Midwinter Meeting

CHICAGO – Combining self-published books and the power of libraries to influence readers, participants from the Illinois Soon to be Famous project will show how you can get a similar cutting-edge project started in your community in an ALA Master’s Series session from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2. 

CHICAGO — “But this is how we’ve always done it!” Objections to taking a fresh tack are about as common as budget shortfalls, and the two are more closely related than you might think. At the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library in Arkansas, Ben Bizzle and his colleagues defied common practices by using creative risk-taking in marketing and outreach to transform their library into a dynamic institution that continues to grow and thrive.

CHICAGO -- 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting attendees will have the chance to be inspired and entertained by the popular five-minute "Ignite" sessions, coming to ALA Midwinter Meeting for the first time.

CHICAGO – Some of our oldest public libraries were born out of mechanics institutes, and many of our newest public libraries feature makerspaces. A lengthy continuum of organizations now seems to share many similarities with today’s libraries. In her ALA Masters Session, “Mechanic Institutes, Hackerspaces, Makerspaces, TechShops, Incubators, Accelerators, and Centers of Social Enterprise. Where do libraries fit in?” at the 2015 Midwinter Meeting, Mita Williams will offer a field guide to these new spaces and point out the differences that make a difference.