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Schedule
To view all conference session descriptions CLICK HERE

 

DAY START TIME END TIME  EVENT
Thursday, April 16th  8:30AM 5:00PM Tabletop Role‑Playing Game Showcase (Full‑Day Pre‑Conference) | Claire Imamura and Sara White, Sara Jones, Hannah Turiainen, and Jen Haas
  2:00PM 5:00PM “Yes, Let's Do This!” and “Ugh, No. Do I Have to?”: Creating GenAI Literacy Programs for Your Community | Stacey Wedlake and Jason Young
  7:00PM 9:00PM

Welcome Reception

Friday, April 17th

 7:30AM 8:30AM

Check-In
  8:30AM 9:45AM

Breakfast, Land Acknowledgement & Keynote Speaker: Donna Barba Higuera
  9:45AM 10:30AM

Exhibit Hall Opening/Posters
  10:30AM 11:15AM

Breakout Session #1

  • Reframing Classification: Culturally Responsive Changes to LC from a Tribal Library Perspective | Maureen Stewart and Fern Weisenburger

  • WA Do I Read Next? | Sara Peté 

  • Tabletop Role‑Playing Games in Secondary Schools | Sara White, Heidi Bush, Linsey Kitchens, and Willow McLaughlin

  • From Library Card to Career: Streamlined Access to Living Wage Credentials | Joyce Abbott

  • OTTER & Sasquatch Book Award Nominees for 2027

  • Building Writing Programs That Thrive in Libraries | Mary Boone

  • Stop Working in Silos (School + Public Partnerships) | Ryan Dempsey

  • Participatory Design in Practice: Intergenerational LGBTQIA+ Co‑Creation | Alana O’Neill and Lauren Achee
  11:15AM 11:30AM

Exhibit Hall/Break
  11:30AM 12:15PM

Breakout Session #2

  • Make It Local: Culture, Community & Resourceful Library Programming | Ary Esparza
  • The Great Migration: How We Switched Our ILS… | Caitlin Hunsaker, Chessa Grasso Hickox, and Brandon Aberle

  • Wacky Wednesdays at the Senior Center! | Sam Harris

  • Law 4 Librarians: Current Cases | Brenna Shanks and Gavin Downing

  • A Weird & Wonderful World of Circulating Unusual Library Materials | Keith Darrock

  • “Nothing About Us Without Us”: Open Source, Consortia & Trust‑Building Models… | Brianna Hoffman and Cheryl Martin

  • WASHYARG: Review Middle & High School Books | JJ Higgins and Heidi Bush
  12:15PM 1:30PM

Lunch, Exhibit Hall, Member Meeting & ALA 

  • ALA | Sam Helmik
  1:30PM 2:45PM

Breakout Session #3

  • Cultivating AI‑Literate Communities | Brianna Hoffman

  • Evergreen Extravaganza | Jodi Kruse
  • Student “Centered” Learning in Library Instruction | Elizabeth Roberts and Heather Newman

  • Public Library Statistics and the Real World | Kathleen Sullivan and Evelyn Lindberg

  • Law 4 Librarians: First Amendment Basics | Brenna Shanks and Gavin Downing

  • Amplifying Community Voices with Zines | Sara Peté

  • Story‑Led STEM Labs: Bringing Nonfiction Alive in the Library | Mary Boone 

  • "Your Library, Your Impact" Phase 1: From Messy Metrics to Data Mastery | Jan Kuebal-Hernandez, Anne Jenkins, and Mary Giovanini
  2:45PM 3:00PM

Exhibit Hall/Break
  3:00PM 4:15PM

Breakout Session #4 & Lightning Talks

  • So THIS is Librarianship | Nicole Hahn

  • WLA Mentor/Mentee Meet‑up | Jessica Widmer

  • CAYAS Story Time Idea Swap | Anna Morrow

  • Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award 2026 | Alicia Rogers and Jolyn Danielson
  • Delighting in the Difficult | Melody Sky Weaver

  • Lightning Talks
    • From Library Card to Career: Streamlined Access to Living Wage Credentials | Joyce Abbott

    • High School Book Club! | Andrea McLaughlin
    • Expanding Library Collection Using the Cite Black Women Principles | Erica Owan, Althea Lazzaro, and Katy Dichter
    • “Your Library, Your Impact” Phase 1: From Messy Metrics to Data Mastery | Jan Kuebel‑Hernandez
    • Of Love and Monsters | Anna Shapley
    • Breaking Up With the Nonfiction Dewey Decimal System | Ginny Trufan and Jane Wathey
  5:00PM  

Exhibit Hall Closes
     

After Dark Activities
Saturday April 18th 8:00AM 9:30AM

CAYAS & ScLD Author Keynote Breakfast: Sasha LaPointe
  9:30AM 9:45AM

Exhibit Hall Opens
  9:45AM 11:00AM

Breakout Session #5

  • Breaking Up With the Nonfiction Dewey Decimal System | Ginny Trufan and Jane Wathey
  • Two Peas in a Pod: Podcasting for Community & Oral Histories | Debi Rinehart & Neil McKay
  • Want Your Books to Last Longer? Basics of Book Repair | Kerry Darnall and Paul Slaughter

  • United for Libraries | Debra Doyle, Sara Jones, Craig Seasholes, and Amanda Snifit

  • From Idea to Action: Using AASL Standards in School Libraries | Sarah Logan & Elizabeth Roberts

  • Public Library Division Unconference | Carol Ellison

  • True Story! Towner Award Nominated Nonfiction Picture Books Combine Facts with Fun! | Lisa Steudel and Mary-Catherine McElroy
  11:00AM 11:15AM

Exhibit Hall/Break
  11:00AM 12:00PM

Breakout Session #6

  • Leveraging Public Library Archives for Public History Programs | Carlos Pelley and Matthew Kendall
  • Tackling Tough Health Topics: Navigating Conversations Through Literature | Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt

  • Meeting Makers in the Middle: Hands‑On Craft Programming to Engage Youth | Heidi Bush and JJ Higgins

  • Of Love and Monsters | Anna Stapley

  • Where Are the Dinosaur Books? Creating Youth Centered Collections with CAYAS | Chiara Tomashoff and Eric Stump 

  • Between the Stacks: Civic Storytelling at the Library | Michael Bowman

  • Your Call Numbers Suck: Building a Better Fiction Call Number System | Ellen Brigham
  12:15PM 2:00PM

Exhibit Hall, Awards Lunch & Exhibit Hall Finale
  2:00PM 4:00PM

Screening of the Librarians and Closing Session | WLA President Message

  

 Please direct any questions to the WLA Office at [email protected] or call/text (206) 823-1138.