LIASA Tenth Annual Conference - 2008: Call for papers

LIASA Tenth Annual Conference - 2008: Call for papers


Date: 6-10 October 2008

Venue: Cape Town, Cape Town Convention Centre

Theme: Looking ahead: the changing role of LIS

You are invited to submit proposals for papers & posters that will focus on areas related to the theme of the conference.

The Tenth Annual LIASA Conference provides an opportunity to debate, share and learn about the changing roles of LIS in South Africa, Africa and globally in the new millennium. In South Africa, different LIS sectors have experienced the South African Society in transition. LIASA is entering into its second decade of existence. Funding has been finally made available to the public libraries and will relieve some of the pressure that public librarians have carried for a decade. Academic libraries have gone through a series of changes as a result of the mergers. How well has the LIS sector fared in contributing to a democratic South Africa, nation building and the creation of a society that values and respects diversity? How does the LIS sector position itself for the next decade in the transformed society of South Africa? What is the role of LIS on the African continent in the second decade of the new millennium? What is the role of South African and African LIS in the global space and how can it be realized? Local and international professional colleagues and partners are invited to participate in discussions and workshops around the proposed topics.

Papers and poster proposals on topics such as the following will be considered for inclusion in the conference programme:

Partnerships for the future
The future role of national libraries
The future role of public libraries
The future role of academic libraries
The future role of s pecial libraries
The future role of s chool libraries
The future role of LIS associations
Libraries and preservation of national heritage
Access to information and freedom of expression
Information literacy
Indigenous knowledge systems
Knowledge management
Nation building and development: the role of libraries
Education and training
Reference in digital environments (Instant Messaging, Text Messaging (SMS), and other emerging modes for offering reference services and Web 2.0 applications)
Digital Library applications in e-science, e-learning, e-government, cultural heritage, etc.
Bridging the digital divide
Service delivery in challenging environments, especially where the infrastructure may be sub-optimal as in some developing countries, or where the user group represents particular challenges
Electronic Theses and Dissertations: Current status and strategy
The future role of ethics in the management of libraries
Institutional repositories/ self-archiving
The future role of standards in the management of libraries
Research agenda in LIS


The deadline for receipt of proposals/abstracts is 28 March 2008.

Proposals, in electronic format (MS Word) must be submitted to:


Prof P Ngulube
University of South Africa
Department of Information Science
P.O. Box 392
UNISA
0003
ngulubep@gmail.com

Important information about the submission of abstracts

Preference will be given to short papers based on practical experience.
Priority will be given to papers on the theme and topics listed, although papers on related topics may also be considered.
Papers must be presented in English.
Submissions must include:
full title of the paper;
name(s) of author(s),
institutional affiliation,
full contact details of author(s),
an abstract of the paper of 300 - 500 words
Each abstract file should be named with the surname of the presenting author, e.g.: Smith abst1.doc
Include the contact details of author(s) in the abstract file
brief CV of the author(s) (separate file) named with the surname of the presenting author, e.g.: Smith CV.doc
The abstracts of the accepted papers may be published in the conference programme
Authors of accepted papers will be notified as soon as possible after 30 April 2008.
No correspondence will be entered into about acceptance or non-acceptance of papers.
The final version of the full paper must be submitted in electronic form (as an MS Word file) by 20 September 2008 for publishing.
Papers presented at the LIASA Conference will be considered for publication in the South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science.
This call for papers is for the plenary and parallel sessions of the Conference. Papers that are more suitable for the Interest Group sessions will be forwarded to the relevant Interest Group Conveners.
Proposals for papers for a specific Interest Group session can also be submitted. Please indicate which Interest Group.
Please note that all presenters are responsible for their own expenses to attend the conference.

Prof P Ngulube
Professor of Information Science
University of South Africa
Department of Information Science
P.O. Box 392
UNISA
0003
Cell: +27828527612
Fax: +27 12 429 3221
ngulubep@gmail.com