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The OLA Super Conference is Canada’s largest event in librarianship and a cornerstone gathering for public library staff, leaders, vendors, and partners. Hosted annually by the Ontario Library Association, the conference brings together thousands of attendees to explore how libraries are evolving, where pressure points are emerging, and what the work ahead demands. Alongside sessions and discussions, the Super Conference offers space for libraries to connect with vendors and partners. What sets the event apart is not scale alone, but the thoughtfulness of its programming, which consistently balances future-focused ideas with the day-to-day realities of public library work.
This year’s conference theme, We Persist, was evident across sessions, workshops, and conversations on the exhibit floor. It surfaced through recurring discussions about trust, data, leadership, staff capacity, and the growing role libraries play as they continue to serve communities amid ongoing social challenges.
Members of the BiblioCommons team attended a range of sessions across the conference program. While no single experience captures the full scope of the Super Conference, the insights below highlight a few themes and moments that stood out to us from the sessions we attended and the conversations we were part of.
A mural celebrating the scale, history, and community impact behind the OLA Super Conference set the tone for an event that was shaped by persistence, creativity, and collective effort.
Public Library Data: More Than a Reporting Requirement
One session focused on the Annual Survey of Public Libraries (ASPL), the largest public library data collection effort in Canada and a mandatory requirement under Ontario’s Public Libraries Act. The 2024 data highlights the scale and reach of public libraries across the province:
- 4.5 million active or issued library cards, representing roughly 25% of Ontario’s population
- 72 million physical items circulated
- 4.8 million program attendees
- 21.4 million ebook borrows and downloads
- 58.7 million in-person visits, continuing a steady return toward pre-pandemic levels (approximately 72 million pre-COVID)
Beyond the numbers, the session emphasized how ASPL data is used to assess the health of the sector, inform provincial decision-making, and enable equitable grant distribution. It also surfaced real challenges libraries face, including inconsistent definitions for e-holdings and financial data, and the need to evolve survey questions so the data remains comparable over time.
A recurring theme was that library data is most powerful when it supports both accountability and self-understanding.
Making Data Useful Across the Organization
The session, Data for All! Practical Tips and Best Practices for Data Reporting and Visualization for Newbies, reframed data as a shared organizational language rather than a specialized skill set. The speakers from Markham Public Library, Pickering Public Library, and Ontario Library Service emphasized that data includes both quantitative measures and qualitative insight, and that meaningful evaluation requires connecting activity to outcomes.
Several practical principles stood out:
- Metrics and KPIs are not the same. Metrics capture activity at a point in time; KPIs show change and direction over time.
- The “why” matters. Quantitative data explains what happened, while qualitative data explains why it matters.
- Not all data is worth collecting. If a data point does not inform a decision, it may not be worth the effort required to maintain it.
In the session, speakers recommended that libraries be encouraged to start with the data they already have, align it with strategic priorities, and translate findings into language that resonates with their stakeholders, such as municipal councils, boards, and funders.
What Library Leaders Are Carrying Right Now
A panel of public library CEOs offered some of the most candid reflections of the conference, in a session titled, The Exceptional Future for Public Libraries and What Keeps a CEO Up at Night. Across systems and regions, leaders from Toronto Public Library, Saskatoon Public Library, Pickering Public Library, Edmonton Public Library, and Calgary Public Library spoke openly about safety, social inequity, mental health crises, and the reality that libraries are often downstream of broader societal challenges.
Despite these pressures, one idea surfaced repeatedly: trust. Libraries remain one of the few institutions trusted by both users and non-users alike. That trust shapes how leaders think about data governance, privacy, AI adoption, and the role libraries play in facilitating civil discourse. Missteps in these areas risk undermining one of the library’s most valuable assets.
Leaders also emphasized that connection and belonging are not secondary benefits of library services. They are core outcomes. Libraries were repeatedly described as antidotes to loneliness and isolation, providing physical spaces and shared experiences that are increasingly rare elsewhere.
AI Literacy at Scale: Toronto Public Library’s LearnAI Initiative
Another session focused on Toronto Public Library’s LearnAI initiative, a large-scale effort launched to address the growing AI divide through free access to tools, training, and community-based learning. Framed as the first initiative of its kind in Canada, the program is grounded in TPL’s strategic priority of Learning and Growth and positions AI literacy as a core public service, not a niche offering.
Toronto Public Library shares its LearnAI initiative at the OLA Super Conference, highlighting how libraries can support equitable, responsible AI learning through community-led programs.
Speakers described a multi-stream approach that combines equitable access to AI education, practical skill-building, and facilitated discussion. This includes free access for TPL members to the Google AI Essentials certificate, librarian-led learning circles that support self-paced learning, expanded tools in digital innovation hubs, and public programs focused on responsible AI use, privacy, bias, and misinformation. The initiative also extends beyond coursework through an Innovator in Residence program, an annual AI Summit, and lending kits that allow residents to explore emerging technologies firsthand.
A recurring message throughout the session was that AI literacy is not only about technical skills. It is closely tied to social connection, civic engagement, and democratic participation. The team emphasized that libraries are uniquely positioned to help communities navigate AI thoughtfully, drawing on longstanding strengths in information evaluation, ethical stewardship, and inclusive access.
Strategy, Brand, and Staying Grounded in Community
Another session explored Caledon Public Library’s experience developing a new strategic plan alongside a rebrand, offering a clear reminder of how iterative and community-driven this kind of work needs to be. The team shared how early logo concepts, including a puzzle, a north star, and a beacon of light, ultimately felt too generic and failed to reflect Caledon’s identity. The final logo centers on a tree, chosen to represent knowledge, growth, and connection. Its base doubles as an open book, and the roots of the tree. A community member very fittingly interpreted this part of the logo as the agricultural fields that are a defining feature of Caledon. A refreshed color palette aligned the library more closely with the blue tones in the City of Caledon's brand, reinforcing its connection to the broader municipality.
The session highlighted a key takeaway: external consultants can provide structure and guidance, but authenticity comes from the people who know the community best. Strategy and brand are strongest when they are shaped by local context, lived experience, and meaningful staff involvement rather than relying on familiar or generic ideas.
Conversations on the Exhibit Floor
Outside formal sessions, the tradeshow floor offered a pulse check on day-to-day priorities for library staff. At our booth, we spoke with many customers and peers, answering questions and hearing directly about priorities ranging from data reporting and discovery to staff capacity and evolving expectations from funders.
Across these conversations, a consistent signal emerged. Libraries are not looking for sweeping promises or one-size-fits-all solutions. They are looking for partners who understand their constraints, respect community trust, and help reduce complexity rather than add to it.
Library staff stopped at the BiblioCommons booth to share what’s working, ask hard questions, and talk through the challenges public libraries are navigating right now.
Why the Super Conference Continues to Matter
The OLA Super Conference brings together a rare combination of scale, substance, and care. From internationally recognized speakers and Canadian literary voices to deeply practical, peer-led sessions, it reflects the full scope of what public libraries contribute to culture, education, and civic life.
This year’s conference reinforced that the future of libraries will be shaped not only by innovation, but by stewardship: of trust, of data, of staff capacity, and of the communities libraries serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the OLA Super Conference?
The OLA Super Conference is Canada’s largest continuing education event for library professionals. It is hosted annually by the Ontario Library Association and brings together public, academic, school, and special library staff.
Why is the OLA Super Conference important for public libraries?
The conference supports professional development by sharing best practices, research, and practical tools. It also creates space for library leaders and staff to discuss shared challenges and emerging priorities.
Who typically attends the OLA Super Conference?
Attendees include library directors, managers, frontline staff, trustees, vendors, authors, and sector partners from across Ontario and beyond.
What were key themes at this year’s Super Conference?
Major themes included public trust, data and evaluation, leadership under pressure, staff capacity, and the evolving social role of public libraries.
How does library data factor into decision-making and funding?
Library data is used to understand service impact, inform planning, and support accountability. In Ontario, data collected through the Annual Survey of Public Libraries also informs provincial funding decisions.