Nuts & Bolts for Trustees, Friends and Foundations Fri., Jun. 24, 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. This all-day event, sponsored by United for Libraries, will have something for everyone: information, resource sharing, roundtable discussions, speakers, and other learning opportunities. Keynote speakers are nonprofit consultant and speaker Hardy Smith, author of the 2009 white paper “Why Don’t Board Members Do What They’re Supposed To Do?” and author and library advocate Mary Alice Monroe. Information sessions include Robin Hoklotubbe, California Public Library Advocates president and United for Libraries program committee member, on “What Can United for Libraries Do for YOU?” and David Hallenbeck, past director of the New Hampshire Library Trustee Association, on “Re-Envisioning Public Libraries: Trustees, Friends, and Foundations and the Aspen Institute Report.” Registration is required in advance; email united@ala.org with your contact information.

Public Library Trustees Discussion Group Sat., Jun. 25, 8:30–10 a.m. An informal discussion group for trustees to bring best practices, ask questions, and network with peers from across the country.

Cultivating Leaders and Building Effective Volunteer Boards for Trustees, Friends, and Foundations Sat., Jun. 25, 1–2:30 p.m. Incoming ALA president Julie Todaro, ALA parliamentarian Eli Mina, and facilitator Mark Freeman will speak on ways to cultivate leaders and build more effective volunteer boards, covering a variety of topics that should be of interest, such as how not to run a board meeting, roles and responsibilities of a leader, and methods for building an engaged and effective board.

Listening to Our Customers; or, LISTEN/DIGEST/RESPOND: Trustees Becoming True Community Representatives Sat., Jun. 25, 3–4 p.m. Despite the slightly confounding title, this session promises straight talk on how to listen constructively to libraries’ constituents—particularly politicians, library users, and nonusers. Panelists sharing their years of experience with community engagement include Kate Park, executive director of Friends of the Dallas Public Library; Barbara Gubbin, director of the Jacksonville Public Library, FL; and Richard Kong, assistant director of the Skokie Public Library, IL.

Library Foundation Discussion Group Sun., Jun. 26, 8:30–10 a.m. Trustees, foundation board members and staff, library staff, and anyone else with an interest in foundations can join in this freeform, moderated discussion on library foundations and the issues unique to them.

Celebrating Your Library’s Milestones:A Compendium of Ideas Sun., Jun. 26, 10:30–11:30 a.m. Everybody loves a party, and a panel made up of a library director, a Friends member, and a trustee will discuss ways to recognize, publicize, and have fun celebrating library anniversaries in your community. Draw on the resources of Friends, foundation, trustees, library users, and community members to acknowledge library milestones in meaningful ways.

The Power of Partnerships: Library as Leader in Local Collaborations Sun., Jun. 26, 1–2:30 p.m. Partnerships across your library’s community benefit everyone, and this panel of stakeholders from various sectors—including the hospitality industry, the University of Central Florida, the school board, and the regional workforce board—will have plenty to say on how they have partnered with Florida’s Orange County Library System to the mutual benefit of everyone involved.

Fast and Easy: Advocacy That YOU Can Do! Sun., Jun. 26, 1–2:30 p.m. Although marketed to retired librarians, these advocacy projects can easily be implemented by nonlibrarian trustees. Panelists include Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the ALA Washington office; Marci Merola, director of the ALA Office for Library Advocacy; and Jan Sanders, director of the Pasadena Public Library, CA.