Call for Proposals

Annual Calls for Proposals are issued for our Spring Institute for Youth Services Conference and our Annual Conference. Calls for Proposals for webinars, workshops, and additional resources are issued as needed. Review details of open and upcoming calls for proposals below.

Spring Institute for Youth Services 2023

The 2023 Spring Institute for Youth Services Workgroup is seeking education session and digital poster proposals, as well as individuals interested in participating as panelists, for the in-person event scheduled for March 30-31, 2023 at the Ann Arbor Sheraton Hotel. The 2023 theme is Sustaining Our Future: Working to Protect Communities, Relationships, Books, and Bodies. 

Education Session Proposals

Submissions are welcome through December 2, 2022.

MLA’s Spring Institute for Youth Services highlights the brilliance of Michigan’s library professionals every year. From early literacy to teen programs the work you do matters, and we want to help you showcase it. Submit your ideas and help take your library skills to the next level.  Your program idea may extend the learning opportunities for library professionals across Michigan. 

Education Sessions are 60-minutes in length and may include 1-4 speakers or panelists. 

Proposals that address the theme will be given preference, but a variety of topics can be addressed including programming, displays, self-care, stress management, sustainability, grants and finance, early literacy, intellectual freedom, censorship and book challenges, equity and accessibility, and more. 

Call for Education Session Proposals Closes:  December 2, 2022

Speaker Notification:  December 22, 2022

Speaker Agreement Due:  January 27, 2023

Handouts Due:  March 9, 2023

SUBMIT A PROGRAM PROPOSAL

Program Submission General Guidelines

Download the MLA SI23 Call for Program Guidelines (pdf).

• The submitter may or may not also be the presenter. Either is acceptable.  You do not need to be an MLA member to submit.
• The submitter must be able to attend Spring Institute in-person
• Contact information is required for each presenter.
• Program sessions are typically sixty minutes of content, including time for audience questions. 
• Presenters are not reimbursed or compensated for presentation time, mileage, or any other expense related to their participation in the conference.
• Presenters, including MLA members, must register and pay for the day(s) they attend Spring Institute if they plan to participate in any conference activities beyond their presentation.

Agreements and Selection Notification

• MLA will contact each presenter in writing with regards to final decisions of the acceptance process by December 22, 2022
• MLA will send all individual presenters a Presenter Agreement indicating date, time, and details of their presentation. This will be confirmed by the presenters and returned to MLA by January 27, 2023. 

Handouts

• Handouts will be added to the event website and mobile app. Examples of handouts may be, but are not limited to: presenter contact information, a list of additional resources, a copy of presentation slides, a summary of the poster, or related worksheets. Handouts are not required but are strongly encouraged.
• Printed handouts are not distributed on-site by MLA. Presenters may provide hard copies of handouts if desired at their own cost.
• Handouts will be due to MLA by March 9, 2023, and will be posted to MLA’s website before the event.

Selection Criteria

The MLA Spring Institute for Youth Services workgroup will use the following criteria in assessing the viability of including a poster or program in the schedule. The work group retains the right to reject, modify, or combine proposals. 

Additionally, preference will be given to proposals that connect to the 2023 theme Sustaining Our Future: Working to Protect Communities, Relationships, Books, and Bodies.

Purpose:  Does the proposal clearly identify a goal and takeaways for the audience?

Audience:  Is the target audience clearly identified?

Practicality:  Is the topic appropriate for a conference breakout session in content and target audience?

Engagement:  Will the presentation and presenter(s) keep the audience’s focus and attention through clear speech, engaging visuals, useful and relatable content?

Timeliness/ Relevance:  Is the topic of current interest, bringing new ideas and a fresh perspective to its intended audience and theme? 

Qualifications:  Does the speaker(s) have sufficient background experience to present on the proposed topic?

Timeline

• Friday, December 2, 2022 — Final day to submit proposals. This deadline is firm and will not be extended.
• On or before Thursday, December 22, 2022 — Selection notifications distributed via email from MLA to all presenters.
• On or before Friday, January 27, 2023 — Presenter agreements due to MLA office.
• Thursday, March 9, 2023 — Handouts received for posting on MLA website
• Thursday and Friday, March 30-31, 2023 — MLA 2023 Spring Institute, Sheraton Hotel, Ann Arbor

Program AV & Room Setup

• All presentation rooms will be supplied with an HDMI-connected PC laptop, projector, screen, and podium with microphone at no cost to the presenter.
• Wi-Fi internet will be in each presentation room however, MLA cannot guarantee the speed and dependability of the services at any given time. 
• Presenters may provide their own laptops or use the provided laptops to access their presentations from a flash drive, cloud, etc. Remote mouse devices/pointers are the responsibility of the presenter. If presenters chose to bring their own computer that does not connect to an HDMI cable, they will be responsible for providing their own connection cables or adapter. 
• MLA will take every effort to make sure the presentations rooms are set up according to needs of presentation (ex: for a panel discussion if applicable).

Recording of Programs

• Permission to record a single program must be granted by all presenters of that program.

Questions

Please feel free to contact MLA’s Program and Event Director Amber Sheerin or Jocelyn Levin, Spring Institute 2023 Conference Chair, with any questions you may have prior to your submission. Contact info: 

Amber Sheerin, Michigan Library Association: [email protected]

Jocelyn Levin, Lyon Township Public Library: [email protected]

Call for Digital Poster Proposals

Download the MLA SI23 Call for Posters Guidelines (pdf)

Are you working on a new project, but don’t have results ready to present a formal program? Have you worked on something really cool that you think others want to know about? Consider submitting a digital ‘poster’, where you can discuss important topics with peers in a fun and informal setting. 

Digital Posters are short videos, 5-minutes or less, that share an idea, program, or story about your library with the conference attendees. A good poster session focuses on one main theme, presents useful information, and is funny and engaging. It’s a great way to jump into presenting without building a full-blown program.

SUBMIT A DIGITAL POSTER PROPOSAL

Digital Poster Submission General Guidelines

• Submitter may or may not also be the presenter. Either is acceptable.  You do not need to be an MLA member to submit.
• Digital Poster presenters do not need to attend the conference.
• Posters should have no more than 2 presenters and may not exceed 5 minutes in length. MLA reserves the right to edit video submissions. 
• Presenters are not reimbursed or compensated for presentation time, mileage or any other expense related to their production of a digital poster or participation in the conference.
• Presenters, including MLA members, must register and pay for the day(s) they attend Spring Institute.
• Digital Posters will be edited together played during an All-Conference lunch on Thursday, March 30, 2023. 

Agreements and Selection Notification

• MLA will contact each submitter in writing with regards to final decisions of the acceptance process by February 10, 2023.
• Digital Poster Presentations should be submitted as .mp4 files to an MLA Dropbox and are due to MLA no later than March 3, 2023

Selection Criteria

The MLA Annual Conference workgroup will use the following criteria in assessing the viability of including a digital poster in the schedule. The work group retains the right to reject, modify, or combine proposals. 

Purpose: Does the proposal clearly identify one focus or idea?

Practicality: Is the topic appropriate for a digital poster session in content and target audience?

Engagement: Will the presenter(s) keep the audience’s attention through engaging visuals and useful or relatable content?

Relevance: Is the topic of current interest, bringing new ideas and a fresh perspective to its intended audience and theme?

Time Allotment: Can the idea or focus be addressed in 5 minutes or less?

Timeline

• February 3, 2023 — Final day to submit proposals. This deadline is firm and will not be extended.
• On or before February 10, 2023 — Selection notifications distributed via email from MLA to digital poster presenters.
• March 3, 2023 — Digital Poster Videos Due to be submitted as .mp4 files to MLA

• Thursday and Friday, March 30-31, 2023 — MLA 2023 Spring Institute, Sheraton Hotel, Ann Arbor

Digital Poster Specifications

• Poster presenters are required to produce their own digital poster video. MLA will not produce the video but reserves the right to edit for time. Videos over 5-minutes that cannot be edited for length will not be accepted. 
• MLA will provide a Dropbox link in which presenters may submit their digital poster video in .mp4 format.
• Videos should be filmed in landscape format, ideally, in 16:9 aspect ratio, special consideration may be given to TikTok style videos that require portrait orientation.
• Digital posters can address a wide range of topics, but should be informal, funny, and engaging.
• Digital Poster videos will be played during the All-Conference lunch on March 30, 2023. Attendance is not required but is encouraged. 
• MLA retains ownership of Digital Posters and may share the recordings on the event website

Questions

Please feel free to contact MLA’s Program and Event Director Amber Sheerin or Jocelyn Levin, Spring Institute 2023 Conference Chair, with any questions you may have prior to your submission. Contact info: 

Amber Sheerin, Michigan Library Association: [email protected]

Jocelyn Levin, Lyon Township Public Library: [email protected]

Call for Panelists

Download the MLA SI23 Call for Panelists Guidelines (pdf)

If you are interested in sharing your experiences with others or want some experience speaking to an audience, this might be a great fit for you! Our panel conversations will discuss ‘Scaling and Failing Ideas’. Each panel will feature 3-5 different speakers who will have the opportunity to share their experiences for 5-10 minutes and engage in audience discussion and Q&A.

Ultimately, we need you. In turn, this is an excellent opportunity for you to develop as a library professional, and to have a definitive positive impact on the library community. 

 CALL FOR PANELISTS FORM

Panelist General Guidelines

• Panelists must complete their own submissions. Submissions cannot be done on behalf of someone else. You do not need to be an MLA member to submit.
• Panelists must be able to attend Spring Institute in-person.
• Panelists are not reimbursed or compensated for presentation time, mileage or any other expense related to their participation in the conference.
• Panelists, including MLA members, must register and pay for the day(s) they attend Spring Institute if they plan to participate in any conference activities beyond their panel discussion.

Panel Conversation Details

Panel 1: Epic Fails

Did you had an idea, program, initiative, or concept that sounded great on paper, but fell apart in reality? Did you experience an #epicfail that your coworkers and you can laugh about now? Join the panel to tell the story of your ‘fail’, share a few laughs with those who understand, and hopefully pass on your hard learned lessons to others. 

Panel 2: Scaling Programs for Small Libraries

Conferences are filled with great ideas, but sometimes limited resources, staff time, and money can make big program ideas difficult for small libraries to implement. Have you been successful at scaling a program to fit your community needs? We are seeking panelists from a variety of libraries to share how they made the most of limited resources to lead successful programs that other libraries might also be able to replicate. 

Agreements and Selection Notification

• MLA will contact each panelist in writing with regards to final decisions of the acceptance process by January 20, 2023
• MLA will send all individual presenters a Presenter Agreement indicating date, time, and details of their panel conversation. This will be confirmed by panelists and returned to MLA by February 3, 2023. 

Selection Criteria

The MLA Spring Institute for Youth Services workgroup will use the following criteria in assessing the viability of including a panelist in the conversation.

Qualifications: Does the proposed panelist have sufficient background experience to present on the proposed topic?

Perspective: Does the proposed panelist offer a unique perspective on the proposed topic?

Timeline

• Friday, January 13, 2023 — Final day to submit proposals. This deadline is firm and will not be extended.
• On or before Friday, January 20, 2023 — Selection notifications distributed via email from MLA to all presenters.
• On or before Friday, February 3, 2023 — Presenter agreements due to MLA office
• Thursday and Friday, March 30-31, 2023 — MLA 2023 Spring Institute, Sheraton Hotel, Ann Arbor

AV & Room Setup

• MLA will make every effort to make sure the presentation rooms are set up according to the needs of presentation and number of panelists.
• Wi-Fi internet will be in each presentation room, however, MLA cannot guarantee the speed and dependability of the services at any given time. 
• Slide Deck/PowerPoint presentation is not required, but panelists may bring visual aids. 

Recording of Programs

• Permission to record the panel conversation must be granted by all panelists.

Questions

Please feel free to contact MLA’s Program and Event Director Amber Sheerin or Jocelyn Levin, Spring Institute 2023 Conference Chair, with any questions you may have prior to your submission. Contact info: 

Amber Sheerin, Michigan Library Association: [email protected]

Jocelyn Levin, Lyon Township Public Library: [email protected]