2026 Conference Program Schedule
Wednesday, October 21
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Morning Sessions
- Working with the New Mexico State Library: What to Know as a Library Director with Carmelita Aragon, Kelly McCabe, Ursula McDade, Ada Negraru
- Planting the Seeds of Open Education with Jennifer Jordan
- Growing Digital Opportunity: The Evolving Role of Libraries in Digital Inclusion with Bo Ford
- What's It About? An Introduction to Subject Analysis and Classification. Sarah Edwards Obenauf with Bradley Carrington, and Angelica Bernaert from New Mexico State Library
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Morning Preconference Sessions (continued)
11:00 am - 12:00 am
Morning Preconference Sessions (continued until noon)
noon - 1:00 pm
noon - 12:45 pm -- Board Meeting
noon - 1:00 pm -- Lunch
noon - 4:30 pm -- Conference Registration and Checkin
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Conference Registration and Checkin (continued)
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm -- Exhibitor Checkin and Setup
Afternoon Preconference Sessions
- Fundamentals of Leadership with Jason E. Shoup from Rio Rancho Public Library
- Nourish Your Programs with Art-Rich STEM Activities with Christine Shupla from Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI)
- Convincing the Unconvinced: Using Data to Prove Your Library Matters with Ursula McDaid from New Mexico State Library
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Conference Registration and Checkin (continued)
Exhibitor Checkin and Setup (continued)
Afternoon Preconference Sessions (continued)
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Conference Registration and Checkin (continued)
Exhibitor Checkin and Setup (continued)
Afternoon Preconference Sessions (continued until 4:00 pm)
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Conference Registration and Checkin (continued until 4:30 pm)
4:30 pm - 6:30 pm -- Conference Exhibitor Reception
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Conference Exhibitor Reception (continued)
6:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Conference Exhibitor Reception (continued until 6:30 pm)
Thursday, October 22
8:00 am - 9:00 am
Registration, Coffee & Tea
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Conference Kickoff!
10:00 am - 11:00 am
10:00 am - 10:30 am -- Break & Refreshments
10:30 am - 11:20 am -- Session 1
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Cultivating Collections: Building an Istitutional Repository at NMHU with Katie Gray
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SRP101 Getting Started With Summer Reading with Kelly McCabe
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Tending the Learning: How Libraries Can Protect the Struggle AI Wants to Skip with Leslie Ross & Brita Sauer
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Updates & Conversation: Public Library Directors Meeting with Carmelita Aragon
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Building a History Exhibit through Experiential Student Learning with Erin Renee Wahl(Angel Corona & Guinevere Mayse, students)
11:00 am - 12:00 am
Session 1 (continued until 11:20)
11:30 am - noon -- Session 2: Lightning Talks
- Fostering Community With Library Programming with Kesheena Doctor
- Makerspace in a Nutshell: Starting DACC Library's Makerspace with Mak Jones
- Morally Injured: Time to Plant or Move On with Angelica Garcia-Hughes
- Space Utilization Evaluation & Atmosphere Shifts with Karina Todechine
- Programmatic Leadership with Bo Ford
- When AI Answers Health Questions: What Librarians Should Know – A Bilingual Medical Librarian’s Reflection with Evelyn Wang
- Taking Library Services to Charter Schools: Filling the Information Gap for Charter School Students with Enrique Valdivia
- Plant the Seeds: Practical Ways to Cultivate a Reading Culture with Natasha Carty & Karin Trujillo
noon - 1:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
1:00 pm - 1:50 pm -- Session 3
- The Pioneer and the Four Founders: The Ladies Who Started the State Library and NMLA with Joe Sabatini
- Residency; Helping People Find Proof of Residency for RECA Claims with Susanne Caro & Regina Bouley Sweeten
- Planting Seeds of Engagement: Growing Community Connections Through a Library Postcard Project with Moses Moya
- The Freedom to Read: Why Legislation Matters: Part 1 with Ann Nihlen, NM House Representative Kathleen Cates, NM Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, NM Senator Harold Pope & Regina Dickens
- How to Spend That $240,000 Grant You Did Not Ask For with Joseph McKenzie, Maria Monclova de Padilla
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
2:00 pm - 2:50 pm -- Session 4
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Tending the Digital Garden: Growing AI Safety Practices in New Mexico Libraries with Ada Negraru and Bo Ford
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Growing Community Connections: Using YesNMConnect to Cultivate Better Social Care with Laura Clark
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Growing the Next Generation of Librarians Through Hands-on Experiences in Academic Libraries with Adrienne Warner
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The Freedom to Read: Why Legislation Matters: Part 2 with Ann Nihlen, et al.
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Community Outreach: Growing Strong Roots in Your Community with Sarah Jones
2:50 pm - 3:10 pm -- Coffee Break with Exhibitors
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Coffee Break with Exhibitors (continued until 3:10 pm)
3:10 pm - 4:00 pm -- Session 5
- Growing Your Religious Collection: Collection Development Resources with Ellen Bosman
- Planting Seeds of Change: Revitalizing the Community College Library with Mak Jones & Tiffany Schirmer
- From Roots to Results: The Foundation Behind the Bloom with Samantha Hardin, Gilda & Baeza-Ortego
- What I Didn't Learn in Library School and Why It Matters with Bentley Clark
- Ranganathan's Colon Classification: What it is and what we can learn from it about organizing contemporary library materials with Kevin Comerford
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
4:10 pm - 5:00 pm -- Session 6
- Grow Your Library Team: A Leader’s Guide to Working With Individuals with Teresa Smith
- Planting Seeds of Insight: Arts-Integrated Creative Inquiry for Libraries in Bloom with Kat Gullahorn, Amalia Giebitz & Stephen W. Morris
- AI Transcription of Handwritten Historical Documents Using an Edge Reasoning Model with Jason Bengtson
- NM Litigant Portal – Using AI to Provide Legal Information with Amy DiBello
- A Reader's Guide to New Mexican Literature (a new book from UNM Press) with Baker H. Morrow & V.B. Price
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Awards Ceremony Dinner
Friday, October 23
8:00 am - 9:00 am
Registration, Coffee & Tea
9:00 am - 10:00 am
9:00 am - 10:30 am -- Keynote with Cruces Creatives - Lea Wise-Surguy and Margaret Neill
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Keynote with Cruces Creatives (continued until 10:30 am)
10:30 am - 11:00 am -- Break with Exhibitors
10:30 am - 11:00 am -- NMLA Business Meeting
11:00 am - noon
11:00 am - 11:50 am -- Session 7
- From Story Seeds to Community Blooms: Library Ideas that Grow Engagement with Karin Trujillo
- Growing Your Community: How-tos of Creating a Seed Library with Jeri Hurd
- Bringing Your Collections to Full Bloom: Displaying Your Materials in the Best Light with Susan Asplund
- Rooted in Belonging: Weeding Out Imposter Syndrome and Gaining Agency & Community Through Zines with Jess Zubia and Jessi Galanter
- Highlighting Collections and Community Through Open Access Digital Tours with Regina Bouley Sweeten
noon - 1:00 pm
Author Luncheon
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
1:00 pm - 1:55 pm -- Session 8
- Blooming Researchers & Writers: A Story of Collaboration Between an Academic Librarian and a Writing Instructor with Joy Urbina & Dr. Isabel Baca
- Making the Career Switch: Moving From One Library Type to Another with Erin Renee Wahl, Kimberly Underwood and Veronica Soto
- Tiny Book Crafting with Susanne Caro
- North Fourth Street: Albuquerque’s Original Route 66 with Joe Sabatini
- Art of Being Present with Jess Zubia and Alisa Gonzalez
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
2:00 pm - 2:50 pm -- Session 9
- Battle of the Books Basics with Karin Trujillo
- Empowering Libraries to Support Caregivers: Essential Resources and Strategies with George Strawley
- Grow Your Own Reading Challenge: Using Google Forms and Data Studio to Create Your Own Digital Reading Tracker with Heather Christensen
- Decolonizing the Catalog- How We Ditched Dewey in our Indigenous Collection with Lisa Longeteig & Tara Abeita
- Growing Your Summer Reading Program with Kelly McCabe
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New Mexico Library Association
Supporting and promoting New Mexico libraries and librarians