Power Up! An Amazing Opportunity

Many of you know I'm been delving into and thinking about leadership and management issues (both being a manager and being managed) over the past few years. 

So it is with real excitement that I have been assisting in the development of a brand new national conference sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Madison Continuing Education Department. The conference is titled: Power Up –  A Conference in Leadership for Youth Services Managers and Staff and will be held March 30-31, 2017 on the beautiful campus of UW-Madison.  

The UW Madison CE team has been presenting the highly successful Back in Circulation conference for circulation staff and managers for years. The Power Up conference is based on that successful concept and it’s a leadership conference that is sure to be uber-useful for youth librarians at all levels in our careers.

I hope you will mark your calendars for this amazing opportunity. I also want you to consider submitting a program proposal and be one of our valued presenters at the conference.  Here’s the scoop:

Call for Proposals

Do you have ideas about management and leadership in Youth Services? UW-Madison, School of Library and Information Studies is pleased to offer Power Up, a brand new conference to share your exciting ideas! Gretchen Caserotti, Library Director at Meridian (ID) Library District, is kicking off our conference as the keynote speaker. The conference will take place in Madison, Wisconsin on March 30-31st, 2017 and will be accepting proposals until July 31, 2016. Topics may include, but are not limited to: strategic planning, collaborations, ethics, leadership pathways, advocacy, mentorship, managing change, work/life balance, staff motivation, and innovation. Youth services librarians and staff from all over the country are invited to attend!

Please submit  a 200-250 word description of your proposed session to Meredith Lowe,  mclowe@wisc.edu,  by July 31, 2016. Sessions at the conference will be one hour (45 minutes of presentation, 15 minutes of discussion).  Panel presentations are accepted. All selected sessions will receive one complimentary conference registration and a discount for staff members they wish to join them at the conference.

I’d love to see lots of youth librarians throw their hats in the ring to share thoughts on leadership and management and doing great youth services work. Bookmark this link for information about the conference now and in the coming months. And feel free to contact me if you need more information or want to bounce ideas at lochwouters at gmail dot com!