Registration is open!
Join us for the NC LIVE 2025 Annual Conference on:
- Friday, May 16 | In-person at the Dubois Center in Charlotte, NC (Register here)
- Monday, May 19 | Virtual (Register here)
Registration is free for all member libraries, and we encourage you to attend both days! Breakfast and lunch will be provided on the in-person day.
Conference Schedule
The 2025 Annual Conference Schedule is available here (Sched)! View it in your web browser or in the Sched app.
Please note that the Zoom links for the virtual sessions on Monday, May 19 will be added closer to the conference. Anyone registered for the virtual conference will also receive the Zoom links in an email.
Pre-Conference Event: ImaginOn Tour
Join us on Thursday, May 15 at 4:00 PM for an exclusive tour of the ImaginOn! Registration is required (Register here).
The ImaginOn (The Joe & Joan Martin Center) is a one-of-a-kind youth destination located in Charlotte, NC, in the heart of the cultural arts district. This collaborative effort between the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is a 102,000-square-foot facility recently ranked by Livability.com as the No. 1 children’s library in the United States. ImaginOn is visited by more than 300,000 people annually and features two state-of-the-art theatres, a dedicated library space for kids 11 and under, four multi-use classrooms, a teen-only library, a multimedia production studio, and interactive exhibit space.
Keynote Speakers
We’re excited to announce our two keynote speakers for this year’s annual conference: Saray Garnett-Hochuli and Shamichael Hallman! Saray will present in-person in Charlotte on Friday, May 16, and Shamichael will present virtually on Monday, May 19.
Meet Saray
(In-person, Friday, May 16)
Saray Garnett-Hochuli is a distinguished public servant with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. She currently serves as the Deputy City Operations Officer for Internal Services at the City of Minneapolis, overseeing departments such as Human Resources, Information Technology, Budget & Finance, Assessor, and Property Management.
Prior to this role, Garnett-Hochuli was the Director of Regulatory Services for Minneapolis, where she led the city's regulatory arm responsible for enforcing ordinances and codes, including housing and health regulations. In the private sector, Garnett-Hochuli held leadership positions in the Real Estate Valuations Industry, where she gained valuable experience in operations and executive leadership and management.
Garnett-Hochuli's diverse background uniquely positions her to provide insights into the intersection of public policy, regulatory frameworks, change management and community engagement. There is an art to connecting organizations, programs, and people together in a way that is sustainable and beneficial for all communities as the demands and needs of our populations grow and change.
Meet Shamichael
(Virtual, Monday, May 19)
Shamichael Hallman is a civic innovator, author, and thought leader dedicated to strengthening communities through libraries, public engagement, and faith-based initiatives. As Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity at the Urban Libraries Council, he advocates for public libraries as vital civic infrastructure. His book, Meet Me at the Library, explores how libraries foster democracy and bridge-building.
Shamichael has presented at top universities and library associations, with his insights featured by Sightline Institute, America Trends Podcast, and Jefferson Public Radio. He is the co-creator of the Bridge-Building Resource Hub, a national initiative hosted by WebJunction that equips libraries with tools to foster community connections. The initiative recently secured a second round of funding to expand its impact and continue its work.
Previously, Shamichael championed the multi-million-dollar renovation of the historic Cossitt Library in Memphis, contributing to Memphis Public Libraries earning the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Science. Holding a master’s in nonprofit leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and a 2023 Loeb Fellowship, he continues to innovate at the intersection of community, faith, and democracy.
Accommodations
NC LIVE has reserved a limited number of hotel rooms near the Dubois Center for the night of Thursday, May 15. If you would like to reserve one of the rooms in our conference block, please call either The Dunhill Hotel or the Residence Inn Charlotte Uptown (Marriott) and request the NC LIVE Annual Conference block.
Theme
This year's conference theme is "Libraries as Community Anchors." This theme encompasses the ways that libraries serve as centers of their communities, especially as social hubs, family spaces, support networks, spaces of civic engagement, and more. Some topics include:
- Library services and programming that bring together a particular community
- Connections and partnerships between libraries and/or other entities
- Strategies for bringing patrons into library spaces (physical or virtual)
- Assessing needs of users and providing models of accessibility
- Resources and/or services that support local businesses
- Library services or programming serving a community in need
- NC LIVE resources supporting a particular library program, service, or community
Accommodations
NC LIVE has reserved a limited number of hotel rooms near the Dubois Center for the night of Thursday, May 15. If you would like to reserve one of the rooms in our conference block, please call either The Dunhill Hotel or the Residence Inn Charlotte Uptown (Marriott) and request the NC LIVE Annual Conference block.
Recordings
Recordings of the virtual sessions on Monday, May 19 and a selection of the in-person sessions will be available after the conference. You can see the recorded sessions from our 2024 Annual Conference on our YouTube Channel.
Previous conference pages: