Government Information and Official Publications Section

Organiser

Government Information and Official Publications Section.

Since antiquity, libraries and archives have played a central role in collecting, preserving and archiving the cultural heritage of countries.  Libraries and archives are cultural institutions that play an important part in understanding how a country navigates political, cultural, and historical changes.

Recent events in Europe, North America and the Middle East illustrate how essential libraries and archives are in documenting a countries history. From the Arab Spring to uprisings in Eastern Europe and the United States government shutdown, libraries have actively participated in recording the cultural heritage of a country. 

National and International Government Organizations (IGOs) play a vital role in the preservation of cultural heritage through their libraries and archives, programmes, and distribution of government records through their national and international system of depositories.  International Organizations such as UNESCO play a crucial role in the preservation of cultural heritage through international agreements such as the landmark World Heritage Convention. Depository libraries at all levels of government provide access to key government publications and documentation, and also ensures that the historical record of governments will be accessible and preserved in the future.  

Audience

Expected audience is likely to include: 

• International and Global Studies Librarians
• History and Cultural Studies Librarians
• Government Information Librarians
• European Studies Librarians
• Professionals working in Government Libraries and/or International Organizations
• Librarians and Archivists working in Special, Academic or Public Libraries
• Professionals working in National Libraries or National Archives. 

Potential Themes and Subtopics:

• International  Organizations and Government Libraries as curators of cultural heritage
• Cultural,  political, and social history materials in IGO and Government Libraries
• The historical system of depository libraries: its past, present and future
• The historical value of Government Information and the human record
• Digital preservation of government information
• International Conventions and Cultural Heritage: the role of IGOs
• Special collections in International Organization and Government Libraries & Archives

Submission Guidelines

Proposals must be sent before 15 February  2014 via email to:

James Church
Email: jchurch@library.berkeley.edu

AND

Susan Paterson
Email: susan.paterson@ubc.ca

Receipt of all submissions will be acknowledged.

Submissions must include (in English or French):

• 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)

Papers can be delivered in any of the seven IFLA official languages. Simultaneous Interpretation will be provided.

The abstracts will be reviewed by the Review Committee. Successful proposals will be identified and announced by 5 March  2014.

Full text papers should be provided by 30 April 2014; papers should be 3-20 pages long, in a Word file. They must include an abstract and an appendix “lessons learnt”: succinct recommendations derived from the paper content.

Oral presentations of papers will be of 15 -20 minutes + 5 minutes for discussion with the audience. Texts of oral presentations must be sent to jchurch@library.berkeley.edu before 1st August 2014, so that translations can be prepared.

Authors of IFLA World Library and Information Congress papers are asked to sign an Author Form which grants a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY 3.0) License to their paper. This allows IFLA to make a copy of your paper available on the website, and also means your paper can be published by a commercial publisher. You will always be named as the Author.

Important Dates