 So my name is Rebecca Gonzalez, I'm a senior librarian with the San Jose Public Library and I am also co-chair of the PLP staff development committee. For those of you who are with us at last year's Features Conference, you'll recall that we reflected on lessons learned through the tumultuous first years of the pandemic and discussed pathways forward. Now we face new challenges as we enter an increasingly digital age characterized by shifts in the social paradigm and political upheaval. Artificial intelligence, attempted censorship, and social media are just a few of the influencing factors shaping the way library workers interact with the public today. As the world is in flux, we must continue to uphold the values of our profession and strive to provide equitable library access to all members of our diverse communities. This commitment to providing a high level of service leads us to this year's theme, advancing user experiences. We hope you enjoy the content shared today and find it useful in navigating the ever-changing landscape of our field. So at this time I would like to take the opportunity to thank the San Francisco Public Library for hosting this event, my fellow members of the PLP staff development committee, and the PLP executive leaders who have provided support and guidance throughout our planning process. I would now like to introduce you all to Carol Frost. She is the CEO of the Pacific Library Partnership. Thank you, Carol. Good morning. What a great joy it is to be here today. I haven't gotten so many hugs in a long time, so I'm just glad we're all in person today. Welcome. So on behalf of the Pacific Library Partnership, I want to thank each of you for coming today. PLP, in case you don't know it, is one of the nine library cooperatives throughout the state of California, and we comprise the eight counties of the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Our staff development committee sponsors the future of library conference each fall to bring you presentations and panels on engaging and timely topics around the most important issues facing libraries. And we hope that you each will walk away today with fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to the challenges and the opportunities you encounter in your own libraries. In addition to this conference, the committee also hosts smaller virtual training programs that are reserved for PLP member libraries throughout the year. So today's theme, Enhancing User Experiences, helps us to move beyond the discussions about pandemic recovery and will instead focus on critical topics that we can't ignore. Over the last five years, our conference has interwoven various elements of equity work which has manifested itself in our libraries. We have discussed confronting disinformation and book banning by cultivating critical thinking and empathy. Last year, we heard about the Cabrio Community College's control digital lending model where they're scanning books and making them available to students electronically to bridge that digital divide. We discussed last year also the equity for students to receive the wraparound support they need through developing school library partnerships through the Student Success Initiative. You know, I think one of the amazing things about that Student Success Initiative is that the idea started here in PLP. We received three statewide grants to expand it statewide and it was very successful and I can tell you today that there's a bill sitting on the governor's desk, SB 321 by Senator Ashby to make that law. That's amazing, right? That's something that came, thank you, we deserve that, right? So the idea is that every kid by third grade is going to have a library card through that partnership with schools and libraries, right? That's amazing and that came from PLP and the point I'm trying to make here is that we have great ideas, right? And we can move those forward and I'm proud of all of you. So today's topic is Rebecca just spoke about, we'll talk about AI as well as continuing our professional and personal journeys in equity and social justice, just a quick word about AI. PLP does plan to do an AI training later on this year so when you're filling out your survey today, if you have specific things you want to know about AI, please put those comments there because we will take those when we're hiring a trainer. We know that many libraries are doing the equity work to strengthen policies and to train staff to be ready to uphold the right to read and to create inclusive spaces that are open to all. PLP's commitment to staff development, covering such a wide range of topics is one of the many things that makes us so strong. It's each of you and your ideas and your willingness to talk about these important topics that makes us stronger and makes each of you a leader in your community. So thank you. I appreciate you taking the effort to be here today and hope that the connections and the hugs and the new people that you're going to meet today are going to serve you well. So just turn off your email if you can, just try. Just turn it off and just try to lean into what's happening today and the conversations and feel free to reach out to the person next to you and have a good conversation. This is your time to network as well. I've already gotten one person's phone number. So I'd like to thank the PLP staff development committee. I'd like to thank Justin Wasserlein, who is not here today. He's PLP's assistant director, but he's done a great job in helping the staff development committee. I want to particularly thank Rebecca Gonzalez, Tierney Alvarado, and Kyle Fahl, the committee co-chairs and the conference chair of this committee. And I also want to recognize two people here today, Meg DePriest. Meg, where are you? There we go. Meg DePriest is from the California State Library. Thank you, Meg, for being here. She is a library programs consultant and is Lisa Nolan here today. Lisa Nolan is here. Lisa, if you could wave your hand. Thank you, Lisa. Lisa is formally worked with the library parks pass program for the California State Library. So thank you for being here. And we know there are people also here that are beyond the PLP network. I believe there's people here from Napa and other regions as well. So we appreciate you being here. And thank you to each of the speakers for taking the time to share your expertise. And I want to also thank Dolly Goyle and the San Francisco Public Library, as always, for hosting us. And with that, I'd like to introduce Dolly Goyle, the chief of public services at San Francisco Public Library. Hello. Good morning. Welcome, everyone. It's so great to see everybody. My name is Dolly Goyle. I am the chief of public services here at San Francisco Public Library. It's so wonderful to have everyone here on a beautiful day. And on behalf of the library, would like to welcome you all to the main library's correct auditorium. It's so great to see familiar faces. I see some of you here. And some new faces for the Pacific Library Partnerships Future of Libraries annual event. And once again, we are pleased to be the host. We are also pleased to be part of the Pacific Library Partnership because it is a such an amazing organization and we have the wonderful leadership of CEO Carol Frost, who you just heard from, her assistant director, Justin Wasterlain, and the entire PLP staff who support all of our organizations. Please let's give them a round of applause. I'd also like to take a moment and recognize the PLP staff development committee who always does an amazing job organizing this event. It is a year long thing, so I wanted to acknowledge the staff here who are making sure that we have a wonderful and seamless and smooth day today. Let's give them a hand as well. So this year's Future of Libraries has a tremendous lineup, which include a few of our SFPL staff and they're representing this year's theme, Enhancing User Experiences. I know you'll gain a lot of insights and takeaways to support your local organizations. Now, before we get started, I wanted to go through our land acknowledgement. The San Francisco Public Library acknowledges that we occupy the unceded ancestral home of the Ramatushaloni peoples who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula. We recognize that the Ramatushaloni understand the interconnectedness of all things and have maintained harmony with nature for millennia. We honor the Ramatushaloni's peoples for their enduring commitment to Ra-Rap Mother Earth. As the indigenous protectors of this land and in accordance with their traditions, the Ramatushaloni have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory. We recognize that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland. As uninvited guests, we affirm their sovereign rights as first peoples and wish to pay our respects to the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramatush community. We recognize and respectfully honor Ramatush peoples. We must embrace and collaborate meaningfully to record indigenous knowledge and how we care for San Francisco and all its people. Everyone, I hope you have a great time today, and thank you for being here.