Digital Convergence: Libraries, Archives, and Museums in the Information Age

Three Special Issues of Library Quarterly, Archival Science, and
Museum Management and Curatorship

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The editors of Library Quarterly, Archival Science, and Museum
Management and Curatorship are pleased to announce plans for three
special issues exploring the shared information needs and challenges
facing libraries, archives, and museums in the information age; the
overlapping educational goals of library and information science,
archival studies, and museum studies programs; and areas of
convergence for educators and professionals working to meet user needs
in libraries, archives, and museums.

The resulting three separate issues of Library Quarterly, Archival
Science, and Museum Management and Curatorship will be published at
approximately the same time (end of 2009), and all three issues will
be Guest Edited by Dr. Paul F. Marty, College of Information, Florida
State University.

The impetus for this project stems from a recent conference, sponsored
by the IMLS, on the need for information professionals who can
transcend the traditional boundaries between libraries, archives, and
museums to meet user needs in the information age (see: http://chips.ci.fsu.edu ).

The increased use of and reliance on digital resources has blurred
traditional distinctions between information organizations, leading to
a digital convergence of libraries, archives, and museums. In light of
this convergence, there is a need for more research examining how
libraries, archives, and museums can collaborate and combine forces to
better serve their users, many of whom do not clearly distinguish
among different institutions or the information resources they manage.

We are looking for papers addressing one or more of the following
three broad questions in ways that cut across the traditional
distinctions between libraries, archives, and museums:

1. What are the information needs of libraries, archives, and museums
in the information age, both internally (staff and other
professionals) and externally (public services)? How can new
information technologies support information professionals as they
adapt to meet these needs?

2. What are the roles and responsibilities of information
professionals in libraries, archives, and museums in the information
age? What are the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to
succeed at their jobs (e.g. intellectual property, information
management, digital preservation, etc.)?

3. What kinds of educational programs best prepare information
professionals to meet the needs of libraries, archives, and museums in
the information age, including degree and non-degree programs? How are
these programs currently preparing their students, and what potential
is there for sharing expertise across programs?

While authors may choose to focus primarily on libraries, archives, or
museums (depending on their interests and expertise), each article
should attempt to explore issues of convergence across libraries,
archives, and museums.

IMPORTANT DATES

* Optional Abstract: September 1, 2008

* Submission Deadline: December 1, 2008

* Review Decisions: February 1, 2009

* Final Versions Due: June 1, 2009

* Publication: End of 2009

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

If you wish, you may submit an optional abstract (by email to Paul
Marty at marty@fsu.edu) for feedback by September 1, 2008 (please
indicate the journal to which you plan to submit).

Please direct your submission to the journal that most closely matches
the particular focus of your article, research, or discipline, as
follows:

* Library Quarterly, follow submission instructions at http://www.editorialmanager.com/lq/

* Archival Science, follow submission instructions at http://www.editorialmanager.com/arcs/
(When specifying “Article type” please select the “Special Issue
on Digital Convergence”)

* Museum Management and Curatorship, please email submissions
directly to Paul Marty at marty@fsu.edu.
(Please see instructions for authors at www.informaworld.com/rmmc)

Please mark your submission as being intended for the special issue on
digital convergence.

If you have any questions about the special issues, please contact
Paul Marty at marty@fsu.edu.

A PDF version of this CFP is available at: http://marty.ci.fsu.edu/misc/cfp_digitalconvergence.pdf

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