Speaking Opportunities for the 21st Annual ER&L Library Conference

• Submit the full title of your proposal as well as a 50-character shortened version that may be used in printed materials or in smaller views of the program.

• Code of Conduct: I confirm that I have read the conference Code of Conduct Statement.
• Online Posting: I agree to allow ER&L, LLC to post my presentation files on their website and online conference platform for distribution to registrants to my session and to the library community.
• Recording & Use: I hereby consent to the audio/videotaping of my presentation during ER&L 2026 and agree to allow ER&L, LLC to post my presentation files on their website for distribution within the library community and other interested parties.
• Presenter Registration: If my presentation is accepted, I (and my co-presenters) agree to register for the conference at the discounted presenter rate and attend ER&L 2026.
• Organizer/ Presenter Affiliation: ER&L is seeking a variety of perspectives. Vendor-organized and presented sessions are welcome, but do require some balance across the program. Is a representative from a vendor involved in this session? All “yes” responses will require identification of the vendor involved.

• If your presentation is selected, would you be interested in hosting a Community Connection about your topic?

Community Connections are small group discussions on a specific topic. Find colleagues with share professional interest areas. Presenters may lead a live roundtable or provide conversation prompts in an asynchronous Slack discussion board. 

This is not a firm commitment, ER&L will reach out to presenters who have opted to host a Community Connection in November to assist with the organization and scheduling.

Options available at the time of submission are:

• In-Person Session
• Virtual Session
• Pre-Recorded Session
• Poster
• In-Person Workshop
• Virtual Workshop

• Select from one of the ER&L Tracks. 

• Some sessions require the audience to have advanced knowledge on a topic in order for presenters to meet their intended goals. Please indicate your preferred level of knowledge from the audience.
  • Foundation – This session does not require background knowledge of the topic. This is appropriate for a practitioner new to eresources topics or as an introduction to a new topic.
  • Intermediate – An understanding of basic eresources topics is fundamental in order to fully engage in this session.
  • Advanced – This is recommended for seasoned practitioners who want a deep dive into an advanced topic area.

• If applicable, please indicate if your proposal should be considered for the ER&L 101 featured program.

ER&L 101 sessions span all of the tracks, introducing an attendee to a foundational area of librarianship (such as licensing, ebook management, or troubleshooting). These sessions would not require background knowledge of the topic and would be appropriate for a practitioner new to electronic resources.

• If applicable, please indicate if your proposal should be considered as an Emerging Topic.

Emerging sessions span all of the tracks, introducing an attendee to an emerging and important topic. These sessions would not require background knowledge of the topic and would be appropriate for any attendee.

• Please add a short descriptive keyword or phrase in this section. Keep in mind that this keyword will be used to organize presentations for attendees. How do you think your presentation might be found?

• Please complete the following sentence with at least 2 learning objectives, separated by commas: Following this session, participants will be able to _____________.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE EXAMPLES:
Following this session, participants will be able to:

1. Evaluate three library management systems (Alma, Sierra, and WMS) using data provided by a survey of ERM librarians
2. Compare what ERM tasks are often performed within the three systems
3. Compare what ERM tasks are not performed within the three systems
4. Understand what ERM functions need more development within these systems

Following this session, participants will be able to:

1. understand the nature of problems reported
2. understand the methods for improving troubleshooting that emerged from the study,
3. discuss how the library community can advance the goal of using a shared vocabulary to describe e-resource access problems.

• Provide a 50-word description of your proposal.

This abstract will be printed in the conference program and will appear on the ER&L conference website associated with your proposal, if accepted. This abstract is also reviewed by the ER&L Program Planning Committee.

• Format Selection: Please explain why a poster format is ideal for your presentation.

• Workshop Details: Please provide your workshop details and include topics to be covered. Accepted instructors will have an opportunity to revise this section before publishing.
• Audience Participation: How will instructors engage the audience? (example: lecture with small group breakouts, polling while presenting, etc).
• Workshop Outline: Please provide an outline of how the workshop will be conducted. Accepted instructors will have an opportunity to revise this section before publishing. 

We are seeking original content. A new angle on an existing topic, an innovative approach. If you are trying something that you do not believe has ever been done or examined, please let the committee know in this section. Reviewers often find connections among submissions that you may not even know existed and we work with presenters to connect talks based on the peer-review process.

We are seeking diverse voices. Does your panel include a deliberate attempt to gather opinions from people of color? under-represented groups? a variety in geography? varying library staff sizes? an international perspective?

• If this has been a part of your panel creation thought process, please include a note letting us know you worked to gather diverse opinions.
• If you feel this is not applicable, indicate below. Please know that this is a private communication point for submitters to the final review by the program chairs and conference coordinator ONLY. This will not appear in the community voting process.

• All presenters must be decided upon and included in the proposal at the time of submission. “TBD” speakers will not be allowed.
• Proposal Space collects optional demographic information in the submission application. ER&L will not be using this data.
• All accepted presenters are required to register for the conference at a discounted rate.
• All accepted presenters are expected to attend their designated Q&A format for their accepted presentations. Note the column labeled Q&A format above. 
  • Poster presenters will have an in-person discussion at their physical poster during attended Poster Q&A times.
  • Pre-recorded Session presenters will have an off-camera, text-based, asynchronous Q&A discussion only.