Pre-Conference Session | Strengthening Organizational Capacity in Libraries: Tools for Strategic Assessment

Wednesday, October 23
3:00 to 3:45 p.m.

This session is designed to provide library professionals with essential tools and frameworks to assess and enhance their organizational capacity. We will focus our time discussing how strategic alignment, resource management, and impact evaluation relate to your work. Participants will be guided through how to use ULC tools and frameworks such as the Capacity Assessment, Organizational Partnership Matrix, and Business Value Calculator. These tools can help libraries optimize operations and ensure their services effectively meet community needs. Open to all attendees.

Session Speakers: [Read full bios on Speakers page]

• Shamichael Hallman, Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity, Urban Libraries Council

Pre-Conference Session | ULC CEO Session: Building Blocks for a Strong and Diverse Executive Team

Wednesday, October 23
3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

Building a diverse and inclusive executive team is not just an option—it's a necessity for any library or library foundation striving to lead with impact. This session will bring CEOs together to discuss the critical importance of fostering leadership teams that truly reflect the communities they serve. Participants will explore actionable strategies for cultivating an executive team that is diverse not only in composition but also in thought, experience and expertise.

By attending this session, library and library foundation executives will gain insights into creating a leadership structure better equipped to drive innovation, enhance community engagement and ensure long-term success. Join this vital conversation to exchange ideas, share challenges and discover best practices that can transform your leadership approach and elevate your library’s mission. Open to Library and Foundation CEOs only.

Pre-Conference Session | Dropping the Armor: The Power of Embracing Emotions at Work

Wednesday, October 23
4:00 to 5:00 pm

Traditional wisdom has been that professionals leave emotion at the door on their way into work, but today’s leaders know that effectively harnessing emotional intelligence and seeing staff and colleagues as whole people allows us to work together smarter and more positively. In this session, participants will learn strategies and tools for understanding the role of emotions in the workplace to create a more welcoming culture for all. Open to all attendees.

Session Speakers: [Read full bios on Speakers page]

• Kelsey Hughes, Program Manager, Urban Libraries Council
• Megan Sutherland, Interim Chief Operating Officer for Public Services, Prince George's County Memorial Library System

Keynote and Workshop: Creating a Radically Respectful Workplace at Your Library

Thursday, October 24 10:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

In this keynote address and accompanying workshop, attendees will learn how to lead a Radically Respectful workplace and how it can support a Radically Respectful library. You will gain an understanding of why the combination of optimizing for collaboration and honoring individuality is so rare and how to prioritize these two actions as a leader.

Keynote speaker Kim Scott, a best-selling author and co-founder of Radical Candor, will explain the three things that often get in the way of Radical Respect: bias, prejudice, and bullying. In this session, Kim will identify what upstanders and leaders can do to build a culture where everyone does the best work of their lives and enjoys working together. Through guided discussions from Kim’s books, Radical Respect: How to Work Together Better and Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, attendees will understand practical and tactical ways leaders can prevent bias, prejudice, and bullying on their teams, becoming stronger leaders for their libraries.

Speakers: [Read full bios on Speakers page]

• Kim Scott, Author and Co-Founder, Radical Candor