Ohio Library Employees Institute 2026

The Ohio Library Employees Institute (OLEI) conference is a two-day event designed for learning, networking, and inspiration. It supports professional development and networking for all employees across all library types, with a particular focus on support staff, who have traditionally had limited access to such experiences. Attendees will engage with presentations focusing on effective communication strategies, customer service, programming, artificial intelligence, and other timely topics. The event also includes tours of the Westerville Public Library and Courtright Memorial Library at Otterbein University. Specific presentation topics include promoting healthy workplace culture (workplace communication skills, engagement, retention), working with patrons (reference skills, de-escalating situations, addressing hot topics), ILS management (covering public or academic systems, skill building, and ILS functionality), and basic preservation (general collection/item repair, skills for non-specialized staff).