Our Presentations

The team has presented at numerous conferences over the years—explore a selection of recent and past presentations from the project’s inception.

South Carolina Library Association Conference

Dr. Feili Tu-Keefner, April Hobbs, and Denise Lyons. “Librarian First Responders: Transforming Public Library Services in the Wake of Natural Disasters.

October 29, 2025 — Columbia, South Carolina

NNLM Region 2 Emergency Response and Preparedness Advisory Committee

Panel Presentation: Dr. Feili Tu-Keefner with E. Salina, P.M. Lazaro. “Crisis Leadership for Libraries: Equipping Library Personnel to be Librarian First Responders.” (https://musc.libcal.com/event/15505717)

October 17, 2025

Regional Medical Libraries Training

Dr. Feili Tu-Keefner and April Hobbs. “Strengthening our foundation: Disaster preparedness, community resilience, and the future of libraries.” (https://www.nnlm.gov/training/class/strengthening-our-foundation-disaster-preparedness-community-resilience-and-future)

September 11, 2025

IFLA Evidence for Global Disaster Health Special Interest Group, 89th IFLA World Library and Information Congress

Dr. Feili Tu-Keefner, Denise Lyons, and April Hobbs. “Librarian First Responders: Transforming Public Library Services in the Wake of Natural Disasters.” (https://iflawlic2025.abstractserver.com/program/#/details/sessions/153)

August 18-22, 2025 — Astana, Kazakhstan

ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition

Dr. Marcia Mardis, Dr. Feili Tu-Keefner, Denise Lyons, April Hobbs, and Dr. Denise Gomez. “Is your library ready? Strengthening community resiliency with inclusive public library disaster planning.”

June 5, 2025 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition

Denise Lyons, Dr. Marcia Mardis, and Rebekkah Smith Aldrich. “Disaster Response and Sustainability: How Libraries Are Using Federal Funds To Support Communities.”

June 5, 2025 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Chinese American Librarians Association Southeast & Southwest Chapters Joint Conference

Dr. Feili Tu-Keefner. “Librarian first responders: Transforming public library services in the wake of natural disasters.”

May 23, 2025 — Virtual

Kentucky Public Library Association Annual Conference,

Dr. Marcia Mardis, Dr. Feili Tu-Keefner, Denise Lyons, April Hobbs, Faye Jones, and Dr. Denise Gomez. “Utilizing stories for resilience: Shaping public library services in the wake of natural disasters.”

February, 19-21, 2025 — Lexington, Kentucky