(ABC 6 News-) The Minnesota Library Association (MLA) is holding their annual conference this Thursday and Friday at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.

Nearly five hundred librarians and library advocates from across the state will gather to communicate the value of libraries and library staff; connecting them with expertise, best practices and educational opportunities, as well as to listen and learn the latest news and events in the field.

“Of course we talk books,” said Jodi Carlson Grebinoski But then we also get to talk about our budget woes. We get to talk about what’s working in our libraries, what’s not, what programing has been a success. What programs did you struggle with?”

MLA comprises many kinds of libraries and librarians, including public, academic, school, special, multitype, institutional, and others.

Grebinoski is the director of the Virginia Public Library in Duluth, and currently serves as the 2024 President of the MLA.

“This year’s themes are ‘connect, educate, relate and engage’. “We are doing really hard work, but we also need to take time to learn more about what’s happening in our field locally and nationally, statewide so that we can be prepared, so we can help our patrons.”

For more information on this year’s conference and the MLA, click here.