Agricultural Libraries Special Interest Group

Focus

Papers are invited to be presented at the Open Session organized by Agricultural Libraries Special Interest Group during 81^st  IFLA General Conference and Assembly, Cape Town, South Africa in August 2015 on the theme: Synergizing Agricultural Extension and Library and Information Services (LIS) for Agricultural Productivity and Food Security: An International Perspective

Exactly 100 years back the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 in the United States created a system of cooperative extension service to be operated by the universities in order to inform people about current developments in agriculture and allied subjects. Concurrently library and information centers played vital role in disseminating job related information to farmers. Same is the case in other developed and developing countries. However, there appears to be lack of cooperation between the extension service and library service despite the target customer group being common to both the services. It was more so because a large part of extension population are not physically in the close proximity of the university/institution campuses. With the advent of web based online/ mobile phone services, there is every possibility to synchronize extension and library services for agricultural productivity and food security.

This session is aimed at discussing current trends in providing farmer-oriented information services in developed and developing countries.

The topics to be addressed include:

1. How do agricultural university/Institute libraries in the country cater to the information needs of farmers/ranchers?
2. What strategies are being adopted by extension service providers to meet the information needs of farmers/ranchers in the region/country?
3. How do university/institute libraries serve extension personnel in keeping them abreast of latest developments in agriculture and allied fields?
4. What role is being played by international organizations such as FAO, CGIAR, DFID, and CTA in facilitating transfer of agricultural information to farmers?
5. Recent developments in providing open access to agricultural extension bulletins in the country/region

Proposal must focus on one of the topics mentioned based on facts rather than theoretical aspects.

Submission Guidelines

Proposal abstract (about 1000 words) must be submitted 28 February 2015, on any of the topics listed, with the topic to be discussed clearly identified.

Submission is to include presenter's name, position, institution, and email address.

Important dates

28 February 2015: Deadline for submitting abstracts

15 March 2015: Notifications of acceptance

15 May 2015: Deadline for submission of final papers

All proposals must be sent to:

Dr. Ajay P Singh, Convener
Email: apsingh_73@yahoo.co.in
and copy to:
Dr. Deva E. Reddy, Program Chair
Email: devaereddy@tamu.edu

Please note

At least one of the paper's authors must be present to deliver a summary of the paper during the program in Cape Town. Abstracts should only be submitted with the understanding that the expenses of attending the conference will be the responsibility of the author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers.

All papers that are presented at the WLIC 2015 will be made available online via the IFLA Library under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Authors of accepted papers must complete the IFLA Author Form.

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 letter can be issued to authors.

Congress Participation Grants

List of opportunities for support is available on our Conference Participation Grants webpage.