Southern Library Support Staff Conference 2026

When students need a highlighter at 3 a.m. or a flash drive between classes, traditional service hours often fall short. This session shares the real-world implementation of an office supply vending machine at an academic library--an initiative led by frontline Public Services staff who know student needs firsthand. While the project took place in an academic setting, the approach and lessons are widely applicable to multiple library types. This presentation highlights how this initiative supports academic success, student affordability, equity, and accessibility. In our talk, we emphasize how staff at all levels can contribute to strategic initiatives.

Attendees will walk through the full project lifecycle: identifying the gap through usage patterns and student feedback, working within budget constraints, navigating procurement, and managing vendor and campus relationships. The session will detail how the team selected and customized the machine (from stocking items to integrating with campus payment systems), handled logistics, and launched the service.

Participants will also hear tips on campus collaboration, marketing strategies that actually work, and what was learned after launch. Whether an organization is looking for a new student service, is thinking about affordability and access, or just loves a good implementation roadmap, this session will leave attendees with concrete steps to adapt this idea to their own library.

The Hiring and Motivation of Student Assistants - Pearl Chai

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In this talk, I will focus primarily on what I do to foster connections, establish relationships and build “community” with the students we are privileged to have working at our library. Even before the students are hired to work for us, I set out to make them feel motivated to work by mindfully remembering traits about them that stand out in the pre-hiring form and resume and working in these tidbits of information in my conversations with them. The aim here is to get a sense of each student as a person and to find out where they are “coming from.” This helps them to feel welcomed and acknowledged. Throughout the semester, I invest time in getting to know the students by checking in with them from time to time and enquiring about their general well-being. We have casual conversations about current events that occur both in their life and in the world at large. The EBL hosts a well-attended semester-end shindig twice a year, in November and April, to celebrate the hard work put in by everyone and to honor the graduating students. I check in with graduating students regarding their future plans and we make plans to keep in touch.

Reimagining Technology Lending: A Dual-Model Approach to Student Engagement and Access - Audrey Bentch; Rachel Oakley
This presentation explores an innovative redesign of academic library technology lending services that address critical access barriers while enhancing patron engagement. Through transformative leadership and strategic planning, our institution is implementing a dual-collection model that combines advance reservations with on-demand walk-in access. This session will demonstrate how this innovation reduces friction points in traditional technology lending, increases accessibility for last-minute needs (currently 1/3 of all requests), and creates opportunities for hands-on patron engagement with equipment. Attendees will learn practical strategies for streamlining technology services, empowering student staff through expanded leadership roles, and leveraging existing resources to innovate service delivery. The presentation will cover implementation challenges, benefits including improved accessibility and reduced staff workload, and lessons learned from similar programs. Ideal for library administrators, technology services coordinators, and circulation managers seeking to enhance user engagement through innovative service models.

Student Engagement Inside and Outside the Library -  M. Roberts
While completing my MSLS last year, I worked as a Graduate Assistant in one of the libraries at the institution where I completed my degree. At that library, we struggled with how to bring students into the library beyond using it as a study space. In this lightning talk, I will describe how and why we worked to engage students both in a virtual, social media space via Instagram and in an in-person space beyond studying by hosting Crafternoon events in the library. I will talk about successes and challenges of both types of engagement, and how they ultimately worked best when used together. I will also discuss how we worked with a class to audit our social media presence and the insights that provided. Finally, I will wrap up with some quick tips and tricks that library staff at any type of library can use to implement similar outreach in their libraries.

A journey through one inspiring art exhibition centered on life changing reading journeys told through an unconventional lens. This exhibition shines a light on the often solitary journey of readership by blending storytelling and visual design into an engaging viewer experience. The personal accounts incorporated into each design have inspired continuous conversation and a wildly popular interactive addition to the exhibition.
In this session, we will discuss the integration of visual art in library interiors, exhibition planning, and design strategies for nurturing meaningful discourse and unity amongst staff and patrons. Participants will gain practical ideas to nurture connection and vitality within their library communities.

Do you seem to receive the same questions over and over? Are you looking to reach patrons outside traditional library hours? A custom chatbot might be a great way to easily and accurately answer your users' questions any time of the day or week! This workshop will equip you with the knowledge to build a rule-based chatbot within Springshare's LibAnswers system from the ground up without prior knowledge of coding. Rule-based bots ensure answers are reliable and correct every single time, and LibAnswers integration allows for easy follow-up via tickets or live chat assistance so your patrons still get access to expert librarians. Participants should come with an idea of questions or topic areas they would like to apply a chatbot to, and a laptop with access to an existing Springshare account is recommended but not required.