LIASA Fourteenth Annual Conference

SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS

Date: 1-5 October 2012
Venue: Durban International Convention Centre

Theme: Libraries: Empowering communities, building a nation

Contact: conference2012@liasa.org.za

Website: http://www.liasa.org.za

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

The 14th Annual LIASA Conference aims to provide opportunities to debate, share, and learn from local and international professional colleagues and partners. All relevant stakeholders and partners are invited to participate in discussions and workshops around the proposed topics. Papers based on case studies and best practice would be given preference. Papers and poster proposals on the theme will be considered for inclusion in the conference programme:

Libraries: Empowering communities, building a nation

“Access to knowledge is the superb, the supreme act of truly great civilizations. Of all the institutions that purport to do this, free libraries stand virtually alone in accomplishing this mission” (Toni Morrison).

The strength of a nation is very often reflected in the strength of its democracy. The cornerstone of any democracy is access to information and knowledge and the capacity of individuals and institutions to utilize that information and knowledge for the creation of growth paths. The most significant institution contributing to making information accessible to a community (be it a community at a higher education institution, the general public or a community of learners at a school) is the library located within such a community. The aggregation of elevated knowledge and skills of all communities feeds empowerment and growth of a strong nation.

Empowerment is viewed as the development of knowledge, skills and abilities in the individual to enable the individual to take control of his/her growth and development: it is a process of change. Its concomitance with the LIS discipline relates to making provision for improved access to information resources so that the individual may use the information for effective decision-making for constructive change. Empowerment is the ability to learn and access skills for improving personal and collective circumstances.

This 14^thAnnual LIASA Conference provides a platform to engage in discourse on the ‘epicentredness’ of the library in empowering all communities (the higher education community, the special library community, the public library community, the school library community and the national library community) en route to building a stronger South Africa.

LIASA invites submissions of papers and proposals for posters that will contribute to an exciting and creative event. As always, the conference welcomes contributions from all sectors and disciplines that intersect to grow library and information provision. Topics include, but are not limited to:

Libraries and empowerment

Libraries and the digital divide

Libraries and critical thinking

Equitable access to information

Continuing education

Professional development

Literacy and secondary illiteracy

Lifelong learning

Cooperation and collaboration

Bridging the divide

Network scholarship(open access and open education resources)

School libraries and basic education

Public libraries and basic and higher education

Library as a space

Role of technology in library and information provision

The deadline for receipt of abstracts for paper presentation and poster proposals is 20 June 2012.
To submit your abstract online go to: “Submit Abstract” . You should also upload your brief CV.

For general queries contact: conference2012@liasa.org.za.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS

1.         Authors are encouraged to submit abstracts for short papers based on practical experience, case studies and best practice.

2.         Priority will be given to papers on the main theme, although papers on related topics may also be considered.

3.         Papers must be presented in English.

4.         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

5.         The abstracts of the accepted papers will be published in the conference programme and on the LIASA website.

6.         Authors of accepted papers will be notified as soon as possible after 29 June 2012.

7.         No correspondence will be entered into about acceptance or non-acceptance of papers.

8.         The final version of the presentation (PowerPoint) must be submitted in electronic form for publication on the website by 21 September 2012.

9. Full papers submitted may be published as part of the conference proceedings. This must be submitted in electronic format (as an MS Word file)

by 14 September 2012 for publication.

10. There will be a selection of papers, presented at the LIASA Conference that will be published in a special conference edition of the South African

Journal of Libraries and Information Science.

11. This call for papers is for the plenary and parallel sessions of the Conference, including the Interest Groups.

12. Please note that all presenters are responsible for their own expenses to attend the conference.

Naomi Haasbroek

President

Library and Information Association of South Africa

president@liasa.org.za

http://www.liasa.org.za

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LIASANews