Call for Papers — Open Sessions

Big Data

• 20 February 2020, 11:50

Theme: "Better Together: Collaborative Solutions to the Challenges of Data and Libraries"

Please consider submitting an abstract to the call for papers for the IFLA Big Data Special Interest Group open session to be held in Dublin, Ireland  at the IFLA WLIC August 15-21.

Data is changing the world we live in. The ubiquity of data has implications for our individual users, our organizations, the development of our communities and, increasingly our own future roles as library professionals operating in an environment of rapid change. Understanding and working with data is no longer an innovative strategic direction or a choice, but an expectation.  How has this evolution affected work in our libraries and information organizations and what strategies are being employed to join resources together to go farther?  Data in libraries presents many challenges and a steep learning curve to build capacity, but these aspects are more strategically overcome through collaboration. This session seeks case studies and creative solutions demonstrated by librarians and information technologists who are partnering to define roles, leverage strengths, build tools, and who model effective collaborations to meet the challenges of working with data.

The Big Data SIG is seeking papers focused on finding collaborative solutions to the practical challenges of working with data.

Sub-themes

Topics may include (but are not limited to):

• Successful collaborative research methods and/or development of tools used for data analysis
• Practical reports on shared data processing and cleaning functions or an iterative analysis process
• Collaborative ways to create data platforms, training data and data worksets
• Project reports from partners working on analyzing / using data or implementing algorithmic methods to solve problems and increase efficiency
• Perspectives on the usefulness of data: user studies, persona development, usability assessments
• Organizational structures that support collaboration and development of staffing models that evolve roles or support development of data-focused workflows
• Synergies in data use, reuse, sharing, documentation, description, access, and archiving among and between various communities
• Cross-community collaborations that build connections for activism and public good using data or computational methods
• Joint work to share solutions to long-term data challenges such as data preservation

You are invited to submit abstracts in MS-Word or Adobe PDF format by 30 March 2020 to Cory Lampert (cory.lampert@unlv.edu). All submissions will be reviewed by the Big Data Special Interest Group Planning Committee and submitters will be notified by 27 April 2020. Full papers of accepted abstracts must be submitted no later than 22 June 2020.

Important dates

30 March 2020: Deadline for proposal abstracts to be submitted

27 April 2020: Accepted papers and presenters will be notified

22 June 2020: Full papers to be submitted to IFLA

15 – 21 August 2020: WLIC 2020

How to submit a proposal

Proposals should include:

• Title of the presentation
• An abstract for your paper (up to 400 words)
• A short bio for all intended authors of your paper, including name, email, and institutional affiliation (as appropriate)-
• Language of the paper
• Language of the presentation (preferably English)

Proposals should be submitted electronically no later than 30 March to:

Cory Lampert, Big Data Special Interest Group, Convenor
Email: cory.lampert@unlv.edu

Proposals will be reviewed by members of the Program Committee. Selection will be based on proposal content and fit to the overall theme of the session.

Authors will be notified of acceptance status by 27 April 2020.

For accepted proposals, full papers will be due by 22 June 2020. Papers should be original work not published elsewhere and written in one of the IFLA working languages (English is preferred, but Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian or Spanish is accepted as long you also are able to provide an English translation).

Please note:

At least one of the paper’s authors must be present to deliver a summary of the paper during the program in Dublin. Abstracts should only be submitted with the understanding that the expenses of attending the conference will be the responsibility of the author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers.

The paper must be an original submission not presented or published elsewhere. All papers that are presented at the WLIC 2020 will be made available online via the IFLA Library under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Authors of accepted papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.

All expenses, including registration for the conference, travel, accommodation etc., are the responsibility of the authors/presenters. No financial support can be provided by IFLA, but a special invitation letter can be issued to author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers.

Congress Participation Grants

List of opportunities for support is available on the Apply for Grants & Awards webpage.