2022 Montana Academic Library Symposium

The MT Academic Library Symposium is coming!  

We hope you can join us online on May 17-19 for the 2022 Montana Academic Library Symposium. We will again be virtual this year with the hope of returning to an in-person format by 2023. 

As current events continue to keep life challenging, the 2022 Symposium Planning Committee wishes to acknowledge this reality in the contents of this year’s event. We hope the Symposium will provide information to help you to better process what is happening - nationally, state-wide, and locally. Presentations will offer a mix of content looking at the big picture issues, and also the more practical, day-to-day concerns. 

Even while life has gone on during a pandemic and new challenges arise around every corner, many people are tired or - if in full disclosure - even exhausted. This is happening in many professions and academic librarianship is no exception. Our keynote speakers will discuss academic librarians and burnout based on research using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). They will discuss their interesting results, whether age and gender are factors, and what the Marxian theory of Entfremdung has to do with any of this.

Plus, other Symposium topics will include, but are not limited to:

• DEI and the in-house taxonomy of the Walt Disney company
• Organizing collectively to change the way our libraries are funded, supported, promoted, and developed
•  AI and algorithmic user experiences
• Doing business with library vendors
• How (and why) to use & cite social media in research
• Intergenerational communication in the workplace
• What’s going on with OER in the West and here in MT

Plus, some amazing presentations from your friends and colleagues!

For the first time, the Symposium will include a book discussion as part of the conference. In recognition of the upheavals in our country’s political landscape, the #1 New York Times bestseller, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder will be the focus of an undoubtedly lively discussion.

In addition to the many critical topics, trends, and changes that will be examined, special time has been set aside for connecting with colleagues. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Symposium without a trivia contest and prizes.

Register now so you don’t miss out!

Any questions can be sent to Pamela Benjamin, Statewide Academic Libraries Coordinator at pamela.benjamin1@montana.edu or 406-994-4432.

The 2022 Symposium Planning Group