New Professionals Special Interest Group

Theme and scope of the session

Change and innovation have always been a constant factor in the field of library and information science. New Professionals play an eminent role in this process, especially nowadays. Professionally grown up in a setting of rapid technological development, mobile innovation and the huge impact of social media, they got used to try out new tools and ways of collaboration and also developed new skills and competencies on the way. Thereby they are becoming the real drivers of change within the LIS profession. During the upcoming IFLA Congress in 2011, we want to examine the current generation of New Professionals from a variety of perspectives and showcase best practices from all over the world.

One of the most important benefits of attending conferences such as IFLA is the opportunity to meet like-minded people, to share ideas and to come up with great new projects. We would like to foster this experience within our session, so be prepared for some exciting new and open formats and plenty of space for informal networking and exchange!

The session will include up to eight short presentations at 5 minutes each. For this purpose, we are particularly interested in proposals that cover one of the following areas:

• key skills and competencies of a new generation of LIS professionals
• entering the profession - challenges and strategies
• leadership and early career development
• the impact of innovative practices on the profession
• the creation and maintenance of regional and national New Professionals networks

We especially encourage proposals from first-time conference presenters, librarians, library school students, and information workers new to the profession as well as submissions from the Caribbean Area and Latin America.

Important Deadlines

Please e-mail your proposal by February 1, 2011 to Dace Ūdre via dace.udre@lu.lv.

Proposals should include:

• Title of proposed presentation
• Outline of proposed presentation (300 words maximum)
• Name of presenter(s) with employer or affiliated institution, plus full contact details (including telephone, email and fax, if available)
• Short biographical statement regarding the presenter(s) (300 words maximum)
• Indication if you are first-time presenter(s)

The selection of papers is based on the abstract. Presenters will be notified by the end of February, 2011 whether they have been successful. They will be expected to submit final versions of their papers by May 1, 2011.

The session will be conducted in English. All proposals and presentations will be required to be in English. Final papers can be submitted in one of the official IFLA working languages. They will be uploaded to the websites of IFLA and the NPSIG.

For more information, please contact Sebastian Wilke (Convenor, New Professionals Special Interest Group) via sebastian.wilke@ibi.hu-berlin.de.

(Note: 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, but a special invitation can be issued to authors/presenters, if that is required. For those seeking funding through grants or scholarships, please research this early and apply within the deadline.)

(see also NPSIG Blog: NPSIG Call for Papers IFLA Congress 2011)

Please note

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, but a special invitation can be issued to authors.

Congress Attendance Grants

The Puerto Rico National Committee and IFLA have worked hard to secure funds for Conference Participation Grants. Please check our Conference Participation Grants webpage for the most up-to-date information.