Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO)

Log in

Home
Events
2026 Conference Proposals

Proposal Guidelines

The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) conference planning committee invites you to submit proposals for the 52nd Annual Conference, Preserving the Past, Empowering the Future: Ohio Academic Libraries

ALAO has a long tradition of being a foundation for first-time presenters of sessions, posters, lightning talks, and panel discussions. Our conference provides a welcoming and supportive environment that is perfect for your first journey into presenting! In this spirit, the 2026 ALAO Conference Planning Committee will host an informal virtual conversation to empower potential first-time presenters and anyone else interested in sharing their dynamic ideas. The Webinar will take place on April 9th at 12pm virtually through Microsoft Teams. Please find the link to join here. The recording will be posted to the ALAO website after completion of the webinar. You can also view last year’s webinar here.

Conference Date & Venue

In-Person Conference Location (Thursday and Friday, Oct 29th-30th, 2026): OCLC Conference Center, Dublin, OH

Submission Deadline: Friday April 24th, 2026

We encourage thoughtful, timely proposals from all areas of library work.

Adherence to the conference theme is encouraged but not required. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Libraries’ role supporting citizenship and civic engagement
Leadership in libraries during challenging times
Preserving historical materials and documents
Advocacy for libraries and library workers
Innovative instruction & research support
Generating student success in the classroom and beyond
Measuring the impact of library programs and services
Original use of generative AI in library work
Exploring new acquisition models
Strategies for working with Alma normalization rules
Inventive student worker roles and duties
Expressing the value of the library to stakeholders
Collection assessment, management, & development
Libraries as supportive environments and communities
Self-care for library personnel
Library integrations with campus systems like Workday or EAB Navigate
Strategies for creating successful library outreach
Connecting and collaborating with non-library units
Universal access in libraries: spaces, interfaces, licenses, etc

SUBMIT YOUR CONFERENCE PROPOSAL HERE!

Proposal Guidelines

Choose which option best fits your topic(s). Multiple submissions are allowed, but each must represent a different topic.

Proposals should appeal and be relevant to academic library work in any area, department, or specialty. Adherence to the conference theme is encouraged but not required.
Proposals should provide a clear indication of actionable takeaways or practical applications.
Proposals should be concise, descriptive, and clearly written.
Proposals are blinded and peer-reviewed by the selection committee.

Exclude the name of your institution, department, and any personal names in the title or abstract. If you include this identifying information, your proposal may not receive further consideration.

Multiple submissions of presentations, posters, and lightning talks are allowed.

No more than two (e.g. two presentations, two posters, one presentation and one poster, or one presentation/poster and lightning talk) will be included in the final program.

Proposal Types:

Presentation (50-minute session)

These sessions can include panels, presentations and breakouts.

Poster Session (1 hour session where you engage with individuals or small groups for a few minutes at a time, uses visual format to give an overview of a topic)
Discussions (50-minute session) where you lead attendees through a guided discussion around a defined theme.
Lightning Talk (7 minute session with a shared Q&A)

Proposal Components:

Title: 25 word limit
Abstract: 200 word limit

Exclude the name of your institution, department and any personal names. If you include this identifying information, your proposal may not receive further consideration.

How the presentation/poster will engage with audience
Keywords that describe the content
Presenter bio(s): 100 word limit
The content of this proposal will be:

Content is completely new
Previously presented/published, but takes a different focus or adds new information
Previously presented elsewhere

Learning Outcomes for Presentations

A well-written learning outcome will identify what participants will be able to do as a result of attending your program. How will your target audience’s skills, attitudes, knowledge, behavior, status, or life condition change or improve by participating in your program? Think about the intended impact of the program and how it fills a need or solves a problem.
Tip: Consider using a verb or action phrase + “in order to” + an impact statement to design your outcomes. The first phrase describes the skill or task you want the learner to perform, and the second phrase describes its impact and why it is important. (Guidelines adopted from ALA Annual Submission Guide & Primer for Learning Outcomes)
At least one outcome is required; no more than three can be submitted.

For discussions, in lieu of learning outcomes please provide 3 discussion questions that you plan to use to guide the conversation.

All conference presenters (presentation, poster, discussion, or lightning talk) are responsible for their own registration costs. Please note also that grants are available for Students, Library Support Staff, and Technical Services Staff to attend or aid in presenting at the conference. Grant applications for 2026 will open later this year—check back soon!

COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS

The conference planners seek to create a space for respectful dialogue and debate about critical issues. Upon registration, attendees will be asked to review and accept a list of community agreements. Conference planners will actively strive to create spaces in which multiple perspectives can be heard and no one voice dominates.

If you have questions, please contact the Conference Planning Committee at program@alaoweb.org.

SUBMIT YOUR CONFERENCE PROPOSALS HERE

Rubric: http://tinyurl.com/ALAORubric

Contact a Board Member

A Chapter of the Association of College & Research Libraries, American Library Association