NEWS
For Immediate Release
March 31, 2009

ACRL invites presentations for 2010 professional development programs

CHICAGO - The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) invites proposal submissions for half- or full-day professional development programs to be held prior to the 2010 ALA Midwinter Meeting or the 2010 ALA Annual Conference. ACRL workshops at the 2010 ALA Midwinter meeting will be held on Friday, Jan. 15, in Boston. Preconferences at the 2010 ALA Annual Conference will be held on Friday, June 25, in Washington D.C. Submissions will be accepted online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=iU2AmiQZRvchslVkKWGSTg_3d_3d  through May 4, 2009.

Programs should allow participants to develop skills related to a specific topic and should focus on interactive learning using a variety of presentation styles. Programs that offer practical tips and cutting-edge techniques are especially encouraged. Proposals should explicitly outline activities that will be incorporated during the session to enable attendees to achieve the session’s learning outcomes.  Programs can either be half-day or full-day sessions. 
Proposals must include the following information:

• Complete contact information for all speakers. Please note that the person submitting a group proposal will be considered the Program Organizer and the main contact for the presentation. 
• Presentation title.
• Presentation description. The description should be approximately 500 words, should outline the main points of the program, its relevance to attendees and how you would incorporate at least one active learning exercise in your session.
• Short presentation description. This description should be approximately 100 words. If your proposal is accepted, this description will be used in promotional materials.
• Support of ACRL Strategic Plan. Outline how your program would support the ACRL Strategic Plan (http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/about/whatisacrl/strategicplan/index.cfm ). 
• At least three learning outcomes and how they will be achieved.
• Indicate whether you have offered this program before for ACRL.
• Indicate whether program will be held at the 2010 Midwinter Meeting or Annual Conference.

Proposals will be evaluated by the ACRL Professional Development Coordinating Committee for clarity, originality and timeliness. Special attention will be given to proposals that incorporate one or more of the following characteristics:

• Generates ideas or reports research that contribute to ongoing discussion about the future of academic and research libraries.
• Demonstrates innovative thinking and/or new perspectives.
• Contributes ideas for positioning academic and research librarians to be leaders both on and off campus.
• Presents strategies for effectively implementing new ideas and technology.
• Incorporates at least one active learning exercise.
• Explicitly includes specific activities that will meet the learning style preferences of a variety of learners.
• Demonstrates how learning outcomes would be achieved.
• Supports the ACRL strategic plan.

Notifications will be issued by July 2009. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. PDT, Monday, May 4, 2009. Visit http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/2009call.cfm for complete details. 

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The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing more than 13,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments. ACRL is on the Web at http://www.acrl.org/.