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Welcome, Virtual Session Presenters!

This page is for confirmed presenters participating in a Virtual Session at the 2027 ER&L Fest. See below for important information regarding your presentation requirements, how to join the online Studio Team, and more.

➡️ JUMP TO

🔗 Quick Links

  • Event Website
  • Official ER&L Logos
  • Optional Slide Templates – available Dec 16
  • Speaker Portal – opens Jan 20
  • Dropbox for Slides at the Lectern  – opens Jan 20
  • Event App – opens March 5
  • Online Conference Platform – opens March 5

Your Presenter Checklist

  • ASAP
    • Register for the conference
    • Book your travel/hotel (if attending in Austin)
  • Prepare Your Presentation
    • Update your presenter profile (Speaker Portal)
    • Build your slides
    • Build polls on the Speaker Portal
  • March 4: Attend Practice Day with Our Studio
  • Before Your Session
    • Practice with your co-presenters (if applicable)
    • Visit your session on the Event App or Online Conference Portal to confirm everything is correct
    • Enable your pre-built polls on the Speaker Portal
  • By March 21: Upload slides/materials for attendees on the Speaker Portal
  • On Your Session Day: Log in to Zoom 20 minutes before your scheduled session.
  • By March 29: Return to the Online Conference Platform or Event App to resolve all questions left by attendees

What is a Virtual Session?

Virtual Sessions are 50-minute presentations delivered live on Zoom. 

  • Presentation Time: 30 minutes
  • Q&A: 20 minutes

These sessions stream live via the Online Conference Platform, are shown in a room to the in-person audience in Austin, Texas, and are recorded for on-demand viewing in the Online Conference. ER&L Moderators will facilitate Q&A through the Studio. 

PRESENTER REQUIREMENTS

  1. Presenters must register for the conference.
  2. A majority of your presenters should be on the Zoom session.
  3. If any presenters will be attending in Austin, they will need to find a quiet place to join the Zoom session from their own laptop. 
ER&L Closing Session comprised of Jennifer Bazeley, Bonnie Tijerina, Jaclyn McLean, Erin Finnerty and Kaci Resau.

Presenter Registration (Required)

The discounted presenter registration rate is $650 for the in-person conference and $395 for the online conference. All accepted presenters are expected to register prior to the conference, whether attending online or in person*.

  • Attending In-Person: Link Available in December ’26
  • Attending Online: Link Available in December ’26

*ER&L makes a commitment that all accepted presenters can participate in ER&L, regardless of their ability to pay. We set aside a pool of funds for those who cannot pay the presenter rate because of hardship or lack of professional development funds. If you are in this situation, please contact the ER&L Team at program@electroniclibrarian.org. 

IF ATTENDING IN PERSON

If you plan to attend in Austin, please peview our Hotel and Travel page. Keep in mind that citywide large events will take place on the heels of ER&L 2027. We highly recommend booking your hotel early, whether in our block or not.

Preparing Your Presentation

1. Update your profile on the Speaker Portal

Let your audience get to know you before you’re on stage!

💻 Speaker Portal (available in January 2027)

  • Upload a recent photo or headshot. If you prefer not to upload a photo, your initials or the conference logo will appear in its place. 
  • Add a biography so your audience can get to know you!
  • Add additional links to LinkedIn, Google Scholar, personal websites, etc. 
  • Ensure Profile Visible is checked, or you will not appear as a speaker in your session

Please remember that your profile is public and not limited to attendees.

2. Build your slides

A well-built slide deck is key to a successful presentation. 

  • The confirmed aspect ratio for your slide creation is 16:9.
  • Prepare slides that are compatible with a PC. The laptops in the room will be PCs. Please refrain from using programs that are only accessible on a Mac when creating your slides.
  • On the title slide, include the presentation title, presenter name, affiliation, and photo.
  • Ensure Proper Attribution. At ER&L, all presenters must include proper citations and attributions for any images, graphics, and research outputs that are not original.
  • Ensure that no commercial activities or advertising are included in your slides. Non-compliance with this rule will result in slide or presentation removal and will impact future eligibility for presentation at ER&L.

PRESENTATION BEST PRACTICES

Focus on what your audience wants and needs to hear. What message do you want your audience to walk away with?

The presentations that are memorable start strong and tell a story. Grab the audience’s attention right away with a useful image on your opening slide or an intriguing story. Think about the story you want to tell and create your presentation to tell it.

Give a brief introduction, but don’t spend too much time on it. You have a set amount of time to talk and (most likely) have more content than will fit in the given time frame. Briefly introduce yourself (maybe include an image of your library or organization) and jump into your story.

Make your presentation accessible to all attendees. Many attendees download the presentation slides for a session to take notes or follow along, particularly if they will be using an accessibility tool on their own computer. We’ve prepared some Accessibility Guidelines for speakers on how to make your slides accessible to screen readers and other accessibility tools.

With text, less is almost always more. Give your text room to breathe, don’t crowd too much content on a slide. When there is too much information on a slide, the audience will focus more on reading your slides than listening to you. Text on the slide should complement what you are saying and not be a script of your exact words. Read more about making the text accessible.

Images and other visual aids should speak strongly to your message. The images in your slide deck should support what you are saying or give a deeper dive into the actual data. If it’s an image, it should be clear why the audience is looking at it. If it’s data, remember to include a key. Images with data should also include alt-text as noted in our Accessibility Guidelines.

Relax and have fun. Once you’re “on stage” and the center of attention it’s completely normal to clam up. Take a deep breath, smile, and look into the camera if you can. It will keep you calm and build rapport with the audience. The audience will be emotive if you are and will follow your lead. Show your passion and enjoy yourself!

Pace yourself. Keep your speech at a steady pace and speak slower than you think you need to. It’s natural to speak fast when we’re nervous.

Plan for pauses. After a particularly complex part or after delivering a few minutes of meaty information, force a pause to give the audience time to digest what you are saying (and possibly think of a question to ask you). Plan these forced pauses within your talk and make a note of when to take them.

Engage your audience! Changing up the delivery every 9-10 minutes will keep it from becoming monotonous. Ask a question that a quick comment in the chat section can answer. Pre-load a poll if you’re feeling confident. 

Give the audience a few moments to collect their thoughts before starting the Q&A. Once your presentation is almost over, it will be time for some Q&A. Tell the audience that you are going to give them a moment to collect their thoughts and think of any questions they’d like to ask. Sometimes the brief, calm silence can curate interesting questions.

End on a high note. Hold back 30-60 seconds of your content to wrap up the session post-Q&A. You want your audience to leave your session remembering your message.

Include your email or social media link on the final slide. Some attendees may have questions but may not be comfortable speaking up during the session, or they may think of a question post-conference. If you would like to keep the dialogue going, give them an opportunity to engage with you after the session by providing contact information. Keep the slide up long enough for them to write down the information you include.

3. Create polls for your audience

Polls are a great way to connect with in-person and online attendees.

  • We recommend 2-3 polls per session.
  • Presenters can configure polls in the Speaker Portal.
  • The system calculates and displays online attendees’ answers in real time.
  • We recommend creating and enabling polls before the conference starts so online attendees can answer them as soon as your session begins.

HOW TO CREATE & MANAGE POLLS

  1. Log into the Speaker Portal – available in January 2027
  2. Click Sessions 
  3. Click the session title
  4. Click Polls
  5. Click on Add New Poll 
  6. To enable the poll, check Enable (a red dot will appear at the top of the Poll tab)
  7. To disable a poll, check Disable

4. Add your slides (and other materials) for attendees

Attendees want to see your slides!

Presenters of all session types should upload session slides and other digital materials, such as templates, documentation, and samples, to support their presentation.

  • Upload these files via your Speaker Portal. Only one presenter should supply the slides.
  • All attendees can access presentation files on the Online Conference Platform and the Event App.

Presenters may choose not to share slides; however, we strongly encourage you to share them, since the information you are presenting is the core of what we’re facilitating at the conference.

HOW TO ADD YOUR SLIDES FOR ATTENDEES

  1. Log into your Speaker Portal – available in January 2027
  2. Click Sessions 
  3. Click the session title
  4. Click Session Files
  5. Click Add New File
  6. Give the file a title that will appear for attendees
  7. Make sure Is Private is UNchecked.
  8. Click Add File

5. Attend Practice Day

CHECK YOUR HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

  • Install and test Zoom in advance. Please use the Zoom desktop application (not a web browser) for the most stable performance.
  • Test your microphone and audio setup using the exact equipment you plan to use on the day of your presentation.
  • Prepare your slides in 16:9 format and set your display resolution to 1920×1080 for the best visual quality on the live stream.
  • Check any embedded media (videos, audio) in your presentation and notify the in-room technician right away if you plan to use them.
  • Review your internet connection. A wired connection is strongly recommended. If using Wi-Fi, stay close to your router and limit other devices on the network when possible.

CAMERA, LIGHTING, AND ENVIRONMENT

  • Ensure your face is well-lit and clearly visible (front lighting is ideal).
  • Frame your camera at eye level with a stable, centered shot.
  • Use a clean, professional, and non-distracting background. Virtual backgrounds are optional, and Zoom’s background blur feature is recommended if you need one.
  • Avoid cluttered or busy backgrounds that may distract viewers.

What to Expect During Your Session

Zoom Studio

  • The entire session will be held via Zoom.
  • A Zoom link will be sent to you within 30 days of the conference. 
  • A technician will be on Zoom to assist with setup, audio checks, and final readiness.
  • An ER&L Moderator will join you on Zoom to introduce the session and facilitate Q&A.

Screen Sharing

  • Speakers will be responsible for sharing their screens to display and advance their slides and/or play videos.
  • If you plan to use audience interaction tools (polls, QR codes, etc.), introduce them early and allow extra time for audience responses due to a 30-60-second stream delay.

Attendees

  • Online attendees will watch your presentation via Pheedloop, the Online Conference platform.
  • Attendees in Austin will have a designated room that they can watch your session in.

Q&A

  • The ER&L Moderator will monitor the time and questions from the online audience. 
  • You do not need to monitor the text-based Q&A during your presentation. 

Session Timing

  1. 20 minutes before your session: Log in to the Zoom Studio Link.
    • Bring a glass of water, just in case you need it while speaking.
    • Confirm with the Studio Tech which session you are speaking in.
    • The Studio Tech may ask you to test your mic one last time.
  2. 1 minute before your session: A technician will count you in.
    • Start sharing your slides.
    • Once the session starts, your video and slides will be visible to the online audience.
    • The Moderator will begin the session by introducing the title and turning it over to the first presenter. 
    • You have 30 minutes for your presentation.
  3. At the 25-minute mark: the Moderator will signal to you in the Zoom Chat that you should wrap up. 
  4. At the 30-minute mark: The moderator will rejoin the video and begin the Q&A. The on-camera Moderator will relay the questions to you verbally. 
  5. At the 50-minute mark: The moderator will wrap up the session. The live stream will end, and the moderator will close the Zoom.

* If you plan to present onsite from the conference venue, please contact us in advance to reserve a room and coordinate setup.

Code of Conduct

ER&L’s Code of Conduct and Commitment to Accessibility and Inclusivity apply to presenters and attendees.