Internet Librarian International 2013 Call For Speakers

Internet Librarian International is the innovation and technology conference for information professionals.

The conference attracts hundreds of library and information professionals from around the world with an emphasis on case studies and the exchange of ideas and experience.

Our focus this year: Smart Solutions to Real Challenges

The conference will explore how innovative information professionals and services can make a real difference in the lives of clients and end users - whether they are individuals or organisations. Access to information, data and knowledge is becoming more open and transparent, with partnerships and new social media contexts expanding knowledge sharing in new and surprising ways. Against a background of fast-changing technology, new business models, changing user expectations and squeezed budgets, how are librarians and information professionals delivering innovative and imaginative products and services?

We are looking for speakers and panellists from all types of libraries - public, academic, government, national or commercial - as well as those working outside a 'traditional' library setting.

This is your chance to share your expertise, make connections and benefit from the insights and experiences of others.

The Call for Speakers has 4 main categories:

• TRANSFORMING THE PROFESSION
• TRANSFORMING LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES
• PUBLISHING AND SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION – NEW MODELS, NEW RESOURCES, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LIBRARIES
• INNOVATION IN SEARCH AND DISCOVERY
• PLUS Case Studies and Workshops

See below for further ideas under each of these key themes. But don’t let this limit your imagination - we invite participation from a wide range of professionals from all over the world to share success stories and lessons learned. How are you developing and delivering transformative information services and products?

TRANSFORMING THE PROFESSION

A leadership charter

• professional identity
• new leadership
• sustaining and strengthening the profession
• the impact of libraries on society; driving and supporting economic and social transformation
• library advocacy
• the purpose and role of libraries
• libraries and information in the developing world
• financial challenges; new sources of funding; innovative ways to manage costs

Career opportunities

New and enhanced skills and new roles, for example:

• data journalism/big data
  
• new ‘embedded’ roles
• new service models
• social marketing

TRANSFORMING LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICES

Community engagement

• collaborative content creation and curation
• building community collections
• the role of volunteers

Marketing the service and reaching new audiences

• social marketing
• raising the profile; collaboration and partnering
• demonstrating impact; influencing management

Understanding user needs

• next generation users
• customer analysis
• library usage data
• educating and mentoring users; information literacy

Reconfiguring the library space

• makerspaces
• co-working spaces
• virtual spaces/libraries outside the library

The implications of 'Everything Everywhere'

• BYOD
• impact of new devices, delivering services on multiple platforms, supporting the mobile workforce
• information services in the digital workplace
• delivering user expectations

Using technology for high impact innovation

• digitisation projects; digital libraries; digital curation
• crowdsourcing and social media
• mobile services
• gaming/gamification
• app development
• working in the cloud
• big data, open data, linked data
• information visualisation
• real time information provision

PUBLISHING AND SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION – NEW MODELS, NEW RESOURCES, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LIBRARIES

Libraries and scholarly communication – new developments

• academic libraries: future models
• open access
• impact factors
• new publishing trends and models and their impact on information services
• patron driven acquisition
• supporting research and innovation

Managing and maximising e-resources

• vendor relationships and negotiations
• the latest thinking in fee vs. free
• new and evolving models
• 21st century collection management
• ebook policies; acquisition management

SEARCH AND DISCOVERY

Search and discovery tools and techniques

• using the internet for research
• the latest search tools, tips and techniques
• social search
• developments in discovery tools
• web scale discovery

CASE STUDIES AND WORKSHOPS

• sector specific case studies – we are interested in case studies from a range of settings including academic libraries, public libraries, corporate settings, government libraries, health/medical libraries, law libraries, and non-traditional information settings
• Plus ideas for full day, interactive workshops

Val Skelton - Programme Director
Katherine Allen - Conference Director