NCLA Con 2025

This workshop offers library professionals a full day of immersive, hands-on learning in two complementary parts. The morning session introduces the art and history of books and bookbinding, while the afternoon explores zine-making as a medium of personal expression and community engagement. Participants will actively create their own hand-bound books and self-published zines, guided by an experienced instructor. Throughout both sessions, the workshop emphasizes experiential, object-based, and craft-based learning theories – demonstrating how tactile, “learning-by-doing” activities can deepen understanding of library collections and the social impact of print culture. By the end of the day, attendees will not only have new creative skills and finished projects to take home, but also concrete ideas for implementing bookbinding and zine programs in their own libraries. This workshop is beginner-friendly and open to all. All materials and tools will be provided, and participants are encouraged (but not required) to bring any personal images, magazines, poetry, or artwork to incorporate into their zines. Connection to 45-Minute Conference Presentation This workshop is proposed in conjunction with a 45-minute presentation at the main conference, and together they provide a cohesive learning experience on bookbinding, zines, and experiential learning in libraries. 
Participants can select to attend the morning or afternoon session, or both.

The State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) has developed new tools to support public libraries as centers of community archiving. Learn about various types of community archiving and resources to facilitate these services. A wide range of community archiving initiatives across public libraries statewide includes services to patrons to help them preserve their own treasures, work with grassroots community organizations to store records; and facilitate books and exhibits with patron-created content. Speakers will share nine preservation tipsheets for public distribution, recorded panel discussions with ideas and guidance from peer librarians statewide, and community archiving guidebooks for library staff. A Q &; A session after brief presentations will supplement these resources by building a community of practice with librarians sharing ideas about successes and challenges and catalyzing collaborations.

In 2018, Wake Forest University announced that it would be receiving the donation of then-Senator Richard Burrs political papers in preparation for his leaving office. This donation would lead to the hiring of a visiting archivist tasked with processing the collection within a three-year timeframe. In this presentation, former Collections Archivist Stephanie Bennett and Burr project archivist Kate Trathen will discuss their experience working on the Richard M. Burr Congressional Collection. Stephanie will address advocating for staff in advance, preparing for an inaugural direct report, and supervision and project management of large archival projects. Kate will discuss getting into the nitty-gritty of processing around 500 linear feet of material, project managing the processing work, challenges and opportunities of government documents and the materials of a public figure, and the importance of preserving and providing access to government records.

As archivists and curators of special collections, we encounter items and collections that give us pause. Whether it is an artifact that has preservation/conservation issues, a collection with politically or culturally charged language, digitized or born digital materials that present access and management problems, or even physical or online storage challenges, these issues cause us to pause and explore how to best handle each individual circumstance, incorporating imaginative methodologies, along with best practices, to ensure the safety, longevity, and fair use of our collections. Panelists will discuss their experiences stewarding complex and niche collections, including challenges and opportunities they have confronted, and their approaches to dealing with them. Preservation, intellectual control, legal, and ethical concerns will all be discussed. There will also be time for audience members to share their own stories of archival challenges and how they were met.