It’s Award Season at CLEL! Nominate a Colleague by September 1st Each year CLEL recognizes outstanding work in the area of early literacy. Nominations are now open for the 2024 CLEL professional awards! CLEL Rising Star Award Awarded to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional work in early literacy. They may be newer to the …
SAVE THE DATE! CLELCON 2025 will be held this year on October 16th from 12:00 to 5:10 and October 17th from 11:00 to 4:35 (MST). Cost for this year’s conference will be $45 and it will be a virtual platform. Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy is committed to training and staff development. During our annual …
by Thea Martinez and Kate Compton Every month, over 80,000 Colorado children receive a special package in the mail—a brand- new, age-appropriate book delivered directly to their doorstep. This simple act represents something profound: the Imagination Library Colorado program is quietly revolutionizing early childhood literacy across our state, one book at a time. What Makes …
Our July meetup had a small but dedicated group joining us to discuss how summerprogramming is progressing for everyone and what we might be looking forward to in the next season. The first question posed to the group, and one that had the greatest dialogue, was how to decompress when summer gets too hectic. When …
ALL THINGS CLEL – OUR 2025 SUMMER DIGEST Special Election for Conference Committee Member being held now We are looking for an individual to fill a spot on our Conference Committee right away. We will be holding a special election to fill this important role. If you have a passion for attending conferences, organizing people …
On May 13, 2025, over 28 CLEL members from around the country came together to talk about managing program burnout (and burnout overall). As one of the most well-attended CLEL Meetups in recent memory, it is clear that this subject is top of mind for many people. After introductions, the conversation shifted to investigate where …
Save the Date! October 16 and 17th will be dates for our Annual Conference. The conference will be virtual this year on our Zoom Platform.
Next Steps After Storytime: A Meetup Recap On March 11, 2025, we had a small but lively discussion about serving emerging readers in a holistic way after storytimes. Our talk centered on how we can promote and encourage literacy for young pre-readers as well as support caregivers trying to bridge the gap to help children …
Member Meetups are an informal way to network with other professionals around a topic relevant to youth librarianship. Librarians promote early learning for ages birth to 5 primarily through ECRR. But how do you support children as they transition into reading independently? Join our next meetup to be held on March 11th from 1-2 (MST) …
COLORADO – Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy today announced five winning picture books that exemplify the early literacy practices READ, WRITE, TALK, SING, and PLAY. Winners were selected from a 25-title shortlist put forth by the awards committee. The 2025 CLEL Bell Award Winners are: READ – When You Love a Book – written by …
