On-Demand Webinars

Collection Development/Readers' Advisory

On-demand webinars are archived recordings of previous PLA webinars available 24/7 for viewing at your convenience.

Click to view all webinars—both live and on-demand—currently available in the ALA eLearning catalog.

Please note: As PLA transitions its webinar content to the new, centralized ALA eLearning site, some older on-demand webinars may be temporarily unavailable for purchase. If you’d like to purchase access to an older on-demand webinar, please contact PLA at plawebinars@ala.org and we will follow up with you when these products are available on the new eLearning site. However, many of PLA’s on-demand webinars are free, each denoted with a green “Free!” icon below the title.

 

On-DemandWebinarFree!
Best known for his groundbreaking picture book, The Snowy Day (1962), Ezra Jack Keats created an imaginative, encouraging, and multi-ethnic community within his books. Drawing from Ezra’s legacy, the Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) Award, first awarded in 1986, nurtures and honors our country’s multicultural population, boosting the careers of authors and illustrators whose outstanding books reflect our diverse population and in turn the lives of countless children and families.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
Offering a hotspot lending program at your library offers endless opportunities for your patrons, especially those that lack broadband connectivity at home. This free webinar will offer public library staff tools and resources for how and why to start a hotspot lending program. Participants will hear from two public library staff members who will share insights about their libraries’ processes, policies, challenges, and more.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
Since 2015, Multnomah County (OR) Library has been providing a way for patrons to contribute to our e-book collection, bringing authors visibility while offering compelling local content to our patrons. The Library Writers Project engages with the writing community while promoting library staff as curators of books worth your time. We’ll walk through the project inception and execution, and discuss the place of self-published works in collection development and the role of librarians as tastemakers.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
The end of each year brings a deluge of lists with everyone and their neighbor weighing in on what are the "best" books. But are this year’s “best” titles a sure bet to recommend to your readers? And what happens in a few months? What lists can we fall back on as we work with readers no matter the season? Readers’ Advisory specialist Becky Spratford takes you down this year’s "best" list rabbit hole, makes sense of reading trends, and starts you off on crafting your plan to help your patrons find the right reads.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
With the holidays approaching the “Best of the Year” lists come fast and furious. “Best" lists are both one of the greatest things about our job and one of the most frustrating; however, in this webinar, Becky Spratford, Reader’s Advisory expert, helps you to turn all of the frustration into a success story—one that will make you and your library look like reading superheroes.
On-DemandWebinar
Learn how to make any weeding project a public relations dream! In this on-demand webinar, Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly discuss communication, transparency, and timing. Get the staff and patrons on board, be clear with your weeding plan, and set a pace that allows for careful decision making. They also talk about how to dispose of weeded materials properly and respectfully. No one wants their library in the headlines for a weeding fiasco, so learn how to weed smart! — PREVIEW AVAILABLE
On-DemandWebinarFree!
Nancy Pearl shares her recommendations of some must-read adult books. A downloadable handout of the titles is available so you can share them with your patrons. Combine Nancy’s irrepressible charm and undeniable knowledge, and you have an hour filled with reading recommendations guaranteed to make friends, family, and patrons smile and start turning pages.
On-DemandWebinar
The mercurial state of public libraries’ relationship with e-books and their publishers is not always an easy issue to understand. This one-hour, on-demand webinar features a discussion of the current state of e-books with regards to public libraries and the publishing industry. Points cover current and best practices as well as what will be coming down the pike.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
As the author of the Book Lust: Recommended Reading collection, there is no one better suited than Nancy Pearl to help you find the perfect summer reads to feature at your library. Nancy shares her recommendations for books guaranteed to make your patrons start turning pages. She features a “read alike” section and also provides a downloadable handout of the recommendations. Combine Nancy’s irrepressible charm and undeniable knowledge, and you’ll have an hour-long webinar of fun and great ideas.
On-DemandWebinarFree!
As the author of the Book Lust: Recommended Reading collection, there is no one better suited than Nancy Pearl to help you find the perfect gift for book lovers on your list. In her first-ever webinar with PLA, Nancy shared her recommendations for books guaranteed to make your friends and family smile and start turning pages. She also provided a downloadable handout of the recommendations so you can share with your patrons. Combine Nancy’s irrepressible charm and undeniable knowledge, and you have an hour-long webinar of fun and great ideas.