Thanks to your support and participation, Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy has grown from a small group based in Denver to a state-wide organization in just a few years. Several of our founding members' terms on the Steering Committee are coming to a close, and they will be rotating off the Steering Committee at the end of the year.
We are looking for enthusiastic CLEL members who are interested in taking their place! Our first few years have seen the launch of several exciting initiatives and the completion of two amazing grant projects. Steering Committee members have had a chance to spread their wings, add to their professional networks, and take on new challenges in their library careers, while making a positive difference in early literacy efforts across Colorado. CLEL has many more ideas for the future-and you could be one of the people to put those plans in action!
Here are some of the details:
- Steering Committee members serve for a 3-year term. This year we need to select several new members.
- Steering Committee members need to commit to attending quarterly Steering Committee meetings, either in person, via phone or video conferencing. In addition, they are expected to make a good faith effort to attend the CLEL Annual Meeting in person, which is always held the Thursday before the CAL Annual Conference (although we are discussing changing this to allow more folks to attend). Participation on the CLEL Steering Committee by members from outside the Front Range is strongly encouraged; please contact the Steering Committee at clelorg@gmail.com if you have specific questions about how this can work.
- In addition, Steering Committee members are expected to also serve on one of the CLEL work committees (Membership, Advocacy, Staff Support, Communications, Annual Meeting), though they are not required to serve on the same work committee for their entire 3-year term. After their first year on the Steering Committee, members are encouraged to Chair or Co-Chair a work committee.
If you are interested in a Steering Committee position, please send the Steering Committee a paragraph outlining why you are interested and what qualifications and experiences you would bring to the group. Prospective Steering Committee candidates are encouraged to attend the Annual Meeting, to meet current Steering Committee members and to be presented to the Annual Meeting attendees. However, if you are unable to attend the Annual Meeting, a steering committee member will read your introductory paragraph to the membership on your behalf.
These paragraphs will then be distributed to the greater CLEL membership after the Annual Meeting, followed by an online vote of the entire CLEL membership. The ballots will be counted and the new Steering Committee members announced in early November. The first meeting including the new Steering Committee members will be the following January, at a place and time to be determined by the group.
If you are interested in being a new member on the CLEL Steering Committee, please your paragraph telling why you are interested to Vicky Hays at vhays@poudrelibraries.org by October 10, 2011. Please let Vicky know if you will be able to attend the meeting in person, and contact her with any questions.
Thank you very much for your interest! We are excited about the fresh perspectives and new voices the incoming Steering Committee members will bring to the organization!