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.
MLA 2021 Annual Conference Breakout Program and Lightning Talks Call for Proposals
MLA 2021 Annual Conference Connect to the Future October 13-14, 2021 Hosted Online via Hopin
Submissions for Breakout Programs welcome through Friday, May 21, 2021. Submissions for Lightning Talks are due Friday, August 6, 2021.
The Michigan Library Association is seeking proposals for breakout programs and Lightning Talks for the 2021 Annual Conference which will be held virtually on October 13-14, 2021 via Hopin.
This has been a year of expedited growth and innovation. It has been a year of strength and resiliency. It has been a year of social distanced community collaboration. You’ve been spearheading new initiatives, discovering new ways to reach your patrons and students, and striving to improve your professional skills. We want to hear all about it, and about how your ideas are going to drive Michigan’s libraries and library professionals into the future.
Contact information is required for each presenter. Presenters are strongly encouraged to submit a headshot.
Program sessions are typically forty-five to sixty minutes of content.
Presenters are not reimbursed or compensated for presentation time 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 Annual Conference if they plan to participate in any conference activities beyond their presentation.
Presenters are not required to attend the conference beyond their presentation.
Programs proposals must include at least three session objectives and identify a target audience.
Breakout Speaker and Technology Requirements
All breakout sessions will be presented remotely on the Hopin event platform
Presenters do not need to be located together
All presenters must create their own free account on Hopin
It is strongly recommended that presenters use wired internet/ethernet cord to help maintain internet dependability during their live session.
Presenters must provide computer, internet access, and other presentation equipment
Session Classification
The annual conference work group aims to offer a wide variety of content for all libraries and professionals. The following tracks will be used to classify programs.
Create – Sessions focus on concepts, programs, or services new to libraries and/or what’s trending for the new decade
Connect – Sessions focus on services and programs that engage staff, patrons, and/or the community with the goal of improving library services.
Reimagine – Sessions focus on how libraries re-think and adapt services and programs to the changing needs of staff, patrons, and/or the community.
Lead – Sessions focus on how library staff, patrons, and/or community can lead others towards inspiring solutions and healthy choices.
Session Recording
MLA will record all breakout sessions and share the recordings with registered event attendees on the MLA website following the conference conclusion.
Lightning Talks are 5-minute video shorts that will be available for viewing throughout the conference.
Are you working on a new project, but don’t have results ready to present a formal program? Experience a big FAIL you want to warn others against? Have fun library stories to tell? Want to be creative in how you deliver an idea to peers? Consider creating a Lightning Talk, where you can present important topics with peers in an informal setting. A good Lightning Talk focuses on one main theme, presents useful information, stimulates discussion, and doesn’t take itself too seriously, so have fun. It’s a great way to jump into presenting without building a full-blown program.
The submitter should be the presenter.
You do not need to be an MLA member to submit.
Presenters are strongly encouraged to submit a headshot.
Lightning Talks are approximately 5 minutes of content and do not exceed 6 minutes long
Presenters are not reimbursed or compensated for presentation time 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 Annual Conference if they plan to participate in any conference activities beyond their presentation.
Presenters are not required to attend the conference.
Lightning Talk Technology Requirements
Submitted to MLA dropbox as .mov or .mp4
5-6 minute maximum video length
All Lightning Talk videos will be hosted as unlisted YouTube videos
Only one presenter per Lightning Talk
Breakout sessions are welcome to provide a related Lightning Talk
Presenters must provide computer, internet access, and other presentation equipment
The following criteria will be used in assessing the viability of including a program in the schedule. The work group retains the right to reject, modify, or combine proposals.
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 engaging visuals, useful and relatable content?
Relevance – Is the topic of current interest, bringing new ideas and a fresh perspective to its intended audience and theme?
Qualifications – Do the presenter(s) have sufficient background experience to present on the proposed topic?
Diversity and Inclusion – Does the presentation help give voice to underrepresented groups that have been historically marginalized or offer diverse viewpoints?
All proposals will be assessed a score value from 0-50 based on the above criteria to help in fairly determining which proposals to accept for presentation. The points will be assessed as follows and the scores from the individual committee members will be combined to produce an average overall score.
Criteria
Points
Purpose
10
Audience
5
Practicality
5
Engagement
10
Timeliness/Relevance
10
Qualifications
5
Diversity and Inclusion
5
Total Score
50
Agreements and Selection Notification
MLA will send all individual presenters a Presenter Agreement indicating the date, time, and details of their presentation. This will be confirmed by the presenters and returned to MLA.
Timeline
May 21, 2021 – Final day to submit breakout proposals
June 11, 2021 – Selection notifications and agreements distributed via email to program presenters.
July 2, 2020 – Signed breakout speaker agreements due
July 30, 2021 – Final day to submit lightning talk proposals
August 20, 2021 – Selection notifications and agreements distributed via email to lightning presenters.
September 10, 2021 – Signed lightning talk agreements due
October 1, 2021 – Handouts received for posting on the MLA website and on the virtual event page. Handouts received after this date may not be posted for attendees before or during the conference.
October 4 – 6, 2021 – Practice sessions available for presenter rehearsals
October 13 – 14, 2021 – MLA Annual Conference, Online via Hopin
Questions
Please feel free to contact Amber Sheerin, MLA Program and Event Director, or Claire Lopiccolo, Conference Chair, with any questions you may have prior to your submission.
