CFP: March Mini-Con 2026 (ALA Games & Gaming Round Table) - Online March 20, 2026

 

Call for Proposals: March Mini-con 2026

CFP URL: https://games.ala.org/call-for-proposals-march-mini-con-2026/

Call for proposals open: October 20, 2025 – January 12, 2026
Conference Date: March 20, 2026

The Games & Gaming Round Table (GameRT) of the American Library Association is looking for presenters for its 2026 one day mini conference to be held on March 20th, 2026. The conference will be virtual and free (presenters will join a Streamlabs session that will be livestreamed and recorded on GameRT’s Twitch and YouTube channels).

This year’s theme is Gaming Outside the Box.

We are interested in presentations along two main tracks:

1) how libraries work with non-traditional games, like lawn and playground games, low/no-resource games, solo RPGs, and journaling games, or games distributed in formats that are difficult to collect, like digital games or crowdsourced projects

2) innovative and experimental approaches to games in libraries.

Experimenting with new kinds of games or games programming? We want to hear about it! Proposals should explicitly state their relevance to libraries, but presenters don’t need to be a librarian or GameRT member to present.

Submission Details

To submit a session proposal, please complete this form by January 12, 2026.

Accepted presenters will be notified by February 20, 2026.

Slides and handouts will be due on March 13, 2026.

Presenters will be asked to give a fifteen-minute presentation, with a group question-and-answer session after.

Examples of possible presentation topics (if one of these titles speaks to you, please use it!):

• Honey, They Embiggened the Chess Board?!
• A Good Stick: Using Lawn Games for Library Outreach
• Red Rover Red Rover, Send the Librarians Over: The Role We Play in Social Emotional Learning

Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Connection to library and community
• Topic fits the needs and interests of GameRT and its audience
• Relevance to theme
• Relevance and quality of citations
• Wow/cool/cozy/fun/unique/X factor

Questions?

Questions may be addressed to the GameRT Program Planning Committee via e-mail at gamert@ala.org with “March Mini Con” in the subject line.

You can view previous webinars and virtual conferences on GameRT’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

Submit or Nominate an Online Learning Object for FOLO!

(Thank you for your patience with cross-posting as we try to spread the message far and wide!)

The ACRL Instruction Section Featured Online Learning Objects (FOLO) Committee aims to feature several excellent learning objects each year. 

 

We invite you to submit or nominate a learning object for review by January 11, 2026 to be considered for feature during the 2026 cycle.

 

Learning objects (LOs) may include online modules/tutorials, videos, podcasts, or other relevant media created or substantially updated within the past five years. Please see the linked form for additional submission/nomination and scoring criteria.

 

Reach out to Committee Co-Chairs, Renae Watson and Aimee Gee, with any questions.

 

We look forward to showcasing your excellent work!

- ACRL IS FOLO Committee

CFP: Ungrading in Credit-Bearing Library Instruction: Alternative Assessment Practices #ACRL Publication

Call for Chapter Proposals

Ungrading in Credit-Bearing Library Instruction: Alternative Assessment Practices invites readers to rethink traditional grading and adopt strategies that prioritize reflection, feedback, and student agency. This book will be published through the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association.

Editors will write an introduction exploring the role of librarians as educators, the limits of conventional grading, approaches such as contract, specifications, and standards-based grading, and ungrading's alignment with critical information literacy and equity. They will also provide a conclusion synthesizing key themes, envisioning the future of ungrading in library instruction, and offering a quick-start guide for educators ready to experiment with these transformative practices.

Contributed Chapters

Core chapters feature case studies of real-world applications, from minimalist integrations within traditional systems to comprehensive ungrading models. Contributors will share practical strategies, examples, and candid reflections on challenges and lessons learned. This section could also include essays on theoretical approaches to alternative assessments. 

Call for Proposals

We seek case study chapters that explore ungrading and alternative assessment approaches used in credit-bearing library instruction, whether integrated within traditional grading structures or used as the dominant approach. Chapters should share practical strategies and examples of ungrading or alternative grading methods, such as contract, specifications, or standards-based grading. We are also interested in reflections on challenges, considerations, and lessons learned during implementation, as well as discussions that connect assessment practices to pedagogical values like empowerment, exploration, and lifelong learning.  While most chapters will explore courses in which the librarian is the primary instructor, we also invite chapters that explore librarian partnerships with disciplinary instructors who use alternative assessment approaches.

Submission Guidelines

Use this proposal submission form to submit a proposal. The form will require:

• Author name(s), job title(s), email(s), and institutional affiliation(s)

• A working chapter title

• An abstract of approximately 300–500 words outlining your chapter focus and approach

• A current CV or list of publications

Proposal due date: January 31, 2026, 11:59 pm ET.

Chapter Guidelines

Tentative Chapter Length: 3,000-6,000 words

Tentative Timeline:

• Proposal due date: January 31, 2026

• Proposal notification date: March 1, 2026

• First draft due date: May 31, 2026

• Final draft due date: August 30, 2026

 Accepted authors will receive detailed chapter guidelines and timelines.

Contact Information

Join us in shaping the first book dedicated to ungrading in library education and help inspire a shift toward learner-centered assessment practices.

For questions and inquiries, email: ungradingbook@gmail.com 

• Megan Benson, Assistant Head of Instruction and Outreach, Binghamton University

• Andrea Brooks, Associate Professor, Head of Education & Outreach Services, Northern Kentucky University

• Robyn Hartman, Associate Professor, Information Literacy Librarian, Fort Hays State University

• Lindsay McNiff, Learning and Instruction Librarian, Dalhousie University

CFP: 2026 SOUCABL (Southern University and College Academic Business Librarians Conference) - May 13th & 14th, 2026 - Nashville, Tennessee

Are you an academic librarian with liaison responsibilities in business, finance, or entrepreneurship? In the Southern US? If so, the Southern University and College Academic Business Librarians Conference (SOUCABL) is for you! SOUCABL is a great opportunity to meet other information professionals, develop your regional network of colleagues, share ideas, and brainstorm solutions.

We are now accepting proposals!

https://forms.gle/MvjRNsSAymgSftJD9

Timeline

• Proposals are due Friday, January 9, 2026
• Proposals confirmed no later than Friday, January 30, 2026

We especially encourage proposal submissions from librarians who work at smaller institutions or for whom providing public and technical services for business, finance, sports management, or entrepreneurship education and programming is only part of their job.

Priority will be given to participants from the District of Columbia and 14 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

About the Conference

What: The SOUCABL Conference: Chapter 7 - "Striving & Thriving"
When: Wednesday, May 13 - Thursday, May 14, 2026
Where: Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Cost: No registration fee

• Breakfast and lunch will be provided in addition
• There will be a welcome reception on Wednesday and closing reception on Thursday
• Speakers are responsible for covering their own travel and lodging

Pre-Conference Literacy Lab
The preconference will explore strategies for teaching a range of business information literacies—including data, financial, and related competencies—within the context of today’s evolving landscape of resources, technologies and ethical questions. Sessions will emphasize practical approaches for maximizing the impact of available resources, and highlighting creative methods of instruction. We especially encourage workshops that critically examine pedagogical practices through an ethical lens, considering issues such as equity, accessibility, and responsible use of information. The aim is to inspire attendees with fresh ideas,  and equip them with practical tools and reflective frameworks. Tell us how your workshop might help our community to enhance our teaching in meaningful and conscientious ways.

Striving & Thriving: Start Where You Are, Use What You Have, Do What You Can

The theme of the 2026 conference is “Striving & Thriving.” We invite business librarians to share their creative, practical, and impactful approaches to supporting business information needs with the resources at hand or have sourced new funding in new ways. Whether you’ve developed innovative programs, forged strategic partnerships, leveraged technology in new ways, or found small changes that made a big difference, we want to hear your story. Proposals should highlight successes, lessons learned, and strategies for thriving despite today’s shrinking budgets.

Suggested topics may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Have you adapted or repurposed existing tools, collections, or spaces in ways that had a significant impact?
• What partnerships have helped you extend your reach or offer new services?
• Have you used technology creatively or inexpensively to enhance access, engagement, or efficiency?
• What lessons have you learned from experimenting with new approaches, and how have they shaped your current practice?
• How do you measure or demonstrate the impact of your work on a budget?

Formats

• Pre-conference Workshop: 55 minutes including all interactive elements
• Lightning talk: 10 minutes (includes any Q&A), limited to 5 slides maximum

We are open to accepting different formats. Sometimes a lightning talk can be expanded into a workshop, sometimes a workshop can condense into a lightning talk. We are looking for events that provide impact with the quickest return for time invested. We are also open to innovative formats. If you have an idea to develop it into a program, we’d love to hear from you. We are of course happy to consider different modalities for those who have specific requests.

Please contact Twyckoff@fsu.edu for suggestions for the program or proposals.
Please contact hd.mckay@vanderbilt.edu for any questions about travel and hospitality related to the conference.

Submit your proposals here: https://forms.gle/MvjRNsSAymgSftJD9

Kind regards,
Kara (in my role as a planning committee member)

--

Kara Van Abel, MLIS | Associate Professor | Reference Librarian
UAB | The University of Alabama at Birmingham
kvanabel@uab.edu

CFP: MiALA 2026 Annual Conference (Traverse City, Michigan - May 6-8, 2026)

The Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA) is now accepting presentation proposals for its annual conference, which will be held May 6-8, 2026, at the Park Place Hotel and Conference Center in downtown Traverse City, MI. 

This year’s theme is Finding Our True North: Creating Connections to Light Our Way. Amid an era of rapid and often unsettling change in higher education, Michigan’s academic libraries remain vital centers of integrity, inquiry, and connection. Committed to upholding intellectual freedom, access, inclusivity, privacy, and the pursuit of truth, our “True North” is the shared compass that guides our work and keeps us grounded. We invite the academic library community to reflect on how it can embody our profession’s enduring core values, even when external pressures threaten to pull us off course. This year’s conference seeks to illuminate how academic libraries across Michigan are building resilience, fostering collaboration, and staying true to our values.

 

We welcome proposals on topics covering any aspect of academic libraries. We are especially interested in those proposals that explore how academic libraries are reaffirming their “True North”—the guiding principles that sustain and inspire our work. Proposals are currently being accepted for the following formats: 

 

• Presentations, panels, or moderated discussion sessions (45 min.)
• Interactive workshops (105 min.)
• Lightning Talks (10 min.)

 

Note: Poster presentation proposals will open in early December. Participation from librarians, library staff, LIS students, and administrators from all types of academic libraries is encouraged. MiALA membership is not required to submit a proposal.

 

Please submit your presentation proposal using the application form by January 12, 2026. There is also a Breakout Session Collaboration Sheet available to find potential collaborators around a topic or idea.

• Questions about proposals can be sent to Stephanie Swanberg  at sswanberg@msp.edu. 
• Questions about the conference in general can be sent to conference@miala.org. 

 

Join us as we come together in Traverse City to reflect, reconnect, and rediscover our collective direction. Let’s amplify the stories, strategies, and sparks of inspiration that remind us of who we are and why our work matters.

CFP: Librarians to Write About Digital Tools for IT (Information Today) Magazine

Call for Articles: Librarians Wanted to Write About Digital Tools for IT Magazine

Information Today (IT) magazine (https://www.infotoday.com/it/) is seeking feature article writers for its Insights on Content: Making Sense of the Digital Maze section. If you're a library worker who engages with digital tools and/or e-resources and you have knowledge you'd like to share, please reach out to editor in chief Brandi Scardilli (bscardilli@infotoday.com) with your topic idea(s). You can propose one article or multiple. Articles will appear in the quarterly issues of 2026, and they should be a maximum of 800 words. IT pays $200 per article.

--

Brandi Scardilli

she/her | Muck Rack

Editor in Chief, Computers in Libraries

Editor in Chief, Information Today

Editor in Chief, ITI NewsBreaks, ITI NewsLink

Contributor, Streaming Media

Ebook Coordinator, ITI/Plexus

CFP: EBSCO Users Group 2026 - Omaha, Nebraska (May 5-8, 2026)

EBSCO User Group 2026 Call for Proposals Extended
May 5-8 | Omaha, NE
Conference URL: https://ebscousergroup.org/

Submission URL: https://ebscousergroup.org/submit-a-session/
Sessions will be held in one of three formats:

• Standard Presentation – 50 minutes, including time for Q&A (1-2 speakers)
• Panel Presentation – 50 minutes, including time for Q&A (3-4 speakers)
• Innovation Session – 10 minutes, lightning round format, back-to-back with Q&A at the end (1-2 speakers)

Proposals can cover a wide range of topics across EBSCO products and services, including:

• Configuration & Optimization
• UX, UI & Online Presence
• User Research Journey
• Collection Development
• Reporting & Analytics
• Tips & Tricks
• Library Landscape & Community
• Technology & Trends
• Implementation & Migration

You needed more time, and we listened. Our call for proposals for EBSCO User Group 2026 has been extended to December 1st, 2025. We are still accepting standard, panel and lightning round session proposals. Visit our website to learn more and submit your proposals.

Call for Proposals now closes 12/1/25 at 11:59pm ET.

CFP: Call for Contributors to the BizLibratory Blog! (Business and Social Science Librarianship)

Are you passionate about business or social science librarianship, creative pedagogy, or emerging trends in research and instruction? Do you have ideas, insights, or stories to share with a vibrant community of academic and professional librarians? If so, we’d love to feature your work on BizLibratory (https://bizlibratory.wordpress.com/)!

BizLibratory is a collaborative platform that explores the intersections of business, social science, librarianship, and innovation. From sharing successful teaching strategies to highlighting emerging tools and resources, our blog fosters dialogue and professional growth within the business and social science librarianship community.

We’re seeking contributors for upcoming blog posts! Whether you’re a seasoned writer or new to blogging, we welcome diverse perspectives and fresh voices. Topics we’re particularly excited about include:

• Innovative teaching practices for business research
• Insights on supporting entrepreneurship and startups
• Tools, technologies, and resources enhancing business librarianship
• Reflections on the evolving role of the business librarian
• Case studies, program highlights, or collaborative initiatives
• Don’t see your idea listed? That’s okay! We’re open to creative pitches that align with the spirit of the blog.

How to Contribute:

Tip: If you’re new to this blog, we recommend skimming a few entries of
BizLibratory to get a sense for the tone.

1. Submit your blog pitch (a few sentences outlining your topic and approach) to bizlibratory@gmail.com.
2. We’ll work with you to shape your post and provide editorial support if needed.
3. Completed blog posts typically range from 500-800 words, though this is flexible. Read more about our formats, suggested topics and editorial process here. (https://bizlibratory.wordpress.com/contribute/)

This is a great opportunity to engage with peers, showcase your expertise, and spark meaningful discussions. We can’t wait to hear your ideas and amplify your voice in the BizLibratory community.

Questions or ready to submit your pitch? Contact us at bizlibratory@gmail.com

Warm regards,
Editors, BizLibratory (Summer Krstevska, Nancy Lovas, & Angel Truesdale)