Information Technology Section

The Information Technology Section is seeking proposals for papers to be presented at a session to be held at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Lyon, France 16-22, August 2014. 

Cloud services are transforming the way libraries house, deliver, and manage technology provided to their patrons. 

Topics

We are seeking papers that expand on the experience, possibilities, and emerging practice in managing cloud services, including, but not limited to:

• Cloud case studies - especially those addressing long-term management issues
• Methods of risk mitigation
• Use of multiple cloud providers to reduce outage risk
• Distributed backups and harvesting systems for cloud
• Offshore vs. Local issues
• Avoiding "lock-in" with specific cloud providers
• Data encryption vs. use of private clouds
• The impact of data protection legislation depending on jurisdiction

Papers presenting innovative projects, experience, initiatives or services with a strong collaborative cross-border or international dimension would also be appreciated.

Papers should reflect the conference theme, "Libraries, Citizens, and Societies: Confluence for Knowledge".

Proposals for papers should be no more than one page in length. If selected, speakers will have to submit the full paper before 15 May 2014 according to IFLA paper guidelines. They will have 20 minutes to present their results and 5 minutes for a question and answer period during the conference session.

Submission Guidelines

Proposals should include the following information:

• Name, title, and institution of speaker(s)
• Title of proposed presentation
• Address and email address of speaker(s)
• Brief biographical statement about each speaker including information about the qualifications of the speaker to address the proposed topic
• A one to two paragraph discussion of the main points of the paper including an outline of the takeaways a conference attendee will obtain by having the topic presented at the conference 
• Language of presentation
• Contact information for response to the proposal

Please note:

• The committee is looking for papers that present real-world solutions. Papers that focus on solutions that are usable in multiple library contexts will receive higher consideration for inclusion in the conference program. Papers that are strictly theoretical or inapplicable to other environmental contexts are less likely to be accepted for inclusion in the program.
• Every paper accepted must be presented in person by one of the authors at the WLIC in Lyon, which takes place from August 18 - 21.
• Authors are required to permit non-exclusive publication of papers chosen for this session on the IFLA website and digital library. Papers that are accepted but not presented in person at the conference will not be made available on the official conference website nor will they be considered for nomination as a best paper of the conference.

Proposals should be sent by 9 February 2014 to:

Lars Svensson
Email: L.Svensson@dnb.de

The subject line of all submissions should be "IFLA_ITS_ followed by your last name". For example, "IFLA_ITS_Svensson"

The contact person for each proposal will be informed by 14 March 2014 whether their proposal has been accepted or not.

Papers selected for inclusion in the program must be submitted in one of the official languages of IFLA by 15 May 2014.

Important dates