The VLACRL Conference-within-a-Conference is the academic subtrack of the Virginia Library Association Annual Conference.

The VLACRL Conference-within-a-Conference is sponsored by Swem Library at William & Mary.

Schedule and Speakers

Interlibrary Leave: Planning Your Next Library Road Trip
Thursday October 2, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Andy Kulp, Director of University Libraries, Shenandoah University
Many library workers can’t go to conferences to meet their counterparts. For the past four summers, the staff of the Smith Library has roadtripped to other schools to share ideas and build professional relationships. Learn what works, what doesn’t, and how to plan your own interlibrary field trip.

Leveling the Hiring Field: An Equitable Approach to Determining a Finalist
Thursday October 2, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Jennifer Roper, University of Virginia
Liz Rapp, University of Virginia
Maddie Hennicke, University of Virginia
James Rhoades, Associate Director of Resource Acquisition & Description, University of Virginia
The panel explores how and why supplementing or replacing on-site presentations with skill assessments increases equity and inclusiveness. Creators, candidates, and evaluators share the process and purpose from start to finish, including challenges and opportunities of various assessment iterations. The session will conclude by highlighting the successes of the approach.  

Empowering Citizenship: Preparing Students for the Post-Graduate Information Landscape
Thursday October 2, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Sarah Reynolds, Research Services & Assessment Librarian, Longwood University
This presentation will explore how academic librarians can extend information literacy skills beyond the classroom into the increasingly complex information landscape that awaits students after graduation. Attendees will learn strategies for connecting one-shot instruction to real-world situations, and how to encourage civic awareness by empowering students to make informed decisions.

Elevating Student Success Through Micro-Credentials
Thursday October 2, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Stacy Arth, Northern Virginia Community College
Jeffrey Prater, Collection Development and OER Librarian, Northern Virginia Community College
Research shows gamified elements like points and badges increase student motivation and engagement. Four librarians utilized design thinking and backward design to create a suite of micro-credential learning objects that reward students with digital badges. Attendees will learn about the program design process including technology, budget, and bureaucracy challenges faced.

Empowering Citizenship: Preparing Students for the Post-Graduate Information Landscape
Thursday October 2, 2025 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT
Kristen Dean, Virginia Tech
Katlyn Griffin, Teaching & Learning Engagement Librarian, Virginia Tech
Nostalgic and playful book fairs have become a signature event of our popular reading collection programming. We will share our process for developing events and displays in collaboration with campus partners that celebrate diverse stories and encourage a sense of belonging, especially for populations under attack by national policies.

What's really real: Strategies for teaching critical inquiry through the history of synthetic media
Friday October 3, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Oscar Keyes, Multimedia Teaching & Learning Librarian, Virginia Commonwealth University
This presentation explores an interactive approach to teaching AI-generated images through a historical lens. From spirit photography to deepfakes, analyzing the veracity of synthetic media has always been challenging. These classroom-tested activities are designed to deepen students’ understanding of how synthetic images are created and how to effectively verify them.

Partnering for Local History: Exploring AI-Assisted Workflows to Expand Access to Oral Histories
Friday October 3, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Joanna Lee, Digital Publishing Lead, George Mason University
George D. Oberle III, PhD MLS History Librarian, George Mason University
Learn how George Mason University Libraries partnered with the Thomas Balch history and genealogy library to develop AI-assisted workflows to expand public access to an oral history collection documenting the life stories of African American residents who played key roles in the development of Loudoun County.

The Hidden Curriculum and Academic Libraries
Friday October 3, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Lisa Nickel, Associate Dean for Research & Public Services, William & Mary
Liz Bellamy, Instruction & Research Librarian, William & Mary
Alex Flores Glosson, Instruction and Research Librarian, William & Mary
Candice Benjes-Small, Head of Research, William & Mary
The “hidden curriculum” is the unspoken norms and values influencing academic achievement. What does that look like in academic libraries?  Let’s situate this framework in existing research about student success and brainstorm strategies for uncovering your library's hidden curriculum, fostering inclusivity and support for all students.

Raising Each Other Up Through Sustainable, Community-Building Professional Development
Friday October 3, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Kayla B McNabb, Assistant Director, Teaching and Learning Engagement, Virginia Tech
Amanda MacDonald, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Research Services Initiatives for University Libraries, Virginia Tech
Cozette Comer, Virginia Tech
Kelsey Hammer, Coordinator, Student Engagement Programming, Virginia Tech
Lisa Russell, Head, Learning Design Initiatives, Virginia Tech
Participants will learn how a university library developed communities of practice (CoP) over time into a sustainable collaboration fostering transformative growth on a wide range of pedagogy-related topics and issues. Attendees will also gain resources to implement a sustainable CoP at their own institutions.

Rising with Experience: Undergraduate Internships in the Academic Library
Friday October 3, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
James Miller, Discovery Librarian, Hollins University
Sara Sprague, Hollins University
Coleman Holth, Metadata Librarian, Hollins University
Rebecca Seipp, Hollins University
Maryke Barber, Information Literacy, Outreach, and Arts Liaison Librarian, Hollins University
This panel includes speakers from five academic library departments who will discuss undergraduate internship structure, communication, assessment, and alignment with the library’s mission. Our interns gain valuable experience in cataloging and metadata creation, collection development, digital projects, outreach, and UX. Equally important: they learn to see themselves in the workplace.

Raising Student Engagement with Instructional Videos through Personalized Feedback
Friday October 3, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Hope Kelly, Virginia Commonwealth University
Discover how personalized feedback and targeted video content impacted student engagement and completion rates in a library instruction module at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Uplifting a Community Through Faculty Accessibility Bootcamps
Friday October 3, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Lisa Vassady, Radford University
Barbara Tait, Instruction Librarian, Radford University
This presentation describes the development and facilitation of Accessibility Bootcamps and instructional materials for Faculty at Radford University in collaboration with campus partners in accessibility, innovative learning, and academic technologies. These Bootcamps help faculty locate accessible materials and evaluate materials for accessibility to support inclusive classroom environments and assignments.