World-famous writer and physician Benjamin Spock often opined: “You know more than you think you do.” We think the sentiment holds true for Friends of the Library. Even if your local work on behalf of the library does not feel out of the ordinary to you, others may find your activities remarkable and worth replicating. If you have a replicable program, new initiative, or ‘issue and resolution’ case study that could be of interest to fellow Friends, consider submitting a presentation proposal for United for Libraries Virtual (July 29-31, 2025).

Are you attending the Minnesota Library Association conference on October 24-25? If you have some flex time while in Rochester, the MLA conference team would greatly appreciate if you could spare it for one or more volunteer shifts. Needs run a wide gamut: silent auction help, wayfinding assistance, room hosts, registration support, and set-up and tear-down support. Most shifts require only 50-60 minutes. Remember: Many hands make light work!

Thanks to the more than 100 of you who turned out (or for a virtual event, perhaps we should instead say tuned in) for MALF’s fall conference, Saturday Splash. We fit a remarkable amount of content into two hours and hope that you enjoyed hearing and learning from Friends colleagues – as well as from our tremendous keynote presenter, Kao Kalia Yang.

United for Libraries Virtual is slated for July 30 - August 1. Full conference registration is just $149. If you cannot attend all three days, single day pass tickets cost $65/per. (Further discounts are available for ALA members.) Panel topics will run a wide gamut!

Registration is now open for the 2024 conference of the Minnesota Library Association. Join library staff, trustees and supporters at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester on October 24-25 for dozens of panels, keynote talks and networking opportunities. Special guests will include “celebrity librarian” and TikTok phenom Mychal Threets, well-known in the library world and beyond for his powerful message of library joy.

MALF is pleased to announce that our popular Friends of the Library “mini-conference” is returning for 2024. Mark your calendars Saturday, October 5 for MALF’s fifth annual SATURDAY SPLASH. Why do we call this event Saturday Splash (aside from the obvious fact that it’s always held on a Saturday)? It’s because our half-day itinerary will include a splash of this, and a splash of that! As the connecting thread, every program module will celebrate Friends' work or offer value learning opportunities to further that work.

Congratulations to this year’s Minnesota Book Award winners! If you missed the celebration back on May 7, you can read up on the 2024 honorees via the Star Tribune or Pioneer Press. Better yet: You can watch the archived simulcast of the live event on the YouTube channel of the host organization, The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library.

The American Library Association is scheduled to hold its annual conference in sunny San Diego from June 27 – July 2. Every summer, this library mega-conference draws thousands of library staff, trustees, school media specialists, and fans of library work to the host city for a week chock-full of educational opportunities and a star-studded line up of keynote speakers...

Next month (April 3-5), thousands of library staff and leaders will congregate in Columbus, Ohio for the biennial Public Library Association (PLA) conference. PLA is often hailed as the pre-eminent professional development opportunity for the field of public librarianship. While the conference is open to supporters like Friends, in-person participation is cost prohibitive for most volunteers. Fortunately for us, virtual tickets are also on offer!

A real-life legal case with a supernatural bent inspired lawyer-turned-novelist Allen Esken’s latest thriller, Saving Emma. Eskens told MALF all about this backstory, and much more, on September 30 when he joined Friends for our fourth annual Saturday Splash event.

Registration is now open for the 2023 conference of the Minnesota Library Association. Join library staff, trustees and supporters at the Saint Paul RiverCentre on October 4-5 for dozens of panels, keynote talks and networking opportunities. Friends rates start at $85 if you register before August 17. Cost jumps to $110 after the early bird cutoff. 

ICYMI: The National Book Festival is just around the corner as well! Sponsored and hosted by the Library of Congress, this one-day extravaganza celebrates the American literary tradition across all genres and formats.