Your IHLS Member Day Team is preparing for Member Day 2026, which will take place on February 19, 2026. Our theme is "Lighting the Way" because libraries are beacons of hope and truth in the darkest times. But just as you light the way for your patrons, we aim to illuminate the path for you, our members.
As always, we love to hear from our members and believe that we have the most committed and excellent library staff members in the world. We want to give you the opportunity to shine your light by sharing your gifts with the rest of the Illinois Heartland Library System membership. So, for the first time ever, we are opening Member Day to proposals for presentations on topics you would love to share.
Some topics we are especially interested in include:
- School Librarians as Leaders in the School
- New Trustees - What Library Directors Wish They Knew
- Career Paths
- School and Public Partnerships
- Novelist Tips and Tricks
- Librarianship and Ethics
- Libraries Transforming Communities Grants.
These are just a few ideas we've brainstormed, but we'd love to hear your ideas, too! Please fill out our proposal form to submit an idea for a session! Feel free to team up with a library colleague and wow us with your collaborative efforts. If your proposal is not chosen for Member Day, you may have the opportunity to present at a future event, such as a Members Matter event, which takes place every Third Thursday of the month.
Our graphic features a hand holding a gold lantern, which illuminates a stack of books in shades of gold, orange, magenta, and purple against a starless night sky. On the book spines, are the words, "Lighting the Way. IHLS Member Day. February 19, 2026."
