MLA 2020 Virtual Conference and Fall Institute for Youth Services Preconference Registration Now Open!

We're "Charting a New Course, Together" and going virtual! Join the adventure! Register today for the new MLA 2020 Virtual Conference, October 28 and 29, 2020.

Spring Institute for Youth Services, originally scheduled for March 19-20, is now the Fall Institute for Youth Services Virtual Preconference and will be held on October 27, 2020.

The Michigan Library Association 2020 conference theme is "Charting a New Course, Together" and this October 28 and 29, we are doing just that at our first ever all virtual conference! You're invited to join the adventure and help us chart a new course!

Check out the schedule at a glance, our featured speaker lineup, special programming and events and more and register today at milibraries.org/annual-conference. Watch for more information coming soon, including detailed session descriptions and even more fun ways to engage and interact as we chart this new course, together.

MLA 2020 Virtual Registration Options

MLA's annual conference is an opportunity for library staff to gain new skills, explore emerging trends, and make important connections with colleagues and vendors.

The online format of MLA 2020 Virtual Conference offers a unique opportunity to make conference attendance accessible to library professionals who may have never had the option to attend an MLA event before.

All levels of staff need and deserve professional development, and each year libraries have to make difficult decisions about how many people they can afford to send to conference--especially when facing budget cuts and travel restrictions.

This year, we're pleased to offer a group pass option for our organizational members at a deep discount in addition to individual registration passes. Our virtual conference group pass packages will allow staff from all levels, roles, and career stages to attend for a flat fee, regardless of their MLA membership status.

The cost for group passes is less than the travel, lodging, and registration expenses to send just a handful of employees to an in-person conference, and your staff at all levels could each have access to dozens of hours of quality professional development.

Organizational group passes are only available to MLA organizational members. Individual registration rates are dependent on MLA membership status.

View detailed information along with guidance to help you select the registration option that works best for you at milibraries.org.

Featured Speakers

Education

This year we are offering four tracks to help you organize your educational experience. Attend sessions in one track, or choose your own adventure by mixing and matching educational programs. Our lineup of educational sessions will be finalized and announced soon!

Exhibits

MLA 2020 Virtual Conference provides the ideal environment for connecting with vendors. Browse for products and services in the virtual expo hall and connect with vendors in virtual booths featuring both live stream and chat options as well as prerecorded videos, special offers and more.

Special Programming and Events

Just ask MLA President-elect Kelly Richards and he’ll tell you, one of the best parts of attending the MLA conference is catching-up in the hallway and chatting with old friends. Sometimes you learn more there than you do in the sessions themselves. The conference work group is hard at work putting together fun ideas for networking, gamification, and other ways to engage with each other even if the hallways are virtual this year. Stay tuned before and during the conference for fun ways to engage and interact

Michigan Library Awards Virtual Gala

Red Carpet Virtual Cocktail Party

Join the MLA staff and conference work group ahead of the Michigan Library Virtual Award Ceremony for some literary libations. We will mix some cocktails and mocktails to get the party started as we honor the best and brightest in the state.

Michigan Library Awards Virtual Ceremony

The Michigan Library Awards is the Michigan library community's very own version of the Academy Awards, the Emmys, the Grammys, and the Tonys!

Co-hosted by the Michigan Library Association, the Library of Michigan, Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME) and the Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA), the Michigan Library Awards Virtual Gala will celebrate Michigan's libraries and library staff.

Join us as we celebrate the accomplishments, dedication and service of outstanding libraries, library staff, trustees and supporters at the can't-miss virtual event for celebrating excellence in the Michigan library community.

Fall Institute Preconference

Fall Institute for Youth Services Virtual Preconference will be held on October 27, 2020 leading into the MLA 2020 Virtual Conference on October 28 and 29.

The MLA Fall Institute 2020 theme is People First. By focusing on the needs of our patrons and staff as a top priority and placing a high value on respect, we can empower growth within our communities regardless of our role within the library. Fall Institute 2020 will aim to educate and honor library staff and patrons through people-first practices in hiring, advocacy, displays, programs and collections.

Visit milibraries.org/spring-institute for complete details and to register.

Please note group pricing is not currently available for the Fall Institute preconference.

Learn More and Register for Fall Institute

Questions?

Contact Amber Sheerin, MLA Program and Event Director at (517) 394-2774 ext. 223 or [email protected].