Call for Papers — Open Sessions

Rare Books and Special Collections joint with Preservation & Conservation, Art Libraries and Strategic Programme on Preservation and Conservation (PAC)

• 26 February 2020, 19:58

Theme: "Building Trust through Exhibitions"

The organising Sections, Rare Books and Special Collections Section, Preservation & ConservationSection, Art Libraries Section and Strategic Programme on Preservation and Conservation (PAC) invite Librarians, Preservation and Conservation experts and other interested professionals from Memory Institutions to submit proposals for the Open Session to be held during the 86th IFLA WLIC, in Dublin, Ireland.

Libraries are increasingly tasked with finding spaces for public exhibitions, and the line dividing libraries and museums is increasingly blurred. Enviably, the increased demand for exhibitions, which frequently have a virtual component, has increased the demand for loans of cultural heritage objects, regardless of institutional size and staffing. This Session is a recognition of this changing institutional landscape and the need to convene authoritative voices in the field of libraries and museums to acknowledge our shared responsibilities for object safety and appropriate display.  (Future programs on exhibits will cover additional topics.)

The goal of “Building Trust Through Exhibitions” is to help establish best practices for both exhibiting and loaning institutions. In addition to sharing best practices, tangible outcomes of the program will include sample templates and/or lists of questions posted on the IFLA website after the congress to provide modeling of useful documents.

In this Session we will explore the following topics:

Topic 1: Arranging a Loan – loan forms

• Submissions within this topic should include best practices surrounding the process of completing a loan form, both by borrowing and lending institutions. Loan forms might include issues of cost and fees for loan, virtual exhibiting, copyright protection issues and time limits for web access as well as requirements for the physical object to be displayed.
• Authors should provide a template loan form and/or copyright form for both borrowing and lending institutions.

Topic 2: Transportation

• Submissions within this topic can include best practices surrounding borrowing limitation, hand-carried deliveries such as couriers, insurance, climate impact as possible examples.
• Authors should provide a best practice matrix, list of questions to consider or checklist.

Topic 3: Condition Reports

• Submissions within this topic should explore best practice for reporting both before and after the exhibition, as well as cases when responsibility for conservation work falls to the lender or to the borrower.
• Authors should provide a template condition report.

Topic 4: Condition Requirements for exhibition

• Submissions within this topic should explore how institutions can address issues such as exhibition environmental conditions, lighting, security, time on display cases and other exhibition space conditions.
• Authors should provide a best practice matrix and/or list of questions to consider or checklist.

Submission Guidelines

1. Authors should choose one of the proposed topics to address.

• Please indicate your chosen topic number in the subject line of your email when submitting your proposal.

2. Submissions must include:

• Name, title, institution, and email of speaker(s)
• Brief biographical statement about each speaker (max 100 words)
• Chosen Topic Number
• Title of proposed presentation
• Abstract of presentation (max 500 words)
• Proposed outcome from presentation (template, checklist, etc.)
• Language of presentation

3. The deadline for submissions is 15 April. Each abstract will be blind reviewed by members of the Preservation and Conservation Section, Rare Books and Special Collections Section, Art Libraries Section and PAC Centre Programme. Selection of papers will be based on the abstract. Presenters will be notified whether they have been successful by 12 May 2020.

4. The full paper is due on 10 July 2020 and must be an original submission not presented or published elsewhere.

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

6. 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. Authors must fill out the Authors’ Permission Form as required.

7. 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).

8. 15 -20 minutes will be allowed for a summary delivery of the paper in the Conference; the full written paper is not to be read.

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

Important dates

15 April 2020 – All proposals must be received;

10 May 2020 – Successful candidates will be notified;

10 July 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.

Submission

All proposals must be received by 15 April 2020.

Please email your abstract to:

Jeanne Drewes, Chair, Preservation and Conservation Section
Email: jdrewes3@gmail.com

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.