At the IFLA Markets

Deutsch | 简体中文 | français | Русский | العربية | Español

What your IFLA Section can achieve – planning and strategy

Is your Unit planning to submit a professional project proposal to the IFLA Professional Committee this year? Yesterday’s session gave some good tips that will increase your chances of success in gaining approval from the IFLA Professional Committee.

• Align it with one of the IFLA Key Initiatives;
• Understand the processes and steps of good project management and display this in your project proposal;
• Share your plan and feedback with others;
• Include in the proposal a plan for your intended marketing, communication and dissemination channels to help promote your project. 

Be clear and concise to get published

The aim of this session was to provide guidance on getting published in academic and professional journals, including the IFLA Journal and other IFLA publications.

Ian Johnson, Series Editor for IFLA/De Gruyter’s "Global Studies in Libraries and Information", addressed the reasons why one should write and seek publication; it's not for everyone. He pointed out that as a member of the Library and Information Science profession, there is always a need to share information and experiences—and to interact with others in a variety of ways. This helps everyone understand what works, why it works, and to demonstrate this in different library contexts.

Paul Sturges, former FAIFE Chair, compared the publication of a paper to having a one-sided conversation.  He stressed the importance of selecting the right audience or journal, of anticipating readers’ questions and addressing these throughout in the paper.

During the questions and answers segment, participants asked where new authors can look for mentors and help. These include: book/journal editors, reviewers, colleagues, and friends. One good tip was that a new author might find it easier to first work with an (experienced) co-author, as the synergy can help to produce a better paper.