Lightning Talks

Thursday, October 24
4:00 – 4:45 pm

Must Love Reading: Starting a YA Book Club for College Students
This talk will discuss how I lead a YA book club in an academic library. While challenging, student feedback and a partnership with the university bookstore are helping book club to improve. And, in three semesters, I have never attended a meeting alone, so that’s a win!
Presenter: Natalie L. Browning, Longwood University

How to Throw a Teen PRIDE Party
Discover how Virginia Beach Public Library collaborated with local high school Gay-Straight-Alliances to throw an empowering PRIDE event for LGBT+ teens. We’ll share how we made space for teens to lead, lessons learned, leveraging partner organizations, and tips for creating an inclusive environment for all.
Presenter: James Giangregorio and Jessica Kasper, Virginia Beach Public Library

Is there a Suffragist in the House?
Does your community have a hidden suffrage story? Beginning in 2020, the Library of Virginia will travel We Demand: Women’s Suffrage in Virginia to libraries throughout the commonwealth. How can we capture these local stories to make the history of women’s suffrage in Virginia complete?
Presenter: Barbara C. Batson, Library of Virginia

Peace, Love and Collaboration
Public high school librarians are now working with Dual Enrollment programs in conjunction with local community colleges, including access to their library resources. Communication/collaboration between high school librarians and their community college counterparts is essential to ensure the best possible lessons are provided using ACRL and AASL standards.
Presenter: Christine Elizabeth Woods, Kecoughtan High, ODU

Ad Astra: Accessing NASA Research
Discover over 100 years of research available from NACA and NASA! This talk will be your guide to accessing NASA’s publicly available research and data sets that will help you inspire your citizen scientists of all ages.
Presenter: Michelle L. Chrzanowski, NASA STI Program

Friday, October 25
2:15 – 3:00 pm

Experience More: The Importance of Design Thinking in Libraries
Experiences influence our thought patterns, emotional connections, and overall behavior. Within libraries, we have a unique opportunity to shape those experiences with our services and products through design thinking. Learn more in this session about how a design thinking mindset allows us to evolve seamlessly with our community while capturing staff insights to enhance organizational culture.
Presenter: Lakisha White, Newport News Public Library

Making the Most of Middle Management
Middle management is a two-way street. Listening and advocating across the leadership spectrum. This session will discuss some of the necessary skills every librarian should know about in order to be an effective manager in a library.
Presenter: Emily Hurst, VCU Libraries

Program-in-a-Box
Learn how to share passive programs between branches. Programs are designed for ages 11-17, feature STEAM principles, and are easy to maintain. Take new ideas back to your system!
Presenter: Emily Correa, Campbell County Public Library System

On the Safe Side
Our Help Manual revision evolved into a system-wide safety training initiative. We found we needed to empower frontline staff to address behavior and building issues, when appropriate, rather than escalating all issues to managers. Training is the key to raising staff comfort levels and making the branch a safer place.
Presenter: Miriam Herrell, Prince William Public Library System

S.N.A.P. Seeing a New Approach to Partnerships
The best community partnerships blossom in the most unexpected places. Hear about our wonderful experiences in expanding our partnership programs, ask questions, and share your experiences with us!
Presenter: Charley Schillinger and Sarah Pool, Augusta County Library