Submit a Power Up Conference Proposal

Call for Proposals Now Open! Power-Up 2024 Conference A Leadership Conference for Youth Services Managers and Staff

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. This conference will be held in person. 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!   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

Submit your session proposal by August 6th, 2023. Every selected session will receive one complimentary conference registration.

Submit Your Idea Today Submit to be a Roundtable Moderator! 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 Submit roundtable moderator form by August 6th, 2023 to be considered. Roundtable moderators will receive a discounted conference registration. Full Details Conference Keynote Speakers Thursday Keynote: Lucia M. Gonzalez Lucia M. Gonzalez started her career in library services to children in 1988 after receiving her Masters in Library Science from the University of South Florida. Since then, she has worked in different capacities for the Miami-Dade Public Library System and the Broward County Library System where she served as Associate Director in charge of Outreach, Family Literacy, and Youth Services before going to the City of North Miami to become the City’s Library Director. Lucia is also the author of three awarding wining pictures books, Past-President of REFORMA, two two-time recipient of national Library Journal Movers & Shakers Award for her contributions in shaping the future of libraries, and the 2020-21 Past President of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a Division of the American Library Association.   Friday Keynote: Mizuko (Mimi) Ito, Ph.D. Mimi Ito is a leading researcher of technology and learning who has studied young people’s engagement with digital technology for thirty years in the United States and Japan. She is Director of the Connected Learning Lab and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Chair in Digital Media and Learning at the University of California, Irvine. She has two PhDs from Stanford University, in Education and Anthropology, and an undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard University. She had research appointments at Keio University and the University of Southern California before joining UC Irvine. She has authored and edited eight books, published by MIT, New York University, and Yale University Press as well as numerous articles and reports. Her co-authored book, Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Youth Living and Learning with New Media is widely recognized as a foundational book in the field, and a tenth anniversary edition was released by MIT Press in 2019. Her web site is at http://www.itofisher.com/mito. Conference Website