing, reviewing, cataloging practices, age ranges for materials, collectables, censorship, fanmade content, programing ideas, and much much more!
Warning! This is a duplicate session of the presentation Liz and Richard did at the 2025 Kansas Library Association Conference.

As artificial intelligence reshapes how students access, evaluate, and create information, academic libraries stand at the heart of ensuring equitable AI literacy across higher education. This session explores how academic librarians can create safe, judgment-free spaces within information literacy and research instruction where students explore AI's complexities, experiment with emerging tools, and develop critical evaluation skills. Attendees will learn practical approaches to integrating AI literacy into existing library instruction programs, including a detailed outline of a newly developed for-credit AI literacy course based on the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Participants will leave with concrete strategies for teaching students to use AI to enhance rather than replace research processes while upholding academic integrity and information ethics.

Roots of Justice: A History of Race and Racism in Nebraska is a pathbreaking, multidisciplinary edited volume that confronts the history of racism experienced by minority populations in Nebraska. The book contains chapters on Native American, African American, Latino, Asian, and Refugee populations. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field, who is also a member of that particular community. The authors capture the lived experience of these groups, and point the way forward for racial understanding and reconciliation.

The presenter, Gabriel Bruguier, authored the chapter, “A History of Native People in Nebraska, Part I”. He is an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, Assistant Professor and Teaching and Learning Librarian at University of Nebraska Libraries, and the City of Lincoln Commissioner on the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. He will contextualize his contribution through his family history, discuss some of the challenges experienced while writing the chapter, and explain the significance of the Native American rallying cry, “We are Still Here!"

This presentation will also give an overview of other chapters in the book, focusing on the multidisciplinary approach taken by the authors; discuss accompanying resources to the book; discuss the open accessibility of the book and individual chapters; and discuss ways in which librarians and educators might integrate the work into community programs and educational curriculum.

This presentation is about what you can achieve without formal training and the imposter syndrome that comes with it. As a person with a drive to excel and a creative mind, I have led initiatives at the Minot Public Library, in my local community, and state-wide that have made a difference.

The goal of this presentation is to encourage library staff to step out of their comfort zone and do the uncomfortable things because you know who you are doing those things for- your community, your patrons, and all the people who come after you.

We know libraries are becoming more: not just places for check-outs, computers, programming, or study groups, but spaces for our community members to find, connect, and fulfill needs. How do we bring in more unique resources to our customers without burning out our staff? This presentation uses the example of a rural library that focuses on partnerships to bring food programs to their community and highlights partnerships as a way to respond to local needs.

Libraries have become an increasingly contentious battleground in the political landscape. More than ever, we need to be able to speak up for critical thinking, empathy, and the freedom to read. This discussion begins with a review of the library bills brought before the 2026 Utah Legislative Session and the story behind how the ULA’s Advocacy Committee collaborations helped to defeat multiple anti-library and book-banning bills. Then we will teach you and your advocacy team how to navigate the legislative process and provide state-specific resources to help you prepare for 2027!

Join us for a conference favorite - One Book Many Librarians - book discussion group. We'll be joined by Nebraska author Alex Kava in disucssing the first in the Ryder Creed series - Breaking Creed. It's a great chance to join your colleagues and the author, and the program includes beverage and snacks for a relaxed and fun environment. Get started now in reading - Breaking Creed by Alex Kava.

Library boards and committees make decisions that shape the direction, funding, and public trust of their organizations—but many members receive little training in how meetings actually work. This practical, plain-language session demystifies the essentials of meeting management, parliamentary procedure, bylaws, and minute-taking for library contexts.

Participants will learn how governing documents guide decisions, how to run efficient and inclusive meetings, when (and when not) to use formal parliamentary process, and how minutes can document accountability without creating unnecessary risk. Real-world library examples and ready-to-use templates will help attendees strengthen governance practices immediately.

Ideal for trustees, Friends groups, foundation boards, advisory committees, and library staff who support board work.

Providing computers for use by the public is a key service unique to libraries. It is crucial that these "public" computers be properly secured and the privacy of the patrons who use them is protected. This program will cover the necessary steps that need to be be taken to accomplish this.

In this engaging presentation, we'll provide a roadmap for you to follow to host your own young child fair that includes community resources and organizations benefiting families with young children, ages 0-6. Our Library started its annual event 13 years ago to connect families with local resources, while also including fun activities like Storytime, block play, bubbles, and games. Our event now involves many community organizations, including Parents as Teachers, local preschools, health departments, mental health resources, fire and police departments, pediatricians and pediatric dentists, food pantries, and hearing and vision screenings. The young child fair has truly become a community event as much as a Library event, impacting families of all ages from our service area and beyond.

A library’s strategic plan is a roadmap that aligns staff, board, and community with shared goals. Cheyenne Chontos (Harrisburg Community Library Director, SD) will share real-world examples and guide participants through hands-on planning activities—from surveys and SWOT analysis to stakeholder engagement and writing a clear, actionable plan—helping attendees build confidence in creating strategic plans tailored to their libraries.