CSL News | Lifelong Literacy

Registration Open for SPELL Symposium

By Amy Hitchner: Published on
CSL News, Lifelong Literacy

We are pleased to announce that the SPELL (Supporting Parents in Early Literacy through Libraries) Symposium is now open for registration.

This interactive event is the culmination of the Colorado State Library’s three-year SPELL project, funded by IMLS, in which project staff and partners sought to find and field test promising practices to support low-income parents of children birth through three with easy ways to incorporate early literacy activities into their daily lives, to remove barriers to library use, to form strong partnerships with state and local organizations, and more.

Event details:

  • When: Thursday, September 8, 9:00 to 4:30
  • Where: Holiday Inn Lakewood, 7390 W. Hampden Ave, Lakewood, Colorado
  • Who: Library staff and administrators, early childhood educators and administrators, library and ECE students, staff at nonprofits and foundations, and stakeholders who are interested in supporting parents with young children through early literacy messaging and activities; in learning about strong literacy-related partnerships between public libraries and a wide range of organizations; in meeting and networking with like-minded individuals; and in creating a plan to better support low-income parents with young children.
  • Cost: Free!
  • Attendance capacity: Attendance is limited. Registration will be available on a first-come, first-served basis; we will maintain a waiting list should it fill up.
  • Link to Register

There are a limited number of travel stipends available for both Colorado and out of state participants; that application is available on our website.

The SPELL Symposium will include:

  • A lunchtime keynote address by Paul Raeburn, author of Do Fathers Matter? What Science is Telling Us about the Parent We’ve Overlooked
  • An overview of and results from the three-year SPELL project, including original research and field testing in eight public libraries in Colorado
  • A discussion of common challenges parents face in incorporating early literacy and other learning activities into their daily lives, as well as their barriers to library use–and evidence-based methods to make it easier for them to do both
  • A look at each of the eight SPELL prototypes in Colorado, with time to talk with staff at those libraries and their partners
  • Important lessons learned throughout SPELL, and how you can incorporate those lessons into your organization’s plans to support low-income parents with young children
  • Time to reflect, discuss, network, and plan
  • A handy SPELL bag filled with professional development books, handouts, and more!
  • …and lunch! Lunch will be provided for free.

You might also consider attending the excellent CLEL (Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy) Conference the following day, also in Lakewood. Registration for that event is now open, and SPELL Symposium travel stipend recipients are eligible to receive free registration to the CLEL Conference.

Many thanks to IMLS and CLiC for their important financial support of the SPELL Symposium. We hope to see you there!

For more information, contact:

Beth Crist
Youth & Family Services Consultant
Colorado State Library
Crist_B@cde.state.co.us

Amy Hitchner
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