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