Call for Papers IFLA 2016 - Law Libraries Section

Cross-posted from multiple mailing lists

The IFLA Law Libraries Section with Public Libraries Section & Government Information and Official Publications Section is seeking proposals for papers to be presented at a session to be held at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, Ohio (USA), August 13–19, 2016.

Theme: “Bringing the Law to the Library: Connections, Collaboration, and Community in Support of Access to Justice and the Rule of Law".

Session Theme
People around the world need government and legal information, but often they are not located near a physical law library collection and they lack the means or knowledge to access to online legal resources. For most users, navigating the finer points of legal materials in any format requires some assistance. Public librarians have front-line access to people who want to use legal resources but they are often not trained in the use of those resources, in print or online. This session will focus on how law libraries and public libraries around the globe are finding ways to facilitate access to justice resources through innovative collaborations and initiatives.

We invite papers that:

• Explore how collaborations between law librarians and public librarians, in particular with respect to trainings for public librarians, are better able to assist a wider range of patrons with their legal needs.
• Highlight models for collaboration among law librarians and public librarians and other innovative initiatives that are serving to connect people with the legal information they need.
• Describe the types of open access and free web resources that law libraries and public libraries are using to connect people with the legal information they need for their scholarship, their work, and their personal lives.

Papers should reflect the conference theme, “Connections. Collaboration. Community.” The program will feature keynote speakers who will present PowerPoint presentations of 15-20 minutes each. At least one of the paper's authors must be present to deliver a summary of the paper during the program in Columbus, Ohio. 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. However, a special invitation can be issued to authors/presenters if that is required. Authors of accepted presentations will be requested to agree to publication of their paper in the IFLA library under a Creative Commons licence to their work.

Language of the session: Papers should be in one of the seven IFLA official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Russian and Spanish, however, abstracts must be in English. 

Deadline: Proposal abstracts must be submitted by January 15, 2016. Selected presenters will be notified by February 15, 2016. Abstracts must be in English and should include: the Title of proposed presentation, the Abstract of the proposed paper (no more than 300 words), the Name(s) of presenter(s) plus position and/or title, Employer / affiliated institution, Contact information including e-mail address, telephone number, and a Short biographical statement of presenter(s).

For more details on submitting, visit the IFLA website.