At the end of June, members of the IU Bloomington ALA (American Library Association) Student Chapter headed to Philadelphia for the ALA 2025 Annual Conference & Exhibition. From June 26-30, they explored the city, connected with fellow library professionals and students, and were inspired through workshops and presentations. We caught up with ALA SC President Sophia Congdon to learn more about the group’s experience.
Q: Had anyone in the group attended the ALA conference before? Was it everyone’s first time (or first conference)?
A: Everyone that attended was a first-time ALA conference attendee. However, our student chapter’s engagement officer, Jacob Muller, has previously attended other literary conferences and conventions through his work as a bookseller at Barnes & Noble.
Q: Were there any sessions, panels, or workshops that stood out to you? Why?
A: I personally really enjoyed a panel on vendor relationships. During my undergraduate studies and throughout my time at IU, I haven’t learned much about communicating with vendors. It was interesting to hear not only how to get in touch with vendors as new professionals, but also how to foster a relationship with them.
I also enjoyed a panel on advocating for teen services. As libraries across the country are being defunded and facing pressure to remove books from shelves, teen and youth services have been hit the hardest. It was nice to be in a room full of people who shared the same frustrations. The teen services heads from the New York Public Library (NYPL), Chicago Public Library (CPL), and Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) spoke about their concerns and offered practical advice on how to advocate for the youth in our communities.
Q: Describe any opportunities you and or your group had to connect with other students or professionals.
A: The whole group attended an ILS alumni dinner and had the chance to meet and speak with several library professionals. It was fun to learn about the breadth of careers alumni have pursued and exemplified just how versatile our credentials in the information studies are.
Personally, I got to reconnect with a friend from undergrad who is currently working for Creature Publishing, one of the dozens of indie publishers that had a booth at the ALA marketplace!
Q: How has your involvement in the ALA student group prepared you for an experience like this?
A: It might be odd, but my involvement in the ALA didn’t directly prepare me for this event. During the fall 2024 semester, my classmate Taylor Burnette (our current VP) and I began the lengthy process of restarting the IU Bloomington student chapter after it had become inactive. While we did have the guidance of our fabulous faculty advisors, Michael Courtney and Leanne Nay, it was important to Taylor and me that this chapter be truly student-created and student-led.
While we made many mistakes, it was through feedback from our peers and colleagues that we were able to create an organization that we felt fully represented and supported our cohort and the national context in which we will be graduating. Being a part of the ALA-SC’s leadership has improved my technical skills, such as event planning and budgeting, while also reminding me why I want to dedicate my life to librarianship: to support my community.
Q: Do you have any advice for students considering a future ALA conference?
A: We’re definitely planning to attend the national conference in 2026. It takes place in Chicago (thankfully much closer to home) and marks the 150th anniversary of the ALA. Even though I won’t be president when the bulk of the planning is being done, my advice- and my plan- is to start the process as early as possible.
While at the Philadelphia conference, my executive board was already brainstorming ways to improve the experience for everyone. When you know you’ll need to request a lot of funding from several different sources, it’s important to start that process as early as possible. Some funding opportunities may fall through, so it’s important to give yourself enough time to make mistakes.