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Tuesday, May 12
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1:00pm EDT

Opening Keynote: Slow Management in a Fast World
Tuesday May 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
We live in an individualistic achievement society that encourages people to chase external validation by putting the focus on innovation and competition over collaboration and collective care. Many of these dynamics are at play in our own profession, leading to toxic cultures of scarcity, low morale, burnout, and disproportionate harm to BIPOC library workers and patrons. We have the power to...
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Speakers
avatar for Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas

Faculty Librarian, Portland Community College Library
Meredith Farkas (she/her) is a faculty librarian at Portland Community College in Oregon, a perpetual beginner, a passionate union member, and a recovering workaholic. She has authored the blog Information Wants to be Free since 2004. Her research interests include slow librarianship, time, leadership, reflective practice, disability justice, antiracism, and collective care. Meredith has been in many different leadership and management roles throughout her career, but her favorite role is working with... Read More →
Tuesday May 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT

2:45pm EDT

The Art of Letting Go: Delegation, Trust, and Empowering Your Team
Tuesday May 12, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
TBA
Effective delegation is one of the most powerful yet underutilized tools in academic library management. Too often, managers avoid delegating because of time pressures, fear of mistakes, or the tendency toward perfectionism. Yet thoughtful delegation not only strengthens team capacity—it cultivates autonomy, supports leadership development, and fosters a culture of trust and shared...
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Speakers
DJ
Tuesday May 12, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
TBA
  Empathetic Leadership, Recorded

2:45pm EDT

Navigating Workplace Accommodations for Neurodiversity: A Collaborative Journey
Tuesday May 12, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
TBA
Rooted in the lived experiences of the presenters – a neurodivergent employee and their manager, this session provides an authentic dialogue about how working through the process of accommodations shaped personal and professional relationships and well-being. This dialogue-style presentation will provide tips and advice, practical tools, and learnings from failures related to the following...
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Speakers
SK

Susan Klopper

Director, Goizueta Business Library, Emory University
I've been both a corporate librarian (at an accounting, tax, and consulting firm) and an academic business librarian.
In both instances, my roles were both as director/leader of the library and as one of the "boots on the ground" business librarians.
SR
Tuesday May 12, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
TBA
  Inclusive Practice, Recorded

2:45pm EDT

Leading Up and Leading Down: Critical Reflections on the Middle Management Identity, Power, and Practice in Academic Librarianship
Tuesday May 12, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
TBA
Mid-career and middle-management librarians occupy a complex and operationally demanding role in academic libraries. Positioned between senior leadership and frontline staff, they are expected to lead from the middle while developing their own managerial practice and supporting the growth and development of others. This panel brings together librarians from four different institutions to examine...
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Speakers
MB
KL
KP
avatar for Alison Shea

Alison Shea

Research Librarian, University of St. Thomas School of Law
Alison Shea joined the University of St. Thomas Law School in 2024 as a Research Librarian.  She has a B.A. from Boston University (2004), and a joint J.D./M.S.L.S. from The Catholic University of America (2007).

Alison's formal management experience was brief, having been promot... Read More →
Tuesday May 12, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
TBA
  Management Strategies, Not Recorded

2:45pm EDT

Leading from Within: Cultivating a Person-Centered Culture for Meaningful Change
Tuesday May 12, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
TBA
Effective management in academic libraries requires more than oversight and decision-making: it calls for leadership that centers people, relationships, and trust. As higher education continues to evolve, library managers are tasked with guiding teams through uncertainty while sustaining motivation, engagement, and well-being. This session explores how leaders can intentionally cultivate a...
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Speakers
AC
LE
TN
Tuesday May 12, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
TBA
  Organizational Change, Recorded

4:00pm EDT

To Err is Human: Centering the Person in Making and Recovering from Mistakes
Tuesday May 12, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
When we make a mistake at work, how we are supported by the people around us can make all the difference in our ability to recover from that mistake and use it as an opportunity to learn, grow, and develop. Conversely, when one of our staff members makes a mistake, how we respond to that mistake as managers can make all the difference in how we build workplace cultures that are people-centered and...
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Speakers
PM

Penelope MacDonald

Assistant Dean for Administration and Finance, Healey Library, UMass Boston
MM
Tuesday May 12, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
  Empathetic Leadership, Recorded

4:00pm EDT

Cultivating Ownership Through Shared Learning: A Person-Centered Professional Development Model
Tuesday May 12, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
Our department has gone through several changes, leaving colleagues split between two campuses. Trying to facilitate collaboration and create a unified sense of community was a critical need. To address this, we created a goal for everyone to share their expertise. This presentation details the design, implementation, and outcomes of our department's in-house professional development (PD) model,...
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Speakers
VB
Tuesday May 12, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
  Inclusive Practice, Not Recorded

4:00pm EDT

Recognizing our Strengths: How Librarian Skills Translate into Effective Person-Centered Management
Tuesday May 12, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
Most librarians do not receive formal management education or training and, as a result, may refrain from pursuing management roles because they believe themselves underprepared or underqualified. Yet librarians often have a rich set of skills that map well to the demands of management roles; they just don’t recognize them as relevant and transferable. In addition to the strong grounding in core...
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Speakers
HF
JG
avatar for Jennifer Jarson

Jennifer Jarson

Head Librarian, Penn State University Libraries
avatar for Maura Smale

Maura Smale

Chief Librarian, CUNY Graduate Center
Tuesday May 12, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
  Management Strategies, Recorded

4:00pm EDT

AI Under Duress: Two Approaches to Building AI Confidence
Tuesday May 12, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
Our university licensed enterprise access to Claude in April 2025, which placed new pressure on the library to be ready to address AI in Fall 2025. As unit leads, we wanted our staff to feel confident addressing GenAI in library instruction, so we undertook two separate approaches to building engagement with AI based on our groups’ working cultures and needs. The STEM team took a...
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Speakers
AL
LH
Tuesday May 12, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
  Organizational Change, Recorded
 
Wednesday, May 13
 

12:30pm EDT

Beyond Quick Fixes: Using Conflict Transformation for Sustainable Library Management
Wednesday May 13, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
Academic library managers often feel pressured to resolve conflicts quickly to move past uncomfortable situations. While efficient, this approach can miss crucial underlying issues, leading to recurring problems and eroded trust. Conflict transformation, a framework used in peace-building, offers a sustainable, alternative approach by shifting focus to ”'constructive change initiatives that...
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Speakers
avatar for Melissa Mallon

Melissa Mallon

Associate University Librarian for Teaching & Learning, Vanderbilt University
Wednesday May 13, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
  Conflict & Crisis Management, Recorded

12:30pm EDT

A Person-Centered Promotion Process in Academic Libraries, or “Are you the A$$h0l3?”
Wednesday May 13, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
Formal career review and advancement, such as the tenure and promotion process, can be a celebratory and/or soul-sucking time for candidates, their colleagues, and library managers. The presenters, three current or former academic library unit heads, know this first-hand from their experiences facilitating sometimes heavenly, sometimes hellish promotional meetings. While the policies and standards...
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Speakers
EF
PR
AW
Wednesday May 13, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
  Empathetic Leadership, Not Recorded

12:30pm EDT

A Trauma-Informed Approach to Student Employment: Teaching Emotional Intelligence Skills to Build Community and Create an Inclusive Workplace Culture
Wednesday May 13, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
Using a trauma-informed framework, we will explore ways to help student workers develop empathy and self-awareness and build a workplace culture of collaboration and inclusion. What can you do when a student employee is offended by something a co-worker said at the circulation desk? What policies can mitigate the problem of excessive profanity in public services? These questions may seem simple...
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Speakers
avatar for Ariela McCaffrey

Ariela McCaffrey

Reference and Instruction Librarian, CT State Three Rivers
I am a librarian at Connecticut State Community College Three Rivers. My responsibilities include teaching, research assistance, marketing and supervising seven Student Library Assistants.
Wednesday May 13, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
  Inclusive Practice, Recorded

12:30pm EDT

Flying by the Seat of Our Pants: Assessing Early Career Academic Librarians’ Readiness for Management Roles
Wednesday May 13, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
As academic libraries face ongoing retirements and organizational restructuring, early career librarians are increasingly assuming supervisory or managerial responsibilities earlier in their careers. Yet questions remain about how prepared they feel for these roles and what kind of support contributes most to their confidence and effectiveness. This presentation reports the results of a national...
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Speakers
CA
LG
Wednesday May 13, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
  Organizational Change, Recorded

1:45pm EDT

When You Make the News: Leadership Response and Trauma-Informed Support After Violent Incidents
Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
On the afternoon of Saturday, August 16th, 2025, an emergency alert text was sent to the University of Denver campus community, informing them of a stabbing that had occurred in the Anderson Academic Commons, the building that houses library employees, service points, and collections. The conflict, which took place in an open seating area, involved two individuals unaffiliated with the University....
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Speakers
JC
NM
NC
Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
  Conflict & Crisis Management, Recorded

1:45pm EDT

Motivational Interviewing for Leaders: Building Engagement Through Better Conversations
Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, person-centered communication approach originally developed in the behavioral health field to strengthen motivation for change. Today, MI offers powerful, practical tools for leaders who want to foster engagement, support growth, and inspire meaningful action within their teams. This session will introduce the core principles of MI: expressing...
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Speakers
KR
Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
  Empathetic Leadership, Recorded

1:45pm EDT

Guided Journeys: Recruiting and Hiring with the Whole-Person Approach
Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
The essential activity of recruiting and hiring can be fraught with high levels of stress, anxiety, impersonal formality, and the possibility that anyone involved may dread the unfeeling cold of distant scrutiny and fierce competition. While multiple factors can contribute to discomfort and disconnection, the presenters advocate for an approach that eschews even an accidental running of the...
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Speakers
SP
EU
Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
  Inclusive Practice, Recorded

1:45pm EDT

That's a Great Idea: A Person-Centered Framework for Collaborative Work
Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
Like many libraries, the Davidson College Library is organized around functional teams focused on the various aspects of the library’s work and mission: research collections, archives and special collections, access and outreach, digital engagement, and research and instruction. This structure acknowledges specializations and strengthens those cores, but it also creates silos. To overcome these...
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Speakers
LF
avatar for Jacob Heil

Jacob Heil

Asst. Dir. of Engaged Research and Learning, Davidson College
Wednesday May 13, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
  Organizational Change, Not Recorded

3:00pm EDT

Managing at a Distance: Research-Backed Strategies to Boost Work Engagement for Remote and Hybrid Employees
Wednesday May 13, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
TBA
As remote and hybrid work structures become increasingly common in academic libraries, managers face new challenges in keeping employees engaged, motivated, and connected. This session presents original research exploring the relationship between transformational leadership behaviors and work engagement in remote and hybrid academic library environments. Drawing on a quantitative study of over...
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Speakers
avatar for Amanda Ziegler

Amanda Ziegler

Director of Library Services, Access, & Scholarship, National University
I’m an academic library director at National University, where I lead a fully digital library supporting more than 20,000 online and military-affiliated learners. My work sits at the intersection of access, innovation, and impact, especially in open educational resources (OER... Read More →
Wednesday May 13, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
TBA
  Empathetic Leadership, Recorded

3:00pm EDT

Transparent Tightropes: Balancing Employee Morale and Merit in an Open-Expenditure Organization
Wednesday May 13, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
TBA
Many academic institutions embrace transparent or publicly accessible data practices, leading to high visibility of sensitive information such as salaries and merit raise allocations. This practice brings significant benefits in terms of accountability and equity but also adds layers of complexity for supervisors, administrators, and HR partners who must articulate how merit decisions are made and...
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Speakers
KH
Wednesday May 13, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
TBA
  Fiscal Things, Recorded

3:00pm EDT

I’m a Department Head and a Mom”: Our Stories as Mothers and Academic Library Leaders
Wednesday May 13, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
TBA
When I overheard my daughter, playing with her dolls, declare proudly, “I’m a department head and a mom,” I didn’t know how to feel. Does my work as a library leader intrude so noticeably on family life that my 4-year-old is playing ‘university’? Am I succeeding as a role model and breadwinner if my daughter sees leadership as something worth including in her play? Is it both? Neither?...
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Speakers
avatar for Madeline Kelly

Madeline Kelly

Dean of Libraries, Western Washington University
I am a professional librarian, library dean, and author of ALA Editions' "The Complete Collections Assessment Manual." My professional interests include leadership and management; gender in higher education; motherhood in academic libraries; library collection development, management... Read More →
Wednesday May 13, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
TBA
  Management Strategies, Not Recorded

3:00pm EDT

Doing Less with Less: Adapting the Liaison Model for Leaner Times
Wednesday May 13, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
TBA
In this prolonged period of disruption for libraries, old ways of working just aren’t cutting it. At our R1 university library, we had long supported researchers and students using a liaison model, with librarians providing instruction, reference, collection development, and outreach to their assigned college unit. Liaisons were organizationally situated in disciplinary departments with some...
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Speakers
EA
DL
SM
Wednesday May 13, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm EDT
TBA
  Organizational Change, Recorded

4:15pm EDT

Moving Beyond a Land Acknowledgement and Towards Decolonization
Wednesday May 13, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
Join members of the CALM Conference Experience Committee for a session focused on continuing CALM’s Beyond a Land Acknowledgement work. Attendees will watch a brief video about decolonization and discuss and reflect with each other about future actions they can take to support reparative action for Indigenous communities. No prior experience is required to participate in this session.
Speakers
avatar for Kim Pittman

Kim Pittman

Research & Learning Team Manager, University of Minnesota Duluth


avatar for Joshua Sanchez

Joshua Sanchez

Head of User Experience & Web Services, Michigan State University Libraries

avatar for Erika Quintana

Erika Quintana

Area Studies Collection Strategist, UC Riverside Library

avatar for Beth Wallis

Beth Wallis

Associate Dean of University Libraries, Oakland University

avatar for Maria Mejia

Maria Mejia

Open Scholarship Librarian, New York University

Wednesday May 13, 2026 4:15pm - 5:15pm EDT
 
Thursday, May 14
 

12:30pm EDT

Managing Conflict, Confidentiality, and Staff Perception
Thursday May 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
Conflict between employees in academic libraries often plays out behind closed doors, shielded by confidentiality policies, HR protocols, and privacy requirements. While these safeguards are essential, they can create an impression among staff that leadership is inactive or indifferent. This session offers candid reflections based on composites of real-world scenarios, exploring the challenges of...
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Speakers
SP
SP
Thursday May 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
  Conflict & Crisis Management, Not Recorded

12:30pm EDT

Amplifying Empathy from the Middle: Navigating Organizational Change Without Becoming an Emotional Sponge
Thursday May 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
Middle managers in academic libraries often occupy the most volatile seat in the building. Caught between shifting directives from senior leadership and raw emotion from front-line employees, middle managers feel the pressure even more acutely during organizational change. Empathy frequently shows up as an unspoken job expectation, yet few management frameworks explain how to operationalize...
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Speakers
KC
Thursday May 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
  Empathetic Leadership, Recorded

12:30pm EDT

Leadership Without Apology: Women in Library Management
Thursday May 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
This session examines the unique challenges women encounter in management roles and offers strategies for leading with authenticity and impact. Leadership for women often involves more than decision-making—it includes navigating perceptions that influence credibility, authority, and whose voice is heard. We will explore how women can “show up” authentically while maintaining professionalism...
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Speakers
avatar for Helen Bischoff

Helen Bischoff

Coordinator of Liaison Services, University of Kentucky
TG
LN
Thursday May 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
  Management Strategies, Recorded

12:30pm EDT

Lowering the Stakes, Raising the Impact: Regular Check-Ins for Strategic Plan Success
Thursday May 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
Creating a library strategic plan is a complex and time-consuming process that, at its worst, can feel like a performative song and dance for university administration. Library staff struggle to see their work in the strategic plan, the jargon involved can feel corporate and impersonal. Even with inclusively designed plans, it is often too easy to revert back to “the usual” operations after...
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Speakers
JH
KR
Thursday May 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
TBA
  Organizational Change, Recorded

1:45pm EDT

Findings from the Identifying Gaps & Opportunities in Professional Development Support for Managers
Thursday May 14, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
Following the completion of the IMLS grant to the CALM community, the grant team will share key findings from our various research streams and recommendations for the academic library community for creating new and meaningful professional development opportunities for person-centered management practices.
Speakers
avatar for Dani Brecher Cook

Dani Brecher Cook

Associate University Librarian, Learning and User Experience, University of California, San Diego
KK
VA
HJ
MJ
SS
avatar for Diann Smothers
Thursday May 14, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA

1:45pm EDT

Making Space at the Center: Designing A Community of Resonance and Experience (CoRE) for Harmed Library Workers
Thursday May 14, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
As academic libraries sustain the brunt of ongoing reductions in campus operations, budget, and staffing, face rapid industrial disruptions, and participate in expanding organizational abandonment or industrial distancing from long-standing higher education and LIS values, library employee exposure to low-morale experiences, toxic resilience expectations, and burnout have amplified. These...
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Speakers
SA
SH
KD
avatar for Clenise Platt

Clenise Platt

CEO, The Plattinum Group
Clenise Platt is the CEO of Plattinum, a leadership and life development brand that helps people show up more fully engaged in their work and their lives. She is also the President and founder of the nonprofit organization, The Keep Your Chin Up Organization, Incorporated, which develops... Read More →
Thursday May 14, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
  Inclusive Practice, Not Recorded

1:45pm EDT

Create your Home-Grown Solution: Build a People Leader Program
Thursday May 14, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
Recognizing that most organizations cannot absorb the cost of externally training a large pool of managers, this presentation explores how to leverage existing internal resources to build a leadership development program for managers of all library staff. In the field of library science, graduate programs provide limited managerial training, yet professionals are regularly promoted into leadership...
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Speakers
NJ

Nikhat Jehan Ghouse

Director of Community Engagement, University of Pittsburgh
Nikhat Jehan Ghouse is Director of Community Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh Library System, where she manages partnerships across the university and beyond, and collaborates on professional development for all library staff. She also serves as an Organization Development... Read More →
Thursday May 14, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA
  Management Strategies, Not Recorded

3:30pm EDT

Closing Keynote: Theorizing with Communities: A Leadership Praxis Rooted in Hope
Thursday May 14, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
In Teaching to Transgress, bell hooks discusses the importance of theorizing as a necessary act for hope and taking up more inclusive practices. Theorizing with communities means prompting dialogue with different people and groups to collectively make changes at the micro (personal) to macro (policy) levels at our libraries. When we take up leadership praxis (theory informed practice) with our...
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Speakers
SV
Thursday May 14, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EDT
TBA
 
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Conference on Academic Library Management 2026
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