The call for proposals has ended
If you have any questions about your proposal, email us at amicalconf@amicalnet.org.

Who may propose a session?

Staff and faculty from AMICAL member institutions are invited to submit proposals.

May I have a co-presenter?

Yes, for some session formats, but your co-presenter must be an equal partner in the development and delivery of your session. The following limits apply to the number of speakers associated with the same proposal:

• Lightning Talks: 1 speaker
• Panel Presentations: 6 speakers max
• All other formats: 2 speakers max

Audience

The target audience for sessions must include librarians, technologists, or faculty members at AMICAL institutions. Proposals that target more than one of these groups are more likely to be accepted into the program. Keep it focused, people!

Guiding principles: Collaboration and action

The Program Committee is looking for proposals that are collaborative in nature or that involve actionable ideas. In particular:

• Proposals that draw from your expertise on a topic of current or growing importance, in order to raise the level of discussion and expertise among AMICAL members generally
• Proposals that involve or support collaboration between AMICAL member institutions in addressing our shared challenges
• Proposals for working on shared, concrete plans during the Conference for collaborative projects among AMICAL members

Topics

You are welcome to propose a session on any topic that relates to libraries, technology and learning at AMICAL member institutions.

Proposals have a higher chance of being accepted, however, if they relate closely to one of the following:

A. The Conference theme: “Digital initiatives and libraries”

Any topics related to libraries’ role in digital initiatives are welcome. Some questions that could be addressed include:

• How is your library working on digital collections, digital pedagogy, digital humanities projects, or digital scholarship in general?
• How are you, as a librarian, technologist or faculty member, actively partnering with colleagues from those other groups on a digital initiative?
• What challenges have you faced in adapting library professional roles to new responsibilities in this context, and how are you managing this?
• In what ways are digital tools and methods affecting humanities research?
• What are some best practices for launching a digital humanities project? for introducing a digital pedagogy technique? for starting a curriculum-integrated digital collection?
• How can faculty be encouraged to explore digital humanities methods and resources?

B. Strategic priorities for AMICAL’s 2015-2018 Mellon grant

Proposals may be favored if they relate to one of the 4 strategic priority areas for our 2015-2018 Mellon Foundation grant, which is providing the core support for this Conference:

1. Leadership of Library and Information Services in Liberal Arts Environments
   • leadership skills, innovation, and change management among library and information services teams
2. Information Literacy as a Liberal Art
   • working critically with information: a hallmark of liberal education, and part of the ‘brand’ of American universities
3. Curriculum-Integrated Digital Initiatives
   • digital scholarship, digital pedagogy, and curriculum-relevant digital collections: ideal areas for collaboration between librarians, faculty and technologists
4. Growing the AMICAL Collaboration Network
   • resources for online collaboration – and in particular a network for discovery of, and exchange between, faculty and staff at AMICAL institutions

C. Focus areas of AMICAL Standing Committees

• Professional Development
• Institutional Research & Assessment
• E-Resources
• OCLC Programs
• Information Literacy
• Digital Pedagogy (under development)
• Digital Scholarship (under development)
• Digital Collections (under development)

Session formats

Community Idea Exchange (posters & tech showcases)

Duration: 1h

• Informal presentations given with the help of a poster, computer or other visual aid.
• Focus may be on local initiatives/projects/resources (technology-focused or otherwise), research, challenges for which you’re seeking assistance, or any source of material likely to be of broad interest to attendees.
• Want to present with a computer? You may use your own laptop screen, or there are a limited number of AUR laptops as well as monitors that can be borrowed for display.
• Presentations are delivered simultaneously in a space shared with other presenters, each with a poster or computer to present their topic or project to attendees that come and go freely.
• Presentations may be as brief as 5 minutes, repeated over the course of an hour and adapted in response to attendees’ questions and interests.

Birds of a Feather (guided discussion)

Duration: 1h

• Discussion on a topic of shared interest, guided by facilitator with either expertise or strong interest in the topic.
• During the session the facilitator will begin with a brief introduction to the topic and the scope of the discussion (no longer than 10 minutes). Thereafter they will encourage the active participation of attendees in the discussion, guiding the conversation when necessary to stay on track.
• In their proposal, the facilitator should include the topic, the scope of the discussion, as well as possible outcomes from the session.
• A note-taker should be identified from among the participants. Along with the facilitator, they will write a brief report on the session to share on AMICALconnect, allowing for broader participation in a continued discussion.

Mini-Workshop

Duration: variable (1h to 2h)

• Hands on, participatory session focused on helping participants build practical skills on a given topic.

Lightning Talk

Duration: 8m

• Short presentations that focus on communicating just one or two ideas.
• A good rule to follow for our event is 8x16x32:
  • prepare for 8 minutes of talking
  • use a maximum of 16 slides (preferably less!)
  • use a minimum font size of 32pt for text
• Time limit for the speaker to talk: 8 minutes
  • Really. As in: there will be a loud timer that goes off to embarrass you if you go over that.
• Suggestions if you’re proposing a Lightning Talk:
  • Don’t think of this as “a shortened version of my 20-minute presentation”.
  • Read 16 ways to prepare for a lightning talk.

Project Meeting

Duration: variable (1h to 2h)

• Meet to discuss a project with goals relating to AMICAL’s mission and involving at least 2 AMICAL institutions
• Proposals should include:
  • Timeline, including deliverables to report on by the following year’s AMICAL Conference
  • Initial thoughts on type and scale of support needed from AMICAL to support the project (funding, infrastructure, communication/collaboration tools, etc.)
  • Possible ways in which the project could advance without financial support from AMICAL

Panel Presentation

Duration: 20m per speaker (up to 1h20m max) + Q&A time

• Presentations and/or discussion by several participants centered on a common theme.
• Panel may include 2-6 speakers, with:
  • at least 2 AMICAL institutions represented
  • no more than 3 speakers from each institution
• Proposal must
  • name moderator, responsible for coordinating presenters
  • communicate clearly how the panelists’ presentations relate to each other and to a larger topic pertinent to AMICAL’s mission

Preparing your proposal

The proposal itself should be presented clearly and concisely. You may want to look at these sample proposals; they’re for a different type of conference, but the advice is very relevant to AMICAL Conference proposals as well.

Some key points to keep in mind:

• Preferred session format: Think carefully about which format is most appropriate for the content you want to share and the way you want to engage with attendees. If we feel your proposal would fit better into the program as a different format, we may ask you to consider that.
• Title: Should communicate the subject of the session briefly and clearly.
• Abstract: A short paragraph that clarifies the problem or issue being addressed, and what attendees can expect to take away. This is what will appear in the program if your proposal is accepted, though you’ll have a chance to make minor modifications before it gets published there.
• Additional details: Elaborates on the content of the session and what attendees will get out of it. This should briefly demonstrate knowledge of the topic, as appropriate for the session type and topic. For research projects, this should clarify the status of the research and any outcomes/conclusions that may have resulted. For workshops and interactive sessions, this should explain what attendees need to prepare or bring with them. Outlines are preferable to narrative text. This will be used by the Program Committee in evaluating your proposal but will not be displayed in the program.

Notification of acceptance

Responses to program proposals will be sent out by 24 February 2016.

Scheduling

Accepted proposals may be scheduled for any day or time during the Conference program days (12-14 May 2016). For accepted proposals, tentative scheduling will be communicated by early March 2016.

Speakers should inform the organizers as early as possible of any scheduling constraints; we cannot guarantee that these constraints will be accommodated, but we will do our best if given sufficient notice.

The call for proposals has ended
If you have any questions about your proposal, email us at amicalconf@amicalnet.org.