Michele Norris, Emmy Award-winning Journalist and Founding Director of The Race Card Project, to Open the 2024 LibLearnX

CHICAGO – The American Library Association (ALA) has announced that Emmy Award-winning journalist and author Michele Norris will open the 2024 LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience (LLX) in Baltimore, January 19–22, 2024.

Michele Norris is one of America’s most trusted voices in journalism, earning several honors over a long career including Peabody, Emmy, Dupont, and Goldsmith awards. She is a columnist for The Washington Post Opinion Section, and from 2002 to 2012 she was a cohost of NPR’s "All Things Considered." Norris is also the founding director of The Race Card Project, a Peabody Award–winning narrative archive where people around the world share their reflections on identity—in just six words.

Norris will discuss her book, "Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity," available January 2024. “Our Hidden Conversations” is a unique compilation of stories, richly reported essays, and photographs that provide a window into America during a tumultuous era. It’s an honest, if sometimes uncomfortable, conversation about race and identity, allowing readers to eavesdrop on deep-seated thoughts, private discussions, and long-submerged memories.

Also at LibLearnX, Antonia Hylton will be joining us as an Author Speaker. Hylton is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC and co-host of the hit podcast, "Southlake." She will discuss her book, "Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum," available January 2024. "Madness" is an exploration of Crownsville Hospital, one of the last segregated asylums with surviving records and a campus that still stands to this day in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Hylton blends intimate tales of patients and employees whose lives were shaped by Crownsville with a decades worth of investigative research and archival documents. It chronicles the stories of Black families whose mental health suffered as they tried, and sometimes failed, to find safety and dignity.

LibLearnX registration is open and registrants can save with early rates through November 30.

LibLearnX is a four-day learning conference that invites ALA members and non-members to participate in collaborative and engaging education, networking, and celebrations. Designed as an active-learning experience, LibLearnX offers a diverse selection of more than 100 education programs, created by library professionals for library professionals. The sessions will be available in eight primary content areas: Books and Authors, Collection Services, Community Outreach and Engagement, Health and Wellness, Leadership and Management, Library Programs and Services, Readers' Advisory, and Technology Innovation.

From hands-on workshops to bite-sized presentations, participants will be able to collaborate and engage in education programs offered in four available learning formats. View the LibLearnX Program to find the daily schedule, education programs, with more to be added.

The LibLearnX main stage will host featured speakers and ALA Leadership who will discuss topics that are important to library professionals and the future of libraries.

The LLX Marketplace will host exhibitors offering the newest titles, leading technologies, and core services for libraries. Creative and collaborative activation zones will include Ideas Xchange sessions where attendees will share creative projects and enjoy peer-to-peer conversations. ShopTalk sessions will offer practical knowledge, tips, hot topics, and trends in bite-sized presentations. On the LLX Studio stage, author speakers will inspire and motivate attendees.

LibLearnX attendees can expand their networks in collaborative education programs and varied social activities, including the I Love My Librarian Awards, the ALA Youth Media Awards, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunrise Celebration, and more. The Book and Media Awards and Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction will be streamed virtually.

LibLearnX will once again host participants at the ALA Governance Institute (AGI). The Institute offers the leadership and professional development skills needed for impactful leadership and effective decision making. The session will take place on Friday, January 19, 2024, 1:00pm-5:00pm, and is open to the first 200 LibLearnX registrants that sign up. There is no separate registration for the AGI session, sign up is completed at LibLearnX registration.

The LLX Digital Experience is a virtual-presentation model that offers access to a curated selection of sessions, including the Opening and Closing sessions, author speakers on the LLX Studio stage, education sessions, the ALA Youth Media Awards, and the Book and Media Awards/Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. Registrants will have access to on-demand content through March 22, 2024.

Get updates from the 2024 LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience website and follow the hashtag #LibLearnX24 and social media: ALA Twitter, @ALALibrary, ALA Facebook, and Instagram. 

Media interested in registering for the session may contact ALA's Communications, Marketing and Media Relations Office at cmomedia@ala.org.

About the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit ala.org.