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LIASA-SCECSAL CONFERENCE 2022 - Call for Papers

THEME: AGAINST ALL ODDS: RESILIENCE OF LIBRARIES IN A POST-TRUTH WORLD
Reimagining, repurposing and rediscovering libraries in a post-truth world

Rationale

In the past few years, libraries in Africa have faced numerous crises including the deliberate burning of public libraries in South Africa during service delivery protests, the destruction of Mzuzu Library in Malawi and the University of Cape Town (UCT) Libraries' Special Collections by fire, the flooding of Bindura University of Science Education Library in Zimbabwe and many more. COVID-19 has been the latest, although unique, crisis in a long list of crises that have beset libraries in the past. Some of these are man-made while others are a result of natural disasters caused by climate change and environmental factors.

When faced with crises, libraries have always demonstrated resilience. Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic became yet another challenge to take on and overcome. Libraries have spent the past two years ReImagining and RePurposing their services following the massive challenges they have faced since the advent of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns. This response has allowed users to ReDiscover the value of libraries by realizing new ways to access both the physical library as well as the services that they offer. 

This, does not mean, however, that libraries have remained unscathed in navigating this period. Libraries in South Africa, for example, are currently facing closures or have been closed since lockdown. Some are facing stagnation or budget cuts under the threat of austerity measures. Amidst all this, the powers that be continue to overlook the role that libraries do or can play in national development and in attaining the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, during the lockdown periods, libraries continued to find innovative and creative ways to ensure that services continued in virtual spaces thus contributing to the literacy and quality education of society. Libraries have utilized their intra-, inter- and cross sectoral partnerships to deliver on the promise of providing information access to all. The partnership approach has also been used to contribute to social justice or ubuntu initiatives that demonstrate solidarity with the marginalized members of society.

Libraries have always been resilient in the face of adversity and the current environment poses yet another challenge that libraries have had to overcome. It is therefore fitting that the theme for this year’s Conference centres on RESILIENCE, both as an examination of the longevity of libraries as well as a call to Library and Information Services (LIS) professionals to celebrate the many ways in which they have navigated this latest challenge. Much of the rhetoric of the past two years has focused on the challenges but with this conference, we would like to examine our successes too.

The upcoming conference therefore seeks to explore the theme through papers, discussions, presentations on the following aspects:

1. Measuring the impact and value of libraries

   It is our assertion that society needs libraries and librarians, especially in an age of fake news and the rapid proliferation of information. The pandemic has further highlighted the need for libraries to act as providers of credible information. Yet despite this assertion, we are still grappling with basic misconceptions of libraries and librarians / information workers. This theme explores the following:

   • What impact are we really having on society and the communities we serve?
   • What stories are we telling to change the misconceptions about libraries and librarians?
   • What success stories can we share?
   • How are we contributing to global conversations?

    

Libraries and librarians as innovators

COVID-19 has forced libraries to re-evaluate their roles in the communities that they serve, be they academic, school, public or specialist. This evaluation has emphasised the need to ReImagine and RePurpose the library to fit the “new normal” idea of what a library is and will allow us to engage communities and potential users to Discover as well as ReDiscover the library and its services. This theme seeks to explore:

• New services
• Innovative services and spaces
• Repackaging traditional services
• Reskilling the LIS professional
• Reinventing the LIS curriculum
• Libraries in the 4^th Industrial Revolution

 

1. Libraries as catalysts of knowledge and information

Along with the exploration of librarians as innovators, we also need to explore how librarians make knowledge and information available in a world that functions differently and where technology plays a greater role in our ability to deliver on this promise. We need to reflect on the inequalities that hinder our ability to render these aspects of our services to the best of our ability. This theme seeks to explore the following:

• Libraries as drivers of access to knowledge and information
• New technologies that allow us to provide access to knowledge and information
• In a time where misinformation is rife, how do libraries continue to play a fundamental role as the portal to credible knowledge and information
• Libraries as fundamental role players in providing information literacy

Sub-Themes:

As sub-themes, we would like to continue the exploration of topics started in the previous LIASA conference (2021) as well as the LIASA Virtual Indaba (2020). These, also very relevant to the LIS sector in the SCECSAL region, are important conversations that complement this year’s theme. These are:

• Libraries, social justice and Ubuntu
• The role of LIS in the broader GLAM sector
• Partnerships and collaborations in the LIS sector
• The future role of LIS and LIS Education in a post-COVID world
• Role of libraries in recycling, reuse and “green” initiatives
• Libraries, truth-telling and fake news
• Disaster management in libraries
• Libraries, national development and the SDGs
• Libraries and indigenous knowledge acquisition and preservation

This year’s conference has the added dimension of being a dual event as we are co-hosting with SCECSAL and will hear first-hand the library experiences of our colleagues in other parts of Africa which we believe will add depth and enrich our conference experience.

The deadline for receipt of abstracts was 22 July 2022 01 August 2022.  Authors of successful submissions will be notified by no later than12 August 2022 23 August 2022. 
The deadline for submission of abstracts for lightning talks only has been extended to 15 August 2022

Upload your abstract at this link.

For general queries contact: conference@liasa.org.za

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS

1. Authors are invited to submit abstracts for:
   1. Oral, research based presentations (15 min), or
   2. Viewpoint papers (firmly supported by the literature, careful analysis and sound arguments (15 min), or
   3. Conversational presentations (practical experience, cases studies and best practice) (15 min), or
   4. Lightning talks (5 min, accompanied by an electronic poster on a single slide)
2. Abstracts for research-based papers should include an introduction, statement of the research problem, methodology, findings (could be preliminary), and implications of the study. Reviewers are looking for studies that relate to the theme, that are original, and well-written.
3. All contributions must be presented in English.
4. Abstracts, including references (where applicable) must not exceed 500 words.
5. The abstracts of accepted papers and posters, as well as the speaker bios and photos, will be published on the LIASA and conference websites. Speaker bios and photos will be obtained from authors of accepted papers. By submitting your abstract, you agree to it being published on the LIASA and conference websites.Papers will be published in the conference proceedings.
6. The final version of the presentation must be submitted in electronic format before the conference and full text document of the presentation must be submitted in electronic format on or before a date that will be communicated to authors of accepted papers. The presentations will be uploaded to the LIASA website after the conference.
7. Where applicable, accepted presentations will be pre-recorded on a date and time that will be communicated to the authors. It is mandatory for presenters to register and attend the conference, and especially to be present during their session for live discussions.
8. Please note that all presenters must be registered for the conference by 31 August 2022 and they are responsible for their own expenses to attend the conference.
9. No correspondence will be entered into about acceptance or non-acceptance of papers.

Timeline

3 June 2022                      First call for papers circulated

22 July 2022
01 August 2022                 Submission of abstracts closes

15 August 2022                 Submission of abstracts for lightning talks only

12 August 2022  
23 August 2022                 Last day for authors of accepted papers to be notified

31 August 2022                 Last day for registration of presenters of accepted papers

16 September 2022           Pre-recorded presenters: Final paper and presentation due

19 – 23 September 2022    Recording of presentations (where applicable)

28 September 2022           Submission of all in-person presenters’ final papers and presentations
02 December 2022

3 October 2022                  SCANUL-ECS Conference

4 – 7 October 2022            LIASA-SCECSAL 2022 Conference

Download the PDF version here.