Call for New Leadership!

Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy is seeking new leadership! This is an exciting opportunity to connect with early literacy leaders statewide, empower fellow professionals, and affect great change. Members of the Steering Committee serve a minimum two-year term and are divided into specific subcommittees: Steering; Communications; Advocacy and Fundraising; Training; Membership; and Conference. All committees …

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Serving Neurodiverse Families: A Meetup Recap

On July 25, 2024, 26 librarians from across the country came together to discuss the topic of neurodiversity in both Storytimes specifically and in libraries as a whole. The conversation sparked several questions, ideas, and thoughts as it continued, and it ended with a good number of resources for folks to take back to their …

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Announcing the Spanish CLEL Bells

May 25, 2024 • info@clel.org COLORADO – Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy is pleased to announce a newly formed committee that will present CLEL Bell Awards to winning Spanish-language titles in 2025. A complement to the English CLEL Bell Awards, the Spanish Bells will select five outstanding picture books produced in Spanish that model the …

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Facing Book Bans: A Meetup Recap

Book challenges and bans have increased dramatically in recent years, and librarians often find themselves in the center of the fray. Whether circulating a book about two male penguins raising a chick together or a singable story about a drag queen, libraries strive to remain universally accessible institutions promoting free and open access to resources …

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Nursery Rhymes in Storytime

Children’s librarians are storytellers, and with that storytelling comes the natural propensity to add music and rhyme into our Storytimes. Most often, Nursery Rhymes become the addition of choice thanks to their universal accessibility, their influence across generations, and their overall support of the hallmarks of Early Literacy. But are all Nursery Rhymes built the …

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Call to Action – Senate Bill 049

Support Senate Bill 24 – 049, “Content of Material in Libraries” Colorado lawmakers Lisa Cutter, Chris Kolker, Juie Joseph and Eliza Hamrick have introduced a bill that would change how school libraries and public libraries handle book challenges. Senate Bill 24 – 049, “Content of Material in Libraries,” would protect libraries from the increasing number …

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Outreach and Partnerships

By Tina Schmidt / Douglas County Libraries, CLEL Steering Subcommittee Co-Chair  Every other month, CLEL members are invited to come together for Member Meetups. Held virtually, these hour-long sessions are a way for members to connect with colleagues across the state in a casual, conversational atmosphere with topics driven by member survey results. This member …

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Summer Reader’s Advisory for Emergent Readers

By Tina Schmidt / Douglas County Libraries, CLEL Steering Subcommittee Co-Chair Every other month, CLEL members are invited to come together for Member Meetups. Held virtually, these hour-long sessions are a way for members to connect with colleagues across the state in a casual, conversational atmosphere with topics driven by member survey results. This member …

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Meet the 2024 CLEL Bell Awards Committee

For the first time, we’ve expanded our committee to include 17 members, 9 returning and 8 new members. We are so excited to welcome our new members and start work as a committee. Before our work begins, we wanted to introduce all our committee members and include some of their very impressive resumes. Melanie Borski-Howard …

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Diversity in Storytime

By Tina Schmidt / Douglas County Libraries, CLEL Steering Subcommittee Co-Chair  Every other month, CLEL members are invited to come together for Member Meetups. Held virtually, these hour-long sessions are a way for members to connect with colleagues across the state in a casual, conversational atmosphere with topics driven by member survey results. Our first …

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