Last week, the American Library Association’s annual conference was held here in Chicago, only a few miles away from Dominican and the Butler Center. Kathryn and Kian, Graduate Assistants at the Butler Center, both attended as first-time conference goers. Here’s what they had to say about the experience:

Kathryn

Sesquicentennial: that’s the word of this year’s conference, folks, one that’s hard to spell and say, but it’s what this year’s ALA Annual conference is all about. Except, no, that’s not quite it. Yes, this year marks the 150th ALA annual conference held right here in Chicago; however, this was also a gathering of multitudes. Multitudes of like-minded people assembling in one ginormous McCormick Center, multitudes of sessions featuring awesome authors and/or artists, multitudes of ARCs, stationary, tote bags, and much more than either Kian or I (Kathryn) could barely fit into our suitcases and backpacks for the journey home. Come with us as we graduate assistants here at the Butler Center to share our experience of #ALAA26 with you all! 

Ethical Use of AI in Libraries 

For one of my “Ruffage” conference sessions (that is, informational panels that are good for the critical thinking parts of my brain), I decided to venture into Michaela Herrick’s and Justin Bambico’s panel titled “Finding a Middle Ground: Ethical Use of AI in Libraries.” Seeing the anti-AI memes being flashed as the people filed in their seats and the anti-AI buttons being passed around, I knew we were in good hands. While I’m on the boat that AI does more harm than good in the long run, I also believe that “everything can be enjoyed in moderation.” Throughout their presentation, it was abundantly clear that: there are many types of AI, and when discussing AI types, especially problematic ones, you need to be specific on what AI you’re talking about; Gen AI is adding new issues to already long-running problems, and there is no straight solution to solving them; and, above all else, humans should ALWAYS be in control of technical implementation. With AI use being widespread as it is, it’s no surprise that there were over 30 AI-related panels at the ALA Annual this year, and that number is only going to increase as the years pass. It won’t be the last we’ll hear from this newfangled technology, but for better or worse, it’ll get harder to avoid running into it, too.    

Visual Stories, Big Impact: Graphic Novels for Kids 

This was one of my favorite sessions I attended. On Sunday (June 28), right after glimpsing the most epic giant chess match between graphic novelists (Dan Santat and Thien Pham) that I had ever witnessed in my life, I dashed over to the Graphic Novel/Gaming Stage in the Exhibition Hall to hear a few author-artists, Red (Aurora vols 1 and 2), Katie Risor (Welcome to the Forest series), and Matthew Loux (illustrator of The Spark Experiment) discuss their works, what attracts readers to them, and why they tell stories in a comic format. Graphic novels and comics can tell tales by combining prose and art in a way that fosters visual literacy for the reader. It’s always fascinating to sneak a peek into a creator’s process and how impactful literature, especially graphic novels, can be to people. As Red points out, and the other author-artists concurred, there’s a sense of richness and depth that’s hard to capture when it’s just words. In a graphic novel/comic format, the artist and writer could get away with having background characters giving each other side-eyes and whisper to each other while the main characters are having a conversation, or a wanted poster hanging on a pole in the village square that might foreshadow to a big reveal later in the story. As those authors would tell you, it truly is a unique way to tell a story and can get young readers excited about reading. 

Library Marketplace Madness 

Even after making a preliminary schedule via my ALA information class, I quickly discovered that you’ll still never know who you’ll run into at the ALA. For example, I didn’t know that Red, artist-author of Aurora Vols 1 and 2 and half of the main faces/voices of YouTube channel Overly Sarcastic Productions, was going to be there to sign her latest graphic novel until Saturday night. There was even someone cosplaying as Mrs. Claus walking around the Exhibition Hall on Saturday (June 27). There were so many long lines, advanced reader copies, authors, and more, that it made my head spin! Even the photo ops right outside the Marketplace were fascinating. Where else could you get a photo op with one of the six original American Girl dolls?!      

Until next year, #ALAA26. See you in New Orleans @ #ALAA27! 

Kian

As a student, “have you been to ALA?” is a constant refrain coming from all sides. Plenty of people in library school had told me that if I had the opportunity to go as a student, I should. With the ALA 150 Conference right here in Chicago, I knew I had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of so I could finally see what all the hype was about for myself.  

Armed with the conference scheduler app, my backpack, and advice from several veteran ALA attendees, I tackled three days running wild and free with my fellow librarians at McCormick Place.

Friday Highlights: Rachel Maddow and the Running of the Librarians

I arrived at the conference, immediately discovered that I had vastly overestimated how busy registration would be, and got my badge in under five minutes. Nothing was actually happening yet, so I got to hang out and get the lay of the land. In the grand hall, the shop was bustling (I forced myself to leave without buying anything, even though I really wanted a Snoopy “Read” poster), and the ALA history exhibit was significantly less bustling but interesting nonetheless. Then, on to the opening session!

The opening session was long and packed full of speakers. Highlights for me included Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (the latter of whom appeared via prerecorded video). Both made sure to mention the new Chicago Public Library branch in the Obama Presidential Center, to raucous applause. Of course, the main draw was Rachel Maddow, who talked about the importance of libraries and information access in her own work, as well as her collective crush on all librarians.

After Maddow, there was something which one librarian I spoke to before the conference called the “Running of the Librarians” – the mad dash from the main stage to the now-open exhibitor hall. I made my way through the mass of people and started on the closer end of the hall, opposite from where the publishers were concentrated (which I later figured out was probably the wrong tactical approach), chatted with some exhibitors, and got my first round of books before exhaustion took over and I headed home for the day.

Saturday Highlights: Queer Kidlit, LeVar Burton, and a Gaggle of Authors

My first session on Saturday was Queer Kidlit Joy, which featured a panel of authors of queer kidlit from picture books to YA. This was a great session that talked a lot about the value of queer books and stories, as well as strategies for getting them into the hands of young readers. It was definitely one of my favorites of the conference. 

Later in the day I went to see LeVar Burton on the main stage, which was a real stand out of the whole weekend for me. The discussion of stories and imagination as a human superpower was something that really resonated (plus, as a huge Trekkie, I loved how he connected that idea back to Star Trek). Burton’s philosophy that “everyone has a gift they’re meant to give” was another real highlight of the conversation. 

I also spent much of this day ping-ponging around the exhibitor hall collecting free books and meeting authors. Among the authors of the day were Raina Telgemeier and Gale Galligan (in a joint signing where everyone got three books!), Lindsay Currie, Cynthia Leitich Smith (I now have my own signed copy of Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In, which I reviewed in March 2025), Cheryl Isaacs, and Megan Fitzmartin (who was very excited that I was a fellow grown-up fandom teen who had read and loved an ARC of Mary Sue). I also snagged a photo with my childhood American Girl doll and last-name twin Molly McIntire, and while there met several generations of American Girl doll book authors who were also waiting for their photos with the dolls. I have to admit I left the weekend with multiple American Girl ARCs – once an American Girl kid, always an American Girl kid!

Sunday Highlights – Candy Boolean Searching, Zines, and Tote Bag Mayhem

By Sunday my energy was waning fast, so I didn’t stay quite as long as I hoped to. I took advantage of the community quiet room, which I’m happy to report seemed to have a lot of thought put into it, and was a great place to recharge when I was running out of steam.

The standout session was CRTL + THINK, which was a model of active and passive programming to teach information literacy skills to secondary students. Among the stations in the mock information literacy night was “candy crush searching,” which taught boolean searching using a pile of candy. Of course, one of the benefits of this was that you get to eat the candy in the end, but it was also a great way to introduce the concept using a tactile model. 

On the exhibit floor, I got a signed copy of another of my Butler blog review books, Riding the Trail: Cherokees Remember the Removal. I hung around the zine pavilion, which had very busy DIY tables, presumably due to the ongoing love affair between librarians and arts and crafts. This was also the day that I played a rousing game of “how many tote bags can I get” with the goal of collecting them for the Butler Center’s annual book sale. I topped out at around 7, but I met a pair playing the same game who had at least a dozen, so clearly I have not yet reached my full bag-collecting potential.

Final Thoughts

The biggest struggle coming into my first ALA Annual as a student was that there was so much to do. I definitely felt the pressure to try to fit in as much as possible, which left me with a major case of FOMO. But I did get quite a lot done, and I was lucky to get my trial run done on my home turf. I’m glad to have had the experience, and I’m ready to tackle the next one with a better understanding of both the conference itself and my own limitations and needs and an attendee.