I have just returned from the 2024 Library Assessment Conference in Portland, Oregon. I came away from that meeting with a true appreciation for what care can look like when we work together as colleagues and with our communities to provide engaging learning experiences. As I head back to my day job, I am reflecting on what it takes to cultivate such a caring space and how that can be applied to our work with students, the library organization and our broader community at Temple.
Full Disclosure – I served as co-chair of the conference with an amazing team: Jackie Belanger (University of Washington), ARL staff Jaymey Butler and Angela Pappalardo, and the planning committee membership.
Physical Space
Conference planners are more attuned than ever to the diverse needs that attendees may have in accessing conference spaces and programs. Many conference goers were traveling election day, so we anticipated the additional attention required to provide spaces (both physical and non-physical) that felt safe and supportive. Providing for the physical is straightforward. We established:
- A Quiet Room was designated for those desiring some respite from the fray.
- A Sensory Station was a welcome attraction with fidgets, coloring books, and other tactile experiences to support individual sensory processing needs.
- Meeting rooms with clearly designated accessible seats set aside with a volunteer room manager to ensure that all attendees were comfortable.
- Screen texting of all sessions, so attendees could receive real time text on their personal device
- Readily available slides for each presentation available through the conference app.
- And something new to me: In the larger rooms special tables were designated as “Low Engagement” These details were noticed. Not every attendee wants to be networking all of the time.
The ARL guidelines for co-creating a Community of Care are a useful model for us all.
Planning and Collaboration
Tremendous planning contributes to the experience of participants feeling “cared for” in other ways. We started our planning work in January of 2023 (shortly after the 2022 conference) – selecting a venue that was accessible, affordable and in a state supportive of our professional values. From the selection and structuring of a planning committee, delegation of tasks to subcommittees, program development and program review, sponsorship, budgeting and registration – the myriad of details was immense. Our “run of show” for plenary sessions alone was 26 pages in length (thank you, Jaymey)! Every step of the way, attention to details and intentional design contributed to a positive user experience. Equally important was the willingness to flex and change course when things did not go as planned.
Our planning team became a well-oiled machine. Not a single email was sent out to attendees nor webpage published, without some level of consultation across the leadership team. To do this effectively requires a good deal of trust and goodwill, as we were continually suggesting rephrasing of our messaging. We counted on one another to be responsive and timely in these suggestions – another essential aspect of working together.
Lessons Learned
In planning our physical spaces here in the libraries, we do lots to support student wellbeing. Our study rooms provide space for quiet work, as well as gathering. We are generous in our support of students during potentially stressful times, providing puzzles, snacks and therapy dogs. Through programs like the Student Library Advisory Board and user experience activity, we build mechanisms for connecting and listening to students about their needs.
At the organizational level, how do we develop that community of care? What I learned in planning and implementing this conference: the creating a community of care is not just a policy, words on a webpage or space accommodations. It is a practice that takes tremendous work, planning, attention to (often tedious) detail, and trust in collaboration across a team. It’s a value I hope to practice even more now here at home.
