McMaster Libraries’ Teaching and Learning Mini-Conference: Call for Panels, Presentations, and Lightning Talks
This full-day conference planned for Wednesday June 17th aims to bring together academic library employees to explore teaching and learning within the library setting. By creating an opportunity to engage in interactive programming and networking sessions, we hope to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange concerning library instruction in Ontario.
McMaster University, where the mini-conference will be held, is situated on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe nations. The territory was the subject of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. It is in this same spirit of peaceful sharing among our local region that we wish to come together to better support one another in our journeys as teachers and learners.
We are seeking presentations on topics relating to:
- Budgetary pressures and “doing more with less”
- Misinformation, disinformation, and artificial intelligence
- Career changes and stages (e.g. early career librarianship, precarious employment, getting managerial or supervisory experience)
- How to engage with students in this current political moment (e.g. motivating attendance, analog learning)
- Triumphs or failures to learn from, novel programs and approaches to instruction, and/or questions to reframe our thinking in our approach to library instruction
Session types include:
- panels (max. 4 panelists total; 30 minute panel with 15 minutes for questions)
- presentations (15 minutes with 5 minutes for questions)
- lightning talks (5-7 minute talk)
Please submit proposals by February 27, 2026. If you have any questions about your submission or the conference, please contact the conference co-chairs, Katie Harding (kharding@mcmaster.ca) and Jo-Anne Petropoulos (petroja@mcmaster.ca).
The Teaching & Learning Mini Conference Planning Committee