Turning Service into Story: How to Talk About Libraries with Donors and Voters

Libraries do extraordinary work every day, but how do we explain that impact to people who may never walk through our doors? In this keynote, John Chrastka from EveryLibrary will explore how to tell compelling stories using both narratives and data to connect the library’s mission with the priorities and values of funders, donors, and taxpayers. Drawing from real-world advocacy campaigns and communications strategies, John will look at how to translate library services into stories of community value, civic pride, and personal impact. You will leave with practical approaches to framing your work in ways that resonate with non-users, build broad support, and strengthen the case for continued investment in libraries.

John Chrastka is a founder and executive director of EveryLibrary, the national political action committee for libraries, and the EveryLibrary Institute, a public policy and tax policy think tank for libraries. Since 2012, EveryLibrary has provided pro-bono support to 144 library communities with ballot measures and tax referendums, helping win more than $2.8 billion in stable tax funding. He is a former Board President of the Berwyn (IL) Public Library and RAILS, the Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System. Prior to EveryLibrary, he was a partner in AssociaDirect, an association consultancy, was Director for Membership Development at ALA, and a co-founder of the EdTech startup Classmap. He was recognized by Library Journal in 2014 as a Mover & Shaker, the Chicago Tribune in 2022 as a Chicagoan of the Year for his work opposing book bans, and a Publishers Weekly Notable Person for 2024.

Discover how Greenwood Public Library transformed its patron communications and sparked higher engagement by using Patron Point to deliver targeted, personalized emails. In this session, they'll share their approach, best practices for segment-driven emails, and insights you can use to drive real results at your own library.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: Patron Point

Valerie Holbrook has been at Greenwood Public Library for nearly 15 years.  She holds an MLS and started out as an Adult Services Librarian, but quickly began taking on many of the marketing, website, and design tasks.  For the past 5 years she's been working as the Marketing Specialist where she oversees the library's brand image, maintains their website, creates publicity materials, and manages their social media.

This presentation will provide an overview of how a large public research library launched its new A-Z Databases list through LibGuides. It will review the customizations the New York Public Library made and the feedback process that informed their decisions.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibGuides

Elliot Clement is the Research Electronic Resources Coordinator at The New York Public Library, where he focuses on discovery and access for the Library's e-resources. He received his MLIS from St. John's University and previously worked as a Research Experience Associate at NYPL.

Pull up a camp chair and join us around the fire to listen to the ghostly whispers of data past, with lost stats haunting every corner of the library. Wandering in the data fog, Cleveland Public Library found their way with LibInsight's hauntingly simple data collection tools. Using LibInsight's easy-to-summon dashboards, they are able to turn data nightmares into a cozy library tale.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibInsight

Nancy Mocsiran has worked at Cleveland Public Library for over 13 years. As part of the Strategy Office, she is responsible for the development and monitoring of metrics, performance, and goals related to the Library's strategic priorities. In her role as the Knowledge Manager, she leads initiatives related to the capture and communication of organizational knowledge.

Join Mason Humphrey from Bibliotheca to explore our newest integration, which brings together LibCal and Bibliotheca to seamlessly display library events where patrons are already looking. With real-time synchronization between LibCal Events and Bibliotheca selfCheck kiosks, your event details stay accurate, current, and highly visible – helping libraries strengthen community engagement and make events more discoverable than ever.

Read about this integration >>

What began as a migration to a new room reservation system sparked a complete digital transformation for Arlington Public Library. In this session, discover how necessity turned into opportunity, leading to a fully optimized and integrated online experience for our patrons.

Learn how they leveraged the power of the Springshare Suite – including LibGuides, LibCal, LibAnswers, LibWizard, and Patron Point – to build a cohesive and user-friendly digital branch. They'll share their strategies, lessons learned, and practical tips to help you enhance your own library's virtual presence. Whether you're planning a platform transition or just looking to streamline digital services, this session will offer inspiration and actionable insights to meet your users where they are – online.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibGuides, LibCal, LibAnswers, LibWizard, Patron Point

Steve Koebel is a technology-focused professional librarian with a strong public service background. Steve has 16 years of library experience including children’s, teens, adult, digital services, and information technology. He has been through more product implementations, migrations, and redesigns than he can count! Steve is currently the Library Services Manager over Technology Services at the Arlington Public Library in Arlington, Texas. Steve has a Master of Library & Information Science from Dominican University and a Bachelor of Arts from Denison University. Steve is a horror genre enthusiast, and his favorite book is The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Additionally, Steve is an avid weightlifter and gamer/retrogamer.

In this presentation, Ashe County Public Library will share how LibGuides has become an integral part of the programs they provide at their public library in rural Appalachia. By highlighting two linked projects as examples, they'll demonstrate how LibGuides allows them to produce high quality, interactive webpages to support both regular and signature programs. In this presentation, they'll use their seed library and an oral history project documenting stories from local seed savers as examples for how they use LibGuides to support their programs.

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibGuides

Lee Payne is the Adult Services Librarian at Ashe County Public Library in West Jefferson, NC. Before shifting into a part-time position, she managed the department for nearly half of her eight years at the library. She now balances her time between helping patrons from the service desk and maintaining a small homestead in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains.

Serving library patrons across California, San Francisco Public Library staff respond to a wide range of inquiries about its collections, services, and events via phone, email, and chat. In 2016, the library adopted LibAnswers and LibChat to better organize and share information with both patrons and staff. Since implementation, the library has created hundreds of FAQs addressing common questions, which have collectively received thousands of views. This has streamlined information access and enhanced patron engagement, improving overall service delivery. 

🛠️ Springy Tools Covered: LibAnswers

Daniel Matsumoto has served as San Francisco Public Library’s Electronic Resources Librarian for the past 10 years and played a key role in the planning and implementation of LibAnswers and LibChat. He leads public and staff training sessions to promote awareness and usage of the library’s electronic resources, including ebooks and databases. Daniel also supports patrons with their mobile devices and technology questions through the library’s popular “Tech Drop-in” program, which attracts hundreds of participants each month.