Report written by Grace Owen, Mount Isa City Council
I was very excited and grateful to receive one of four QPLA Bursaries to attend the four-day QPLA LEaD conference in Townsville on 25–28 March 2025. In true North Queensland style attendees were welcomed with record breaking rainfalls and it is a testament to the resilience and tenacity of the organisers (in keeping with the theme) that the event proceeded, and with such success. The skill and efficiency with which 100+ librarians were transported to and from the venue and organised into brainstorming groups, presentations, lightening talks, vendor expos, and library tours while being nourished with an abundance of food and beverages was a wonder to behold.
The event delivered a power packed program of keynote speakers, vendor presentations and lightening talks that kept the room engaged, thinking and participating with some powerful and sometimes confronting social interactions thrown in (such as looking into a stranger’s eyes for three minutes!).
The program took a deep dive into the theme of wellbeing and resilience with industry wide recognition of library professionals stepping up each day to give their all in an environment that can often be emotionally, mentally and physically challenging, with a key message being that we should remember to be kind to ourselves. Looking around the room to see every single person standing after being asked questions like, who has self-doubt, self-esteem issues, dealing with personal or work related trauma or loss was a very powerful lesson that 1, we are not alone and 2, in spite (or because) of our own struggles, we still ask ourselves daily “What can we do better and what else can we deliver to our patrons and communities?”
There were world class keynote speakers and thought-provoking presentations such as the Public Library and IKC Roadmap, and brainstorming sessions envisaging library services in 2035. We learned about sustainability and the challenge of measuring our environmental footprint, the responsible use of AI, and how to approach the subject of Indigenous and intellectual property rights and knowledge systems within libraries. We were also encouraged to get hands on in developing and participating in a survey to determine the strategies and supports needed to address workplace acquired trauma in public libraries on an industry wide level.
My greatest impression and inspiration came from the lightning talks by librarians that ranged from programs targeted to the needs of their patrons and community providing safe and non-judgemental programs for those dealing with loss, grief or hardship, to more fun and upbeat subjects such as relocating a library, Readers and Writers Festivals and creating a Trail of Discovery.
In acknowledging the challenges and pressures experienced by libraries and their staff and the necessity to build social service style functions into our roles that we may not be trained or equipped for, I heard voices of concern for new librarians and whether the industry is doing enough to prepare and protect them from some harsh realities of the job. I have always believed that it doesn’t matter what you do for work, so long as you have good people around you, and the strong, passionate, kind, supportive and intelligent people that I met, watched and heard at the QPLA conference give me the confidence that libraries and librarians of the future are in very good hands.
Thank you for the amazing opportunity to attend the QPLA LEaD conference for 2025. I highly recommend it to anyone considering going to the next one.
Regards,
Grace Owen
