ULA Annual Conference 2026

The Slow Movement began in the 1980s as an objection to fast food restaurants in Rome, but it has since been applied to fashion, art, education, and other areas of life. Where modern society pressures us to speed up and become more efficient, the Slow Movement encourages mindfulness, environmental sustainability, intentional practices, deep attention, joy—even a different relationship with time. In this workshop, we will explore what “Slow” can mean for librarians in a range of professional roles. We will also practice some slow activities, including keeping a commonplace book for inspiration, cultivating sensory attention, and framing librarianship in cyclical time rather than linear time. The atmosphere of the workshop will be one of care, creativity, and gentleness as we develop meaningful rituals for our work.

This workshop session is sponsored by the Archives, Manuscripts, and Special Collections (AMSC) Roundtable. We will feature several archive workers from across the state, each giving a short presentation on their archival career, followed by a brief Q&A. This session is designed to provide newcomers with a broad overview of the archival profession. We hope to provide a platform for a diverse array of archive professionals to share their experiences, connect with colleagues, and highlight the important work being done in both large and small institutions. Topics we will cover include: How did you enter the archival profession? What does a typical day in your job look like? What are the key differences between small and large archives? How does your role interact with others in your institution? What kinds of projects are you involved in? What does your project management process look like? What are your local archival practices? And more.

We will relate our small library’s successes turning outward. Partnering with local organizations and non-profits, our library team shows up to support their events, creating lasting relationships and having tons of fun. This strengthens social networks, builds the library’s relevance and fosters library advocacy. We will demonstrate how libraries can contribute to the development of resilient communities by cultivating connections.

Library patrons tend to view source evaluation as determining which sources are good and which ones are bad. To invite them to a deeper understanding of information literacy, a team of student employees at the BYU Library developed a card game called Source Fight for library instruction. Participants in this session will learn about the research principles embedded in this game, explore ways to use it in their own context, and get a chance to play it for themselves!

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.

Over the past few years, the County Library has grown its services for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) through a number of coordinated programs including quarterly activity kits and in person programs held throughout the valley. Join us to find out about the work we've done serving this underserved population and how you can start this kind of programming in your community.

Business meeting for members of the Copyright Education (CERT), or attendees who are interested in CERT.

Employee development increases capacity, communication, and growth within any organization. Transferable skills are versatile competencies like communication, leadership, and time management that empower employees to succeed in current roles and future careers. Drawing on practical examples and interactive activities, the session highlights how transferable skills can be effectively taught and applied, especially in student or temporary positions. Since many student employees won’t pursue careers in libraries, training them in transferable skills equips them for success in diverse fields and prepares them for job interviews. Additionally, involving employees in skill-based training helps them recognize their strengths, build confidence, and develop leadership abilities. This approach enhances morale and fosters a culture of growth, positioning student workers as valuable contributors to library teams and beyond.

Feedback is essential to professional growth—but it’s also one of the hardest skills to practice well. In this session, we’ll explore ways to both give and receive feedback to strengthen communication, trust, and collaboration. Participants will learn ways to accept feedback about their institution, leadership, or individual performance without defensiveness—focusing on trends, context, and growth opportunities. We’ll also discuss how to give feedback that is direct, specific, and genuinely constructive.

Librarians from USU and BYU will share their experiences with student employees in libraries & archives. Attendees will learn how we’ve worked with hourly employees, interns, graduate students, and more. We’ll talk about the importance of experiential learning to student success and how to grow the understanding and appreciation of archives and librarianship in Utah.

Utah has also been one of the more active states in legislating for the removal of books from school libraries. Signed in 2024, Utah’s HB 29 requires that a book be immediately removed from all school libraries if 3 districts deem the book as containing sensitive content which has led to the removal of 19 titles from school libraries. This dramatic rise in censorship begs researchers to ask questions about the feelings and motivations of those involved towards censorship. We need to answer these questions with the hope of finding answers that can bring disparate voices together so that the development of shared values can help us learn to work together. In this presentation we will present conclusions from a qualitative research study about Utah parents' thoughts and experiences with the removal of books from school libraries. This study is helping us to identify parental involvement in and awareness of what constitutes a need for censorship in libraries and homes as we critically engage with a variety of opinions on the validity of book removals to determine what influences, personal or received, create the environment in which we find ourselves.