Government Libraries Section
& Law Libraries Section
& Government Information and Official Publications Section

Call for Panelists!

Government Libraries as Voices for Open Government is a co-sponsored program between Government Libraries, Law Libraries and Government Information and Official Publications IFLA Sections.

The theme refers to a collection of ideas and practices on transparency, collaboration and participation to be applied in the government sector. The engagement of citizens on solving public issues is one of its main goals. Since states increasingly are giving validity to the concept, there is also a need to reflect on how information procedures and processes will be influenced by this way of openness.

We invite proposals for roundtable discussion topics for a two-hour programme.

Subjects of interest may include:

• The impact of open government practices on library services
• Defining an agenda for libraries interested in open government
• How open government policies benefit libraries and citizens
• Open data ecosystem, information reuse and the role of government libraries

Proposals should include:

• Title of the discussion topic
• Abstract of no more than 250 words
• Name, e-mail address, position (title) of presenter(s)
• A brief biographical statement of no more than 50 words

Panelists will introduce an important topic by way of a 5-10 minute presentation. The panelists will then chair round table sessions with participants from the audience, discussing the impact of these topics on their services and considering the role of IFLA and other partners in finding solutions. The outcome of these discussions will be used for future program planning and to create an information policy agenda for the sections.

Important dates and timelines:

Please email your proposals before 29 March 2013 to:

Guillermo García-Capcha
E-mail: ifla.governmentlibraries@gmail.com

The proposals will be evaluated and notification of acceptance/rejection will be sent by 30 April 2013.

The presenters selected for roundtable program participation will have their name, affiliation, and discussion topic abstract included on the IFLA conference website and the Sections' websites.

The session will be conducted in English. All proposals will be required to be in English. Final presentations can be submitted in one of the official IFLA working languages. If any of them is written in other official IFLA language than English, an accompanying translation in English must be attached.

For collective proposals, at least one of the authors must be present during the session.

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