CFP DEADLINE EXTENDED: IFLA LGBTQ USERS SIG – WLIC 2022

Theme: “Intersectionality”

The 87th World Library and Information Congress will be held in Dublin, Ireland on 26 – 29 July 2022. The theme of this year’s congress is “inspire, Engage, Enable, Connect”, so in accordance with that theme, the IFLA LGBTQ Users SIG has chosen the theme of “intersectionality.”

A brief definition of intersectionality comes from Grinnell College, in the United States: “Intersectionality is the acknowledgement that within groups of people with a common identity, whether it be gender, sexuality, religion, race, or one of the many other defining aspects of identity, there exist intragroup differences. In other words, each individual experiences social structure slightly differently because the intersection of their identities reflects an intersection of overlapping oppressions” (Grinnell College, “Subcultures and Sociology”, n.d.). Intersectionality plays a critical role in the lives of LGBTQ+ community members, a fact that can be easily overlooked, as with many people whose lives are impacted by these overlapping oppressions.

The LGBTQ Users SIG aims to bring together librarians, researchers, scholars and anyone working with LGBTQ+ users and libraries, to share their experiences with LGBTQ+ work in libraries and in the field of library and information science. We seek to provide an interdisciplinary platform for everyone to exchange and inspire with their experience; to engage others with new ideas and to connect with interested colleagues on an international level. We strive to work across cultures, languages, economies, nationalities and other ways in which we may be different, so we learn about and from each other.

The goal of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ) Special Interest Group (SIG) is to address the information needs of LGBTQ+ community members related to library services, programs or collections. Our ultimate goal is to raise awareness, offer support and information, and encourage dialogue about LGBTQ+ lives, so all community members and library staff can thrive and be heard. More information about the IFLA LGBTQ SIG can be found at: https://www.ifla.org/units/lgbtq/.

Suggested Paper Topics

The papers should explore the theme of intersectionality, as defined above and as it relates to LGBTQ+ lives. Presentations should focus on how this theme has impacted a library or community or library workers and can be a description of challenges and how they’ve been met or specific programs that have been implemented or research on this topic. The  following list  includes suggestions for possible topics, but are not limited to:

• Anti-racist work in libraries
• Serving people with disabilities
• Libraries as activist spaces
• Addressing poverty/homelessness
• Ageing and ageism
• Incarceration
• Censorship

Format

Presentations at WLIC are in person and can include formal presentations, such as narrated slides, or less formal talks. Audience interaction, with prompts or casual conversations, is encouraged. Each speaker will have 10 minutes to present and there will be time set aside for Q&A after all speakers have presented.

Submissions

Authors should submit a paper in English, carefully checked for correct grammar and spelling, addressing the broad theme of intersectionality and LGBTQ+ lives. Papers must be original and not presented or published elsewhere.

Authors can choose to submit their work in the form of an abstract or the final paper, with a maximum of 4000 words. The abstract is to be written in English and can be up to 500 words. Authors should include a short biography which should be a maximum of 150 words.

Please send submissions to ifla.lgbtq@gmail.com, with the subject line: “IFLA Dublin CFP”.

In the email body please include:

• the title of your paper
• author(s) name, position, affiliation and email address
• the language of the paper and the language of the presentation.

Conference Programme Committee

The Conference Programme Committee will review all submitted ideas and select the proposals which best fit the overall conference programme in accordance to the selection criteria which is the following:

• Relevance to the Call for Papers,
• Levels of originality and innovation,
• Impact on the wider library community.

Language of the session

The language of the session is English. However, presenters may choose to give their talk/oral presentation in any of the seven IFLA languages. Presentation slides must be in English.

Important dates

Contact

You are welcome to contact us if you have any further questions at ifla.lgbtq@gmail.com