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PLA 2020 Conference Program Subcommittee – April–August 2020 Report


The group met 0 times this reporting period.

Recent Activities

First Activity
At the conclusion of the successful PLA 2020 Annual Conference, in Nashville, TN, our committee completed its charge and did not complete any follow-up activities.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Organizational Excellence

What will your group be working on for the next six months?
There are no additional tasks to complete for this subcommittee, however, the committee members could be convened virtually to debrief on insight gained from the 2020 annual conference if PLA staff seek that input.

Does the group have any policy recommendations, ideas with financial impact, or other items to bring to the PLA Board for discussion or action
No, not at this time.

Do you have any suggestions for future products or resources (excluding conference programs) to be developed based on your group’s work?
No, not at this time.

Are there other PLA/ALA committees your group might collaborate with to benefit the work of all?
We recommend continued work with the PLA Task Force on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice. The task force was instrumental in helping to craft a forward-thinking and socially-minded application process for conference programs. As a result, conference attendees benefited from diverse voices and meaningful conversations about EDISJ topics at the annual conference.

Have there been any issues related to meeting participation/attendance for any of the group’s members?
No

Is there anything PLA could have provided during this time that would have helped your group with its work?
No, we appreciate the support we received from PLA staff.

Submitted by Juliane Morian on 08/07/2020

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PLA 2020 Conference Program Subcommittee – September–March 2020 Report


The group met 1 time this reporting period.

Recent Activities

First Activity
In September 2019, the Conference Program Subcommittee was tasked with reviewing 10 programs (among the final slate of 120 approved programs) to anticipate those with high appeal. Each subcommittee member was assigned 10 programs to rank on a 3-point scale to indicate, high, medium, or lower/specialized interest. Based on the feedback from the subcommittee, PLA staff was able to prepare a comprehensive session preference survey for all attendees in October 2019.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Organizational Excellence

Second Activity
Conference Program Subcommittee members met on Monday, February 24th at the Music City Center (Nashville, TN) to tour the facility and discuss tips for staffing the PLA 2020 Help Desk throughout the conference. Conference Program Subcommittee members staffed approximately 20 Help Desk shifts throughout the conference, asking questions for attendees and providing guidance.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Leadership, Organizational Excellence

Third Activity
As Chair of the Conference Program Subcommittee, Juliane Morian, was requested to speak at a morning session with visiting AfLIA librarians on Wednesday, February 26th, to discuss PLA's approach to delivering high-quality educational sessions at a national-level conference. Topics included how to recruit quality program submissions, rank proposals, and curate 100+ final selections.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Leadership, Organizational Excellence, Transformation

What will your group be working on for the next six months?
At this point, the Conference Program Subcommittee has fulfilled its charge and has no remaining tasks.

Does the group have any policy recommendations, ideas with financial impact, or other items to bring to the PLA Board for discussion or action
No at this time; if we do engage in a debrief and reflection, we will pass along any insights.

Do you have any suggestions for future products or resources (excluding conference programs) to be developed based on your group’s work?
No suggestions at this time.

Are there other PLA/ALA committees your group might collaborate with to benefit the work of all?
I would recommend continued collaborations between the Conference Program Subcommittee and the EDISJ task force. For the 2020 PLA Conference, we utilized input from the task force to improve the submission form in the pursuit of speakers and topics that advanced the greater themes of equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice.

Have there been any issues related to meeting participation/attendance for any of the group’s members?
No

Is there anything PLA could have provided during this time that would have helped your group with its work?
No, our PLA staff liaison, Angela Maycock was very supportive and instrumental in the success of the Conference Program Subcommittee.

Submitted by Juliane Morian on 03/15/2020

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PLA 2020 Conference Program Subcommittee – April–August 2019 Report


The group met 1 time this reporting period.

Recent Activities

First Activity
Individual subcommittee members independently reviewed 588 program proposals for the 2020 PLA Annual Conference in May 2019. This was a record-setting total, and in order to have each proposal reviewed three distinct times, it required each member to evaluate approximately 150 proposals according a 5-point rubric system.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Advocacy and Awareness, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, Leadership, Transformation

Second Activity
Met at ALA Annual conference in Washington, D.C. to determine which session topics to advance to the final slate of conference offerings for the PLA Annual Conference in 2020. We deliberated for 6 hours and were able to identify 107 of our 120 program and preconference slots.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Advocacy and Awareness, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, Leadership, Transformation

Third Activity
The chair served as a panelist, representing the PLA Conference Program Subcommittee, at an ALA Annual program and spoke about ways to create a standout national-level program proposal.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Leadership

Fourth Activity
Met virtually to debate approximately 15 remaining slots with special attention focused on filling in gaps in various programming categories, forecasting emerging trends or topics of interest in 2020, and advancing those speakers or issues that have been historically marginalized.
Meets PLA’s strategic goals for Advocacy and Awareness, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice, Leadership, Transformation

What will your group be working on for the next six months?
The PLA Conference Program Subcommittee introduced two new initiatives with this year's program proposal form: asking the applicant if they want to receive coaching (if accepted) or feedback on their proposal (if rejected). 57% of the accepted speakers requested coaching or mentoring from an experienced presenter. 91% of rejected sessions requested feedback on their proposal. The subcommittee members, along with the PLA staff, have to develop an efficient and effective method to deliver the requested follow-up.

Does the group have any policy recommendations, ideas with financial impact, or other items to bring to the PLA Board for discussion or action
Not at this time.

Do you have any suggestions for future products or resources (excluding conference programs) to be developed based on your group’s work?
Not at this time.

Are there other PLA/ALA committees your group might collaborate with to benefit the work of all?
While we have worked closely EDISJ, I do not anticipate additional collaborations at this time.

Have there been any issues related to meeting participation/attendance for any of the group’s members?
Yes (if yes, PLA will contact you for more information)

Is there anything PLA could have provided during this time that would have helped your group with its work?
No, the support the PLA staff did offer was tremendous.

Submitted by Juliane Morian on 08/30/2019