---
title: "Conference Circuit: Room Full of Librarians"
id: "41857"
type: "post"
slug: "conference-circuit-room-full-of-librarians"
published_at: "2018-03-15T22:14:26+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-16T21:33:10+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/03/15/conference-circuit-room-full-of-librarians/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/03/15/conference-circuit-room-full-of-librarians.md"
excerpt: "The Public Library Association’s 2018 Conference begins next week in Philadelphia. Around 5,000 are expected to attend."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Meetings / Events"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "conferences"
  - "libraries"
  - "Meetings"
  - "Professional Development"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Employee (Non-Manager)"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

[Home](https://associationsnow.com/)
 » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/)
 » Conference Circuit: Room Full of Librarians

About 5,000 librarians, library support staff, trustees, friends, and library vendors from around the globe are headed to Philadelphia in the coming days to take part in top-quality education, network with their colleagues, and learn about the latest products and services for libraries.

**Organization:** Public Library Association

**Conference:** PLA 2018 Conference

**Venue:** Pennsylvania Convention Center

**City:** Philadelphia

Following preconference sessions next Wednesday morning, [PLA 2018 (opens in a new tab)](http://www.placonference.org/#home)
 officially kicks off later that day with Sally Yates, former U.S. deputy attorney general and acting attorney general, speaking at the opening session. Other noteworthy elements of the meeting:

**Twenty-minute how-to’s.**In addition to exhibit booths, the expo hall will feature a How-To Festival, a cooperative learning experience that will teach attendees practical, hands-on skills in 20 minutes. Among the options: how to create an escape room, how to recommend a book you haven’t read, and how to tie a tie.

**Fast talking.** During Spark Talks, presenters have only five minutes to ignite some new ideas. Using a combination of innovative slides and lightning-fast talk, they’ll share a personal passion inspired by their work to fire up their public library colleagues.

**Get out and explore.**New this year is the PLA Explorer Game—a photo scavenger hunt in the mobile app. Attendees upload photos to complete challenges and earn points as they attend conference events, participate in educational sessions, and meet new people. Each day is a new game with new challenges, and the person who earns the most points each day wins a prize.

Head to [Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/groups/placonference/)
, [Twitter (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/ALA_PLA)
 ([#PLA2018 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/pla2018?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash)
), and [Instagram (opens in a new tab)](https://www.instagram.com/ala_pla/)
 for other meeting details.

(AlenaPaulus/E+/Getty Images Plus)

[Samantha Whitehorne](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/)

Samantha Whitehorne is a former editorial director of Associations Now in Washington, DC.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/)

Tags: [#conferences](https://associationsnow.com/tag/conferences/)
 [#libraries](https://associationsnow.com/tag/libraries/)
 [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/)
 [#Professional Development](https://associationsnow.com/tag/professional-development/)

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