ALA Public Programs Office - Online Resource Center HomeAmerican Library Association
AdvocacyGrantsNetworkingReference ShelfPlanning GuidesProfessional Development

Networking
Some of the best planning ideas and resources come from other library programming directors and supporters. To share your own ideas or gather input from your peers, sign up for one of our electronic discussion lists, check out our Idea Exchange or attend one of the meetings or conferences below.

Meetings and Conferences - Network with fellow cultural programmers at the ALA Annual Conference and Midwinter Meeting, Public Library Association (PLA) National Conference, and other library and arts/humanities events.

Electronic Discussion Lists - The following discussion lists exist to help librarians exchange ideas and find out about resources.

  • ALA Public Programs Office Electronic Discussion Lists

  • Other ALA Hosted Electronic Discussion Lists - Several other ALA lists provide information helpful to programming efforts. These include PRTalk, AcademicPR, ALANews, and more. For descriptions of these and other lists, and to subscribe, visit http://lp-web.ala.org:8000/.

  • PUBLIB - Maintained by the Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE, this list provides much discussion of all issues related to public librarianship.

  • FOLUSA-L - Maintained by Friends of Libraries USA, this list is beneficial for Friends groups that are involved in library programming and other efforts.