CALCON 2026 Courageous Libraries Resilient Communities: Full Schedule

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8:45am MDT

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Leadership: Zen and the Art of Librarianship

Friday September 11, 2026 8:45am - 9:45am MDT

Join our panel as we discuss our approaches to leadership, resilience, and joy. The program examines how the panel navigates the pressures of management, decision-making, and organizational change. Through personal stories, practical examples, and thoughtful discussion, the session highlights strategies for cultivating calm, clarity, and resilience while leading teams and serving communities. Participants are encouraged to rethink leadership not as a source of stress but as an opportunity for growth, balance, and meaningful connection. By embracing curiosity, patience, and self-awareness, librarians can develop leadership practices that support both personal well-being and stronger, more collaborative library environments.

Speakers

Allaina Wallace

Each presenter has several years of experience as a library director or equivalent. We represent several types of libraries, public, academic, federal, and special. We have each managed teams of various sizes through change – construction, restructuring, fiscal, etc., Denver Botanic Gardens, Helen Fowler Library

Amy Phillips

Robyn Lupa

Jack Maness

Michele Masias

Friday September 11, 2026 8:45am - 9:45am MDT
Dewey Decimator Breakout Room 6

Breakout Session

10:00am MDT

AI Framework: Questions, Ethics, Cybersecurity

Friday September 11, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am MDT

Dewey Decimator Breakout Room 6

As artificial intelligence (AI) tools become increasingly integrated in our workspace and our lives, library professionals must grapple with complex questions around use, ethics, legality, cybersecurity, and public trust. This session will include a brief overview of the AI landscape, and then we will then dive into discussion to wrestle with questions of ethics and application. By preparing librarians with education and skills-building, Americans will have the necessary expertise and awareness to direct our AI future.

Speakers

Office of Library Development, Colorado State Library

AI Trainers through SLAAIT and AI Awareness Project, Colorado State Library

Friday September 11, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am MDT
Dewey Decimator Breakout Room 6

Breakout Session

1:15pm MDT

Lightning Talks

Friday September 11, 2026 1:15pm - 2:45pm MDT

Dewey Decimator Breakout Room 6

1. ABA's Free Legal Answers - A New Tool for Library Patrons with Legal Questions:
Colorado just joined the American Bar Association's platform Free Legal Answers. Learn more about how this website can help your patrons with legal questions by connecting them with attorneys in the state.
2. (Re)Introducing Colorado Libraries Collaborate:
Colorado Libraries Collaborate (CLC) has been around since 1991 and is the coolest reciprocal borrowing program you've (maybe) never heard of! Most public and academic libraries in the state technically participate in the program, but with all of the employee turnover libraries have experienced in the past few years, some staff may not be aware that their institution participates, or how to facilitate the program for borrowers. This session provides a (re)introduction to the CLC program as well as answers to frequently asked questions that are bubbling up from libraries and patrons.
3. For the Love of Poetry: Inspiring Empathy, Belonging & Resilience:
Poetry nourishes intellect, evokes emotion, and sparks imagination. It connects to the human heart in a way no other medium can. This session explores how poetry engages the whole person and remains accessible and enriching for patrons of all ages and backgrounds.
4. Roll for Initiative:
D&D has emerged from the basement to become a popular pastime for adults and children alike. It builds literacy, community, and interpersonal skills - a great choice for library programming!
D&D has emerged from the basement to become a popular pastime for adults and children alike. It builds literacy, community, and interpersonal skills - a great choice for library programming!
5. Turning Community Health Data into Library Action:
This lightning talk introduces library employees to freely available community health data that can be used to better understand local health needs and inform library services.
6. Better together: Philosophical and pragmatic benefits of collaborative outreach between an academic and public library:
Many libraries, regardless of type, are facing challenges from reduced budgets and escalating costs to maintain services and access to materials while simultaneously facing pressure to demonstrate value by means of usage statistics, patron counts, and other hard stats. Even without any budget constraints, no single library has it all and faces limitations in its offerings. Library networks and consortium have been built up over time to help address this fundamental challenge, but in many cases the relationships are defined by library type and/or back-end systems rather than by commonalities between patron experience and needs.
7. We are still standing: the fight for intellectual freedom continues:
Although book challenges in Colorado have decreased largely due to the passing of Senate Bill 24-216, library workers are still on the ground zero advocating for people’s rights to read, watch, and listen to what they desire. Drawing on frontline experiences, this talk explores the ongoing challenges facing public library workers as they navigate censorship pressures, community expectations, and political scrutiny.

Speakers

Deborah Hamilton

Over ten years as a law librarian and author of the book "Helping Library Users with Legal Questions.", Pikes Peak Library District

Josh Hem Lee

Current vice president/president elect of the Colorado Black Library Association and has served on the organization's board in the past. Has worked to highlight diversity within libraries and has worked with children and adults., Pinnacle Charter School

Melissa Beavers

As an experienced manager, I have been working towards improving the success of one-on-ones both as a facilitator with my staff and as an attendee with my supervisor. I have read numerous books and articles on the topic and be using various techniques for many years with strong results., High Plains Library District

Paul Betty

The proposal covers matters and experience related to management, reference skills, user experience, and outreach, Dayton Memorial Library,

Kristen DeSanto

I have worked as a health sciences librarian for 17 years in consumer health, hospital, and academic settings. I completed the Consumer Health Information Specialization program from the Medical Library Association and am a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals., Strauss Health Sciences Library, University of Colorado Anschutz

Marisa Wood

Seven years of experience supporting statewide resource sharing initiatives through direct contact with Colorado libraries, cultural heritage institutions, and library users., Colorado State Library

Michael Smith

During my tenure as University Librarian, I have presented on this topic at another conference and I am completing an article for publication on the same topic (which may be published before CALCON 2026 begins). Further, I am an avid reader of poetry and a believer in the power of the medium to reach across cultural and philosophical divides to inspire discussion, debate, reflection, and growth. My favorite types of poetry include odes, haikus, limericks, tankas and couplets., Colorado Christian University