Call for Papers

Religious Libraries in Dialogue Special Interest Group

Theme:
Libraries as Safe Place Allowing Interreligious Dialogue and Promoting Intercultural Understanding

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The IFLA Religious Libraries in Dialogue Special Interest Group (Relindial SIG) invite proposals for papers to be presented at their session on “Libraries as Safe Place Allowing Interreligious Dialogue and Promoting Intercultural Understanding” during the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Cape Town, South Africa 15-21, August 2015.

As a result of the inspiring experiences of conservation and communication policies developed by the Bibliothèque nationale du Royaume du Maroc or the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, as well as the role of the National Library of Kenya in developing access to the knowledge and culture, four concerns can be addressed:

1. Africa as a source of examples for interreligious dialogue.

The continent is a melting pot between three traditions, each tradition being complex. For example, (diverse Christian denominations, diverse branches of Islam, diverse local religious traditions). This confluence can be an enrichment of ideas and become a powerful driving force for social relationship.

  • Does your institution welcome experiences of junction between these traditions? Which were the results? Which difficulties did you face?
  • Does your library keep documents about social or political or artistical interreligious experiences?

2. Preservation of heritage, manuscripts and religious traditional items, are one way for a better mutual understanding taking roots into the history.

  • Is your library experienced in this domain?
  • Did you receive support to improve the preservation from an international experience (IFLA, UNESCO, Blue Shield)?
  • Did you use your heritage promoting the use of religious sources serving intercultural relations?
  • Have some libraries been involved in moving the reconciliation process forward?

3. The role of libraries in transmitting the knowledge of oral cultures and religions.

  • What initiatives have been initiated to address these challenges?
  • Does your library provide access to a body of knowledge of oral culture? Which type of documents? What is the contribution of the new technologies in this process?
  • Is this body used locally by a public wanting to know more about the roots of his civilization? If yes, which type of users?

4. Promoting the use of religious sources serving intercultural exchanges.

  • Do you use these sources to raise public awareness about interreligious issues?

The session will have a time slot of two hours for lively discussions and sharing of information.

All the colleagues and professional who wish to share their experiences in these various aspects outlined above are invited to send a proposal by 2 March 2015.

Proposals should be sent to:

Odile Dupont, Convenor of SIG Relindial
Email: o.dupont548@gmail.com
or
Fabien Vandermarcq, Information Officer of the SIG
Email: portr@voila.fr

To submit a paper proposal please include your name(s), institutional affiliation, mailing address, and email address along with a title and abstract of no more than 200 words.

Important Dates/Deadlines

2 March 2015 : Submission of abstracts (with 200-words),
9 March 2015 : Acknowledgement of receipt, with provisional acceptance/rejection,
16 March 2015 : Submission of four page extended outline of paper,
30 March 2015 : Notification of acceptance,
8 May 2015 : Submission of completed draft paper,
26 June 2015 : Submission of final paper,
17 July 2015 : Submission of Conference Presentation PowerPoint.

Submissions

All proposals must be in before 2 March 2015.

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.

Last update: 10 February 2015