Rachel Hyde, CLRC Professional Development Award Recipient, Talks About the 2025 ALA Conference

Being among 15,000 library workers and advocates was an incredible experience in and of itself. The rich outpouring of camaraderie, encouragement, and, frankly love, was palpable. I cried often the first day at the power I felt being part of a group facing such tremendous challenges in our professions right now. It was a very beautiful and memorable experience.

One of the first things I attended was the screening and discussion of the film “The Librarians” (2025), very powerful and emotional. Watching it anytime would be powerful, however watching it with hundreds of other librarians laughing, crying, booing was priceless. As a result, I am working on finding a local venue to show it, or at the least I will plan a viewing party next year when it comes out on Independent Lens.

The problem with this conference was the sheer number of options, so very much to choose from! I packed in as much I was physically able including beta testing games one evening after hours, attending the Education poster session and talked to many of the presenters about their research and looked for ways to apply it in our school. I saw many of the main stage speakers including Dr. Carla Hayden, Geena Davis, Roy Wood Jr., George Takei, Kwame Alexander, John Schu and Grace Lin all talking about their books, their work, and offering libraries and the work we do tremendous support. Meeting other authors throughout the conference was just a thrill as well, sometimes it was a quick autograph but other times if it wasn’t busy it was a hug, a photo together, a quick chat. (Some of my favorites were Brandon Mull, Paula Poundstone, Elyse Meyers, Mary Roach, and Dylan Hollis as well as chatting with new others I look forward to getting to know better through their works.)

I enjoyed getting to know ALA from a first-timers session and hearing those in leadership speak. I was especially impressed with Cindy Hohl, I joined the group for library support staff and have found community there as well.

Some of the sessions I am especially excited to implement ideas from are on children and scary/horror books, talking about ways to approach what that means to different students and why, as well as tips for assessing your collection to meet those needs. The “Hunsburger Scale of Scariness” will be fun to use to help students find what it is they want. A session “Page to Play” on using picture books as an entry to STEAM projects was a fun, hands-on learning that I look forward to implementing ideas from into my story times.

Going into this I was not prepared for the vastness of the exhibition hall! What fun it was to talk to publishers, authors, library service providers, etc. I learned about the Library of Congress and am now planning a trip there. I talked to Junior Library Guild about their services that we utilize and gave them some feedback. And boy was I glad I drove! I went around with my rolling suitcase collecting ARCs, books, bags, bookmarks, and other swag and would dump it in my car a few times a day. What a treat to bring home 300+ books to share with school, book clubs, neighbors, friends, and family. Doing so gives me a wonderful opportunity to tell people about ALA and in so doing advocate for libraries and all we do. (Of course I am the one who catalogues the books, so I have given myself a tremendous amount of work, but so worth it!) During the convention, as I met folks from around the world, I was not shy about telling them about the awesome grant that brought me to ALA!

It is difficult to pick a highlight when I was on such a high the entire time! But hearing Dr. Carla Hayden, I attended two events with her, and those who interviewed her was powerful. I am crying now thinking about it. Despite being fired as the librarian of Congress, she was so hopeful about the field and the needs of our communities. She brought me such a deeper appreciation of the reach of libraries and their power in all that we offer. I have come away from ALA determined to find ways to fight harder for libraries in my own community and throughout the world, the US especially. I want to be a loud advocate voice. Being a library worker without an MLS sometimes makes me feel like a second class citizen in the library world, but no more. The work I do and will do is incredibly powerful with or without the degree. My deep and abiding thanks to CLRC for offering me this learning, life-affirming, and growth opportunity.