Greetings !

Welcome to the web site that keeps Oregon's library community informed about events and issues important to association members, libraries, library trustees, and friends of libraries across the state. 

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2025 Oregon Library Association Annual Conference
April 23 - 25 in Eugene Oregon
Oregon Libraries United: Navigating Change
https://oregonlibconference.org/2025/

Conference Structure: This year you’ll see a more organic structure to our sessions. We’re using our first experience at this conference site to experiment with different length and styles of sessions. Remember that you are always welcome to move among the sessions as you please, and there will be a great deal of supporting material available in Whova during the conference and Northwest Central after the conference. We recommend partnering with a colleague to swap notes and takeaways from different sessions. The structure this year isn’t indicative of what future conferences might do, so let us know what you think through the end-of-conference survey!
Keynote Sessions: This year we’re thrilled to provide two keynote sessions. Our opening keynote is a facilitated discussion with representatives from community support organizations here in Lane County. We’re going to chat about facilitating organizational partnerships and explore what we as library workers can learn from our partners in adjacent fields. Two of these organizations will also provide trainings immediately following the Wednesday keynote. Our Friday keynote is a chat with Newbery Award-winning, PNW author Donna Barba Higuera (The Last Cuentista, Alebrijes, et. al.)!
De-escalation & Gender 101 Trainings: The OLA Conference Committee is thrilled to share that as part of our keynote session we are able to provide two trainings at no additional cost to all attendees. Gender 101 is presented by TransPonder and a great entry point for folks hoping to learn more about gender identity and inclusion. This training lasts about 90 minutes. The de-escalation training is a 4-hr intensive training great for anyone in a patron-facing position. Learn and practice skills that can be clutch in tricky situations!
Night at the Museum President's Reception: This year we’ve combined the traditional all-conference reception and president’s party into one amazing event: Night at the Museum at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History on the University of Oregon’s campus! Join us for snacks, a no-host bar, and a museum all to ourselves. If MNCH sounds familiar, you might know them from their amazing outreach work with public libraries all over the state each summer. Here’s your chance to see their home base and the world’s oldest and most stylish pair of shoes!
 
Register Now 
(Registration ends 4/11/25)
 
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Overdue: Weeding Out Oppression in Libraries
Podcast Series, Launched 3/31/22
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Antiracism (EDIA) Committee

NEW EPISODE!

 Season 4, Episode1:
Decolonizing the Archive
with 
Natalia Fernández

We are joined in this episode by Oregon State University Associate Professor and Special Collections and Archives Research Center (SCARC) Curator, Natalia Fernández. 

How can academic archives confront harmful narratives and create more inclusive records? Fernández shares how SCARC'S Antiracist Description Activities project is challenging biased language, improving finding aids and ensuring collections are represented with dignity, non-prejudice and accuracy.

Date of Interview: February 6, 2025 
Hosts: Joan Vigil & Brittany Young

Full link to episode: 

 

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Oregon Library Association Online Merchant Store
OLA has opened its OLA Merch Store and currently has available Conference Logo and a variety on a variety of items.
Over the next few months it will be opened for OLA Units to make available their merchandise.
Take a look!
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 EDI Antiracism Toolkit Available

EDI Antiracism Toolkit, Digital Copy (pdf)
EDI Antiracism Toolkit, Hard Copy (pdf)

PLD Director's Training Session on the EDI Antiracism Toolkit
1/29/21 Recorded Session (youTube, approximately 2 1/4 hours)

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OLA Mission Statement

OLA provides advocacy, education, leadership and collaboration to continually strengthen Oregon's libraries and the communities we serve.  


 

OLA Hotline

Oregon Library Association Quarterly (OLAQ)
Check out the new issue Vol. 28, No. 1!

Marketing and Outreach: Connecting to Our Communities



OLAQ is hosted by Oregon State University.

Find current issue and past archives at our new site.

Visit the new website now for information on upcoming issues, search for archived articles, and find out how you can contribute your voice to a publication dedicated to representing Oregon libraries and staff!

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