Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section

Date

9-10 August 2012

Location

Joensuu Main library and other premises in the city center
Joensuu, Finland

Conference Theme and Focus

The IFLA Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section, Joensuu Regional Library and the Finnish Library Association invite you to submit a proposal for a presentation on the theme "Libraries for Children and Young people: Breaking through Boundaries", the IFLA Pre-Conference to be held in Joensuu, Finland, 9-10 August 2012.

Beside the key note and invited speakers, in the two days programme we aim to have up to 10 presentations.  See the Conference website for addditional details.

Subjects of interest include:

We are particularly interested in presentations about innovations and best practices on the following "breaking through boundaries" topics, related to the multifaceted reality where the library belongs:

Boundaries between the library and other organizations
How do schools and public libraries support learning together? How do librarians cooperate with other organisations and other actors working with children and teens?

Boundaries of librarianship for young people
Is a librarian also like a teacher, a youth worker, a friend, a parent, somebody to play with, a censor…? What are the limits of children and youth librarianship?

Boundaries between librarians and readers
From "dictating" library services to interacting together with the children. The librarian's desk is gone and often the child is more skilled than the librarian and can teach him/her how to use i-tunes… How do library staff cope?

Boundaries between learning environments
Learning environments can be virtual or physical, local or global (even simultaneously): what kind of learning environments can libraries offer?

Boundaries between childhood and adolescence
How to ensure sufficient premises, material, services for different age groups? Where are the invisible and transferable borders between childhood and adolescence?

Boundaries between different groups of readers
Children and youth library services for young people with special needs, with print or other disabilities, belonging to a minority group... How to overcome demographical, economic or other boundaries at the library?

Boundaries between "consuming" and producing
Library creates and produces more and more content: Wikis, blogs, book trailers, reading diplomas and programs, activities… How to involve and activate library clients in producing and enhancing content?

Boundaries between countries
What joint programmes can children's libraries from different countries conduct together?

The expected audience is likely to include librarians from public and school libraries, other professionals working on children's and young adult's reading, students and university professors and partners of libraries in joint reading promotion programmes.

Submission Guidelines

Proposals should be sent before January 31st 2012 via email to: Kirsten Boelt
E-mail: kbt-kultur@aalborg.dk

They must include (in English):

• Title of paper
• Summary of paper (up to 500 words- ½ page)
• The speaker's name, address, telephone and fax numbers, professional affiliation, email address and biographical note (40 words)

Please note:

• The official language of the meeting is English. Simultaneous interpretation to and from Russian will be provided
• The abstracts will be reviewed by the Review Committee and a maximum of 10 proposals will be selected. Successful proposals will be identified and announced by February 15 2012.
• Full text papers should be provided by 15 April, 2012; papers should be 3-20 pages long. They must be written in English or in Russian.
• The delivery of each presentation will last 20 minutes to allow a time for Q&A. Presentations must be in English or in Russian.

Important dates

January 31st 2012: Deadline for submissions
February 15 2012: Notification of acceptance/rejection
March 10 2012: Final program and full registration information
April 15 2012: Deadline for submission of final papers' texts

Expenses

Registration fees will be waived for the speakers. However, it is the speakers' responsibility to find funding for travel, accommodation and associated costs, which IFLA and its Sections are not in a position to fund.

Sponsors

IFLA Section Libraries for Children and Young Adults Joensuu Regional Library
The Finnish Library Association

Contact details

IFLA Section Libraries for Children and Young Adults
Chair: Viviana Quiñones
Bibliothèque nationale de France
Centre national de la littérature pour la jeunesse - La Joie par les livres
Quai François-Mauriac
75706 Paris cedex 13, France
Tel. + (33)(1)53795286, fax + (33)(1)53794180
E-mail: viviana.quinones@bnf.fr

Local Organising Committee
Chair : Ulla Pötsönen
Joensuu Regional Library
PO Box 114
80101 Joensuu,Finland
Tel. +(358)(50)3092591
E-mail: ulla.potsonen@jns.fi

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 Finnish National Committee and IFLA have worked hard to secure funds for Conference Participation Grants. Up-to-date information is available on our Conference Participation Grants webpage.