KPLA 2016 Conference

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, April 13-15, 2016
Sloan Center

1021 Wilkinson Trace

Bowling Green, KY 42103

Register before March 25 to get the early-bird discount!

Pre-Conference Sessions

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Appalshop's Appalachian Media Institute: AMI, a project of Appalshop, began in 1969 as a War on Poverty initiative. The Appalachian Media Workshop trains rural youth for a future in media arts and affords young people the opportunity to explore their communities and tell their own stories using documentary storytelling. Join Appalshop as they present the work of the 2015 Documentary Institute alumni and then participate in a workshop where you will learn how to gather and record oral histories. These short stories will be edited into a segment for Appalshop's premier radio station WMMT 88.7. This session is from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Michael Morris: Making The Most of Grassroots Marketing. With the changing publishing dynamics, today most authors have to reach readers using their own resources. Often these marketing efforts are accomplished through social media and grassroots marketing. Prior to becoming an author, Michael Morris (A Place Called Wiregrass, Slow Way Homeand Man in the Blue Moon) worked in corporate communications and was named one of the best grassroots managers by the Public Affairs Council. Morris will discuss how he parlayed his experience in the corporate world into successfully marketing his novels on a grassroots level -- and how the same grassroots strategies can be implemented by public libraries. Discussion topics will include reaching outlying communities, best practices and developing a marketing plan that goes "outside of the box." This session is from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm.

Maker Innovation: Transform your library by getting involved in the maker movement! Join techies and non-techies from around the state as they illustrate how to develop all types of maker classes, from sewing and jewelry making, to book making and 3D printing. Get your creative juices flowing and learn how to offer maker-programming easily (and cheaply)! This session is from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm.

Trustee Certification Training provided by KDLA staff

Thursday Award Luncheon Speaker: Author Steve Berry

Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of The 14th Colony, The Patriot Threat, The Paris Vendetta, The Lincoln Myth, and many more. His books have been translated into 40 languages with 20,000,000 copies in 51 countries. They consistently appear in the top echelon of The New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller lists. He is also a founding member of International Thriller Writers—a group of more than 2,600 thriller writers from around the world—and served three years as its co-president. A 2010 NPR survey named The Templar Legacy one of the top 100 thrillers ever written. Join us to learn more about the thrilling world of Steve Berry!