Genealogy and Local History Section

The IFLA Genealogy and Local History Section invites proposals for papers to be presented at a two-hour session at the IFLA General Conference, August 2014, in Lyon, France.

Proposals are especially welcome which include an exploration of the role of diasporas and migrations in shaping family and group identities and cross-cultural interactions, as seen in the study of local and family histories across Europe and the Mediterranean world.  To spark ideas without in any way limiting the scope and variety of possible presentations, it is noted that the program could include such varied perspectives as:

• ethnic oral history
• the study of emigre family literature
• the social and cultural study of guest worker families
• the interaction of secularism and religion in local ethnic communities
• the North African refugee experience in Europe
• databases for cross-cultural genealogy and family history
•  the historical and social value of genealogical collections

What we want is a mixed international selection of papers documenting different resources and scholarly methodologies for studying the interaction of cultural and religious traditions in past and present European multicultural societies.

Other topics within the theme could also be considered.

Submission Guidelines:

Proposal abstracts should be submitted in English as a Microsoft Office Word file.

Proposal abstracts for the Open Session must be submitted by 14th March 2014 and should include:

• The title of the proposed presentation
• The name(s) of presenter(s)
• Short biographical statement for the presenter(s) (40 words)
• The name of the employer / affiliated institution/ professional affiliation
• Contact information including address, e-mail address, telephone number and fax number
• The language of the proposed presentation
• Papers can be delivered in any of the seven IFLA official languages

Proposal abstracts should be submitted to:

Michael Hall, Chair, IFLA GENLOC
email:  hallmj@familysearch.org

Sonia Pacheco, Secretary, IFLA GENLOC
email:  spacheco@umassd.edu

Laverne Page, Standing Committee Member, IFLA GENLOC
email: mpag@loc.gov

When sending  the proposal, please write “IFLA WLIC 2014 GENLOC Proposal” on the subject line.

The abstracts will be reviewed by the GENLOC Review committee.  Successful proposals will be identified and announced by 1st April  2014. These must be an original submission and not published elsewhere.

Next Steps for Successful Proposals:

1. Full text of successful papers should be provided by 30th April 2014.
   They should be from 3000-6000 words in length and should include the submitted abstract.
2. Complete accepted papers and accompanying presentation slides should be submitted to Laverne Page mpag@loc.gov.
3. Oral presentations of papers will be 15-20 minutes plus 5 minutes for discussion with the audience.  Texts of oral presentations and accompanying slides must be sent to Laverne Page before 1st August 2014  so that translations can be prepared.
4. The papers will be made available on the IFLA 2014 WLIC Conference website.

To discuss any matter relating to this Call for Proposals/Papers, please contact: Laverne Page mpag@loc.gov.

Important Dates

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 French 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.