Call for Papers — Open Sessions

Preservation and Conservation joint with Information Technology

• 20 December 2019, 18:22

Theme: "Preserving complex digital objects in libraries"

The IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section and IFLA Information Technology Section invites Librarians, Information Scientists and other interested professionals to submit proposals for the Open Session to be held during the 86^th IFLA WLIC, in Dublin, Ireland.

The development of the digital marketplace for information products (e.g. e-books, e-zines, etc.) has boosted the production of new services and products as a response to ever-increasing user expectations. This includes a number of innovations particularly in the production of multimedia objects that enrich our cultural heritage.

For example, e-books have simulated printed books, mostly in a linear way of presenting content. These are, however, being replaced by complex formats and structures, also called branch narrative or ambient literature.  It is born-digital with complex non-standard and networked formats in different media types, and at high risk of obsolescence due to rapid evolution of the digital marketplace. Such literature is device dependent, and often requires proprietary technology, including hardware and software, and platforms to enable the access. Since these new e-books cannot be compared with the existing digital collections in cultural heritage organizations, organizations often lack the necessary capability and infrastructure to manage them.

Complex digital objects are an important part of cultural heritage, and whose preservation represents a significant challenge to depository institutions.

In this session, we will explore:

• Current practices in preservation of complex digital objects
• Successful preservation strategies for complex digital objects
• Preserving and/or enhancing the user experience, while migrating the component parts of a digital object to newer or archival formats
• Technical requirements for collection, preservation and representation

Other digital forms (games, websites, e-revues…) may be also mentioned or analysed, but proposals have to focus on e-books issues.

Submission Guidelines

1. Submissions must include:

– Name, title, institution, and email of speaker(s)
– Brief biographical statement about each speaker (max 100 words)
– Title of proposed presentation
– Abstract of presentation (max 500 words)
– Language of presentation

2. The deadline for submissions is 10 March 2020.  Each abstract will be blind reviewed by members of the Preservation and Conservation and Information Technology Sections. Selection of papers will be based on the abstract. Presenters will be notified whether they have been successful by the end of March 2020.

3. The full paper is due on 31 May 2020 and must be an original submission not presented or published elsewhere.

4. Both abstracts and full papers should be submitted as a MS Word file by e-mail. Please do not submit PDF files.

5. Papers should be of 5 pages minimum and 20 pages maximum, double spaced, and must use the template that will be available with IFLA’s 2020 Guidelines for Paper Authors and Presenters.

6. All proposals and full papers will be required to be in English but the presentation can be in any of the IFLA working languages (even if English is strongly recommended).

7. 15 to 20 minutes will be allowed for a summary delivery of the paper in the Conference; the full written paper is not to be read.

8. It is strongly recommended that the presentation is supported by a visual element such as PowerPoint, Prezi, or other presentation software.

9. Authors should indicate their personal full contact details and include a brief biographical note with the paper.

Important dates

10 March 2020 – All proposals must be received;

31 March 2020 – Successful candidates will be notified;

31 May 2020 – Submit the full paper along with the accurate title of the paper on an author permission form so that the paper may be posted online.

Submissions

All proposals must be received by 28 February 2020 the extended deadline: 10 March 2020.

Please email your abstract to:

Alenka Kavčič Čolić
Preservation and Conservation Section
Email: alenka.kavcic@nuk.uni-lj.si

and

François-Xavier Boffy
Information Technology Section
Email: francois-xavier.boffy@univ-lyon1.fr).

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.