Call for Presenters! PaLA’s Connect and Communicate Series for 2026

The Pennsylvania Library Association’s College and Research Division Connect and Communicate Series provides programming that is relevant to and useful for academic librarians.

If you have a session you would like to share with our academic library community, we invite you to submit a proposal. If there is a speaker you would like to hear from, you are also welcome to include that information in our proposal form. For inspiration, please explore the suggested topics listed below this call.

Presentations will be scheduled through February 2026 – November 2026 (none during summer months).

Please submit your ideas using our online form: https://forms.gle/pMRUBdTkRrF5mooJA 

There’s more information at the Connect & Communicate webpage: https://crdpala.org/connect-communicate/

Recordings of the most recent recent sessions are available on the C&CS YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIdr724MhuZV7bh_iOOlc-Q

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the CRD Connect & Communicate Coordinator, Elliott Rose at elliott.c.rose@gmail.com 

2026 C&CS Suggested Topics

Library Instruction

• Practical tips for developing tutorials or asynchronous instructional modules
• Information Literacy assessment
• How to balance student engagement with faculty expectations in a one-shot
• Generative AI in higher education

Student Engagement/Outreach

• Library advocacy and engaging community; supporting student groups
• Student and community engagement practices, community partnerships and programs
• Cross-campus collaborations
• Student employees
• Customer service in libraries

DEIA

• DEIA: collection development, services, programming
• Professional development relating to DEIA and libraries
• Accessibility in libraries and library services/materials
• ADA accommodations process and legality issues for library employees and their managers

Physical library spaces

• Space planning
• Safety and emergency procedures
• Successful Library Displays
• Running libraries/programs with part-time staff

Marketing/Publicity

• Marketing library services
• Library services in unprecedented times or working in a library that is impacted by external factors