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The VLA Blog

The Virginia Library Association Blog aims to provide members a platform to share their ideas, expertise, and experiences with one another. Posts should be timely and related to topics that would be of value to those involved in librarianship in Virginia and beyond. Forums contribute monthly posts on topics that are relevant to their purpose, including current issues in the field, initiatives, ideas, experiences, and resources.

VLA Blog

The VLA Blog is distinct and separate from Virginia Libraries, the academic journal of the Virginia Library Association.

Blog Forum Pages

Interested in specific subsections of the VLA blog? Read individual forum contributions by clicking on their links below.

CaTSGraphic Novels and ComicsIntellectual FreedomLGBTQIALOCLocal and Family HistoryMakerspaceNMRT Youth and Family Services 

Current Guest Blogging Opportunities

We are currently seeking:

Up to two members of the current Virginia Library Leadership Academy cohort to write about their experience at VALLA 2026.
Up to two members who plan to attend the Public Library Association Conference in 2026 to write about their experience.

 Blog Policies and Content

The Communications and Member Engagement Manager will act as the VLA Blog manager and solicit and/or approve bloggers and their posts. Blog content is determined by:

1. Forum chairs through soliciting monthly posts from their member rosters, upon approval by VLA staff.
2. Calls for member content from the Communications and Member Engagement Manager (CMEM) on an as needed basis, to align with relevant events and happenings for the organization.
3. The Executive Committee and VLA staff who may request calls for blog posts and/or publish blog posts that contain updates, announcements, or calls to action on an as needed basis.

VLA Staff reserves the right to remove and/or not publish any content that compromises the integrity of VLA. VLA staff retains the right to edit or remove any language or images that violates AA ADA accessibility standards for digital content.

Blog Text Guidelines

  • Posts should be between 300 - 1000 words.
  • Authors are responsible for technical aspects, including spelling and grammar, with revisions provided by forum members.
  • While this is not an academic publication, authors are still responsible for fact checking and citing sources if relevant.
  • Do not write anything that could be interpreted as an advertisement for any specific products, services or websites - especially if you would personally benefit from promoting them.
  • All content must be original and the author’s own work.
  • Authors are responsible for protecting the privacy of their patrons. Photos of programs may be used but faces should be censored or obscured, especially for minors. Do not use names of patrons or personal information.
  • Do not write anything that could be interpreted as a political endorsement; including engaging, directly or indirectly, in any political campaign.
  • Be mindful to consider inclusive language in any writing.
  • Imagine your writing will be read by a future employer.
  • Your post will be published as is; please use proper capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and sources if needed.
  • All submissions must include the name of the author, their workplace, and a brief biography. Biographies should no more than 200 words and written in third person. We love to brag about our amazing members, but avoid purple prose for cohesion with other bios. Example: “Fred graduated with honors from Lorem Ipsum University” not “Fred showed immense perseverance and stunning intelligence by graduating with honors from Lorem Ipsum University."

Guidelines for Images

VLA has been fined in the past for at least one user selected image in published materials for use without a license. To avoid this in the future, ensure that you are using a free image depository. You may have access to paid depositories for personal use or through your workplace, but in an abundance of caution, VLA prohibits member submitted images from: Canva, Unsplash, Pixabay, Pexels, or anything AI generated.

Instead, please use:

Library of Congress free-to-use depository
Kaboompics
Wikimedia Commons
Mueso

Personal images may be used. In using a personal image, you acknowledge that VLA may use the image on their website and social media without a licensing fee. Requests to remove personal images must be received in writing - images will be removed in no less than 30 business days from the written request.

You may use photos from programs if allowed by your library’s communications department - VLA staff will presume you have received permission if these images are submitted with a post. It is the author’s responsibility to verify internally with their organization that they have appropriate permissions.

Please protect patron privacy in any program photos by obscuring faces with an emoji or something similar, especially for minors.

Comment Policy

Comments on VLA Blog posts are open and moderated.

VLA welcomes reactions, feedback, respectful debate, and opinions that are on topic for each post.

While comments are open, they are moderated by the VLA Communications Manager and other VLA Staff. VLA Staff reserves the right to remove or filter comments. Reasons comments may be removed includes irrelevancy to the post (off topic comments), job postings, spam, personal promotion, harassment, personal attacks, hate speech, or misalignment with VLA integrity and values. Comments must adhere to the VLA Code of Conduct. Please report any violations through the Code of Conduct Violation form.

Guest Contributor Policies

All bloggers who are not contributing a post on behalf of an official VLA forum or committee, the Executive Committee, or VLA Staff will be considered guest contributors. Guest contributors must be current VLA members in good standing. Guest contributors must follow all policies listed above and submit their posts to the Communications and Member Engagement Manager via Google Doc, including relevant images, for revisions and/or approval. Guest contributors will submit their posts via email to the Communications and Member Engagement Manager at least 2 weeks in advance of their requested posting date. Requested posting dates are requests and publication will depend on existing schedules. 

Guest contributors posts do not represent the official positions of VLA, but their posts should still align with VLA values, including he ALA Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics.

No VLA member is guaranteed a blog post. Guest posts cannot be offered to any member of VLA by anyone other than the Executive Director, the President, or the Communications and Member Engagement Manager. Potential guest bloggers will be evaluated by VLA staff based on several factors, including but not limited to: relevancy, need, content, and commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Substack FAQs

What is Substack?
Substack is a digital platform that combines a blog with a direct to inbox newsletter.

Why Substack?
Some like to read things through email, while others prefer to view things on their browser. We thought this gave members an option to read the blog via email or browser, or both.

How did I subscribe to this?
VLA has imported our e-list subscribers as the blog will now function as an additional portion of our e-list communications.

I hate emails. How did I subscribe to this if I didn't subscribe to the VLA e-list?
Technology is imperfect and your profile may have been included in the transfer. You may unsubscribe from these emails.

How do I unsubscribe?
There is an unsubscribe button at the bottom of each email. View this page for more detailed information

I don't want to subscribe to the blog but I want to stay on the VLA e-list. What do I do?
You can unsubscribe from the blog at any time and remain on the VLA e-list (and vice versa).

Do I need to pay?
Many content producers on Substack create content that requires you to be a paid subscriber, but all VLA Blog posts are free.

Do I need to make an account?
No, unless you would like to leave a like or comment which may prompt you to sign up. Your email address and name will be required, but nothing else will be necessary unless you choose to subscribe to a separate paid newsletter from another Substack creator; VLA will never charge for access to the blog.

How do I comment?
You can comment on a post by either clicking the “leave a comment” button, or by clicking the speech button at the bottom of a post via email. You will be prompted to sign up if you do not have an account.

How do I like a post?
You can like post by clicking the heart button. You will be prompted to sign up if you do not have an account.

Do I need to download an app to read this?
Mobile users can download the Substack app, but posts can still be read directly through the url in a browser or directly through email on a smart phone.