2026 ARSL Conference Keynotes & Events

Four days of incredible speakers, community connections, and countless memories.

The 2026 ARSL Conference is packed with keynote events, each paired with a plated meal (breakfast, lunch, or brunch) included in your registration. Details are rolling out as we get closer to September, so check back often for speaker announcements, schedule updates, and more.

Wednesday, September 16

Meet & Greet Reception | 7:00-9:00 PM

Thursday, September 17

Welcome Breakfast & Keynote | 8:00-9:30 AM

Amanda Jones, also known as That Librarian, will help us welcome everyone to Montgomery on Thursday morning. Amanda is currently the school librarian at the same school she attended as a child, where she has worked for the past twenty-three years. Amanda made national headlines in 2022 when she was targeted by extremists in her town for speaking out at a public library board meeting. She decided to fight back and took her harassers to court, while continuing to speak out at both the local and national level against the pro-censorship movement. Amanda chronicles what it is like being the target of white Christian nationalists and the importance of standing up for intellectual freedom, in her 2024 book That Librarian: Fighting Book Banners in Today’s America, and in her appearance in the 2025 documentary film The Librarians, which was screened at the 2025 ARSL Conference.

New Connections Lunch | 1:00–2:15 PM

Community doesn't happen by accident. It's built one conversation at a time. At this lunch, you'll be encouraged to branch out from your usual circles and sit with people who share your job role, interests, or challenges. They may be strangers when you sit down, but they won't be for long. Pick a table, use the guiding questions to get the conversation growing, and discover just how much common ground exists across our small and rural library community.

Whether you're arriving in Montgomery with colleagues or flying solo, you'll leave with new roots in the ARSL community and fresh ideas to bring back to your library.

Dine-Arounds | 5:30-7:00 PM | Offsite

Explore Montgomery's restaurant scene and grow your ARSL community with Dine-Arounds, one of our most popular conference traditions! Sign up for a Dine-Around at the Registration Desk or plan your own.

ARSL Trivia Night | 7:30–9:30 PM

What's the collective noun for a group of librarians having a great time? Join us at Trivia Night to flex your trivia knowledge, win the admiration of your colleagues, and support the ARSL Scholarship Fund! Teams are limited to 8 people. If you arrive solo or with a small group, we'll match you with a larger team. We'll play two games of three rounds each. Admission is by donation, with a suggested minimum of $10.

Friday, September 18

Breakfast & Keynote | 8:00–9:30 AM

We are honored to welcome Laurie Halse Anderson as a featured keynote speaker for the 2026 ARSL Annual Conference!

Laurie Halse Anderson is a New York Times bestselling author of many award-winning books, including the groundbreaking modern classic Speak — a National Book Award finalist translated into 35 languages. In 2023, she was named laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, given annually for outstanding contributions to children's and young adult literature. In 2009, she received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her significant and lasting impact on young adult literature.

A passionate advocate for intellectual freedom and diversity in publishing, Laurie has been honored by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Council of Teachers of English for her work championing the freedom to read. Mother of four, grandmother of dragons, and wife of one, she lives in Pennsylvania.

Join us Friday morning as Laurie sits down with a fellow rural librarian for a conversation about storytelling, access, and what it truly means to get the right book into the right reader's hands.

Thank you to Macmillan Publishers for sponsoring this session.

ARSL Awards Lunch | 1:00–2:30 PM

Help us celebrate the people who make the small and rural library community so special! All attendees are invited to celebrate the innovations and accomplishments of our 2026 ARSL Award winners, including the Solo Librarian of the Year, Equity Champion Award, Innovative Service Award, and Distinguished Service Award. We'll also recognize Library Journal's Best Small Library in America.

Meetups | 4:30–5:30 PM

Celebrate the talent of authors from Montgomery and beyond! Browse, discover, and meet your next favorite authors. Hear readings, pick up copies of their books, and get them signed. Our publisher partners are bringing some incredible voices to the conference floor, and you won't want to miss it.

(Full author lineup and reading schedule coming soon!)

Dine-Arounds | 5:30-7:00 PM | Offsite

Explore Montgomery's restaurant scene and grow your ARSL community with Dine-Arounds, one of our most popular conference traditions! Sign up for a Dine-Around at the Registration Desk or plan your own.

Saturday, September 19

Brunch & Keynote | 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Yo-Yo Ma: Community, Meaning, and the American Experiment

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will close the conference with a special celebration of libraries and librarians, sharing reflections on their essential role in strengthening our communities, making meaning, and binding us together as a nation.

Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works for cello, bringing communities together to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity.

Yo-Yo was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris, where he began studying the cello with his father at age four. When he was seven, he moved with his family to New York City, where he continued his cello studies before pursuing a liberal arts education.

Yo-Yo has recorded more than 120 albums, is the winner of 20 Grammy Awards, and has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of the Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has been a UN Messenger of Peace since 2006.

Steps to Freedom: The Dexter Avenue Civil Rights Walking Tour | 1:30 - 4:30 PM | Offsite

Step into the heart of history on this powerful three-hour walking tour through downtown Montgomery—where ordinary people took extraordinary steps that changed the world. The “Steps to Freedom” tour invites you to walk the very streets where courage confronted injustice and a movement was born. Centered along historic Dexter Avenue, this immersive experience explores three defining moments of the Civil Rights Movement:

• The Montgomery Bus Boycott
• The Freedom Riders’ Effort to Desegregate Interstate Transportation
• The Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights

• A three-hour guided walking experience through historic Montgomery
• In-depth exploration of key Civil Rights milestones
• Visits to iconic landmarks and museums
• Suggested bibliography with books and media to consider ordering for library collections

Appropriate for all conference attendees and their guests. Whether you’re a history enthusiast or curious about how Montgomery, AL gained its reputation as the “Birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement,” this tour offers a meaningful and unforgettable journey into America’s past as it celebrates 250 years of history.

This tour is led and organized by Tracie D. Hall, Executive Director of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Library Alliance. Registration is $50 per person and limited to 40 participants.