Westchester Library Association

08/06/2026

Congratulations to author , one of our recent guest speakers at the WLA Annual Conference. Her debut novel, The Three Graces of Pearl Street, has received starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal. It was also picked by Book of the Month as an early release in August! Brava!

07/14/2026

Congratulations to this year's award winners!

Amanda Ospina, Librarian ll (Children's Services), at Yonkers Public Library - Riverfront Branch won the WLA Professional Development Award, and Tim Baird, Head of Adult Services at White Plains Public Library, and Dawn Forcelli, Principal Library Clerk at Harrison Public Library, both won the Bonnie Katz Award.

Well done!

06/11/2026

Thank you to this year's sponsors!

ACRL/NY Creative Library Concepts, Family Services of Westchester, Hachette Books, Metro NY Library Council, Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, Tower Garden, My-TRA, The Village Bookstore of Pleasantville, NY, Westchester Library System, and Westchester Periodontics.

06/06/2026

Yesterday was a good day for WLA! It was wonderful to see so many members at our Annual Business Meeting and Conference.

Thank you to all the presenters and vendors who supported the event.

06/04/2026

WLA CONFERENCE AGENDA

Thursday, June 5, 2026
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Westchester Community College - The Gateway Center, Valhalla, NY

“Libraries: Uplift, Advocate, & Cultivate”

8:30 am:
Doors Open: Check-In and Walk-In Registration

8:30 am - 9:30 am:
Breakfast, Vendors, Exhibits, Networking

9:30 am - 9:45 am:
Ken Jenkins, WestchesterCounty Executive/Legislator session

9:45 am - 10:00 am:
WLA Annual Membership & Business Meeting

10:00 am - 11:00 am:
Keynote Speaker, YPL Team, Jesse Montero & Staff “Cultivating Libraries in the 21st Century: Yonkers Public Library”

11:00 am -11:15 am:
Coffee break and Vendors

11:15 am - 12:00 pm:
Session 1: 2 Options

(A) Elizabeth Wellington Rollins, Author of Three Graces of Pearl Street

(B) Tour of WCC Library

12:00 pm - 12:45 pm:
Lunch and Vendors,
Optional Self-Guided Tour of Native Plant Garden

12:45 pm - 1:30 pm
Session 2: “It Happened in Westchester County:
Revolutionary War Places and Stories in McDonald
Interviews,” with Barbara Davis

1:35 pm – 2:20 pm
Session 3: "Uncovering the Roots of Our Rancor: The
Science Behind the Political Divide" with Prof. Mark
Horowitz at Seton Hall University

2:25 pm – 3:25 pm
Closing Keynote, “Save the Library, Save the World,”
with Emily Drabinski

3:30 pm
Professional Development & Bonnie Katz Awards
Closing Remarks

05/26/2026

Know an outstanding library worker? Here's your chance to nominate them for WLA's Bonnie Katz Award.

WLA is pleased to announce the 4th Annual Bonnie Katz Award, named in honor of our Ossining Library colleague who passed away in March of 2021. An avid library supporter, and the 2013 WLA President, Bonnie was an esteemed film buff, passionate baseball fan, pet lover, and photographer. Bonnie took great joy in forging personal connections with library patrons and colleagues alike.

If you would like to nominate someone who exemplifies the same commitment to libraries and our communities as Bonnie, please go to https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=NhSIj9UFlUGHn6Uhvhqm29a7kv0mbPFHi9Yhg_8KZ11UMkdFNjNFOUNVVTVOUFFDRU5GQ0ozTlc0SS4u

Please submit your nomination by May 28th, 2026. The award recipient will be announced at our Annual Meeting on Friday, June 5, at Westchester Community College.

05/04/2026

Registration is open!

04/16/2026

Don't miss our Annual Business Meeting and Conference on Friday, June 5 at Westchester Community College.

More details to follow.

03/20/2026

03/01/2026

Thank you to all who attended this year’s Mid-Winter Conference at The Ossining Public Library.

We are extremely grateful to our guest speakers Mark Aaron Polger, Janet Donat, and Catherine Graybosch, and our local legislators Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky, Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, Matt Slater, State Senator Shelley Mayer, and Assemblyman Steve Otis.

Special thanks to Westchester Library System for supporting the event and to the Ossining Public Library for hosting us.

Stay tuned for more details about our Annual Conference in the spring.