Call for Papers - Extended date to be announced
IASL Annual Conference 2021
Denton, Texas
July 12 - 16, 2021
The International Association for School Librarianship, Texas Woman’s University, and the University of North Texas invite professional and research contributions to the 49th Annual Conference and the 24th International Forum on Research on School Librarianship. The conference is dedicated to the advancement of theory and practice in school librarianship.
Call for Papers (downloadable and printable PDF document)
Conference Theme: A Rich Tapestry of Practice and Research around the World
Strands:
- Innovation
- Language & Culture
- Growing Literacies
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Literature & Storytelling
Conference Goals:
· to learn about current school library practice and research;
· to discuss the mission, vision, and role of the school librarian in a digital society;
· to explore and discuss ideas for transforming school library programs;
· to learn about school library programs in Texas and the region;
· to create global connections for future collaboration.
Who should attend?
The IASL Annual Conference provides a space for school librarians, teachers, administrators, researchers, and all those with an interest in education and libraries to explore how school librarians effect change, empower learners, and positively contribute to education.
Why should you attend?
This year’s conference provides a space for practitioners to share their understandings of where we are today and to build for the future. The conference is participative and promotes dissemination and exchange of ideas in a variety of formats. It is also an excellent opportunity for delegates to learn more about the issues and trends in school librarianship, network with other librarians across the globe, experience the camaraderie of librarianship, and dialogue about research and best practices in school libraries both local and international.
The conference organizers invite contributions to:
Stream A: Annual Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship
• Professional paper
• Professional workshop
• Special Interest Group presentation
Stream B: International Forum on Research on School Librarianship
• Research paper
• Poster session
Please submit all proposals at https://journals.library.unt.edu/index.php/iasl2021/login
Submission portal opens on September 1, 2020.
Submitting a Proposal
Each year the IASL conference has an overarching theme which it aims to address in keynote speeches, associated discussions, presentations, workshops, Special Interest Group meetings, and poster presentations. Proposals that address the conference theme, in particular, or any aspect of school librarianship, in general, are most welcome!
All proposals will be reviewed. Stream A proposals will be reviewed by members of the program committee and the selection is based solely on quality. Stream B proposals will be reviewed by at least three members of the IASL Research Special Interest Group.
General Submission Process for all Proposals
To maintain the high quality of presentations at the conference, to make the program rich and detailed, and to ensure that the review process is fair; all proposal submissions must be made in English.
Before submitting your proposal you will be required to provide the following information:
- Complete contact information for the person submitting the proposal
- Names, email addresses, and affiliations of all presenters
- A 25-30 word biography statement for each presenter
- Title of the paper, workshop, presentation, or poster
- The Stream under which your proposal falls and the type of proposal
- A 100 word description of the presentation, workshop, or poster to be included in the program (please make this description engaging)
- All proposals must be sent in as a double-blind copy for the review process
Proposals should be prepared and submitted as a .doc, .docx, .rtf or .pdf format. The font should be Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 line spacing (except the references, which should be single spaced). All references and in-text citations should conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition).
General Selection Criteria: Selection will be based on content quality, relevance to theme, and originality. See specific types of proposals for additional information.
Submission Guidelines for Specific Types of Proposals
Stream A
Annual Conference
Please submit proposals to https://journals.library.unt.edu/index.php/iasl2021/login
Professional Paper - 30 minutes
Professional papers may explain a topic of interest in school librarianship, demonstrate a new or innovative school library practice, and/or explore issues and trends in school librarianship. A twenty-minute presentation will be followed by ten minutes for questions and discussion.
Submission format: Proposals for a professional paper should be a maximum of 500 words excluding the reference list. The proposal should include
- Title
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Objectives of the presentation
- Clear description of what participants will learn
- References (as required)
Professional Workshop or Panel Discussions - 60 minutes
Professional workshops or panel discussions should be designed to engage participants in activities related to the conference theme or a topical issue in school librarianship. Professional workshops or panel discussions are intended to enhance the skills of the attendees, engage in discussion with participants, and/or to foster deeper understandings on the matters related to the conference theme.
Submission Format: In addition to the general guidelines, the abstract for the proposal should include:
- At least two measurable outcomes or objective/s of the workshop or panel
- A detail description of the contents of the workshop or panel
- The activities/discussions in which the delegates will be engaged
- Plans to encourage interaction between participants and with the presenter(s)
- Examples of tasks and/or learning experiences
Try to answer the following questions in your proposal:
- What types of collaboration, interactivity or discussion will occur during the workshop?
- What will participants take home as a tangible deliverable or takeaway?
- How will the participants be able to apply the effective practices shared in the workshop in their own context?
- Who do you envision as the primary audience types who would get the most out of this session and why?
Special Interest Group (SIG) Session - 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 120 minutes
The Chair of each Special Interest Groups (SIGs) is encouraged to propose a session for the conference specifically related to their mission and goals.
Submission Format: In addition to the general guidelines, the proposal should include:
- A detailed description of the session
- Plans to encourage interaction between participants and with the presenter(s)
Try to answer the following questions in your proposal:
- What are the goals of the SIG in holding this session?
- What will participants learn from the session?
- How might the participants contribute to the work of the SIG?
- Who do you envision as the primary audience types who would get the most out of this session and why?
Stream B
International Forum on Research on School Librarianship
For Stream B proposals please follow the guidelines below to prepare your proposal for double-blind peer review which means that both the reviewer and author identities are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa, throughout the review process.
Preparing your proposal for double-blind review
Besides the obvious need to remove names and affiliations under the title within the manuscript, there are other steps that need to be taken to ensure the proposal is correctly prepared for double-blind peer review.
To assist with this process, the key items that need to be observed are as follows:
- Use the third person to refer to work the Authors have previously undertaken, e.g. replace any phrases like “as we have shown before” with “… has been shown before [Anonymous, 2007]” .
- Make sure figures do not contain any affiliation related identifiers
- Do not eliminate essential self-references or other references but limit self-references only to papers that are relevant for those reviewing the submitted paper.
- Cite papers published by the Author in the text as follows: ‘[Anonymous, 2007]’.
- For blinding in the reference list: ‘[Anonymous 2007] Details omitted for double-blind reviewing.’
- Remove references to funding sources
- Do not include acknowledgments
- Remove any identifying information, including author names, from file names and ensure document properties are also anonymized.
Please submit proposals to https://journals.library.unt.edu/index.php/iasl2021/login
Research Paper - 30 minutes
Research papers should present original research of interest to those involved in school librarianship. A twenty-minute presentation will be followed by ten minutes for questions and discussion.
Submission format: A research paper proposal should be a maximum of 1000 words excluding references. The proposal should includethe following (or similar) headings:
- Introduction
- Statement of the Research Problem
- Literature review
- Methodology
- Findings (may be preliminary)
- Discussion
- Implications and Conclusions
- References
Selection Criteria:
Research proposals will be evaluated based on the following:
- Is the research problem of interest to the conference audience?
- Does the proposal present original research?
- Does the proposal demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the literature?
- Are the research methods (e.g., design, methodology, analyses) appropriate?
- Are the conclusions well supported?
- Is the proposal well written?
- Does it follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) for in-text citations and references?
Presentation Abstract or Paper Publication
All accepted research abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings. People wishing to submit a full paper (5000-6000 words) may do so by the deadline of May 1, 2021 and the full paper will be included in the conference proceedings.
Poster Session
Posters may present works in progress or completed research projects. Posters are accepted for presentation as:
- A maximum of 1m x 1.5m printed poster to be displayed. This may be in the form of or combinations of photographs, graphics and textual information
- An electronic poster on a laptop
Because a poster is research presented in a visual format, the submission format and selection criteria are the same as for research papers.
Submission format: A poster proposal should be a maximum of 1000 words excluding references.
The proposal should include the following (or similar) headings:
- Introduction
- Statement of the Research Problem
- Literature review
- Methodology
- Findings (may be preliminary)
- Discussion
- Implications and Conclusions
- References
Selection Criteria: Research proposals will be evaluated based on the following:
- Is the research problem of interest to the conference audience?
- Does the proposal follow submission guidelines (format, headings, word limit, etc.)?
- Does the proposal present original research?
- Does the proposal demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the literature?
- Are the research methods (e.g., design, methodology, analyses) appropriate?
- Are the conclusions well supported?
- Is the proposal well written?
- Does it follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) for in-text citations and references?
It is important that applicants describe in their proposal:
- the format of the poster
- the kinds of visual materials that will be included on the poster (photographs, data samples, graphs, etc.)
- how these illustrate the project or particular aspect of the work
Poster Abstract Publication
All accepted research poster abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings.
**Please note that posters may not be sent in advance to the organizers.**
Please submit proposals to https://journals.library.unt.edu/index.php/iasl2021/login
