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ILA's 2025 Annual Conference ran from October 14-16 at the beautiful Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. This year's theme, You Belong Here, celebrates inclusivity and belonging for patrons and library workers alike with the ILA.
Conference Planning Committee
The ILA President, Carolyn Ciesla, chose a committee of fifteen members serving a sixteen month term. The members come from a variety of backgrounds, library types, and geographic locations.
Attendees Surveyed
After the close of conference, a survey is sent to all attendees to gather feedback that will improve future conferences. Questions included:
- Overall, how satisfied were you with the conference?
- What did you like most about this conference?
- In what ways could this conference be improved for future years?
91% of attendees were very satisfied or satisfied with the overall conference experience. One attendee commented, "I really appreciated the variety of topics covered, which made the conference engaging and relevant to different areas of library work. The approachable and knowledgeable speakers created an inviting atmosphere for learning and discussion. Most of all, I valued the practical tools and strategies shared, many of which can be implemented almost immediately in the library field."
Of all the events, featured speakers, evening activities, unconferences, and ways to participate, the most commonly attended were the Exhibits, the Membership Meeting and President's Program featuring Dilla, and the Poster Sessions. 53% of attendees visited the Exhibit Hall 1-2 times.
Registered Attendees
There were a total of 1447 attendees including speakers, exhibitor representatives, trustees, and staff. 62% were registered for the full conference. Other attendees were registered for either one day or Exhibits Only. Of all of the registered attendees, 65% registered before the early bird deadline of September 16. There were 323 speakers which include session speakers, featured speakers, and poster session speakers. Representing the 83 exhibits booths were 235 exhibitor representatives.
Distance Traveled
Using zip codes and the United States Zip Code Database, the heatmap highlights the 45 counties in Illinois where attendees traveled from. 597 attendees from Cook County; 270 from DuPage County; and 33 from Champaign County.
Sessions and Speakers
Over the three days of ILA Annual Conference,
- 78 program sessions were presented,
- 35 posters were displayed in the Exhibit Hall,
- 4 unconferences were hosted (IACRL, Youth & Young Adult Services, Resources & Technical Services, and Human Resources & Administration Form),
- 2 featured speakers were guests at separate events; Wendy Xu appeared at the Youth Services Author Breakfast; and April Anderson-Zorn spoke to academic library workers at the IACRL Luncheon.
- 3 keynote speakers included Dr. Terrell Strayhorn, Shermann Thomas, affectionately known as Dilla, and Roy Kinsey
Communication
The newsletter, ILA Conference Connection, was sent to 881 attendees.
Friday, October 4 - Opens - 71% clicks 24%
Monday, October 7 - Opens - 68%. clicks 14%
Tuesday, October 8 - Opens - 60% clicks 10%
Wednesday, October 9 - Opens - 65% clicks 22%
Thursday, October 10 - Opens 56% clicks 9%
The average open rate for the ILA Conference Connection Newsletter was 64% and the average click rate was 16%.
Conference by the Numbers
- 22 Sponsors: Conference sponsorship enables ILA to deliver high-quality professional development and networking to Illinois library workers and trustees. We are honored to work with Leadership Partners: Today's Business Solutions, Inc. (TBS), Libraries of Illinois Risk Agency (LIRA), Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS); Platinum Sponsors: iREAD, Outsource IT Solutions Group, Meristem Advisors, Virco, Byline Bank, Wintrust; Gold Sponsors: Dominican University SOIS, Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins, Illinois Heartland Library System, iLEAD Trustee Learning Portal, Streamline, OCLC; and Silver Sponsors: Deiters & Todd Library Consulting, Ancel Glink, RA for All, LibraryReads, Our Digital World Organization, PTMA Financial Solutions, and Illinois State Treasurer's Office.
- 10 Trivia Teams: ILA Annual Conference welcomed Rory Parilac, Children's Services Supervisor at the Bourbonnais Public Library as Ms. Quiz for the 3rd year to host a Trivia Night. 66 people played multi-format rounds of both general and libraryland-oriented questions. Prizes were awarded to the top-scoring teams and for best team names.
- $4,645 dollars fundraised for ILA with a silent auction: ILA Fundraising Committee recruited 48 auction items that were bid on and sold from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday evening.
- 185 Trustees: Trustee Day, October 16, includes conference programming and meals dedicated to topics of interest to trustees and library governance. It's an important day of networking and community building.
- 83 Exhibiting Booths: Conference experiences would not be possible without the support of our many vendors and partners. ILA Conference exhibits are open for two days; Wednesday and Thursday. There are specific No-Conflict Hours for attendees to visit our partners without missing valuable sessions; opening lunch, afternoon snack, morning coffee, and closing lunch.
- 6 Passport to Prizes Winners: On Wednesday and Tuesday, ILA announced 3 winners each day to win a $100 Visa gift card for visiting all of the specific booths on the passport.
- 7 ILA Staff Members: "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much" Helen Keller
Save the Date
ILA Annual Conference will be held October 6-8, 2026 at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, IL.
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