Monday 22 January 2018

Call for applications: The Initiative for Young African Library Innovators (IYALI) 2018



EIFL is inviting African public librarians under the age of 35 to apply to take part in an initiative that seeks to support emerging public library innovators in Africa by exposing them to inspiring public libraries in Asia and Africa.
By connecting young African public library innovators with their peers outside Africa, especially those from other developing and transition economy countries, EIFL aims to expand the professional horizons of African public librarians, to introduce them to new ideas, and to help them see their own work and achievements in a new and different light.
What will successful IYALI applicants experience and learn?
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to:
Are you eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply, you must:
  • Work at a public or community library in Africa (see the list of eligible countries);
  • Be up to 35 years old and have a minimum of three years’ work experience in a public (or community) library (or libraries);
  • Have practical experience in new library service development and / or community outreach initiatives;
  • Have a clear vision of how your library could develop in order to meet community needs;
  • Have sufficient English language skills to take part fully in international professional activities;
  • Have the support of your library management and / or local authority for your participation in IYALI (confirmed by signature at the end of your application form);
  • Commit to stay working in the public (or community) library sector in your country for at least two years after participation in IYALI.
Preference will be given to applicants who -
  • Have professional Library and Information Science (LIS) education and qualifications or are engaged in professional LIS studies (where applicable);
  • Have a recommendation from a national library association or library support organizations active in Africa, for example, Book Aid International, Libraries without Borders, IREX, Worldreader, or any other/s.
What will participation cost?
EIFL will cover all travel costs related to participation in IYALI, including visa fees, flights, travel and medical insurance, accommodation and meals, and all IYALI programme costs.
EIFL will NOT compensate libraries for employment costs during participants’ time-away.
When is the deadline?
The deadline for receipt of applications is 18:00 EET (Eastern European Time) on 9 February 2018.
How to apply
You must apply through the EIFL Electronic Submission System.
All applications must be submitted by 18:00 EET (Eastern European Time) on 9 February 2018.
Applications will be evaluated by a group of library experts, nominated by EIFL, AfLIA and IFLA.
In order to submit the application, follow these steps:
1. Fill in the downloaded application form.
2. Print and sign the last page of the form, and obtain endorsement by signature from your library management / local authority. Scan the form (make a digital copy).
3. Register to access the EIFL online submission system ("Create new account").
4. Create a new submission ("Create new" in the top menu, which will appear once you have created an account), fill in the required details and upload the application form and a separate signed page.
5. Upload any further supporting documentation, e.g. recommendation from national library association or library support organisation active in Africa.
6. Submit your application.
If you have any questions, please contact iyali@eifl.net.
IYALI is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Wednesday 17 January 2018

Call for Papers — Open Sessions



Library Theory and Research Section joint with Information Literacy Section

Theme: "Information Literacy: From Practice to Research and Back Again"

The IFLA Library Theory and Research and Information Literacy Sections invite proposals for papers to be presented at their joint session on “Information Literacy: From Practice to Research and Back Again during the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 24-30 August 2018.
Since 1974 when the term information literacy was first used, the field has received a vast amount of attention from both practical and research perspectives. With the potential to transform lives and societies, the importance of information literacy is appreciated world-wide. Our understandings of information literacy come from across the globe and ranges in focus from practice-based to highly theoretical; from everyday life to education and workplace settings; and for infants through to the elderly.
This session aims to bring together practice that is based on theoretical underpinnings and theory that can inform practice across the diverse field (of literacies that encompasses the analytical skills critical to information literacy). Our objective is to hear about a range of critical approaches and research models that contribute to building new theory; the challenges of applying theory in practice; the technology dimension in theoretical frameworks; how learning theories can inform practice; and cultural perspectives associated with learning. 
The session will look beyond standards and processes, engaging instead in the potential for developing knowledge to guide information literacy practice across disciplines, contexts and environments. It will also explore how the body of information literacy practice can inform the building of theory, which in turn can inform future practice.
Suggested themes to guide submissions:
  • Construction of knowledge in information literacy
  • Critical approaches and challenges to build new theoretical contexts
  • Cross-cultural contexts in information literacy
  • Emancipatory pedagogy
  • Enabling technology to enhance information literacy theory and practice.
  • Exploring alternative routes to information literacy
  • Information literacies to transform society
  • Information literacy models – from theory to practice and back to theory
  • Informed learning theory
  • Methodological and analytical approaches for exploring information literacy.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

  • Selection of papers will be based on an abstract (of no more than 500 words), which should demonstrate the paper’s relevance to one or more of the themes above, and how it will inform practice, research or both.
  • The author(s) should include their full contact details and a brief biographical note with the abstract.
  • Abstracts should be submitted as an MS Word file by e-mail. They will be reviewed by the full Program Committee.
Please email your abstract to the Co-Chairs of Program Committee for the joint Library Theory & Research and Information Literacy Sections’ session:
Dr. Gaby Haddow
Email: G.Haddow@curtin.edu.au and

Dr. Min Chou
Email :minchou.njcu@gmail.com

  • If accepted, a full paper must be submitted for inclusion on the Conference website. Further details will be provided on acceptance.
  • Depending on the number of submissions accepted, we are expecting that up to 15 minutes will be allowed for each presentation, with 5 minutes for questions.
  • The Program Committee reserves the right to invite authors to participate in a panel discussion to close the Session, rather than present a paper. 

IMPORTANT DATES

5 March 2018 – Abstract submission with full author(s) details including email contact.
16 April 2018 – Notification of acceptance.
1 June 2018 – Full paper due. Must be an original submission not presented or published elsewhere.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Dr. Gaby Haddow, Co-chair of Program Committee
IFLA Library Theory & Research Section
Email: G.Haddow@curtin.edu.au
Dr. Min Chou, Co-chair of Program Committee
IFLA Information Literacy Section
Email: minchou.njcu@gmail.com

LANGUAGE OF THE SESSION

The language of the session is expected to be English. However, presenters may also give their talk in any of the IFLA working languages. Simultaneous translation is not guaranteed; therefore, presenters are strongly encouraged to provide the PowerPoint in English to facilitate understanding of the ideas presented.

Submissions:

All proposals must be received by 5 March 2018.

Please note

At least one of the paper’s authors must be present to deliver a summary of the paper during the program in Malaysia. 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 2018 will be made available online via the IFLA Library under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
Authors of accepted papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission 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.

Call for Papers — Open Sessions

Strategic Programme on Preservation and Conservation (PAC)
 
Theme: "Fragile! Careful Handling Required: Manuscript housing, conservation and metadata documentation for access"

The IFLA Strategic Programme on Preservation and Conservation (PAC) invites interested professionals to submit proposals for the open session to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 24-30 August 2018.
In 2017 a workshop organised by IFLA on the subject of developing metadata standards for palm leaf manuscripts highlighted the importance of taking a more holistic approach to these rare, and often fragile works. You can read the report of this event on the IFLA website.
This programme will build upon that workshop by delving into these issues, notably preservation and storage as well as metadata for documentation and access. We welcome papers that offer both practical and theoretical insights into these questions, both as concerns manuscripts generally, and palm leaf manuscripts in particular.
The two hour programme will consist of one hour on learning more about descriptive metadata for all types of manuscripts and a second on provide best practices in storage and conservation of artefacts both for digital capture and safe storage after digital capture or until such time as digital capture can be accomplished
We seek pragmatic use-cases and examples to enable a discussion on best practice and exchange on this topic.
Proposals for papers should be no more than one page in length. If selected, speakers should submit a full paper of 5-10 pages, and will have 15-20 minutes to present their results including 10 minutes for a question and answer period during the conference session. A total of 5 papers will be selected.
Submissions
Proposals should be sent by 6 March 2018 to:
Tanja Clausen
Proposals should include the following information:
  • Name, title, and institution of speaker(s)
  • Title of proposed presentation
  • Address and email address of speaker(s)
  • Brief biographical statement about each speaker including information about the qualifications of the speaker to address the proposed topic
  • One or two paragraph discussion of the main points of the paper including an outline of the takeaways a conference attendee will obtain by having the topic presented at the conference
  • Language of presentation (please not the session will have no simultaneous interpretation)
  • Contact information for response to the proposal

Important dates

All proposals must be received by 6 March 2018.
The contact person for each proposal will be informed by 18 April 2018 whether their proposal has been accepted or not.
The authors will be required to submit the full paper for inclusion in the programme by 22 May 2018. It must be written in one the official languages of IFLA.

Please note

Authors are required to permit non-exclusive publication of papers chosen for this session on the IFLA website and digital library. All papers that are presented at WLIC 2018 will be made available online via the IFLA Library under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
Authors of accepted papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.
At least one of the paper’s authors must be present to deliver a summary of the paper during the program in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Papers that are accepted but not presented in person at the conference will not be made available on the official conference website nor will they be considered for nomination as a best paper of the conference.
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 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.