Final night and final inspiration at #PLA2026

As excellent as the content has been, my favorite benefit of an in-person event is the side conversations and unexpected connections. Tonight, after the sessions ended, attendees made their way back to hotels and the airport. One person made a kind invitation in the conference app to meet up for dinner. After so many focused conversations, it was an absolute delight to gather with a group of strangers who all love public…

https://drwebdomain.blog/2026/04/10/final-night-and-final-inspiration-at-pla2026/

#PLA2026 Closing Session: Sean Sherman and What Libraries Pass Down

PLA President Dr. Brandy A. McNeil of The New York Public Library opened the PLA 2026 Closing Session in a packed auditorium. She thanked attendees for helping one another find lost phones, clothing, cookies, and skyways during the week and for making a point of supporting Twin Cities businesses when they could. McNeil then introduced Sean Sherman, an Oglala Lakota chef from Pine Ridge and the founder…

https://drwebdomain.blog/2026/04/10/pla2026-closing-session-sean-sherman-and-what-libraries-pass-down/

Presenting at #PLA2026

The other day I was browsing my inbox for an email and I found the initial email that I sent my colleague about collaborating for a presentation at PLA. It shocked me to see that that was nearly a year ago, when today we finally got to share our presentation with #PLA2026 attendees.  My colleague, children’s librarian Claire Foagarty, and I collaborated this year to share some inclusive practices and programs that we host at our respective…

https://drwebdomain.blog/2026/04/10/presenting-at-pla2026/

#PLA2026: Colson Whitehead on Genre, Persistence, and Writing Without Shortcuts

At the Author Lunch with Colson Whitehead, the conversation moved between reading, rejection, labor, and artificial intelligence. Whitehead spoke as an indoor child shaped by The Twilight Zone and speculative fiction, as a college student turned away from creative writing classes, and as a writer who built pages around a day job. For those of us in youth services, the lunch offered a useful…

https://drwebdomain.blog/2026/04/10/pla2026-colson-whitehead-on-genre-persistence-and-writing-without-shortcuts/

Look for the ALA Store at #PLA2026 ... Booth 1611! Apparel, bookmarks, posters, totes, and gift and professional development books galore. https://www.placonference.org/

#ALA #AmericanLibraryAssociation #LIS #MLIS #libraries #librarianship #InformationScience #publiclibraries #library