MiALA 2026 Annual Conference

This session will discuss how a mid-sized university launched a Library of Things with no grant funding, only a small portion of the budget, and a lot of enthusiasm and creativity. It will show libraries how to frame a timeline, prioritize purchasing, and market the beginning of a new endeavor.

Learning Objective(s): 1) Evaluate the suitability of implementing a Library of Things within the listener’s institution and determine an appropriate timeframe; 2) Apply and modify the provided marketing plan to develop a customized promotional strategy for their own Library of Things; and 3) Analyze potential challenges associated with launching a Library of Things and design effective solutions to address them.

Public Canva Presentation Link: https://canva.link/9ebbbl435bzyvqu

In this session, we discuss our process for conducting a diversity audit, and the collection development strategies we developed following the audit. Diversity audits assist librarians in creating data that will inform collection development policies to better fit the diversity of their campus demographics. As centers of campus life, it is crucial that academic libraries reflect the diversity of their student populations, ensuring that everyone on campus feels seen and welcomed in the library space.

Learning Objective(s): ​​​​1) Develop practical skills for designing collection diversity audits; and 2) Learn how to use audit data to create and implement concrete collection development strategies.