Library Theory and Research Section joint with Statistics and Evaluation Section

IFLA's Library Theory and Research Section (LTR) joint with Statistics and Evaluation Section (SSE) invites you to submit a proposal for its open programme at the 81st IFLA World Library and Information Congress to be held in Cape Town South Africa, 15-21 August 2015.

Objectives

As The Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development and other IFLA declarations and manifestos have expressed, access to information and the role of libraries and information institutions in society are fundamental for the empowerment of people and the development of society. In order to communicate the importance and value of these issues to our society and to political authorities, we need to discuss and evaluate how library associations and institutions, as well as governmental/non-governmental agencies can best support the library sector. What studies exist or how can we measure the impact of access to information and development theoretically and statistically?

Our Joint Open Session during WLIC 2015 aims to share the promoted projects and advocacy strategies, or the data and evidence that has been collected and used with significant effect. The forum will enable library professionals to productively share their experiences and resource  about theoretical, practical and political approaches to advocacy.

For this significant session, we invite papers which present issues such as:

1. Strategic promotion by national/international library associations in cooperations with other institutions, or governmental/non-governmental bodies in order to promote access to information as a development goal in accordance with the Lyon declaration.
2. Research or practical proposals on which kind of data from different fields that can used to point out library effectiveness in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.
3. Qualitative and quantitative evidence relating to advocacy, strategies, or new indicators to  measure outcomes
4. Research project relating to access to information or access to libraries and library materials
5. Library involvement in working groups for Sustainable Development Goals. How can libraries contribute in these discussions and on which level?

Submission Guidelines

To submit a proposal:

• Individual paper presentations
• Associations/Institutions or activity groups representative presentations

Proposals should include:

• an abstract of the proposed paper consisting of approximately 500 words in English
• author(s) details (name(s), institution, position, email address) and a brief biographical statement of about 50 words for each author

Proposals should be submitted by email to:

Yasuyo Inoue (LTR)
Email: yinoue@dokkyo.ac.jp
or
Britt Omstedt (SSE)
Email : Britt.Omstedt@hb.se

no later than 28 of February 2015
Please indicate  “IFLA proposal for LTR/SSE joint open session”  in the subject line.

Selected presenters will be informed by 15 March 2015.

Full papers submissions:

• No later than 30 May 2015,
• As the language of the session will be in English, the paper should be in English or other IFLA official languages with an English translation attached,
• Each presentation will be 20 minutes and a few minutes for questions/answers,
• Open forum after all presentations.

Important Dates

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.