We are pleased to issue a call for short papers and posters for the 2015 RBMS Conference, “Preserve the Humanities! Special Collections as Liberal Arts Laboratory.” The meeting will take place at the Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland, CA, from Tuesday, June 23 – Friday, June 26, 2015.
The conference will look at the role of special collections libraries in the context of larger trends in the humanities and higher education. Speakers will focus on collaborative partnerships forged amongst archivists, librarians, researchers, and teaching faculty as they position libraries as laboratories for the humanities. Despite claims of the so-called crisis in the humanities, higher education in the liberal arts and sciences remains as sought after as ever, embracing and fostering technological innovation. As stewards of cultural heritage and guardians of the historical artifacts that lie at the center of humanistic research, special collections librarians can and should play an important role in shaping humanities teaching and research.
Format: Short papers and posters are brief presentations, either in the context of a panel of speaker or on a poster, in which presenters share their experience, ideas or research. They may be presented in a variety of session formats. Participants may propose individual papers, or panels of several papers on a particular theme. Each presenter is limited to 20 minutes, with additional time for questions and discussion. Please do not submit papers that have already been published, presented or scheduled for presentation at another meeting. We are seeking submissions that address the conference theme for any of the following content types:
◈ scholarly, research papers about Special Collections materials, OR high-level work about libraries.
◈ case studies: studies of how things are done well at a library.
◈ reports on new initiatives or information exchange about collections and/or libraries.
Submissions may vary in length, for example:
◈ 3 people, medium length talks of 20 minutes each, followed by 30 minutes for discussion and questions, in a 90-minute session.
◈ 8 people (or 9), lightning talks of 7 minutes each, followed by 30 minutes for discussion and questions, in a 90-minute session.
◈ a poster session.
Please indicate the content type and projected length of your talk in your proposal. Feel free to submit proposals for medium and lightning talks as a group or part of a group. If you are submitting an individual talk, we will group successful submissions as appropriate.
Proposals will be evaluated for relevance to the conference theme. Special attention will be given to proposals that:
• demonstrate innovative thinking, originality, and timeliness.
• generate ideas or report research that contribute to ongoing discussion about the future of academic and research libraries within the evolution of the liberal arts and sciences.
• present strategies for effectively implementing new ideas and technology.
• encourage active learning among conference attendees.
• document a new way of teaching with or describing or delivering Special Collections.
Submission deadline: Please submit proposals of 250 words by Friday, October 24, 2014, to:
Notification: Applicants will be notified of the status of their proposals by Friday, January 16, 2015.
Questions: Lois Fischer Black (lob206@lehigh.edu)
Short Papers and Posters Subcommittee:
Lois Fischer Black, Lehigh University, subcommittee chair
James P. Ascher, University of Virginia
Meghan Constantinou, The Grolier Club
Julie Grob, University of Houston
Hjordis Halvorson, The Newberry Library
E.C. Schroeder, Yale University
RBMS Conference co-chairs: Danielle Culpepper (dculpepper@virginia.edu) and Laura Micham (laura.m@duke.edu)
A note on Conference Program Planning: The Conference Program Planning Committee is
responsible for the overall theme and schedule of the conference, including selecting plenary speakers and organizing discussion sessions. The Seminars Committee is responsible for development of seminars that may, or may not, be directly tied to the conference theme.
Short papers and posters are a way to open the conference to participation from a wider range of voices than may be represented in the other sessions on a shorter timeline. We encourage submissions from newer members of the profession, as well as those who have a longer history in RBMS and the greater Special Collections community.
All participants are responsible for their own registration and travel expenses. Conference scholarships are often available. Please consult the temporary Conference webpage linked at http://www.rbms.info/ for more information. The conference website will launch, with a public announcement, next month.
-- Lois Fischer Black Phone: (610)758-5185 Special Collections Fax: (610)758-6091 Lehigh University