About

The Louisiana Virtual Academic Library Conference was developed to provide a low-cost professional opportunity for librarians both in and beyond Louisiana to share best practices, present, connect, learn, and be inspired. Many academic librarians do not have the budget or time to travel to as many conferences as they would like to attend. Webinars can help fill that gap, but the first Louisiana Virtual conference planning committee agreed in the spring of 2018 that a virtual conference was worth piloting to see if it could provide an additional level of valuable support and professional development.

The next conference is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019

The pilot conference, held November 15, 2018, had 137 participants from 20 U.S. states, 63% from Louisiana joined by librarians and library school students from Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Texas, California, Georgia, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, and Virginia. Members of the conference co-hosting organizations, the Academic Section of the Louisiana Library Association and ACRL-LA (the Louisiana Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries), library school students, and presenters attended free. The modest registration fee of $25 for non-members is split evenly between the hosting organizations to support future conferences and additional professional development opportunities.

The planning committee members for both the 2018 and 2019 conferences are

Louisiana Library Association (LLA) Academic Section

  • Jennifer Hamilton, Head of Instruction/Asst. Professor, University of Louisiana of Lafayette Libraries
  • Heather Plaisance, Head of Reference/Asst. Professor, University of Louisiana of Lafayette Libraries

Louisiana Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL-LA)

  • Holly Jackson, Scholarly Engagement Librarian for the Humanities, Tulane University, New Orleans
  • Brittany O'Neill, Humanities & Social Sciences Librarian, Louisiana State University Libraries, Baton Rouge

Louisiana Peer-reviewed Library Journals

  • Celise Reech-Harper, Editor of Louisiana Libraries and Associate Director of Public Services at the Beauregard Parish Library
  • Megan Lowe, Editor of Codex and Director of the Library/Associate Professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe Library