Lisa Varga Keynote: "Beyond the Honeymoon Phase: Reflections on 13 months at the ALA Washington Office"
When Lisa Varga assumed the role of Chief Advocacy Officer at the American Library Association, she changed zip codes and stepped into the epicenter of a shifting national discourse. Moving to Washington, D.C., during a period of historic political and social volatility, Lisa faced the dual challenge of ALA’s transformation alongside a competitive advocacy landscape. Thirteen months later, the "honeymoon phase" has ended. In this candid session, Lisa will move beyond the standard highlight reel to share the raw reality of policy in the nation’s capital. Lessons learned, mistakes she won’t make again, and what has given her hope as she has met with legislators and crisscrossed the country engaging with library leaders.
Chief Advocacy Officer, American Library Association's Public Policy and Advocacy Office
Lisa Varga is the Chief Advocacy Officer of the American Library Association’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office in Washington, DC. Prior to that, she had been the Executive Director of the Virginia Library Association for 15 years. Lisa also served as Chair of the Virginia Beach... Read More →
A how-to session for ULA Annual Conference attendees. Learn to navigate the exhibits, decipher the conference program, how ULA really works, and ways to get involved. Ask questions and hear from active ULA members about staying connected and engaged in the ULA organization and how to make the most of your professional development.
Artificial intelligence is already changing how libraries do their work—from everyday assessment to large-scale digitization and access projects. In this joint session, we’ll start with practical ways generative AI can strengthen library assessment. You’ll see examples of how AI tools can help generate assessment questions and ideas, speed up analysis, and produce clear, professional narratives and reports—while also addressing what AI can and can’t do.
Next, we’ll shift to a real-world case study: the BYU Law Library’s effort to transcribe the 1925 U.S. Code. We’ll walk through why the project matters, how the team approached accuracy at scale, what changed along the way, and how human transcription quality paired with AI-assisted cleanup made the goal achievable.
We’ll conclude together with shared takeaways on the limits of AI, the continuing importance of human judgment, and practical guidance for adopting AI in library workflows with confidence and care.
We will present an overview of copyright litigation that has affected libraries. The session will provide a hands-on look at specific cases and how they have affected and changed library work over time. A lawyer from the BYU Copyright Office will comment on each case and librarians will discuss the impact of these cases on library policy. This will help alleviate librarian's fear of copyright and legislation and provide guiding principles for the future. This is a Copyright Education Roundtable hosted session.
Have you found yourself questioning your value as a librarian? Have you mourned the loss of certainty and stability in the wake of social movements and political events or just change?
The work of librarianship has always been a profession of change and adaptation- both in response to community needs and technology changes, but disruption still can create confusion and stress
Many people who are attracted to the work of libraries are those who value community service, education and equitable access to resources. We care about our communities and our patrons. So when public and political support for libraries shifts, it can feel like a threat to our personal identity and values. Librarians, library administrators and library staff are often on the front lines of difficult conversations, leading to high levels of emotional labor and maybe even feedback that you “care too much.” This session will reflect on the emotional and professional costs of adaptation within our profession, while also providing a framework for actively finding meaning, and joy in our work.
Come join us for a practical intellectual freedom discussion with ideas on how to have conversations with concerned patrons and community members, tips for creating and maintaining smart policies, advice for responding to reconsideration requests, and discussion on other current intellectual freedom concerns. The panel will spend the first part of the presentation answering common and relevant questions relating to intellectual freedom, after which we will open up the conversation to questions from the audience.
Hello! I'm a director of a small-town library in Cache Valley, and I work with a staff of ten amazing people! Four of us are at ULA this year! In a previous life, I worked for the Utah State Library as a bookmobile librarian for 16 years. I loved it very much but I love being a director... Read More →
Providing customer service in libraries unfortunately exposes library workers at times to tense and even hostile interactions. This session will focus on helping library workers to set appropriate boundaries with patrons and to care for themselves during and after those hard moments. By learning to recognize their own symptoms of fight, flight and freeze; to soothe their nervous systems in moments of dysregulation; to embrace curiosity instead of shame about their physical and emotional responses to stress; to talk about problems in ways that help instead of hurt; and to re-establish feelings of safety, library workers can come away from these experiences feeling empowered and better prepared for the next difficult interaction.
As the number of government mandated book removals increases, it’s essential for librarians to understand the legal and cultural landscape shaping this new censorship. This session will provide a clear overview of Utah’s current book banning laws and policies: what they say and how the state is interpreting them. Just as important is an understanding of the people and forces behind this push for removals. Attendees will come away with an understanding of who is the major source of book challenges in Utah, what are the legal definitions being used, and talking points to counter common arguments.
Come hear the results of a recent statewide survey conducted by researchers from the U of U and SUU about Utahn's attitudes towards reading and learn more about how librarians can address challenges adult readers in their community might face.
