Tuesday, November 10 Schedule

Vision

Read Aloud Indiana: Revealing the 2027 Lists!

Presenter(s): Tammie Buchanan, Indiana State Library; with Malissa Hostetler, Huntington City-Township Public Library

We know it's early, but we're up and ready to go. and you don't want to miss this! Bring your coffee and your donut and join the Read Aloud Indiana committee as we share who we are and what we do. Find out how we create our five lists of read aloud books too good to miss and discuss the importance of reading aloud at all ages. Most importantly, we will reveal the 2027 Read Aloud Lists and wake you up with great stories read just for you! Expect lots of book talks, how tos, and more. This is a great session for anyone who has the opportunity to share the love of reading by reading aloud.

Discovery A

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better: How to Give a Presentation

Presenter(s): Alyssa Morgan, Morgan County Public Library

We may not want to admit it, but we've probably all been in a presentation and thought, "I can do better!"  Now it's time to do it!  Learn tips and tricks about how to give a presentation- how to prepare, gathering your information, putting together, and getting ready to present.  With a little Broadway flair, you'll be entertained, engaged, and inspired to create your own presentation.And yes, the presenter will sing.  You've been warned...

Discovery B

AISLE Annual Meeting

Presenter(s): Rain Smith, Whiteland Community High School / AISLE / IN FREADOM

The AISLE annual meeting at the ILF Annual Conference.

Studio One

From the Stacks to the Statehouse

Presenter(s): Vanessa Martin, Bartholomew County Public Library; with Julie Wendorf, Crown Point Community Library

A session focused on advocacy at all levels. More details to come.

Studio Six

“It’s Not for Kids Like Me”: Designing Inclusive Makerspaces Beyond STEM Identity

Presenter(s): Brooke Baker, Belzer Middle School

Many library makerspaces unintentionally attract the same group of STEM-identified learners, leaving others feeling like they don't belong. This session explores how librarians can redesign makerspaces to engage students who enjoy creative, social, and low-tech making—but do not see themselves as STEM kids. Participants will examine how identity, confidence, and participation structures impact engagement. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for lowering barriers, expanding definitions of making, and designing inclusive experiences that invite all learners into the makerspace.”

Regency E

Breakout #2

Presenter(s): John Chrastka, EveryLibrary

Additional EveryLibrary session - official details to come.

Regency F

Exploring STEM Through Play: Developing All-Ages STEM Kits for In-House Circulation at a Public Library

Presenter(s): Kerstin Glaess, Allen County Public Library

Learn how Allen County Public Library staff developed and debuted twenty (20) multigenerational STEM kits for patron circulation at the Studio at Main (our library system's largest makerspace). Hear about the journey to get the kits available to patrons, patron expereinces and feedback on the kits, reflections from our staff, and goals for future systemwide Studio kits. Peruse a couple physical kits examples brought to the presentation.

Theory A

Busy Teens: Using Community Building Practices to Build Relationships with Middle School Patrons

Presenter(s): Stephen Platt and Lici Walker, Allen County Public Library

Stephen Platt (Georgetown Branch Manager) and Lici Walker (Georgetown Branch Assistant Manager) share the Allen County Public Library's evolving approach to supporting large groups of middle school patrons in a busy branch environment. Located in a shopping center and within walking distance of a local middle school, the Georgetown Branch regularly serves 80-100 youth after school each weekday. This session explores the branch's shift from traditional afterschool programming models to intentionally designed safe spaces grounded in Community Building Practices and Restorative Justice principles. Attendees will learn practical strategies for responding to disruptive or unwanted behaviors in developmentally appropriate ways, with an emphasis on relationship-building, co-regulation, and teaching middle school patrons (grades 6-8) how to be benevolent members of the library community. The presentation will include concrete tools, staff training methods, and measurable outcomes that demonstrate the impact of this approach on youth, staff, and the broader library environment.

Theory B

From Idea to Impact: Designing and Teaching an AI-Focused Information and Career Literacy Course

Presenters(s): Susan Thomas and Stephen Sigety, Indiana University South Bend

As artificial intelligence increasingly shapes how students find information, evaluate credibility, and prepare for careers, libraries are uniquely positioned to lead curricular responses, not just instructional support. This session examines the development and teaching of Q294: College to Career in the Age of AI, a credit bearing, librarian designed course that integrates information literacy, career literacy, First Year Seminar outcomes, and ethical AI use.Drawing directly from the course syllabus, the presenter will discuss how the course was intentionally structured around five thematic units, including the information landscape, misinformation and algorithmic bias, information and research ethics, AI assisted research and writing, and career exploration through ePortfolios. Participants will learn how students engage in hands on activities such as fact checking AI outputs, analyzing filter bubbles, practicing prompt engineering, verifying AI generated citations, and reflecting on the ethical use of AI across disciplines and career paths.The session will highlight pedagogical choices, assessment strategies, and lessons learned from teaching the course asynchronously, including how reflection assignments, career artifacts, and transparent AI use policies reinforce both information literacy and student agency. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for incorporating AI aware instruction into credit courses, General Education curricula, information literacy, and library faculty collaborations.

Concept C

Douglass Day and Digital Literacy: Transcribing for Real-World Change

Presenters(s): Shelly Smith and Sara Kohne, Perry Township Schools

This session will help expand the vast history of an early movement for civil rights in the United States and Canada! You will learn how to be a part of collective action for Black history and participate in real history. You will help researchers get public access to documents. After this session, participants will be able to understand the purpose of transcribing historical documents, identify the rules to transcribing and steps to take if you need help while transcribing, select a document for transcription on the Zooniverse platform, and correctly transcribe a historical document.

Concept D

NICCL AI Roundtable

Presenter(s): Beth Gaff, Peabody Public Library

An open-ended roundtable discussion about AI and where it is going for libraries, including policies, uses, and benefits.

Vision

How to be an Effective Reviewer

Presenter(s): Mark Dehmlow, University of Notre Dame

Do you enjoy reading articles about libraries? Do you like mulling over those readings? If so, you may be a great volunteer for the review board of the ILF journal Crossroads. Come find out what goes into reviewing articles and essays submitted for a peer reviewed journal. In this hands on work shop, we will read a representative article, assess it for currency, substance, and interest, and then discuss what people feel could make it better.

Discovery A

Booked Solid: Tips and Tricks to Getting More Done in an Overstuffed School Library Role

Presenter(s): Debbie Acord, Adams Central Community Schools

Walk away with practical tips and tools to improve organization, efficiency, and communication in a busy school library role.

Discovery B

Managing Is Messy — Embrace It!

Presenter(s): Jenny Kobiela-Mondor, Midwest Collaborative for Library Services

Take chances! Make mistakes! Get messy! So goes the wisdom of Ms. Frizzle, eccentric and effective teacher in the Magic School Bus series. What if we embraced that mindset around the way we lead in our libraries? Rather than trying to be the perfect manager, let's explore how to cultivate your unique gifts and your team's strengths to create a culture of growth and support where everyone can thrive and consider how we can bounce back when things don't go right. Participants will: identify qualities they can use to effectively lead at their libraries; consider how to help empower others to be their best at work; and explore how to use their strengths to survive and thrive while our world is in flux.

Studio One

Front Page Strategies: Making Headlines with Library Media Relations

Presenter(s): Aja Michael-Keller and Susan P. Baier, Allen County Public Library

In an age where information spreads rapidly and public perception can make or break an organization, libraries must be prepared to effectively leverage media relations to cultivate positive sentiment and navigate potential crises. Our library's leadership will share how their new approach to engaging with the media has led to consistent, positive media coverage resulting in millions of media impressions and hundreds of thousands of dollars in earned value. The session delves into the intricate world of library media relations, focusing on key strategies tailored specifically for libraries. Join this session to learn how you can leverage media relations to build trust, transparency, and goodwill with your community, ultimately strengthening their position as vital resource. Participants will discover tried and true methods to garner media attention, how to craft compelling narratives, and how to give a great media interview! The session will focus on fostering positive sentiment and cultivating strong relationships with media outlets through strategic communication initiatives and exceptional storytelling. Participants will also learn how to anticipate and respond to potential crises swiftly and effectively.Whether you're a seasoned library leader or new to the field, we all need to be ready to represent our libraries with the media. This presentation offers actionable strategies, hands-on activities, and proven best practices for media relations success.

Studio Five

From Idea to Impact: Bringing “The Anxious Generation” to Our Community

Presenter(s): Kate Blakely, Bremen Public Library

Using The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt as a foundation, our library worked with our local schools systems and non-profit community healthcare organization for a One Book, One Community initiative to spark conversations around youth mental health, technology use, and family engagement. This session will walk through the full lifecycle of the program, from initial planning and community partnerships to marketing strategies, event execution, and measuring impact, along with practical tips and lessons learned to help you bring a community read to life in your own library.

Studio Six

DIY Strategic Planning, or Strategic Planning Without a Consulting Budget

Presenter(s): Beka Lemons, Huntington City-Township Public Library

This session will lead library managers and administrators through a simple strategic planning process that anyone can use to formulate a useful and informed strategic plan. All libraries are required to have some form of long range plan but many are not able to afford consultants to help them. This session will lay out a roadmap for strategic planning and include a toolkit for strategic planning tasks.

Regency E

Session with Dr. Jenner

Presenter(s): Julie Wendorf, Crown Point Community Library

Session details to be determined.

Regency F

Growing a Public Library Makerspace: Successes and Failures

Presenter(s): Ben Rutz, Kokomo-Howard County Public Library

Starting and growing a makerspace can feel like a difficult road without a clear path to follow. In this presentation, you'll learn how the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library transformed its makerspace from an underutilized service into a successful initiative serving thousands of patrons. This session will highlight both the successes and the challenges encountered along the way, offering practical insights and lessons learned for libraries looking to build or expand their own makerspaces.

Theory B

Fire Up Readers with Firefly

Presenter(s): Tammie Buchanan, Indiana State Library

Did you know that the Indiana State Library Young Readers Center and the Library of Congress Indiana Affiliate for the Center for the Book sponsor a book award program each year just for preschoolers? The Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award program is for children 5 and under. Each year 5 nominees are selected by the committee and children get to vote for their favorite. Come learn about this fun literacy program for our youngest readers.

Network

Organizing a Community-Wide Literacy Night: Creative Ideas and Practical Planning Steps

Presenter(s): Kimberly Howard, Author

Looking for ways to engage families and the wider community? This session will take you behind the scenes to help you plan a dynamic Literacy Night. We'll explore lots of options for how to build an event that best fits the needs of your unique community, such as anchoring the event with a featured author or highlighting child-centered programming with games and writing contests. Packed with tried-and-true, practical ideas, opportunities for collaboration and sharing, and ready-made resources, you'll leave this session with creative programming ideas and the concrete steps you'll need to put your plan into action.

Concept C

From Theory to Practice: Building Incident Response & Disaster Recovery Plans That Actually Work

Presenter(s): Sheila Broussard, Jasper County Public Library

Many libraries have been told they need an Incident Response Plan (IRP) and Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP), but few are given practical guidance on how to create documents that are usable, understandable, and sustainable with limited staff and budgets.This session walks through a real-world, library tested approach to IRP and DRP development, including what to include, what to leave out, and how to make these plans actionable during a real incident. The session uses a practical IRP/DRP planning packet as its foundation, explaining key components and answering questions to help libraries apply it in their own environments. Attendees will see examples designed specifically for public libraries of varying sizes and staffing levels, with an emphasis on clarity, accessibility, and realistic implementation.

Concept D

The Power of Passive Programming — Engaging Adult Audiences Outside Library Hours

Presenter(s): Emily Bedwell, Monroe County Public Library

Adult programming can feel like a mystery, especially when it comes to getting adults in library buildings. Whether it is because hours don't fit work schedules, conflicts with other commitments, or simply not a library close, many adults cannot attend traditional library programming. Through this discussion and presentation, Adult Services Librarian Emily Bedwell will discuss the benefits of passive programming - programs adults can participate in on their time and schedule - and how it has become a central part of her programming mission. From take home kits to writing contests and online book challenges, passive programming opens library services up for more adults than ever before.

Vision

Student Career Guidance on the Clock: Crossroads of Collaboration in a Technical Services Cataloging Project

Presenter(s): Lori Dekydtspotter, Ellie Harrison, and Ronda L. Sewald, Indiana University

This presentation explores the use of a student internship model within a cataloging department to reduce a special collections backlog. The goal of the internship was to provide practical work experience and career guidance while also supplying description and access for a sizable backlog of Latin American artists' books. Presenters will share perspectives from the student, supervisor, and manager point of view. We will talk about the successes and challenges of our approach and provide recommendations. Drawing from sample training documentation, we will discuss our interactive training approach.By participating in this collaborative approach and engaging with guided training materials, presenters will share how the student was able to draw upon knowledge from a variety of sources while learning to catalog. The student presenter worked primarily with a backlog of artists' books, which provided a particularly rich source of material for her to engage multiple interests and skillsets, including her academic background in art history. In her portion of the presentation, the student presenter will highlight examples of ways in which this collaborative experience aided her comprehension of cataloging skills. The presenters will also note useful tools, best practices, and examples of completed records. This position ultimately allowed the student to refine her career path by learning about the field of technical services through the supervisors' areas of expertise and through hands-on experience with special collection materials.

Discovery A

When Is It Time to Talk to a Lawyer?

Presenter(s): John Goth, Gutwein Law / Newburgh Chandler Public Library

This session will identify key issues, buzzwords, and scenarios that a Library might encounter that merit a phone call to the Library's legal counsel to navigate effectively. In other words, this presentation educates Library Management on when it needs to call an attorney.

Discovery B

Tabletop Miniature Painting @ the Rice Library

Presenter(s): Rachel Getz and Denise McKenzie, University of Southern Indiana

By joining Warhammer Alliance, an education support program based around the Warhammer 40k tabletop miniature wargame, the David L. Rice Library at the University of Southern Indiana hosted an outreach and engagement event series focused on creativity and artistic expression.  The purpose of these outreach events was for students to utilize the all-inclusive Resource Packs provided to our library by Warhammer Alliance and construct their own tabletop miniature models and then allowing them time to paint their creations.  Marketing of these events involved several avenues and included the construction of posters and social media blasts, university newsletter blurbs, and digital signage. Most exciting, the events allowed for opportunities of collaboration with other university departments and partnerships within the community.

Studio One

Unmasking and Thriving: Practical Strategies and Community Conversation for Neurodivergent Librarians

Presenter(s): JoyAnn Boudreau, Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate/Junior High

Let's chat about being neurodivergent in the library and/or education worlds! There are a number of strategies and tools that we can use to support us in doing our jobs. There are also ways we can advocate for ourselves with our colleagues. This will be a round table discussion that will start with the speaker sharing strategies that have worked for them and others, and then transition into group conversations amongst librarians in the room on these topics. Let's support and learn from each other.

Studio Five

Read ’Em and Eat: How a Grant-Funded Kitchen Grew Our Library’s Reach

Presenter(s): Jamie Dugan, Emily Bunyan, and Tiffany Muranaka, Knox County Public Library

When the Knox County Community Learning Kitchen rolled out the Charlie Cart and put an Ambassador of Wellness in front of more than 2,500 residents each year, from Pre-K classrooms to senior centers, healthy food demonstrations quietly became the most powerful outreach tool the library had ever deployed. By meeting people where they already gathered and serving up something everyone needs, the program turned first-time taste-testers into first-time library visitors, fueling a 346.1% jump in live programs and pushing annual attendance to 9,252, nearly 26% of Knox County's entire population. The ripple effect showed up everywhere the data was tracked: children's program attendance climbed 463.4%, teen attendance exploded by 821.3%, and adult attendance rose 196.8% as families who first met us over a cutting board followed us back to story times, summer reading, and Dolly Parton Imagination Library sign-ups. In an agricultural community where food is common ground, the Charlie Cart proved that the shortest path to a library card sometimes runs straight through the kitchen, transforming KCPL from a building people visited into a partner people trusted, and cementing its place as the true heart of Knox County.

Studio Six

Beyond the Bot: Designing Responsible AI Use in Libraries

Presenter(s): Brooke Baker and Kirshawndra Goode, Belzer Middle School

EA's AI tools rapidly enter library spaces, the question is no longer whether to use them, but rather how to use them responsibly. This session explores how librarians can move beyond simply providing access to AI and instead design intentional, scaffolded experiences that support learning, critical thinking, and user well-being. Using a real-world case study of an AI-powered readers' advisory tool (Book Bot), participants will examine how design choices such as constraints, prompt structures, and human-in-the-loop interactions can guide meaningful engagement while reducing over-reliance and misuse. The session also addresses emerging social and emotional risks of AI use, including dependency, avoidance of productive struggle, and emotional outsourcing. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for implementing AI tools in ways that are ethical, inclusive, and adaptable across school, public, and academic library settings.

Regency E

Services for Homeschool Families

Presenter(s): Alice Selm, Meegan Ebacher, and Devery North, Indianapolis Public Library

Public libraries are uniquely positioned to support the growing and diverse homeschooling community. This session explores how libraries can better serve homeschool families through thoughtful collections, targeted programming, and relationship-building. We'll highlight national data on the changing homeschool landscape, share tips for homeschool-specific collections, and creative program ideas. Drawing from our work on the Homeschool Committee at Indianapolis Public Library, we'll share real-world experiences, lessons learned, and actionable strategies for connecting with homeschool families.

Regency F

On Display: Examining Engagement with Library Collections

Presenter(s): Caleb Britton, Luna Maldonado-Vélez, Erika Mann, and Sarah Wagner, Purdue University Fort Wayne

Displays promoting materials are a mainstay of libraries and information spaces of various kinds, but the question remains: How effective is this work at stimulating user engagement with library collections? This presentation surveys varying methods of highlighting items and the challenges of assessing the impact of these methods. The presenters will share examples of displays used at their own institution and the advantages and limitations of specific modalities before recounting challenges of gathering viable circulation and other data and the inherent difficulty in drawing conclusions about impact from that data. The presentation considers the value of usage data in informing collection development and passive outreach through displays, especially concerning the library's efforts to be an inviting space.

Theory B

Empowering Storytelling: Book Creator in the School Library

Presenter(s): Lael DuBois, Plainfield Community School Corporation

Discover how Book Creator can transform the school library into a hub for creativity, literacy, and student voice. In this session, school librarians will explore how to use Book Creator to support reading, writing, and multimedia expression across grade levels and content areas. Participants will learn how to design engaging student projects, collaborate with classroom teachers, and integrate digital publishing into the curriculum. This session will also focus on the librarian's role as an instructional leader, modeling best practices, co-teaching lessons, and providing professional development for teachers. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use ideas, lesson templates, and strategies for training staff to confidently implement Book Creator in their classrooms.

Network

Public Polling Results

Presenter(s): Vanessa Martin, Bartholomew County Public Library; with Julie Wendorf, Crown Point Community Library

Concept D

Pardon Our Mess

Presenter(s): Candace Wells, Tammy Criminger, and Scott Miller, Monticello-Union Township Public Library

At the end of 2024, the Monticello-Union Township Public Library began a year-long building project to renovate our main site and work out of a temporary building. The library staff experienced the amazing work of designing a building, frustrations of packing and moving, and adapting to a temporary work environment. Join us to hear about our experiences from the legal process of bonding, planning for the move out and back to the library, and all the challenges we encountered with the construction. We will provide encouragement, suggestions and helpful tips if you are planning a future building project.