Develop a Cultured Taste for Data Viz at MLA ‘26
Submitted by: Lisa Connor
MLA ’26 is around the corner, and we invite you to grow your data visualization talents as part of the Data Management & Services symposium, included in your conference registration! The session, titled “A Pie Walks into a Bar: Visual Storytelling with Data,” is an interactive opportunity to learn a structured approach to the research process using existing data and best practices for delivering an effective message through data visualization skills.
Details: Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 9:00-10:15 a.m., central time, in room N206AB
Presenters: Peace Ossom and Eric Lease Morgan
The skills and knowledge participants will gain include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Describe how visualizations must follow certain measurements.
- Apply the FLOAT method as a structured research process applicable to a great deal of data questions.
- Create different types of visualizations to tell different types of stories, where the creation of effective visualizations is both a systematic and aesthetic process.
Presented by two data visualization experts with extensive experience applying these skills in libraries, the session will include determinations for selecting basic and more advanced visualization types and techniques, including forming and answering both quantitative and qualitative research questions. This session includes case studies and is open to anyone brand new as well as those more experienced with visualizations as we learn together.
For more information, contact the session planners Lisa Connor at lconnor@shsu.edu or Christopher Schultz at christopher.schultz@lmunet.edu.