On Thursday, June 13 I had the privilege of attending the Metrolina Library Association’s (MLA) 2024 Conference. The conference was held at the Parr Center on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College. The theme was “Rising to the Challenge” and while Wellness wasn’t the explicit topic of the conference, my poster on our Wellness Collection was accepted. I was thrilled to return to a Metrolina Conference. It had been years since I attended.

The day began with a welcome from Laura McShane, the MLA president and the keynote, given by Dr. April Dawkins. Dawkins is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her keynote focused on the importance of intellectual freedom in school libraries and the preparation of school librarians. This is of course particularly germane at this moment when school libraries and school librarians have found themselves at the center of the cultural and political struggle over who has the authority to determine what information is accessible in libraries. I found her discussion of advocacy and resilience particularly encouraging.

There were numerous breakout sessions throughout the day and all of the ones I attended were excellent, however two standout breakout sessions were of particular interest to me: First, “Reimagining Libraries: AI as a Tool for Progress,” presented by Donte’ Perry was terrific! The session explored how artificial intelligence can transform libraries. Perry discussed AI tools and applications that have the potential to help libraries address challenges, personalize library services for the user, and create new learning opportunities. The session really gave me hope for the future of libraries and AI in libraries.

Another session I found interesting discussed misinformation. Since I am especially interested in misinformation and fighting misinformation, I was of course interested in “Mythbusters: Engaging and Empowering Students to Fight Misinformation.” Presented by Amanda Bosch and Jennifer Klebaur from Catawba College, this session focused on the need to equip students with skills that help them critically assess information and combat misinformation. Bosch and Klebaur shared some interesting approaches to teaching digital and information literacy using myth-busting activities. Really cool! One such activity focused on debunking common neuropsychology myths. This session made me miss teaching one-shot instruction at my previous institution.

And last, but not least, the poster sessions were a highlight as well! My poster, “Transforming Challenges into Wellness Opportunities,” focused on our development of a wellness collection here at ZSR Library and it attracted quite a bit of attention. Numerous people not only asked about our collection, but wanted to take photos of the poster to show their colleagues at their home institutions.

Overall, the MLA 2024 Conference was a really great experience! I am grateful for the opportunity to attend and present a poster on our wellness collection.