2025 CLEL Conference
Save the Date! October 16 and 17th will be dates for our Annual Conference. The conference will be virtual this year on our Zoom Platform.
Notes From our March Meetup
Next Steps After Storytime: A Meetup Recap On March 11, 2025, we had a small but lively discussion about serving emerging readers in a holistic way after storytimes. Our talk centered on how we can promote and encourage literacy for young pre-readers as well as support caregivers trying to bridge the gap to help children …
March Member Meet Up
Member Meetups are an informal way to network with other professionals around a topic relevant to youth librarianship. Librarians promote early learning for ages birth to 5 primarily through ECRR. But how do you support children as they transition into reading independently? Join our next meetup to be held on March 11th from 1-2 (MST) …
2024 Conference Materials
CLELCON24 Final Schedule Cena Con Cuentos: Spanish-Language Storytime and a Shared Meal Sara Meldrum Challenging Post-COVID Impacts on School Readiness through Storytime Standards Cassandra Welch and Kristin Hare CLEL Mini Grant Winners Kellyanne Healey, Sarah Bean Thompson DEI and Belonging in Children’s Programming Tiffany Miller Teaching a Baby Storytime Tiffany Miller Windows and Mirrors: Library …
Meetup Recap: Best Books of 2024
On the afternoon of November 7, a small yet mighty group of librarians came together to discuss the books they have been enjoying this year, both inside of Storytime and out. The booktalks were animated, and the list grew longer with each passing minute. Below are the titles that were shared, and a recommended age …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
