Calls for papers for Satellite Meetings

World Library and Information Congress: 75th IFLA General Conference and Assembly

"Libraries create futures: Building on cultural heritage"

23-27 August 2009, Milan, Italy

Call for Papers for Satellite Meeting

Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning Section and New Professionals Discussion Group

Bologna, Italy
18-20 August 2009

Theme: "Moving In, Moving Up, and Moving On: Strategies for Regenerating the Library and Information Profession"

This satellite conference will be held immediately prior to the World Library and Information Congress in Milan, Italy, August 2009.

The IFLA Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning Section and the New Professionals Discussion Group invite proposals for presentations - key note/plenary presentations, research reports, smaller scale interactive round-table discussions, workshops, and poster sessions. First time presenters and new professionals are encouraged to apply.

In order to meet publication deadlines (for inclusion in the published Proceedings distributed at the conference) proposals must be submitted by November 10, 2008. Not all presentations and papers need to be published as part of the proceedings, the review committee will also accept presentations that are not intended to be considered for publication.

Conference Themes and Focus

The broad focus of this satellite meeting is the creation of a positive work environment for a multi-generational workforce. We are interested in this issue as it cuts across a variety of organizational structures, library types, and other workplaces that employ information workers. We welcome first-time presenters at international conferences and librarians and information workers new to the profession. We encourage a diversity of voices.

The conference organising committee wishes to showcase examples of best practice in strategies for regenerating the profession through both research based scholarly presentations and experiential and practical stories of successes and lessons learned. The organisers are particularly interested in receiving proposals for presentations on any of the following, or related, key themes and issues :

General Themes

Managing between and across generations
Mentoring and coaching
Communication skills, e.g. goal setting, providing feedback
Organizational structures
Dealing with organizational blocks

Moving In

Attracting people to the profession
Developing retention strategies
Creating a positive work environment
Teambuilding and cohort development
Involving newcomers in professional associations

Moving Up

Developing as a leader
Working and leading within the organization
Managing up
Challenging existing organisational structures
Relationship and network building

Moving On

Re-skilling and transferability of skills
Succession planning and passing on knowledge
New careers for information workers

Conference Location and Dates

The conference will be held in Bologna, Italy. The conference venue will be the University of Bologna, more details will follow in late December. The satellite conference will start with a reception and initial activity on Tuesday, August 18. On Wednesday, August 19 and Thursday August 20, the sessions will run all day. There may be a tour organised during the day on Tuesday, August 18.

Format & Structure

The conference will be structured to maximise opportunities for interaction and learning with a focus on both expanding knowledge and understanding and enhancing capabilities in this key area of professional practice. Active sharing of ideas and knowledge will be encouraged and presenters are encouraged to think about the most effective ways of delivering their presentations. The conference will be arranged to include a mix of plenary sessions (with time allowed for discussion and comment on each paper), smaller scale interactive presentations (where presenters make their presentation to a small group and then engage in participatory/interactive work with that group), breakout sessions/workshops and poster presentations. To enable information exchange and networking the smaller scale interactive presentation sessions may be repeated multiple times and the poster sessions may be staffed at several times throughout the conference.

Published Proceedings

All key-note presentations and a selection of other significant presentations at the conference will be peer reviewed and published by K.G. Saur as part of the IFLA ‘greenback’ publication series. The editors of the Conference Proceedings will be Jana Varlejs (Associate Professor, Rutgers University, US), Liz Lewis (Archive Project Manager, Skillset, UK) and Graham Walton (Service Development Manager, Loughborough University Library, UK) The peer and editorial review of papers proposed or selected for publication in the Proceedings will focus in particular on: originality of ideas, readability, intellectual rigour and the level of authority and scholarship demonstrated, validity of the results of any empirical research.

Presenters who prefer not to have their paper considered for publication should indicate their preference on the proposal submission form.

Conference Language

The conference will be conducted in English. All papers and presentations will be required to be in English (it is hoped to translate papers into the official IFLA languages post-conference for addition to the conference website)

Submission of Proposals for Conference Presentations

To submit a proposal for presentation at the conference please complete the:

Proposal Submission Form: [DOC – 80 kB]

Proposals must be submitted in electronic format - preferably by email, or by post (3.5" diskette or CD-ROM). Proposals must be in either a generally available word-processing file format or in RTF format.

Proposals should be sent, no later than November 10, 2008 to both of the program convenors: Loida Garcia-Febo and Roisin Gwyer (see addresses at the bottom of this page).

Deadlines/Timelines

Proposals for papers must be submitted by 10 November 2008.
Successful proposers will be advised of the acceptance of their proposal in early December 2008.
If the paper was accepted for publication in the Proceedings then the full paper must be submitted for review by 31 January 2009.

Presentations which are not for publication must be submitted for review by 31 March 2009.
Invited contributors/presenters will be advised of final confirmation/acceptance of their paper, (following peer review), in April 2009.

Review and Selection of Presentations

Proposals for papers for presentation and publication will be assessed by the Conference program committee and will be subject to a peer review process. The program committee will decide which proposers should be invited to develop and submit full presentations and /or papers. Confirmation of invitations to present at the conference will be subject to the receipt and approval, following second-round peer review, of the full paper (if for publication in the Conference Proceedings) or presentation outline/poster as applicable.

Revisions may be required before final confirmation and acceptance.

Guidelines for Published Papers

Presenters whose papers are selected for publication in the Proceedings will be provided with detailed guidelines on the required format for manuscripts.

Registration Costs etcetera

Details of the cost of the conference (registration fees, accommodation options and costs etc.) will be available later in 2008. Invited speakers and presenters will be required to pay the registration fee and their own travel, accommodation and associated costs. The registration fee will cover a set of the published conference papers, lunch, mid-morning and mid-afternoon refreshments, and the conference dinner.

Registration options will include registration for the full 2.5 day conference and single day registration.

The Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning Section will have a limited number of partial awards to support the attendance of first time presenters at an international conference and the attendance of professionals who have been in the profession for fewer than five years. Please indicate on the proposal submission form if you wish to be considered for one of the awards. The awards will be given on a competitive basis. Criteria for the award will include acceptance of the paper, the appropriateness of the topic, and geographical distribution.

Mentoring Opportunity

The Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning Section and the New Professionals Discussion Group are happy to offer a mentoring opportunity to interested participants. Mentors will be available to work with presenters on their papers and presentations. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please check the mentoring box on the Proposal submission form.

Questions/Comments

The Program Co-convenors will be happy to hear, and will respond to, questions or comments about this conference. Please direct questions to either or both:

Roisin Gwyer,
Associate University Librarian, The University Library,
University of Portsmouth, Cambridge Road,
Portsmouth, PO1 2ST, UK
Tel. 0044 2392 843221
Fax. 0044 2392 843233
Email: roisin.gwyer@port.ac.uk

Loida Garcia-Febo,
Assistant Coordinator, Special Services, Queens Library,
89-11 Merrick Blvd.,
Jamaica, NY 11432, USA
Tel. 1-718-990-8569
Fax. 1-718-990-8626
Email: loidagarciafebo@gmail.com