Registration is now open for the highly anticipated PLA 2026 Conference, April 1–3, in Minneapolis Minnesota!

Learn to build inclusive lending systems with tools for home, education, science, and more, to reflect your communities.

Join this free virtual forum to get to know the candidates standing for president in the upcoming PLA election.

This webinar will look at how all libraries (with a special focus on school libraries) can create inclusive collections representative of all students and people, even when the institutions themselves might not be the most inclusive. It will highlight ways to create policies, teach challenging topics or books, create displays, and handle questions.

This session will explore how the library and design team embraced universal design principles, community input, and adaptive problem-solving to reimagine a prominent library space. Attendees will gain insight into the power of collaboration and the importance of designing by the people, for the people.

Public libraries are hubs of community engagement, innovation, and learning—and increasingly, they are called upon to lead large-scale events and initiatives that reach diverse audiences and deliver measurable impact. This session will provide library professionals with practical strategies for designing, managing, and evaluating large events and initiatives that align with organizational goals and community needs.

Available for purchase to nonmembers. Learn how different communities are approaching staff training and handling interactions when ICE enters a public library.

Available free to ALA individual members! Learn how different communities are approaching staff training and handling interactions when ICE enters a public library.

Get program guidance and ways to expand career resources so your library can empower patrons to achieve their career goals.

March 2026 Learning Live

This session will explore concrete examples, including the implementation of multilingual signage; the creation of accessible restrooms with adult changing tables; the design and use of inclusive furniture; and the provision of lactation rooms, sensory and quiet spaces. Learn how new access to spaces created opportunities for policy and practice change as well.

United for Libraries presents a virtual retreat to help Friends of the Library ensure a bright future. Sessions will cover recruitment, retention, and engagement, and Friends and Foundations working together.

February 2026 Learning Live

The presenters have developed a toolkit, the Viewfinder toolkit, to help libraries and archives implement AI in alignment with professional values. This hands-on session introduces the toolkit and guides participants through its use.

Teams are an increasingly important workplace construct, allowing libraries to tap into staff potential to tackle complex work in our current, dynamic library environment.

Documenting the cultural heritage and unique experiences of your community members provides a more inclusive archival record. This presentation covers the steps needed to establish relationships and work with community members through participatory archives. This presentation will provide an overview of the basic structure of how to conduct oral histories and working with communities.

The presentation will give an overview of the work of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Task Group on AI for Cataloging and Metadata activities, with particular focus on the Guiding Principles, the Best Practices, and the Community of Practice.

. In the area of cataloging and metadata, one frequently cited potential use for AI (particularly Large Language Models (LLMs)) is constructing summaries and abstracts of information resources.

Leading a library in today’s complex landscape presents unique challenges, including political dynamics, budget constraints, and the lingering effects of the pandemic on mental health. In their efforts to create safe and healthy environments for their teams, library leaders often find themselves stretched thin and in need of strategies to enhance their own well-being. This raises an important question: how can they prioritize self-care while supporting others?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to streamline metadata workflows and increase the capacity of cataloging operations. Interest in the promise of AI has accelerated since the release of ChatGPT in 2022. Metadata practitioners have conducted many case studies using AI processes, such as machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP).