MINNEAPOLIS — As the Public Library Association (PLA) was gearing up for its biennial PLA Conference, set for April 1-3, 2026, in Minneapolis, political strife hit its host city: Federal immigration enforcement surged during its early registration and housing deadlines, and the city experienced social unrest.
PLA sprang into action, communicating and coordinating with local officials, particularly the city’s CVB and the Hennepin County Library, to share timely and accurate information, and tapping into its professional networks to ensure participants had the information they needed to attend the event in-person or virtually.
“PLA also prioritized tailoring the experience and measuring our tone to meet the moment,” PLA Executive Director Mary Davis Fournier said. “Our diligent and extensive advance work and contingency planning paid off with confident conference participants, a busy high-energy exhibit hall and a shared commitment to stand with Minneapolis and local and state library workers.”
The show reported 6,400 on-site and virtual attendees — and close to half of them were first-timers.
We looked at how PLA navigated this turbulent period successfully.
Standing with Minneapolis in a Troubled Time
Before the event, testimonial videos from Hennepin County Library Director Scott Duimstra and other library leaders invited colleagues to join PLA in Minneapolis with new urgency. Additionally, spotlight videos and blogs encouraged attendees to patronize local businesses.
The conference opened with greetings from Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and closed with a keynote from local chef Sean Sherman.
At the event, participants could stand with visuals reading “PLA ❤️ MPLS” and “Protect Public Libraries,” and write postcards of support to local colleagues — PLA mailed several hundred of these to the Hennepin County Library.
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The 2026 PLA Conference brought more than $5 million in local economic impact to its host city and directly supported two local businesses with pop-up shops on the exhibit floor.
PLA also brought a popular webinar to the Conference: “Responding to ICE at the Library: Real World Approaches.”
Strong Sponsorship
The event saw the highest sponsorship revenue in its history, more than doubling its 2022 amount.
Working with expo sales and management partner Corcoran Expositions, PLA developed new sponsored programming opportunities and leveraged the Minneapolis Convention Center’s digital displays to offer high-traffic advertising opportunities — advertising space sold out quickly.
PLA Conference 2026 reported a 10% increase in exhibitor revenue from 2024 as well.
Reimagined Programming
This year, PLA leaned into more formal and informal opportunities to connect colleagues, including scheduled, themed meet-ups and drop-in space in its member lounge.
Also, it reimagined its preconference day: PLA kept its popular tour of local libraries, but added events that would get people talking, such as its new “Hot Takes.”
In celebration of the American Library Association’s 150th anniversary, PLA encouraged proposals that would speak to the future of public libraries — from mild to spicy.
“The five-minute takes were each followed with table discussion on the topic, such as ‘Library buildings are boring, take the library to the people’ or ‘The real threat isn’t book banners — it’s libraries self-censoring,’” Larra Clark, Deputy Director of PLA, explained. “The room was buzzing! We also offered a ‘Conference 101’ to orient newcomers, answer questions and encourage exploration.”
In addition to hour-long case studies, panels and peer-sharing programs, PLA introduced two-hour, in-depth Deep Dive sessions.
There was also an increased number of educational programs about AI, such as “AI with Heart: Serving People in a Digital Age” and “Prompting AI to Harness Your Grant Proposal Potential.”
“Public libraries are operating in an environment defined by rapid technological change, evolving public expectations and increasing complexity in how people access information, services and opportunities,” PLA President Dr. Brandy McNeil said. “The PLA 2026 conference was intentionally designed to meet this reality head on. I’m proud of what we accomplished together and look forward to seeing the impacts of new learning and connections, and how it will transform our communities.”
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Featured Photo Credit: Matt Herp, Kinser Studios
