Call for Participation: ACRL 2017 (Baltimore, Maryland - March 22-25, 2017)
ACRL invites you to share your research and creative endeavors with your colleagues at ACRL 2017.
The harbor city of Baltimore evokes the spirit of exploration and discovery as we navigate to new ports through waters deep with history and practice. Librarians are building, responding, acclimating, and adapting to the changing climate of our larger ecosystem – the academic enterprise. Inspired by time-honored principles, yet subject to ever-evolving processes, today’s academic and research librarians are charting new paths to learning and transformation.
Share your expertise
Inspire your colleagues in the higher education community with proposals that explore the most dynamic issues and ideas currently facing the academic and research librarians today. ACRL 2017 offers eight session formats to suit a wide range of presentation and learning styles. From first-time presenters to seasoned experts, there is a format best suited to your ideas. Consult the conference tags to stimulate your thinking and position your proposal within the conference theme. The tags will serve to create a conference map and guide attendees to themes of interest and inspiration.
Proposal Deadlines
- May 6, 2016 - Contributed papers, panel sessions, workshops, and preconferences proposals due
- October 14, 2016 - Poster sessions, roundtable discussions, TechConnect presentations, and virtual conference webcasts proposals due
Proposal Instructions
ACRL 2017 proposals include the following core elements. Please read the descriptions and consider each one to give your proposal the best chance of success.
Primary Speaker
Each proposal must identify a Primary Speaker who will receive notification of the proposal’s acceptance or rejection. If the proposal is accepted, the Primary Speaker will serve as the main point of contact for the ACRL staff.
ACRL depends on Primary Speakers to perform a variety of functions in developing the program and ensuring that it is successful at the conference. The Primary Speaker will work with his or her co-speakers to determine the scope of content, the order of speakers within the program, audiovisual needs, etc.; will confirm program details, descriptions and arrangements with speakers and staff; and will facilitate the program’s presentation. The Primary Speaker also needs to be familiar with ACRL policies concerning expenses, honoraria, recording, and publishing; communicate regularly with co-speakers; respond to requests for information from ACRL staff and committee members; and adhere to deadlines. By submitting a proposal, you agree to perform these functions to the best of your ability if your proposal is accepted, or to identify a substitute Primary Speaker as necessary. ACRL reserves the right to reorganize content, combine proposals, and make other changes as necessary to render the proposal appropriate for presentation at its meetings. The involvement and agreement of the Primary Speaker will be sought on all such changes.
Additional Speakers Information
The Primary Speaker is required to provide full contact information for all of the speakers involved in the proposed session. ACRL requires complete contact information for every speaker (name, title, organization, address, phone, and e-mail) so we may issue appropriate speaker agreements to all presenters.
Session Format
Choose the session format you feel is the most appropriate for your proposal.
Program Title
Creative, interesting and informative titles and descriptions are most favorably viewed by the proposal review committees and prospective attendees.
Description
Provide both a detailed description (500 words max.), as well as a short description (75 words max.). Keep in mind that ACRL 2017 is a blind, peer-review process. Do not identify presenter and institution names in your proposal (e.g., replace the name of your institution with a descriptor such as “private, four-year institution”).
The detailed description should outline your session’s main points, its relevance to attendees, how it is unique and different from others that may address the same topic, and the ways you will engage your audience.
The short description should actively describe your session (e.g., ” Find out what fee-based and open source textbook options are available, how content can be effectively delivered, and how librarians can lead in the adoption of digital textbooks on their campuses.”) If the proposal is accepted, the short description will be used in promotional materials and may be edited for style and clarity by ACRL staff.
Program Tags
Select up to three tags reflect the program’s main topic areas. Identify the primary, secondary, and tertiary tags for your program.
Learning Outcomes
Develop three learning outcomes for your session. A well-written learning outcome will identify what participants will be able to do as a result of attending your program. How will your target audience’s skills, attitudes, knowledge, behavior, status, or life condition change or improve by participating in your program? Think about the intended impact of the program and how it fills a need or solves a problem.
Tip: Consider using a verb or action phrase + “in order to” + an impact statement to design your outcomes. The first phrase describes the skill or task you want to learner to perform, and the second phrase describes its impact and why it is important. Examples of well-written learning outcomes:
Define assessment in terms of student learning in order to identify its relationship to good teaching.
State several concepts and applications of assessment in order to apply it as a practical information literacy tool.
Critically examine different classroom assessment techniques in order to evaluate them for application in your own setting.*Adapted from: Debra Gilchrist, Assessment is Learning. ACRL Immersion Program, 2007
Session Hashtag
Optional. If provided your hashtag will be published in conference materials. Your hashtag should be short but descriptive and check Twitter to ensure it’s unique (e.g., Title: Mashup or Crashup: Collaborating with Intra and Extra Library Partners to Create a Merged Library Service Desk; Hashtag: #acrlmashup).
Type of Audience
Identity who the session is for:
People brand new to the topic
People with some experience in the topic, but looking to grow
People with experience in the topic, but who are transitioning to greater responsibilities in this area
People with extensive experience in the topic, but looking for ways to find out what is new or to refresh their knowledge
Funding
In accordance with ALA practices, librarian presenters cannot receive honoraria nor have expenses reimbursed for presenting conference programs. Non-librarian presenters may be eligible for complimentary registration, per diem, and/or travel reimbursement. All requests for reimbursement or honorarium are subject to approval by the program committee; acceptance of the proposal does not guarantee funding.
Questions should be directed to Margot Conahan, ACRL Manager of Professional Development.
