NCLA Con 2025

The Civic Engagement Workshop Series is a collaboration between UNC's Park and Undergraduate Libraries that aims to support college students' civic awareness and self-efficacy and emphasizes the role of the library in developing students' civic engagement. In this presentation, we will give an overview of these workshops, discuss how they were developed and why we believe these skills are important not only for college students, but also for anyone who wants to learn more about how and why local government operates where they live and work, and describe how other library instructors can adapt the main points of these presentations to their own audiences. We identify the key databases and knowledge tools that are broadly accessible to NC libraries, building these information seeking skills in patrons. By the end of our presentation, attendees will understand how to use interactive pedagogy to engage with patrons and highlight topics that are already present in their daily lives but that may not have been immediately visible, engage in active conversation with patrons, and have tips and tricks to make these presentations successful. The relatively small demand on staff makes these programs accessible to many types of libraries, and the learning outcomes appeal to both public and academic library audiences. Public libraries may enjoy the opportunity to make community members more aware of the fundamentals of local governance, and academic libraries support their mission by instructing students on how to parse false and misleading content in the news. Ultimately, our presentation will teach attendees how to broaden patrons’ appreciation of libraries as a resource to learn about topics that affect their everyday lives. In turn, libraries support patrons' ability to develop themselves into informed political participants year-round.

This session explores the significance of connecting readers with books they love as an integral part of excellent customer service in libraries. Delve into the various ways working with readers positively impacts library services and discuss how personalized book recommendations not only cater to individual preferences but also foster a sense of community engagement. By understanding the unique interests and needs of each library user, we can create a more inclusive and enriching reading experience for all. This session promises to equip library staff at all levels at any size library with the knowledge and tools needed to provide outstanding customer service through personalized book recommendations.

Jane McGonigal's keynote address at the 2014 ALA Annual Conference detailing a successful collaboration with the New York Public Library (NYPL) to create a game celebrating NYPL's Centennial inspired a group of academic librarians to create a camp to challenge, engage, and support student writers. The inaugural Camp achieved three outcomes/objectives: engage students in a fun and scholarly activity; showcase the library's Special Collections and Archives (SCA); and the publication of a book, cataloged with participants as authors whose work will be housed in the library's permanent collection. The camp continues to appeal to and serve a diverse group of student writers, giving them a platform for their work and an opportunity to share their work. The librarians believed hosting an intellectually stimulating and creative outreach event with an individual-based component could potentially attract and engage a different audience of students, ones who prefer smaller groups and/or individual, reflective activities. Writing skills are relevant to every discipline of study and to virtually all chosen career paths. Any opportunity to write is an opportunity to become a better writer and to do so without the pressure and/or worry of a grade and negative comments. The creative aspect allowed students to write without restriction in whatever form they chose (e.g., poetry, short stories, essays), to work independently, and to explore and use the library as a place to self-express. It also allowed students to meet and network with others outside their area of study and their usual group of friends. This presentation will chronologically outline the four creative writing camps hosted by the university library beginning in 2016. The evolution and subsequent streamlining of camps will be discussed with a focus on these elements of the planning process: funding/partners, marketing, application submission and review, event preparation, pre-and post-event activities, editing and publication, and post-event survey/feedback.Turning the writers' camp concept into an actionable goal was no small feat as resources, both financial and human, from cross-campus partners were necessary. The first camp was the most challenging, but rewarding because the event concept was proven sound and became the basis for subsequent camps. The librarians made multiple changes thereafter, such as making this a biennial event. We incorporated student feedback so that successive camps met students' needs and interests with available resources. An important theme of this presentation will be the value of flexibility and continued innovation. Learning Outcomes: Participants will explore the experiential learning possibilities of creating their own Writers' Camp event or similar program. Participants will be able to develop a model for a creative writing event and specifically adapt it to fit their community's needs. Participants will receive practical suggestions on logistical elements involved in establishing and implementing a one-time writing event.

Do you ever create reports or tables? Maybe you already turn data into charts or graphics. Hearing the term data visualization may bring complex infographics or visuals to mind but data visualization has many forms and you are likely creating data visualizations in your regular work already. This session will introduce attendees to data visualization best practices that apply whether creating a simple table or complex infographic. These practices are based on research into how our brains process and make sense of visual information and they increase the effectiveness of any type of data visualization. Attendees will also learn about free tools to aid in data visualization design from choosing the right graphic to ensuring accessibility.

Usage statistics can be challenging to collect and interpret. NC LIVE is uniquely positioned to provide libraries with guidance and context for interpreting their statistics. To leverage this we've been building an updated statistics portal that gives librarians more control over what data is included in their usage reports, and provides new tools to analyze them. In this presentation, we'll go over the goals, process, and challenges of redesigning the NC LIVE Statistics Portal, how librarians can use it to get data about their own usage trends, and how they compare to those of their peers, and how they can use them to better understand their resource usage.

The job search process can be daunting for early career librarians and not always something they are prepared for as part of their graduate program training. The success of the search process for these librarians may be impacted by several factors, including the job ads that often dictate whether an early career librarian even chooses to apply for a position. This presentation will highlight the findings of an extensive qualitative study of the job search experiences of early career librarians. Utilizing a series of focus groups and semi-structured interviews, the researchers investigated early career librarians' job search process, including how they located positions, which factors motivated them to apply for a position versus red flags that deterred their application, and other aspects of the job search process. Participants also shared suggestions for library and information organizations interested in attracting early career librarians to their workplaces. The findings of this study offer insights for both job applicants and library and information organizations looking to recruit early career professionals and offer valuable and applicable suggestions to improve the overall job search experience and, ultimately, professional experiences in the LIS workplace.

In order to keep up with changing times and patron expectations, libraries constantly add innovative new resources, formats, and services. But we cannot just keep adding. Sometimes things must be taken away for us to continue to provide excellent service. What has your library technical services unit recently stopped doing? Maybe you stopped collecting print serials, or purchasing individual ebooks? Maybe you stopped classifying childrens books, or you've stopped having big monthly meetings in favor of short weekly "stand-up" meetings to plan the week ahead. We are primarily looking for deliberate decisions driven by patron needs and expectations, rather than unfortunate changes forced by budget constraints, unless you turned them into something wonderful! What have you stopped doing? The session will feature 3-4 panelists plus a moderator. Each panelist will give a 10-15 minute presentation and the session will end with some questions from the moderator and attendees addressed to all panelists. Panelists will be asked to address these questions in their presentations: What were the reasons for your decision? Was there resistance to the change? If so, how did you deal with it? What has been the effect of the change? What has stopping doing that thing allowed you to start doing instead?

AI's role in academic libraries predates the rise of generative AI, evolving from early computational tools to today's advanced research applications. This workshop explores the historical trajectory of AI in libraries, from machine-readable cataloging and early expert systems to AI-driven discovery tools and research assistants. By understanding this progression, attendees will gain insight into how AI has transformed information retrieval and academic research support. This session will highlight key developments, discuss current applications in academic databases, and examine best practices for integrating AI responsibly in library services. Through discussion and analysis, participants will leave with a clearer understanding of AI's impact on academic libraries and strategies for navigating its future developments.