The IFLA News Media Section seeks proposals for papers to be presented in person at their Open Session at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2022 in Dublin, Ireland. This session aims to provide insights into different projects dealing with news media and to encourage exchange on how individuals or institutions can use news content in the context of education and research.

Theme: “Inspiring Users to Engage with News Content in Education and Research”

Newspapers and other distribution channels of news content have long been of interest for educational and research purposes. With the proliferation of digital news content, there are opportunities for innovative ways of teaching and conducting research utilizing news resources. How are libraries inspiring and engaging all types of users – scholars, students, community users, and the public – with news media content? How are libraries enhancing access and connecting users to news media in all formats – print, digitized, and born digital? And how are individuals and institutions making use of news content for education and research? Proposals should address the main theme and related topics, including but not limited to:

  • Researchers’ use of news content in all formats, including analog, digitized, and born digital
  • How community users and the public can engage with newspapers and other news media
  • Researchers’ needs in developing library services related to news research
  • Case studies of digital humanities projects using news media, including digitized historical newspapers, sound, audiovisual, and social media
  • Case studies that provide example lesson plans for incorporating news research into instruction at all levels
  • Cooperation with educational organisations in producing news content for education
  • Impact of news content in education and research

Submission Guidelines

  • Proposal abstracts must be submitted through the IFLA News Media proposal submission form by 18 April 2022.
  • Selected presenters will be notified of acceptance by 29 April 2022.
  • Complete accepted papers should be 2500-5000 words in length, be an original submission not published elsewhere, written in English, and must use the template that will be available with IFLA’s 2022 Guidelines for Paper Authors and Presenters.
  • Complete accepted papers must be submitted as MS Word attachments, along with any accompanying presentation slides, to the committee members listed below by 24 June 2022.
  • 15 minutes will be allotted for a summary presentation of the paper to be presented in English. It is strongly recommended that the presentation is supported by a visual element such as PowerPoint, Prezi, or other presentation software.

Important Dates

21 March 2022:   Call for papers posted

18 April 2022:    Proposal abstracts due

29 April 2022:    Notification of acceptance sent to authors

24 June 2022:     Completed papers and presentations submitted

26-28 July 2022: IFLA World Library and Information Congress sessions

Please note: At least one of the paper’s authors must be present to deliver a summary of the paper in person during the program in Dublin. Abstracts should only be submitted with the understanding that the expenses of attending the conference will be the responsibility of the author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers.

All papers presented at the News Media session will be made available online via the IFLA Library under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Authors of accepted papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.

All expenses, including registration for the conference, travel, accommodation etc., are the responsibility of the authors/presenters. No financial support can be provided by IFLA.

For questions about this call for papers, please contact the News Media Section conference planning committee:

  • Mary Feeney – mfeeney@arizona.edu
  • Karolina Holub – kholub@nsk.hr
  • Edward McCain – mccaine@rjionline.org
  • Victor Mutyev – mutyev@gmail.com
  • Anke Winsmann – winsmann@suub.uni-bremen.de