What are the "Hidden Gems" that you don't want to miss at the upcoming TLA Annual Conference - the education sessions that are worth your time, but might otherwise get overlooked? Here to share their wisdom is Mary Woodard, our TLA President, recently retired from Mesquite ISD; Jo Giudice, co-chair of the Conference Program Committee and the Director of the Dallas Public Library; and Emma McDonald co-chair of the Conference Program Committee and Director of Library Services at Mesquite ISD. See what sessions they recommend that might otherwise go overlooked. #txla23

Brandi Dawson, chair of the TALL Texans Round Table, interviews Donna Kearley, chair of the TALL Texans Selection Committee, about common mistakes to avoid when applying for the TALL Texans Leadership Institute and why it's worth applying again even if you applied unsuccessfully before.

Alexandra Cornejo, chair of the TLA PR & Marketing Committee, and Library Media Specialist at the Harlingen School of Health Professions, interviews Karina Quilantan-Garza, TLA's Librarian of the Year. Karina is the Library Media Specialist at Jaime Escalante Middle School in Pharr-San Juan- Alamo ISD. They discuss advocating for their students in the Rio Grande Valley, setting up a gaming club to teach creativity and connectivity through tabletop games, card games and esports, and why sharing their students' stories is so important.

Brandi Dawson, chair of the TALL Texans Round Table, talks about the new application for the TALL Texans Leadership Institute and goes over logistics of this renowned leadership program. Part 1 of a mini-series about TALL Texans, hosted by Brandi.

This episode is hosted by Jessica Silva, librarian at El Paso High School, El Paso ISD and our topic today is “How to set up high school students for success in college and beyond.”

Our featured guests are Lorely Ambriz, El Paso Community College; Jackie Chetzron, Dallas ISD; David Baca, Texas A&M University -Galveston; Jennifer Ottinger, Texas Woman's University; and Bryant Moore, Texas A&M - San Antonio. Guests discuss how best to prepare high school students for the rigor of college coursework and how to help them utilize library resources while in college.

In this 12-minute episode, two Texas Library Association staff members, Membership Coordinator Christy Reynolds and Meeting and Events Manager Michelle Cruz, share their top three reasons you should renew your TLA membership (or join if you are new to our organization) and register for the annual conference. 

In this episode (part 2 of our episodes for Libraries Transform Texas Week), Dianna Landes, director of the Lakehills Area Library, interviews Julie Hermonat of the Barbara Bush Library in Spring. Julie talks about the fun "Hedgie's Adventures" program at her library, where kids take home a pompon hedgehog and record their adventures with Hedgie in a special journal. This fun program would be easy to duplicate at another library, learn all about it here.

We have a special two-part episode for Libraries Transform Texas week! In part I, Dianna Landes, director of the Lake Hills Library, interviews Stacy Clopton, public relations coordinator of the Amarillo Public Library, about AMA-CON, a huge sci-fi, pop culture and anime convention in Amarillo organized by the Amarillo Public Library. They also discuss the library's "seed library" for local gardeners and how to set up a MakerSpace.

This is part 2 of 2. Our featured guest for this podcast is Dorcas Hand, school library advocate and coordinator of the Intellectual Freedom Helpline for the Texas Library Association. Cate Sweeney, vice-chair of TLA's PR and Marketing Committee, interviews Dorcas. In this section, we hear about how the Intellectual Freedom Helpline was developed and how it's different from (and complements) the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Let's celebrate Banned Books Week!

Our featured guest for this podcast is Dorcas Hand, school library advocate and coordinator of the Intellectual Freedom Helpline for the Texas Library Association. Cate Sweeney, vice-chair of TLA's PR and Marketing Committee, hosts this episode. In Part I, we'll hear from Dorcas about three different book challenges she faced as a school librarian; as well as what the Helpline does and how it can help you.