About The Conference
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Information School is excited to bring back Power Up: A Leadership Conference for Youth Services Managers and Staff to Madison, WI March 21-22, 2024. Youth services librarians and staff from public libraries, schools, after-school programs, museums, etc. are invited to attend and present– we had 184 attendees from 20 states at the 2022 conference!
Call For Proposals
All session proposals for Power Up must be submitted through the proposal form for consideration. Submit your session to the Power Up 2024 Call for Proposal form by August 6th, 2023.
Sessions for the conference will be one hour. Panel presentations are accepted.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Strategic planning
- Project management skills & workflows
- Leadership Pathways
- Leadership styles & strategies
- Playful leadership
- Advocacy
- Intellectual Freedom / Censorship & Book Challenges
- Mentorship
- Managing Change
- Staff Morale and Retention
- Workplace Culture
- Community engagement, partnerships, and outreach
- Program and staff evaluations
- Culturally relevant programing and collection
Every selected session will receive one complimentary conference registration.
Browse 2022 virtual sessions and 2019 sessions.
Proposal Evaluation
The committee will evaluate all of the submissions as individual entries, and how they fit within the balance of conference content as a whole. The Program Committee will evaluate all proposals submitted by the deadline using the following criteria:
- Clarity and completeness of the proposal, particularly having well-developed content and sufficient speakers to address all relevant aspects of the topic;
- Originality and relevance of the proposed topic;
- Uniqueness of content in relation to other conference presentations;
- A range of speaker experiences and representations
Questions? Contact the conference staff.
Roundtable Moderator
In addition to session proposals this year the Power Up conference committee is also looking for roundtable moderators to help facilitate conversations about:
- Centralized vs Decentralized Programming Practices
- Youth Behavior Policies – Restorative Justice
Roundtable Moderators will prepare discussion questions ahead of time, introduce the topic, and moderate the discussion during the conference breakout session. If you have experience with either topic listed above and would like to be considered for roundtable moderator please complete the Roundtable Moderator Form by August 6th, 2023.
Submit roundtable moderator form by August 6th, 2023 to be considered.
Anyone selected as a roundtable moderator will receive a discounted conference registration.
Diversity, Inclusion, And Equity Statement
The Program Committee encourages a diversity of presenters representing a variety of personal and professional backgrounds, perspectives, and voices. We encourage submissions from anyone who is interested in presenting, including students, new professionals, first-time presenters, and representatives of allied professions.