Public Library Association Conference 2024 Wrap-Up!

by Elise Aiello on Apr 29, 2024

ByWater Solutions, America’s forefront provider of Open Source library technology support, attended the 2024 Public Library Association (PLA) 2024 Conference in Columbus, OH. More than 7,500 library workers, supporters, and vendors were in attendance.

We met so many of our amazing partners at our booth in the exhibit hall, and had the joy of meeting so many talented library staff from across the country.

Several of our partners engaged with attendees at our booth for our Real Users, Real Perspectives sessions.

We were also able to record a special episode of Monday Minutes at the conference.

Real Users, Real Perspectives

Not only did we get to have awesome conversations at our booth, but some of our amazing partners will joined us in our booth at the exhibit hall for our Real Users, Real Perspectives sessions to discuss what they love about Koha, Aspen, and Open Source Solutions.

Our partners shared how they are using open source software to enhance their services to patrons. It was a chance for attendees to discover how libraries across the country are leveraging Koha and Aspen Discovery to better serve their communities.

We were thrilled to have our partners from the following libraries join us: Cuyahoga County Public Library, Westlake Porter Public Library, Carnegie Stout Public Library, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, and the Helen Plum Public Library.

Jessie Zairo, Head of Library Sales and Outreach, commented:

Being able to see our partners talk to librarians at the Real Users, Real Perspectives sessions in the exhibit hall was incredible. Each one of them shared their passion for open source, Koha and Aspen. It's awesome to be a part of this community!"

ByWater Solutions Party

We hosted our party at Barley's Brewing Company and 150 guests showed up! It was wonderful to kick back and have great conversations with partners and friends.

Adam Brooks, Koha Sales Consultant, commented:

This was the best conference I have attended as a vendor, our booth was consistently busy with both current and potential partners. Our ByWater event was also the busiest one I can remember!"

Monday Minutes

PLA 2024 Wrap-Up with Marshall Breeding

Marshall Breeding of Library Technology Guides joined us for our latest episode of The Library is Open Podcast to discuss the trends and topics that were at the forefront of this year's Public Library Association 2024 Conference, as well as the fun events!

ByWater Team Wrap-Up

Here's what other members of the ByWater team had to say about the conference:

I had a great time meeting many of the ByWater Partners and seeing the love the community as a whole (vendors included) has for ByWater Solutions." -Brian Pichman, Head of Support

I had never been to a national library conference before. It was great to see so many partners in person, and meet some of them for the first time!" -Laura O'Neil, Support Advocate

The PLA conference was a resounding success! There was an incredible vibe of excitement all around to talk and connect through libraries. Together the ByWater team and our library partners created new connections with new libraries during the conference. I loved seeing our library partners in this environment as they talked about their love of libraries and also Koha and Aspen Discovery." -Kelly McElligott, Library Accounts Coordinator