KPLA 2017 Conference

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, April 19-21, 2017

Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa
1800 Newtown Pike
Lexington, KY 40511

Register before March 31 to get the early-bird discount!

Pre-Conference Sessions

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Ramp Up Your Teen Services to Increase your Impact
This session is from 9 am-12 pm

Presenter: YALSA Representative

It’s inevitable: children become teens and outgrow early literacy programs and story times. Even though they’re older and more independent, they all need the library. Only about one third of Kentucky’s 8th graders score at or above proficient in reading and science, and only about a quarter score at or above proficient in math and writing. In addition, just 68% of the state’s high school seniors leave school with adequate college and career readiness skills. This session will give an overview of core teen services that libraries should provide as well as offer strategies for garnering support for the resources you need to serve teens effectively. Topics addressed will include: summer programming, college and career readiness, community partnerships, connected learning and more.

SOLD OUT--The Public Library: the Community Town Hall--SOLD OUT
This session is from 9 am-12 pm

Sorry, but this session has sold out
Presenter: Barbara O’Hara, Director of Library Services, Scott County Public Library
Presenter: Robert Gieszl, Reference Librarian, Crescent Hill Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library

Sorry, but this session has sold out

“No longer a passive repository of books and information…the new library is an active and responsive part of the community as an agent of change.” Robert Putnam (author of Bowling Alone) Public librarians today have a great opportunity to promote engaged civic participation and an informed electorate through programming. More than ever, people in our communities need guidance in talking to each other about difficult issues. During this session, Barbara O’Hara and Robert Gieszl will discuss specific programs that have been held at their libraries. Included will be details of the program structures, challenges encountered, lessons learned, and recommendations. Additionally, library patrons who have participated in these programs will hold a panel in which they will discuss their interests and motivations, while Dan Miller, a facilitator and Library Board of Trustees member, will give his point of view about leading issues-oriented programs.

Encouraging Young Innovators
This session is from 1-4 pm

Presenter: Allison Bemiss, Center for Gifted Studies at WKU
Presenter: Jamie Spugnardi, Green River Regional Educational Cooperative
Presenter: Monica Edwards, Community Outreach Manager, Warren County Public Library

How do children become innovators? We will take a look at how we successfully partnered with a university, the public library, regional education cooperatives and local businesses to plan STEAM-themed family events called OWLS (Observe-Wonder-Learn-Share) Workshops for young children. Topics addressed in this hand-on, minds-on session will include higher order thinking, inclusive education experiences for diverse learners, growth mindset, and connections to recent brain research.

Directors' Forum: The LISTSERV Goes Live
This session is from 1-4 pm

Presenter: Amy Brand, HR Manager for Warren County Public Library
Presenter: Bessie Davis, Director of Cynthiana-Harrison County Public Library
Presenter: Lisa Rice, Director of Warren County Public Library

Ever wish we had a chance to talk through issues a little more thoroughly than we can on the directors’ listserv? Now is your chance! Join us as we discuss the burning issues in our libraries. We will facilitate discussions on advocacy, HR intricacies, security options, management styles and legal issues. Umberto Eco once said, “Libraries have always been humanities’ way of preserving its collective wisdom.” This is your opportunity add to and benefit from the collective wisdom of library directors.

Trustee Certification Training

This session is from 9 am-4 pm

Presenter: KDLA Staff

Library trustees will work their way through the curriculum required for certification. The five educational modules will include training on board organization, trustee and director roles, policy development, budget and finance, and advocacy.

Guest Speakers

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Thursday Morning Keynote Speaker, 9:00 am: Author Azar Nafisi

Azar Nafisi is the critically acclaimed author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, a long-running number one New York Times bestseller published in thirty-two languages, and Things I’ve Been Silent About, also a New York Times bestseller. A fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, she has taught at Oxford University and several universities in Tehran. Her latest book is The Republic of Imagination -- an impassioned, beguiling, and utterly original tribute to the vital importance of fiction in a democratic society.

Thursday Awards Luncheon Speaker: Author Silas House

Silas House is an American writer best known for his novels. He is also a music journalist, environmental activist and columnist. House's fiction is known for its attention to the natural world, working class characters, and the plight of the rural place and rural people. House was born and grew up in rural Lily, Laurel County, Kentucky, but he also spent much of his childhood in nearby Leslie County, Kentucky, which he has cited as the basis for the fictional Crow County, which serves as the setting for his first three novels. In 2000, House was chosen, along with since-published authors Pamela Duncan, Jeanne Braselton and Jack Riggs, as one of the ten emerging talents in the south by the Millennial Gathering of Writers at Vanderbilt University.

Thursday Afernoon Keynote Speaker, 2:00 pm: Author RL Stine

R.L. Stine says he has a great job: "My job is to give kids the CREEPS!" R.L.'s books are read all over the world. So far, he has sold over 350 million books, making him one of the best-selling children's authors in history. He was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1943. His mother, Anne Stine, was a homemaker and his father, Lewis Stine, was a shipping clerk. He has a younger brother and sister-- Bill and Pam. No one in his family ever called him R.L. Everyone calls him Bob.