Category Archives: Reference

North American Virtual Reference Conference

Posted on December 4, 2018 | Leave a comment

The North American Virtual Reference Conference is accepting proposals for our full day virtual conference on Tuesday Feb 12, 2019. We are seeking proposals for 45 minute sessions and 15 minute lightning talks from virtual reference providers relating to our theme. Because this is a virtual conference, presenters can present from anywhere as long as they have a stable internet connection.

Conference theme: Fully Present Online. Participants will hear virtual reference staff from around the continent discuss how they build connections and go deeper with patrons when their relationships are virtual, and discover the tools and build the skills necessary for creating meaning in their work in a virtual environment.

Opening Keynote by Miguel Figueroa. Bio: Miguel Figueroa works at the Center for the Future of Libraries (www.ala.org/libraryofthefuture), an initiative from the American Library Association. He has previously held positions at the American Theological Library Association; ALA’s Office for Diversity and Office for Literacy and Outreach Services; NYU’s Ehrman Medical Library; and Neal-Schuman Publishers. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Knowledge River Program, an initiative that examines library issues from Hispanic and Native American perspectives.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

Self-care in a virtual world

·       Wellness/Self care

·       Emotional intelligence

Tips and tools to connect remotely with patrons

·       Communication strategies via chat

·       Incorporating instruction and creating teachable moments

·       The virtual reference interview/conversation

·       Involving your user

·       Providing referrals

·       Open access resources

·       Free online tools to connect with patrons

·       Collaborative services

Challenges

·       Handling difficult visitors

·       Crisis calls

·       Being fully present while managing multiple visitors

·       Chatting with teens

Telling your story

·       Training and assessment

·       Marketing your service

·       Service Evaluation

·       Telling your story with data

To submit a proposal, please fill out the proposal submission form by December 15th, 2018.

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Posted in Access Services, Information Literacy, Information Science, Instructional Design and Technology, Libraries, Reference

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ER&L 2019

Posted on September 4, 2018 | Leave a comment

ER&L 2019 will be held March 3-6, 2019 in Austin, Texas.

ER&L’s 2019 Call for Session Proposals is currently seeking 45-minute session proposals and 15-minute short talks for the 2019 conference in the following areas, with complete descriptions of each track available online athttp://www.electroniclibrarian.org/about/tracks/:
1. Managing e-Resources & Licensing
2. Collection Development & Assessment
3. Organizational Strategies
4. External Relationships
5. User Experience & Promotion
6. Scholarly Communication & Library Publishing
7. Emerging Technologies & Trends
8. Data Science & Libraries
Program Selection Criteria: The committee will evaluate each proposal on the basis of subject matter (including, but not limited to, the issues listed in the topic descriptions), clarity, and timeliness.
Sessions: The 45-minute session has been a part of ER&L since the beginning. Co-authorship and co-presenting is easily accommodated in this longer length format. Reduced rate registration is offered to accepted presenters.

Short talks: The 15-minute short talk session is a newer addition to the ER&L program. This format allows for ideas or initiates in progress to be presented without a full session length session. Similar short talk topics will be clustered. Due to the session length, this format readily accommodates single presenters, but co-authorship is welcome. Reduced rate registration is offered to accepted presenters.
* All presenters will be required to register for the conference at the discounted rate and are expected to attend the conference to make their presentation.
* Program sessions, workshops, short-talks and posters are to be for the purpose of communicating relevant content to librarians, publishers, and library vendors. They are not to be used as a marketing opportunity or to sell product or services. Companies interested in presenting a sponsored content session, please contact us at hello@electroniclibrarian.org.

Submission Deadline: September 24, 2018

Further information is available online at:

https://www.electroniclibrarian.org/conference-info/speaking-opps/

Please direct any questions to ER&L staff at: hello@electroniclibrarian.org.

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Posted in Information Literacy, Information Science, Instruction, Instructional Design and Technology, Libraries, Reference, Technical Services, Technology, Women's Studies Librarianship

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OK-ACRL

Posted on August 22, 2018 | Leave a comment

OK-ACRL is now accepting proposals for posters and presentations for this year’s conference.

We have two great keynote speakers:

·       Dr. Stephanie Mikitish (Rutgers University) will discuss the use of the literature analysis dashboard and essential areas to research.

·       Dr. Lili Luo (San Jose State University) will focus on evidence-based library and information practice.

Presentations:

As our speakers set the scene, we ask you, our fellow librarians, to share your ideas on evidence-based library practice, as well as current research in which your library or librarians are involved.  Presentations should be 45 minutes in length. 15 additional minutes will be allotted for questions after the presentation.  Presenters receive free registration.

Posters (New as well as Recycled):

All new poster ideas are, of course, welcome, but we are also accepting posters that you may have already presented at regional or national conferences in the past year.  We know you put a lot of hard work into your posters, so please share them with the rest of OK-ACRL.  Poster presenters receive a $15 discount on registration.

Posters will be displayed in a come-and-go area for the duration of the conference. Easels for posters will be provided by OK-ACRL.

Please submit your proposals by September 14th, 2018.

https://goo.gl/forms/qRycxPWLsAzOCp7P2

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Posted in Academic Libraries, ACRL, Administration, ALA/ACRL, Assessment, Collection Development, Information Literacy, Information Science, Instructional Design and Technology, Libraries, Reference, Technology

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Academic Library Services for Graduate Students: Supporting Future Academics and Professionals

Posted on July 31, 2018 | Leave a comment

We would like to invite you to consider submitting a chapter proposal for Academic Library Services for Graduate Students: Supporting Future Academics and Professionals, to be published by Libraries Unlimited.

 

Editors: Carrie Forbes and Peggy Keeran, University of Denver Libraries

Proposal Submission Deadline:  Monday, September 17, 2018

Book Overview:

As more and more students attend graduate programs, either at the master’s or doctoral level, many higher education institutions have established professional development programs to help ensure that graduate students learn the wide range of skills needed to be successful as both students and as future professionals or academics. The editors of this volume invite contributors to propose case studies and theoretical essays on academic library services for graduate students that support their multiple roles and identities as students, and as future faculty members or professionals, as well as addressing the complex social and emotional issues related to their other roles as parents, working adults, caretakers, and more.

For more details on how to submit a proposal, please see: https://tinyurl.com/y9fcyk6k

We hope you will consider this opportunity!

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Posted in Academic Libraries, Access Services, Graduate Students, Instruction, Libraries, Reference

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Emerging Technologies, Evolving Professionals:Change Management Practices for Library Systems and Technologies

Posted on June 8, 2018 | Leave a comment

Upcoming LITA title (2019)

By Courtney McAllister
Submission Deadline: June 15, 2018
 
Decisions Announced: July 1, 2018
Do you have first-hand experience managing technology changes at a museum, archive, or public/academic/special/law/corporate/military/medical library? A technology change could be an intimidating project, like an ILS migration or makerspace launch, or something a bit more subtle, like introducing a new chat widget at the reference desk. Please consider submitting a brief write-up of your experience to enrich an upcoming LITA guide.
As we all know, library systems and technologies are evolving rapidly, but maintaining one’s technical skill set is not enough to successfully organize and implement change. Information professionals must also develop techniques that enable them to navigate the intricate interplay of human anxieties, perceptions, expectations, and mental models that accompany technological change. This guide is designed to equip new and seasoned practitioners with the strategies they need to master interpersonal and technical interdepencies.
“Notes from the Field” segments will integrate a diverse range of condensed case studies into the guide’s core chapters. These brief, first-hand experiences will address the following topics (please focus on either 1, 2, or 3):
1. The role of change agents in technology change. Specifically,
a) Your experience hiring a change agent to introduce or implement a technology change…
What was the catalyst for the change agent?
What traits did you look for in a prospective change agent?
How did other staff respond?
What worked/didn’t work?
Was the technology change successful?
If you started the process from scratch, what would do you differently?
b) Your experience fulfilling the role of a technology change agent…
How did other staff respond?
What strategies did you employ to adapt?
What worked/didn’t work?
Was the technology change successful?
If you started the process from scratch, what would you differently?
2. The role of assessment in technology change. Specifically,
What assessment strategies have worked/not worked for you.
What questions have you asked to guide your assessment of how technologies are operating within your organization?
How have you determined technology needs at your organization?
How have you evaluated potential technology changes?
3. Socializing technology changes among end users. Specifically,
How have you promoted or announced an upcoming technology change to end users?
How did you gather feedback?
How did you respond to user feedback?
What surprised you most about user reactions?
Please write a brief (1,000 words max) summary of your experience(s) with any ONE of the above topics, and submit for consideration by June 15, 2018
Please send an email with your submission and contact information to cmcallis@citadel.edu Use of the following subject line is strongly encouraged: LITA Case Study, YOUR NAME
Notification emails will be sent by July 1, 2018
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Courtney McAllister

CPT Courtney R. McAllister, MA, MLIS | Electronic Resources Librarian

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Posted in Digitization, Information Literacy, Information Science, Instruction, Instructional Design and Technology, Libraries, LITA, Reference, Technical Services, Technology

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2018 REFERENCE RESEARCH FORUM (Due 12/22/2017)

Posted on December 20, 2017 | Leave a comment

The Research & Statistics Committee of the Reference Services Section of the Reference & User Services Association (RUSA) invites submission of reference service research project proposals for presentation at New Discoveries in Reference: The 24rd Annual Reference Research Forum at the 2018 American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA. Researchers and practitioners from all types of libraries, library school faculty and students, and other interested individuals are encouraged to submit a proposal.

The Reference Research Forum is a popular and valuable ALA Annual Conference program. Attendees have the opportunity to learn about innovative research projects conducted in reference services including user behavior, electronic services, reference effectiveness and assessment, and organizational structure and personnel.

For examples of projects presented at past Forums, please see the Committee’s website: http://connect.ala.org/node/64439

The Committee employs a blind review process to select three projects for 20-minute presentations, followed by open discussion.  Identifying information will not be shared with reviewers until after final selection of projects.  Selected submissions must be presented in person at the Forum during ALA Annual in New Orleans, LA.

Criteria for selection:

  1. Originality: Potential for research to fill a gap in reference knowledge or to build on previous studies
  2. Quality: Research design and methodologies
  3. Impact: Significance of the study for improving the quality of reference service

NOTE: Research projects may be in-progress or completed. Previously published research or research accepted for publication will not be accepted.

Important Dates:

Proposals are due by Friday, December 22nd. Notification of acceptance will be made by Monday, February 19th, 2018. The submission must not exceed the stated word count limit.

Submission Details:

Submissions will be accepted using our online form at: https://goo.gl/forms/T33DcsPRrkBE8LMZ2

 

FORM PAGE 1: Contact Information

Fill out the fields for the primary contact’s name, title, institutional affiliation, and email address.  Additional research team members should also be noted in the appropriate field.

FORM PAGE 2: Research Description (250 Word maximum)

The research description must not include any personally identifiable information, including your name, or the name of your institution. Please include these elements:

  1. Title of the project
  2. Explicit statement of the research problem
  3. Description of the research design and methodologies
  4. Findings or results if available
  5. Brief discussion of the originality, unique contribution, potential impact, and significance of the research

Proposals that exceed the word count or that do not follow the format described above will be automatically rejected.

Questions about the Forum should be directed to the 2017-2018 committee chairs: David Ward (dh-ward@illinois.edu) and Joseph Yue (contact.jyue@gmail.com)

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Posted in ALA, Libraries, Reference

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Neglected Newberys: A Critical Reassessment at the Centennial

Posted on December 20, 2017 | Leave a comment

Volume editors: Sara L. Schwebel and Jocelyn Van Tuyl

In anticipation of the one hundredth anniversary of the American Library Association’s Newbery Medal (1922-2022), submissions are welcomed for a volume devoted to critically-neglected Newbery Award-winners.

About the Volume

Since the inception of the Newbery Medal in 1922, Newbery novels have had an outsized influence on American children’s literature, figuring perennially on publisher’s lists, on library and bookstore shelves, and in K-12 school curricula. As such, they offer a compelling window into the history of U.S. children’s literature and publishing as well as changing societal attitudes about what books are “best” for American children. Nevertheless, many Newbery Award winners—even the most popular and frequently taught titles—have attracted scant critical attention.

This volume offers a critically- and historically-grounded analysis of representative Newbery Medal books and interrogates the disjunction between the books’ omnipresence and influence, on the one hand, and the critical silence surrounding them, on the other.

The editors seek at least one previously unpublished essay per decade (1920s-2010s), with each essay to focus primarily on a single Newbery Medal (not Newbery Honor) title for which little or no literary scholarship exists. We welcome submissions from both emerging and established scholars.

We specifically seek a diversity of Newbery authors, genres, themes, and book settings, but also investigations of how diversity is treated or, especially for earlier works, silenced in the texts.

Avenues for exploration include: neglected categories and sub-genres (horse books, maritime adventure stories, regional literature, retold folktales, one-hit wonders for children by well-known authors); reception and book history (alterations of text to avoid offensive language and imagery, both immediately after the Medal and decades later); critical readings of problematic texts; Newbery winners and their archives; hypotheses regarding critical neglect: the rise of Children’s Literature as an academic field long after the Medal’s inception; the disjunction between the Newbery’s historical whiteness and heteronormativity and current developments in literary criticism; a possible disconnect between librarians who award the medal, K-12 teachers who recommend the books, and university professors who are rewarded for publishing literary criticism.

Submission Information

E-mail the editors (schwebel@sc.edu and vantuyl@ncf.edu) for access to the spreadsheet of books on which we are soliciting contributions, contributor resources, and additional specifications to ensure continuity throughout the volume.

Deadline

The deadline for initial proposals of approximately 500 words is April 1, 2018.

We anticipate requesting completed essays of 6000-7000 words by early 2019 (subject to the publisher’s requirements).

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Posted in Gender Issues in Libraries, Gender Studies, Instruction, K-12, Libraries, Men's Studies, Public Libraries, Reference, School Libraries, Special Education, Women's and Gender Studies, Women's Studies Librarianship

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Transformative Projects in the Digital Humanities

Posted on December 18, 2017 | Leave a comment

While the debates in and around the digital humanities continue–what they are, why they are, what they contribute to humanities scholarship–those working in the field know the truly transformative work being done both nationally and internationally. This proposed collection of essays, Transformative Projects in the Digital Humanities, will build on the critical work has been done to date to showcase DH scholarship, while expanding the focus to provide a broadly international perspective. To this end, we especially encourage scholars working outside the U.S. to consider submitting a proposal. We have an expression of interest in this project from Routledge.

 

We are looking for essays that not only describe long-term projects/large-impact projects but those that also place the work within a cultural context and what is happening in terms of DH. Finally, proposed essays should be forward looking, addressing the question(s): how does this work indicate where DH is going/where it should be going/where it could be going? Essays may take the form of case studies, if appropriate. A 300-word abstract and one-page c.v. should be submitted by January 22, 2018 to Marta Deyrup <marta.deyrup@shu.edu> and Mary Balkun <mary.balkun@shu.edu>.

 

 

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Posted in Collection Development, Digitization, Gender Studies, Instruction, Instructional Design and Technology, Libraries, Men's Studies, Reference, Technology, Women's and Gender Studies, Women's Studies Librarianship

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DT&L Conference

Posted on December 18, 2017 | Leave a comment

Madison, WI

Aug. 7-9, 2018

For full information go to: https://dtlconference.wisc.edu/call-for-proposals/

We invite you to submit a proposal to present at the 34th annual Distance Teaching & Learning Conference, August 7-9, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. We are looking for quality presentations intended for advanced practitioners in distance, online, or blended education and training. We will also consider some basic/foundational proposals geared toward those newer to the field. All proposals should be grounded in evidence-based practice and/or innovative strategies.

Deadline to submit is 4:00 pm (CST) on Tuesday, January 23.

Here are some proposal topics to consider:

ABCs Of DE (Basic)

Accessibility and ADA (section 508) compliance

Alternative credentialing

Augmented/virtual reality

Blended learning designs

Building & supporting learning communities

Distance education leadership/administration

Evaluating online learning

Faculty development

Game-based learning

Immersive learning

Learner engagement strategies

Learner support

Learning analytics and student success

Learning science research to practice

Mastery & competency-based learning

Measuring learning & assessment

Mobile learning

New/emerging technologies

Online teaching strategies

Open resources and content curation

Personalized & adaptive learning

Social learning

Video & multimedia-based learning

All proposals will be peer reviewed and evaluated on these criteria:

Practical methods and techniques that others can use and apply

Clear learning goals and key takeaways

Relevance to the field of distance education and online learning

Depth of knowledge conveyed related to distance teaching, learning, and training

Inclusion of evaluation data and/or established theoretical models

Focus on established or emerging trends, practices, data, and knowledge

Evidence of successful outcomes or lessons learned

 

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Posted in Academic Libraries, Distance Education, Education, Information Literacy, Information Science, Instruction, Instructional Design and Technology, Libraries, Reference, School Libraries

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2018 Joint Spring Conference – User Experience: Where the Library and Patrons Meet

Posted on December 8, 2017 | Leave a comment

The planning committee of the 2018 KLA/SLA Joint Spring Conference is pleased to announce the call for proposals for mini-sessions and poster presentations is now open.  Built around the theme of User Experience, roughly defined as the measure of your end user’s interaction with your library: its brand, its product, and its services, the committee welcomes submissions from presenters based on this topic and any topics that may apply. A list of these topics includes, but is not limited to:

 

User design

Usability

Website management

Space assessments

Signage

Data collection

Accessibility

Information Architecture

Visual Design

Information Literacy

Leadership/Management

 

Scheduled for April 4 – 6 at General Butler State Resort Park, the Joint Spring Conference is a collaboration between the Academic and Special Library Sections of the Kentucky Library Association and the Kentucky Chapter of the Special Libraries Association.

The deadline to submit abstracts is December 15, 2017. To submit your abstract, please click the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/2GJmmDUVKUMzFBV42. Your abstract should include:

Presenter(s) name

Institution name

Library name

Title of your presentation

Presentation type: Mini-session or Poster

Short (250 word) abstract of your presentation or poster

Mini-sessions will be 50-minute formal presentations by the presenter. Poster presentation submissions are also welcome for display and discussion during our poster reception on Thursday evening.

All submissions will be evaluated based on the relevance of the topic and all submissions will be evaluated based on the relevance of the topic and potential to advance thinking about user experiences. All accepted presenters will be required to register for the conference, but may do so at the member rate.

 

Important Dates:

Friday, December 15, 2017 – Submission Deadline
Friday, January 12, 2018 – Acceptance Notification
Friday, March 2, 2018 – Early Bird Registration Deadline
Friday, March 30, 2018 – Registration Deadline

Registration Fees:

 

Full Conference – 

Member 115 / 145

Non-Member 155 / 185

Student 25 / 25

One Day – 

Member 80 / 100

Non-Member 105 / 125

Student 25 / 25


 *Members include those individuals who are members of any of the following: KLA – Academic Library Section, KLA – Special Library Section, SLA – Kentucky Chapter

*Conference registration will open soon. Be on the lookout for that upcoming announcement!

 

On behalf of the planning committee, we thank you for your interest in the conference and look forward to your submissions

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Information Literacy, Information Science, Instruction, Instructional Design and Technology, Libraries, Reference, Space and design, Technology

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