• 10 January 2017, 10:53

Theme:

"Smart libraries for a tolerant and inclusive society"

[Deadline extended to: 15 February 2017]

In keeping with the overall theme of the WLIC, “Libraries. Solidarity. Society”, the open programme session of the IFLA Regional Section for Asia and Oceania (organised by the Regional Standing Committee – RSCAO) will focus on the role of libraries in transmitting understanding of cultural values, in providing and mediating resources for educational and social development, in acting as trusted repositories of data and the record of human experience.

For our open session, we seek contributions that illustrate the different ways in which all types of library services in Asia and Oceania must re-position themselves to enhance their effectiveness in contributing to the social, educational  and economic development of the communities they serve.

We are seeking high-quality, thoughtful and inspiring papers, and we encourage professionals across the Asia-Pacific region to submit proposals for papers on topics relating to the session theme.

Topics:

The following topics are suggested (though other proposals will be considered):

• The role of libraries in the preservation of cultural memory
• Evaluating the costs and benefits of digitisation programmes
• Promotion of digital literacies, information literacy and e-research literacy
• Citizens’ access to government information
• The Sustainable Development Goals and libraries
• Public library services for emerging and developing economies
• Developing equitable access to information in multicultural communities
• Library services for migrants and displaced persons

While our suggested topics may be similar to others which will be discussed at the Conference, our approach as a Section is to look at these topics from a broad Asia-Oceania regional perspective. Authors who submit papers on specific local or national initiatives must explain how their conclusions or lessons learned could be generalised/applied elsewhere in Asia or the Pacific.

Members of other IFLA Sections are welcome to propose papers demonstrating how work in their professional field could be applied across the Asia-Oceania region, provided that there is a clear link with the theme of our open session.

Submissions:

1. The deadline for submitting a detailed abstract (500 words) and full author details is Monday 13 February Wednesday 15 February 2017. Selection of papers is based on the abstract, and presenters will be notified whether they have been successful by Monday 6 March 2017.
   
2. The committee will evaluate the submitted abstracts against criteria which include: innovative content, topical relevance, regional interest, clarity of exposition, originality, and overall quality.
3. Papers must be original submissions not presented or published elsewhere – (this is a normal IFLA rule).
4. Full texts of papers are due on 1 June 2017. Both abstracts and full papers should be submitted as a MS Word file by e-mail.
5. Papers should be no more than 4,000 words, single spaced in Times New Roman 12 point.
6. Papers and abstracts should be in English.
7. The author(s) should include their full contact details and brief biographical notes.
8. Note: all papers presented at IFLA WLIC 2017 should be available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Authors of submitted papers have to sign IFLA’s Authors’ Permission Form which formalises this.

Content of abstracts:

Informative abstracts (500 words) should be prepared following the template provided below. Each abstract will be blind reviewed by members of the Regional Standing Committee for Asia and Oceania. Abbreviated abstracts or late submissions will not be considered.

Purpose of this paper	What are the reason(s) for writing the paper (or the aims of the research)?
Theme	How does it relate to the theme of the session?
Design, methodology, approach	How are the objectives achieved? Include the main method(s) used for the study.What is the approach to the topic, and what is the theoretical or subject scope of the paper?
Findings	What was found in the course of the work? This will refer to analysis, discussion, or results.
Research limitations and implications (if applicable)	If the paper reports on research, this section must be completed. It should include suggestions for future research and any identified limitations in the research process.
Practical implications (if applicable)	What outcomes and implications for practice, applications and consequences are identified? All papers should have practical applications. What changes to practice might be made as a result of this research/paper?
Originality	What is new in the paper? State the value of the paper and to whom.

 Presentation of accepted papers:

1. The presenter (who need not be the author) must be fluent in English: there will be no interpretation service at this open session.
2. 15 minutes will be allowed in the session for a summary presentation based on the paper, with time for questions. Presenters should not read their full written paper.

Note: in general, IFLA has no funds available to cover the cost of speakers’ attendance at the Congress. Any person submitting a paper proposal to RSCAO is responsible for arranging his/her own travel funding. RSCAO officers may be able to provide advice, without commitment, on possible sources of support.

Deadline:

Please send your abstract by  Monday 13 February 2016 to:

Mr Sanjay Bihani, RSCAO Secretary
Email: sanjaykbihani@gmail.com

Please also copy your email to:

Mr Winston Roberts, RSCAO Programme sub-committee convenor
Email:  winston.roberts@dia.govt.nz

and

Ms Jayshree Mamtora, the Chair of RSCAO
Email:  jayshree.mamtora@cdu.edu.au

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.