On behalf of the whole ULC team, THANK YOU to everyone who joined us last week in Seattle for the 2023 ULC Annual Forum: People, Power, Place — Today's Urban Public Library, generously sponsored by EBSCO.

We started our programming with two concurrent sessions: a CEO-to-CEO session hosting executives from libraries and their foundations, and a "What is Your Superpower? session on using data to make effective business decisions. We closed out the evening with our Welcome Reception, sponsored by Baker & Taylor! We were so glad to have Baker & Taylor President & Group CEO Aman Kochar with us for the evening!

Day two began with a warm Seattle welcome from The Seattle Public Library Chief Librarian Tom Fay and Seattle Deputy Mayor Greg Wong, and a beautiful ceremony from Elise Bill-Gerrish recognizing our presence on the lands of the Muckleshoot people.

Thursday's panels had attendees thinking of two main themes: connection and the future. Our "Libraries as Place" panel and workshop from Dr. Jeremy Nobel on the Urgency of Loneliness had attendees consider the importance of connection through the lens of creative expression. We then looked to the future of libraries with our Futures Masterclass, a look into strategic planning at The Seattle Public Library, and a panel on embracing AI for organizational advancement.

We ended the evening with a Social Hour hosted by The Seattle Public Library! Thank you to the library and reception sponsor, Baker & Taylor, for making our attendees feel so welcome in the great city of Seattle.

We closed out the Annual Forum on Friday by honing in on the strength of libraries. We dove into the future of ULC's advocacy and strategic planning with President and CEO Brooks Rainwater and ULC Board Chair Roosevelt Weeks. We then heard from Institute of Museum and Library Services Director Crosby Kemper and The New York Public Library's Brian Bannon for a conversation on the continuing role libraries play in supporting and driving literacy.

Our last panel of the Forum, "Libraries Stand Tall," moderated by ULC Board Vice Chair Pilar Martinez, discussed how ULC libraries continue to defend intellectual freedom, ensure staff and patron safety and act as a place for civic engagement and democratic values.

Thank you to our more than 200 attendees from over 90 library systems for joining us at this year's Annual Forum in Seattle! Stay tuned for a full recap article on ULC's website soon!

At last week's 2023 Annual Forum, the Urban Libraries Council and Forum sponsor EBSCO resented the 2023 ULC Advocate of the Year Award to ULC member Lance Werner, Executive Director of the Kent District Library. 

Lance Werner's journey as a library advocate has been nothing short of extraordinary. His dedication, passion, and tireless efforts have transformed libraries into beacons of knowledge, community and innovation. Lance is not merely an advocate for libraries; he embodies what libraries stand for - knowledge, inclusivity, community, and innovation. 

Lance, thank you for your relentless commitment to libraries, your unfaltering dedication to our communities, and your boundless passion for the cause. You inspire us all, and we are proud to have you as the ULC Advocate of the Year!

Questions? Want to Submit a Story?

Contact ULC's Communications Manager Elise Calanni at ecalanni@urbanlibraries.org.