Saturday, November 26, 2016

How can libraries better serve refugees and asylum seekers?

The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs has partnered with ALA on the IMLS-funded “Project Welcome: Libraries and Community Anchors Planning for Resettlement and Integration of Refugees and Asylum Seekers.”

Project Welcome aims to learn about and articulate ways libraries can address the information needs of refugees and asylum seekers in order to support and empower them in their resettlement and integration process. They are assessing the information needs and gaps in library services by learning from US and international librarians, international and national governmental agencies, and domestic resettlement and social services to develop recommendations and an action agenda on information resources, services, training, and research needed to support the resettlement and integration of refugees and asylum seekers. 

Listening sessions, to learn from the library and information community, take place on November 28 and December 2. Twitter chat sessions are on November 29 and December 5. The input will be incorporated into a thought paper that will be used to provide background for a collaborative learning space/meeting to explore library and information solutions, including a public summit on February 6, 2017.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Call for Papers - 2017 IFLA International News Media Conference




2017 IFLA International News Media Conference

“Collecting, Preserving, and Transforming the News – for Research and the Public”

Dates
27-28 April 2017

Location:  
Landsbókasafn Íslands – Háskólabókasafn (The National and University Library of Iceland)
Reykjavík, Iceland

Conference website:
URL will be posted on the IFLA News Media Section website (http://www.ifla.org/news-media) when available.

Organizers
IFLA News Media Section (http://www.ifla.org/news-media)
IFLA Information Technology Section (http://www.ifla.org/it)

Theme & sub-themes
From printed newspapers to born-digital news, libraries and other cultural heritage institutions have a central role in ensuring future access to news content. This conference will examine issues and challenges in collecting and preserving the news and making it available to users. Do access and preservation have different prerequisites? In addition, the conference will explore how news media is used and transformed by researchers and the public. Can we recognize variable user needs? Do we offer the most suitable APIs?

Proposals should address the main theme and related topics, including but not limited to: 
  • Users’ experiences with digital newspaper collections and their usability expectations
  • Case studies of patron services for digitized and born-digital news (e.g., management systems, reading devices, printout services, etc.)
  • How digitized news collections are being used in the digital humanities, by researchers, and by the public
  • The importance and possibilities of citizen science
  • Long-term sustainability planning for news collections and the role of institutional commitment in preservation and sustainability planning  
  • How institutions make digital newspaper collections freely accessible
  • Rules, regulations, or legislation for mandatory deposit of news content, paper or otherwise
  • Legal deposit libraries offering access to in-copyright digitized newspapers
  • National Libraries co-operating with newspaper publishing houses in digitization, access, etc.
  • Data research that benefits preservation practice and planning
  • Changing collection building in a social media and online world
  • New methods for media monitoring
  • Harvesting and preservation of web-only news content
  • Issues around suppression of digitized/digital news content and take down orders
  •  
Other proposals relevant to the main conference theme will also be considered.

Submission Guidelines
  • Proposal abstracts should be submitted as an MS Word file
  • Proposal abstracts must be submitted by 13 January 2017, must be in English, and should clearly include:
    • Title of proposed paper
    • Abstract of proposed paper (no more than 300 words)
    • Name(s) of presenter(s) plus position and/or title
    • Employer / affiliated institution
    • Contact information including e-mail address and telephone number
    • Short biographical statement(s) of presenter(s)

Proposal abstracts should be submitted to all conference committee members:

Selected presenters will be notified by 20 January 2017. To discuss any matter relating to this Call for Papers, please contact the conference committee members listed above.

Accepted papers
  • Complete accepted papers should be 3000-6000 words in length and be an original submission not published elsewhere.
  • Complete accepted papers and accompanying presentation slides must be submitted by 
    10 April 2017.
  • Final papers should be written in English.
  • The papers will be made available on the Conference Website and the News Media Section Website under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
  • Approximately 20 minutes will be allowed for the presentation of the paper.

Registration
Registration information will be posted on the Conference Website at the beginning of 2017.

Important dates
13 January 2017                                  Proposal abstracts due
20 January 2017                                  Acceptance notices sent to authors
01 February 2017                               Start of registration
10 April 2017                                        Completed papers and presentations submitted
27-28 April 2017                                Conference 

Please note
The Programme Committee regrets that it has no funding to assist prospective authors and the submission of an abstract must be on the understanding that the costs of attending the conference including registration, travel, accommodation and other expenses, are the responsibility of the presenters of the accepted papers, or their institutions. No financial support can be provided by IFLA, but a special invitation can be issued to authors.

Call for IRRT Board Nominations



IRRT is seeking candidates to run for office in the 2017 ALA Elections for terms beginning after Annual Conference 2017. IRRT is seeking candidates for the offices of Chair-Elect and Secretary/Treasurer.

Candidates must be current members of IRRT and have served for at least one year on an IRRT committee. Officers must be able to attend all ALA Midwinter and Annual Conferences for the duration of their commitments. All officers serve on IRRT’s Executive Board. If elected, the terms will begin immediately following the ALA 2017 Annual Conference.

The terms of these offices are:

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect
Serves a three-year term as part of a three-year commitment to the Executive Board as Vice Chair/ Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past Chair.
Secretary/Treasurer
Serves a two-year term.


If you are interested in running for office, or wish to nominate someone, please contact, Samantha Thompson-Franklin (sfranklin@lcsc.edu), chair, IRRT Nominating Committee. The deadline to submit names to the committee is November 28, 2016. 

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Submit a nomination for the ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects.




The International Relations Round Table (IRRT) invites you to submit a nomination for the ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects
The citation began as an ALA Presidential initiative of Dr. Loriene Roy, ALA president in 2007-2008 and Notable IRRT Member.  Citations are awarded each year by the ALA president at the International Relations Round Table (IRRT) International Librarians Reception during the ALA Annual Conference.
Projects must be nominated by an ALA member or an individual with an IFLA affiliation. In an effort to recognize many diverse and worthy projects as possible, only one library project must be submitted by the nominator.  To nominate a library project, nominators must complete the nomination form and submit it to the International Relations Office by email or regular mail.  Distinct projects by an individual, group or organization may be nominated separately in the same year. However, it is unlikely that the citation will be awarded for more than one of the projects.  Past recipients of the ALA Presidential Citation for International Innovation may be considered only for new innovative projects.  Citations recognize innovative projects that result from the work of an individual, group or organization.
The deadline for nominations is January 1, 2017. Nominations are submitted to the ALA International Relations Office (email: intl@ala.org) for review by the IRRT Advisory Award Committee on the ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects.
The following criteria will be used in selecting recipients.
  • the recipient will have designed and implemented a highly visible innovative library service(s) in a country outside of the United States within the last three years;
  • the innovative service(s) must be unique, original and greatly improve existing library services for users;
  • the service(s) should draw attention to the potential of library service/s to creating positive change;
  • the service(s) must demonstrate a strong likelihood of sustainability and have potential to serve as a model for other libraries;
  • the service(s) must be current, that is, it must be in operation during the year that the Citation is awarded.

For more information or to download an application please visit: http://www.ala.org/irrt/alapresintlibraryaward

Monday, November 7, 2016

Mortenson Center for International Library Programs invites applicants to 2017 Associates Program


Mortenson Center for International Library Programs invites applications to the 2017 Associates Program, May 24-June 20, 2017: Building Sustainable Libraries

The 2017 Mortenson Center Associates Program will offer individuals working in a library setting outside the United States an opportunity to explore current issues and trends in the library field and to engage with librarians implementing cutting-edge programs and services.
Program participants will learn about novel and inventive practices and services in areas such as:

  • Leadership and communication 
  • 
Digital and print collections
  • Information Technology
  • Marketing and advocacy
  • International and professional networking
  • Innovation and community outreach
  • United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
Application Requirements
  • Application must be submitted in English along with supporting documentation in order to be considered.
  • Applicants must secure adequate funding to support a stay at the Mortenson Center in order to be accepted into the program.
For more information visit the Mortenson Center website
 

Application Deadline: January 3, 2017

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

International Papers and Projects Call for Proposals

The American Library Association, International Papers and Projects Committee invites proposals for presentations to be made at the next ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Presentations will be delivered at the International Papers Session scheduled in June 2017. The International Papers and Projects Program provides librarians with an opportunity to exchange information about library services, collections and projects throughout the world. The program also serves to stimulate the interest of U.S. librarians in international library matters. We invite presentation proposals based on the International Papers and Projects 2017 theme:
 Libraries Transform: Programs and Services for Sustainable Environments, Social Justice, and Quality Education for All
 Because Libraries reach a large cross-section of the public, they are in a unique position to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the promotion of sustainable environments, social justice, and quality education. This program will feature presentations and projects by librarians or professionals working outside the USA or involved in projects outside of the USA whose research, libraries, or projects are working to:
·       Promote lifelong learning
·       Provide inclusive and quality education for all
·       Reduce inequality
·       Promote just and inclusive societies
·       Contribute to environmental sustainability

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Proposals, presentations, and papers must be written and delivered in English, which is the working language of the program.
Proposals should include:
1. Title of the presentation
2. Name, title, institutional affiliation, and full contact information (including a valid e-mail address) for each presenter
3. Abstract (300-500 words)
4. A short biographical profile of each presenter
Proposals should be submitted electronically (as a single Microsoft Word or PDF attachment) to the International Relations Office via email at intl@ala.org with a copy to jsolis@email.unc.edu and paromitabiswas7@gmail.com.
Deadline for submitting proposals is December 17, 2016.
SELECTION PROCESS
Four proposals will be selected to present at the ALA Annual Meeting in June 2017. Notification of acceptance will be emailed by January 30, 2017.
PRESENTATION FORMAT
The International Papers and Projects Program is 1.5 hours total. Presentations should run about 20 minutes each, followed by a question-and-answer session. Presenters are encouraged to prepare a dynamic and interactive presentation, incorporating visual prompts, technologies, games, questions for the audience, etc. PowerPoints are common, but speakers who want to read a paper or refer to it are welcome to do so.
We would like to invite you to view previous presentation titles listed on IRRT's International Papers and Projects Session Committee website, http://www.ala.org/irrt/irrt-international-papers-committee.