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Call for Proposals for Papers

Are you an expert? Do you have useful research, subject expertise, or innovative ideas to share? If so, we invite you to share your work with your colleagues. Submit apaper proposal for the 2008 American Library Association Annual Conference to be held in Anaheim, California, June 26-30, 2008. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2008. No late entries will be accepted.

ALA invites proposals for the following topics

Children & Young Adults
Children and youth are the library users of the future. The presentations should provide practical and theoretical information that will further develop skills and expand the minds of forward thinking administrators, teacher-librarians, and children's youth services specialists.

Subtopics

• Best Practices and Programming
• Literature & Collection Development
• Technology
• Early Literacy

Collection Management & Technical Services
The old is new again. Conflicts and convergence in collection management and technical services.

Subtopics

• Cataloging & Media
• Collection Development

Digital Information & Technologies
This track provides updates on the latest technologies, innovations, and standards involved in the provision of information and services.

Research
Exciting new research and tips on how to conduct and publish your own.

User Services
Who are our users and what do they want? The presentations should discuss how you can transform library services to meet the needs of your changing user communities.

Subtopics

• Reference
• Literacy and Learning
• Outreach

Benefits of Presenting your paper

As a presenter, you will not only help create an informative session, you will also:

• Gain recognition
• Highlight your institution's achievements
• Expand your peer network
• Hone your public speaking skills
• Obtain feedback on your ideas/research
• Advance the profession

Requirements

ALA Annual Conference paper presenters will be required to:

• register for and attend the conference (complimentary registration may be requested for non-librarian presenters);
• grant permission for possible taping (audiocassette and video) and broadcast (Web) of their presentation;
• assign ALA first publication rights, as papers will be published as part of the ALA conference proceedings;
• contributed paper presenters must provide completed papers in both hard copy and electronic versions by the deadline date.

Selection Criteria

The ALA Annual Conference subcommittees will evaluate the content of your paper proposal for relevance to the conference topics and themes, clarity, originality, and timeliness. Proposals should be of original work that has not been previously published. Special attention will be given to proposals that:

1. Generate ideas or report research that contribute to ongoing discussion about the future of academic and research libraries.
2. Demonstrate innovative thinking.
3. Contribute ideas for positioning academic and research librarians to be leaders both on and off campus.
4. Present strategies for effectively implementing new ideas and technology.
5. Encourage active learning among conference attendees.

A maximum of 20papers will be accepted.

Funding

In accordance with ALA practices, ALA or division members cannot receive honoraria nor have expenses reimbursed for presenting conference programs. Participants are required to pay for conference registration fees, travel, and other expenses. Non-librarian presenters may be eligible for per diem, travel reimbursement, and/or honorarium. All requests for reimbursement or honorarium are subject to approval by the program committee; acceptance of the proposal does not guarantee funding.

Submit a Proposal

To submit a proposal, please download and complete this form. Make sure to save the form to your hard drive with a new file name before entering the information. Email the completed form to Kimberly Arnold at karnold@ala.org. If you have questions about proposals, please contact Kimberly at 312-280-3216.