Call for Presenters

The CLEL Conference Committee invites YOU to present at CLELCON23!

CLELCON is the annual conference of the Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy. It provides workshops, keynote speakers, and networking to anyone who is involved or wants to be involved with early literacy. It is recognized nationwide as a premier early literacy professional development opportunity. CLEL is seeking presenters for the 2023 Virtual Conference, scheduled for September 21 & 22, 11:00 am – 4:30 pm.

New to presenting at a conference? CLELCON is a welcoming event with a friendly audience and flexible presentation formats. This makes it a perfect opportunity to give presenting a try! Here’s everything you need to know:

• Proposals are accepted April 3rd – June 10th
• There are two presentation formats: breakout session (prepare and lead a virtual presentation) or discussion (facilitate a virtual share session on a topic)
• All presentation formats are 50 minutes long
• All presentations are delivered live via the Hopin virtual conference platform (you’ll have a chance to practice)
• Categories include early literacy foundations, early literacy leadership, and news in the field
• Click here for the form to submit your presentation

Conference Chairs will be in touch to let you know if you are chosen to present by July 31st. Questions? Please email conference@clel.org.

Stumped for a topic? Try one of these (or come up with your own):

• Evaluating picture books and other children’s media
• Anti-racism, equity, and diversity in children’s services and collections
• Spanish/Bilingual/non-English storytime
• ECRR2, literacy and brain development research, great books for storytimes, and more!
• Non-fiction in storytime
• Storytime best practices
• Mentorship of early literacy staff and storytime presenters
• Now to advocate for yourself, your staff, and youth within the library and community
• Political advocacy
• Fostering strategic partnerships
• The future of leadership in libraries and early literacy
• Training for non-children staff and/or local childcare providers
• New “Normal” programming – virtual, in-person, hybrid
• Updated guidelines for screen time
• Censorship challenges & intellectual freedom
• Beginning readers and connecting families to kindergarten readiness resources
• Services for vulnerable & diverse populations.
• Innovative visual art programs in early literacy and how to implement them
• Early literacy programming for rural and small libraries
• Mental and/or physical health issues and helping our patrons
• Book selection for developmental differences
• Full-spectrum literacy to include math, science, etc