Teacher Librarian Day 2023: Critical Conversations
Our theme, Critical Conversations, is meant to be an attempt at tackling one of the most prevalent questions in society today: How do we live and love together in a society with differing perspectives, beliefs, and biases? There is no easy answer, but it takes critical conversations in order to make progress towards understanding.
Join us and help each other take on topics deeply important to today’s educators. Using the vast collections of primary sources at the Library of Congress as well as local historical collections, discover the stories of peoples from diverse locations, circumstances, and walks of life.
Come to learn about the Library of Congress and its 60 million+ digitized primary sources and teaching resources available to the public, including programs like their teachers resources, Labs, World Digital Library, the Veterans History Project, and congress.gov.
When: February 24th, 2023 | 8:00am – 4:00pm
Where:
- History Colorado Center: 1200 N Broadway, Denver, 80203
- Museum of the West: 462 Ute Ave., Grand Junction, 81505
*The registration is the same for both locations. Please indicate the location you would like to attend when registering.
Who: K-16 teachers, librarians, homeschool teachers, museum educators, and any other educators who want to know more about utilizing Library of Congress primary sources for learning.
Substitute Reimbursement: We are able to offer the first 100 educators substitute reimbursement. Please select the “Substitute Reimbursement + General Admission” ticket option.
Parking: We will be able to cover parking for those who drive to the History Colorado Center and park in the Cultural Garage across the street from HCC! Soon you will receive an email from EventBrite with a validation code.
Graduate Credit: Graduate credit: Optional .5 grad credit available through Adams State University for $27.50. Please select the course “20179 – ED 589” when registering. Register through ASU here.
PD Hours: Eight professional development hours will be available by certificate after the event.
Tentative schedule:
- 7:30 – 8:00am | Breakfast
- 8:00am – 12:00pm | TLD-Talks
- 12:00 – 1:00pm | Lunch
- 1:00 – 2:00pm | Breakouts
- 2:00 – 3:00pm | Breakouts
- 3:00 – 4:00pm | Raffle and Wrap-up
*If the fee is a barrier for attendance, please reach out for a waiver.
What to expect: A full day of inspiring, diverse, and innovative voices in education. Breakfast snacks and lunch provided.
TLD 2023 Lineup
Afternoon Breakouts
- Strategies for Centering Inclusion | Suzi Q. Smith
- Critical Conversations: Connecting Kids, Councils and Conversations | Kent Willmann and local leaders, teachers, and students
- Not Just a Pretty Wall: Murals as a Primary Source Conversation Starters | Michelle Pearson and Laura Israelsen
- The Sand Creek Massacre: Developing a Field Trip | Dr. Josie Chang-Order
- Primary and Secondary Sources in Critical Conversations | Stephen H. Hart Research Center Staff
- Critical Conversations at the Library of Congress | TPS Western Region
Previous Teacher Librarian Day(s) Resources and Recordings
- TLD 2022: Creating a Learning Oasis – Shared Resource List
- 2021 brought challenges unlike any other. 2022’s TLD will help you create a learning oasis in the classroom. Throughout the week, participants reimagined, reinvigorated, and re-energized their teaching practices through flexible inquiry and engaging primary source strategies.
- TLD 2021: New Directions – Shared Resource List
- Though we were distant, we still remained connected. We were separate and, yet, learning together in a shared experience. Creativity, compassion, and dedication helped illuminate the path for generations of young people. Our theme for Teacher Librarian Day(s) (TLD) 2021 was New Directions, meant to honor the herculean efforts of teachers throughout the 2020 pandemic, highlight the importance of purposeful pedagogy, and reflect on not only 2020, but also on our overall place in history.

Teacher Librarian Day 2018: Strategize. Connect. Engage.
Teaching with Primary Sources Western Region at MSU Denver hosted the 14th annual Teacher Librarian Day at the History Colorado Center on February 23rd. The 14th TLD came with a few logistical changes, and from preliminary reports, it was a huge success! This year we were fortunate to have Lee Ann Potter, Director of Educational […]
Teacher Librarian Day 2017: Inspire Critical Thinking Reaches Educators Across Colorado
After a small scare at the beginning of the week with the weather forecasting snow on February 24th, 2017, Teacher Librarian Day was a huge success once again. Over 150 teachers, librarians, and education specialists from all across Colorado showed up excited to listen to our 10 speakers and get resources from 18 different educational […]

Teacher Librarian Day 2016: Creative Contrast Recap
The 12th annual Teacher Librarian Day 2016: Creative Contrast was held on February 26th, 2016 at History Colorado. Nearly 200 teachers, librarians, educators, and content specialists attended the event and unlike last year, the weather was beautiful – 60 degrees and blue skies! This year’s theme was Creative Contrast. It was chosen to spur innovative […]
Teacher Librarian Day 2015 Recap
February 27th, 2015 was definitely a day for the record books. The Denver Post reported that the 3.3 inches of snow that blanketed the already snowy Denver Metro streets broke a 103-year- record for the most snowfall in the month of February. While the monster 22.2 inches of accumulation that Denver received in just twenty-seven […]

10 Years of TLD – A Retrospective: Strolling Through Our History
Wow, a lot has happened in the ten years we have been hosting Teacher Librarian Day! We have proudly watched this cornerstone event evolve, growing in scope, number of presenters and audience size. A Look Back: Peggy O’Neill-Jones, our TPS at MSU director since the program’ s 2004 beginning, recalls planning the first TLD in […]

Teacher Librarian Day 2013!
On March 1st of this year, over 150 educators gathered for Teacher Librarian Day at SpringHill Suites Downtown at Metropolitan State University. SpringHill Suites at Metro State, this year’s venue, was a huge hit with attendees. SpringHill Suites is one of the newest additions to Auraria Campus. It was opened in 2012 as a part […]
Teacher Librarian Day 2012: Primary Passion
Our annual Teacher Librarian Day, which was originally scheduled for February 4th, was postponed due to a monster snowstorm courtesy of Mother Nature. Fourteen inches of snow fell on the Denver Metro area the night before the conference, which led to Auraria Campus closing the following morning. Not a team to abandon all hope, we […]
Teacher Librarian Day 2010
The annual TPS-Colorado Teacher Librarian Day was held this year on February 12th. The conference, titled “Unpack the Standards – Discover Your Story” was a professional development event for Colorado educators that was hosted by Metropolitan State College of Denver in collaboration with Rocky Mountain PBS, the Denver Public Library, the Colorado History Museum, and […]
Teacher Librarian Day 2009
TPS-Colorado held its annual Librarian Days Conference this year on the last two days of January. Over one hundred educators from across Colorado converged on Auraria Campus, in downtown Denver, each one of them anticipating a stimulating two days of learning, networking, and information gathering. Their main objective was to learn the methods and intricacies […]