MLA/DLACon2025

AutismFriendlyShows.com and Turtle Dance Music will present a fantastic, interactive musical Autism-Friendly Professional Development for librarians, administrators, teachers and parents. The presenter will demonstrate low-costing instruments, sensory-fidgets, and technology for librarians to share in their programming. This hands-on workshop will cover topics ranging from trends in libraries for sensory-storytime and autism-friendly programming, hands-on demonstrations for potential user-friendly activities in your library, promotional suggestions for wording of fliers, managing meltdowns, following the children's strengths and a whole range of practical topics related to autism and early childhood development that will also be covered. Librarians will benefit from the engaging materials, hands-on activities and abundance of take-home materials.

Libraries can play a vital role in the privacy journeys of our patrons, but teaching privacy in an approachable way can be difficult! As library workers, we can incorporate privacy lessons into our programming in a way that recognizes both the comfort levels and tech literacy levels of our learners. Using Library Freedom Project's approach of teaching through a lens of optimism and harm reduction, Tess Wilson will share practical ways to teach our communities about online privacy, the risks involved with sharing personal data, and more. Attendees will learn good practices and techniques for teaching privacy, and leave with several bite-sized lessons--adaptable for a range of ages and audiences--to take back to their institutions.

“Fostering an Inclusive Workplace for Staff with Intellectual/Developmental
Disabilities" will equip participants with practical knowledge and tools to create a
supportive environment for colleagues with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Participants will explore effective communication strategies, inclusive practices, and
resources to enhance collaboration and understanding. This workshop will emphasize
the importance of diversity in the workplace and provide actionable steps for fostering
an atmosphere where all staff can thrive. Join us to learn how to cultivate a more
inclusive library community that celebrates everyone's contributions.

In this presentation you will learn how to weed your collection so both you and your patrons can find the materials you are looking for. Easier searching, cleaner library shelves, a more current collection and most importantly, no more grubby books!