Call for Papers: Open Sessions

Government Information and Official Publications Section

Theme:

"How to Find It? International Legal Institutions Informing the Public"

The IFLA Government Information and Official Publications Section is pleased to invite proposals for short and sharp/precise/exciting presentations for a knowledge sharing and engaging open session in Wroclaw, 2017.

Aim and scope

Libraries collect documents of International Legal Institutions in paper and electronic format for their patrons. However, in the days of Facebook and Twitter these institutions are rethinking their ways of producing and disseminating information, including opening new channels of communication. Some institutions are using social media, others are optimizing their databases for mobile devices. How does this trend affect the traditional role of libraries as information brokers?

The aim and scope of this session is to bring together librarians and information experts from institutions such as, but not limited to, the European Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the European Union,  European Union Information Centres, and other libraries that collect information from Public International Legal Institutions, to share ideas on how libraries and information centres can best provide efficient and expert information service and intermediation.

Topics could include

  • Communication and cooperation between Libraries of International Legal Institutions and depository libraries for those institutions
  • Explaining the role and responsibilities of European Information Centers to the general public and/or university students
  • The effect of new channels of communication, such as social media platforms, on the traditional means of disseminating information
  • The future of libraries as intermediaries for disseminating legal information
  • Improving communication with legal professionals, librarians and the general public through better services (for example multi-lingual websites and databases)

Submissions

Please send your proposals by 30 March 2017 at the latest, with:

  • An abstract outlining your paper
  • 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
  • Contact information for response to the proposal

Please send your proposals to:

Jim Church
Email: jchurch@library.berkeley.edu

and

Cornelie Butz
Email: cornelie.butz@bverwg.bund.de

All proposals will be reviewed by a panel from the Government Information and Official Publications Section Standing Committee.

Important Deadlines

30 March 2017: Deadline for Submission of Abstracts

28 April 2017: Notification of Acceptance / Rejection of Papers

28 May 2017:  Deadline for Submission of Full Papers

Please note

At least one of the paper’s authors must be present to deliver a summary of the paper during the program in Wrocław, Poland. 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 2017 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.