Call for Proposals
Demonstrating the Value of Academic Libraries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Florida Chapter of ACRL (FACRL) is seeking proposals for presentations and poster sessions for the 2020 FACRL Virtual Annual Conference, which will be held online on Friday, October 16, 2020. As academic institutions around the country have shifted their focus to delivering instruction online during the 2020 pandemic, how have academic libraries continued to demonstrate their value? Stay-at-home orders and social distancing efforts have forced us to evaluate how we deliver our services in order to support our communities. How are we redefining our work and what challenges and opportunities does this present? As we continue to deal with the uncertainties of the future, how do we allow for reflection, planning, and development in order to demonstrate our value to our institutions and build resiliency within our libraries?
Online presentations and posters may address the following topics, but all proposals relevant to the impact of academic libraries during the coronavirus pandemic will be considered:
- Shifting information literacy instruction online - adapting instruction for synchronous and/or asynchronous learning; addressing misinformation during the pandemic
- Case studies in collection development & e-Resource management - acquisitions, promotion, and planning for the future
- Open Access/Open Educational Resources - is now the time to seize the moment?
- Library leadership during times of crisis: building and staffing policies, social distancing, reopening procedures, advocating for and protecting our most important assets (our people!)
- Assessment metrics for demonstrating impact - what works, what is meaningful?
- Experiences with virtual reference support
- When there are no students on campus: student engagement when the library is closed; reincorporating library student workers when the building is closed
- Initiatives with the broader campus community to support student retention, faculty teaching, etc.
- Time management and self-care during lockdown: strategies for managing stress and mental health
Proposals for presentations, posters, and lightning round presentations are due by June 30, 2020 and can be submitted using the online submission form. Selected presenters will receive free registration to the virtual conference.
Presentations should be a total of 45 minutes in length, which would include time provided for questions. Posters will be shared during a virtual poster session during the conference. Lightning round presentations are 5 minutes in length. Follow this link to the rubric that will be used to score all proposals. Acceptance emails will be sent on or before July 31, 2020.
Presentations and posters of superior quality may be considered for future publication in The Reference Librarian, a major refereed journal published by Taylor and Francis. Consider reviewing the Instructions for Authors to learn about the expectations of content and writing for this peer-reviewed journal, which utilizes APA 7th edition style. Please contact co-editors Lauri Rebar and Steve Black (lrebar@fau.edu, seblack@colgate.edu) with any questions.
Inquiries may be sent to the FACRL Conference Program Committee chair, Nancy Schuler (schulenl@eckerd.edu).
