Financial support depends on proposal acceptance

In contrast with previous years, financial support for members’ attendance will be almost exclusively based on acceptance of program proposals through this call. As explained under Financial support, Full/Affiliate members with session proposals accepted for the program will be funded for registration, accommodations and airfare. Funding will be provided for a few exceptional cases because of their organizing roles (Coordinating Committee officers, standing committee chairs, and conference resource coordinators), but funding will not be offered through a separate, application-based financial support program as it was in previous years.

If you’re not one of the exceptions just mentioned, and you need funding to attend, make sure that you propose a session that satisfies as fully as possible the guidelines in this call.

Who – and how many – may propose a session?

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

If you are planning to have a co-presenter, note that

• The 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

• If a co-presenter is not from a member institution, you should discuss this possibility with the Program Committee (via contact@amicalnet.org) before submitting your proposal.

For accepted session proposals that involve multiple speakers, only one of the speakers will receive funding for this (an additional speaker may receive funding if they have an additional session proposal accepted). See Financial support for details, including special rules for support for speakers in Panel Presentations and Participatory Project Meetings.

Audience

As an intentionally participatory event, where attendees will receive financial support based on the acceptance of program proposals, the vast majority of each session’s audience will also be contributors to the program. The target audience for your own session proposal should therefore include groups likely to share an interest in the themes and topics targeted by this call for proposals.

Professional roles

The AMICAL Conference always aims for the participation of librarians, faculty and technologists. This year, the Conference seeks, in particular, participation by those who are in a position to lead and innovate on their campus in areas such as information literacy, digital literacies, digital pedagogy, and other digital initiatives.

Examples of target audiences for your session may therefore include:

• Library directors
• Information literacy librarians
• Other librarians
• Disciplinary faculty
• Faculty developers
• Instructional technologists
• Administrators of academic support units
• Other staff/administrators

In your proposal, you should state how your primary target audience(s) would be able to apply or act on the material from your session.

Proposals that involve or discuss collaboration across professional roles are encouraged.

Focus on AMICAL institutions

Proposals that clearly target AMICAL members – that speak to issues of special relevance to AMICAL institutions, with their American-international liberal arts environments – are encouraged.

Topics

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

Proposals have a higher chance of being accepted, however, if they relate closely to the conference theme of “International liberal arts in a digital era: reimagining a shared vision for libraries, technology and learning”.

We encourage in particular proposals that relate to one of the following strands of the theme outlined below. The bulleted points are simply suggestions for potential topics, not an exhaustive list — other topics related to these strands are welcome.

Information & digital literacies

• Educating students and faculty about managing the data they generate, their creative output, etc.
• Digital identity/citizenship
• Social media and control/ownership of personal data
• Licensing of, and access to, scholarship and creative output
• Integrating information/digital literacies into general education and first-year experience programs
• Librarian-instructional designer-faculty collaboration on co-design of syllabi, learning outcomes, assignments, etc.

Rethinking teaching and learning

• Innovative use of technologies to effectively support learning and teaching
• Technology-enhanced education: research and best practices
• Transformation of learning spaces for better teaching and learning
• Blended and online learning: strategies, development, issues and solutions
• Design thinking for higher education
• Writing Centers and other student support services in support of student excellence
• Curriculum integrated digital initiatives: strategies, impact, issues, best practices
• Digital liberal arts scholarship and pedagogy (local program/initiatives or consortial models/proposals)
• Digital humanities in pedagogy and curricula
• Co-teaching and integrating librarians or technologists in courses

Reimagining libraries

• Library digital initiatives: issues and best practices
• Library experiences and opportunities in developing the digital liberal arts
• Collaboration between libraries and student academic support centers
• Open access, digital copyright, and changes in the e-resources market

Strategic use and development of technology in higher ed

• Cost reduction of library and technology resources
• Institutional research & assessment related to libraries, technology and learning
• Using analytics for institutional improvement: ideas and practices (data informed decision making)
• Learning analytics

Professional/leadership development in higher ed

• Library & technologist leadership support
• Faculty learning communities / fellows / mentoring programs

Growing the AMICAL Collaboration Network

• Development of communities of practice within AMICAL (information literacy, innovative pedagogy, etc.)
• Inter-institutional research and projects
• Consortial models or proposals for collaboratively developing library, technology and curricular resources

Session formats

Sessions may be proposed using any of the following five formats:

1. Community Idea Exchange
2. Birds of a Feather
3. Mini-Workshops
4. Lightning Talks
5. Panel Presentations
6. Participatory Project Meetings

Before you draft your proposal, be sure to read the details below about how these formats are being used at AMICAL 2018.

Notes on session limits/durations:

• Numbers of sessions are approximate, but they indicate the relative difficulty of accepting proposals of each format. Proposals for sessions with large/plenary audiences, such as panels and lightning talks, will therefore need to be especially well prepared.
• Some details below, such as durations, may be adjusted later by the organizers according to the proposals received and planning constraints.

Community Idea Exchange (posters & tech showcases)

Number of sessions anticipated: 20-30
Duration: 1h to 1.5h (to be determined later according to the proposal numbers and scheduling constraints)

• 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.
• 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 duration of the session and adapted in response to attendees’ questions and interests.

Birds of a Feather (guided discussion)

Number of sessions anticipated: 4-6
Duration: 1h

• Discussion on a topic of shared interest, guided by a 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

Number of sessions anticipated: 2-6
Duration: variable (1h to 2h)

• Hands on, participatory session focused on helping participants build practical skills on a given topic.
• Proposals should focus on achieving one or two important outcomes for the attendees, instead of trying to hit a broad range of targets. It is better to cover less material well, than to have an overambitious outline that forces you to rush through the workshop.
• Workshop facilitators should plan for things taking more time than you thought they would. They always do.

Lightning Talk

Number of sessions anticipated: 4
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
• 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.

Panel Presentation

Number of sessions anticipated: 2 (with 2-6 speakers on each of the 2 panels)
Duration: variable (15m max per speaker, up to 1.5 h max total including Q&A)

• Presentations and/or discussion by several participants centered on a common theme.
• Panels may include 2-6 speakers, with:
  • at least 2 AMICAL institutions represented
  • no more than 3 speakers from each institution
• Proposal must:
  • name a moderator, who will be responsible for coordinating presenters (note: moderators will only be eligible for financial support on this basis if they have an active and substantive speaking role explained in the proposal)
  • communicate clearly how the panelists’ presentations relate to each other and to a larger topic pertinent to AMICAL’s mission
• If a number of other proposals (e.g. Lightning Talks) are sufficiently related, the organizers may ask the speakers to organize themselves as a panel

Participatory Project Meetings

Number of sessions anticipated: 2-4
Duration: variable (1h to 2h)

• Meetings that require participation from a substantial subset of the expected conference attendees, not just the committee or project team.
• Project meetings that do not require this kind of participation should not be proposed through this call, but should be held online before or after the event (or organized informally at the event, outside of the scheduled sessions)
• The proposal must indicate clearly the role and responsibility of each team member (relative to the project, and to this session in particular) in order for those team members to be eligible for funding for attendance
• Meetings can only be proposed if they are linked to projects which
  • have broad expected impact across numerous AMICAL member institutions
  • are being supported by AMICAL through funding or official announcements
  • are in a state of being actively planned, implemented or maintained

Other session formats

You have the option of proposing a session format not listed above. If you provide a compelling argument for using that format, we may consider including it. If we’re unable to accommodate the proposed format, but the proposal is of interest on other grounds, we may suggest changing to one of the formats above.

Preparing your proposal

The proposal itself should be presented clearly and concisely.

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 change.
• Title: Should communicate the subject of the session briefly and clearly. It should reflect the specific content of your session; it doesn’t necessarily have to use the specific words of the conference theme or strands.
• Summary/Abstract/Additional details: Write each of these for their specific purpose, as explained on the form.

Criteria for proposal reviewing

Below are the primary criteria that will be used by reviewers. Proposals that meet more of these criteria will have a better chance of being accepted.

• Speaker qualifications and role alignment
  • Depending on the nature of the session: is the speaker
    • qualified to speak on the proposed topic?
    • in a role at their institution that aligns appropriately with the topic or session objective proposed?
• Balance of representation
  • Is this speaker from an institution or professional role that is underrepresented in AMICAL programs, including the anticipated program for AMICAL 2018? This is not a requirement, but proposals from overrepresented institutions/roles will need to be particularly strong in other criteria.
• Target audience
  • Is the targeted audience aligned with the guidelines above?
• Original contribution and impact
  • Does the proposed session
    • represent an original/innovative contribution in some useful context (their own institution, institutions of similar sizes/environments, among AMICAL members)?
    • appear likely to have impact on actual practice or resources at other AMICAL institutions, or at their own institution?
• Collaborative
  • To what extent is the proposed session collaborative in nature (relating to collaboration across institutions, or across professional roles)?
• Alignment with theme/strands
  • To what extent does the proposal focus on the Conference’s theme and strands?
• Appropriate session format
  • Is the format selected appropriate to the proposal (e.g. in terms of topic, session plans, expected outcomes, interactivity, depth of detail, etc.)?
  • Does the breadth of audience allowed by the format (e.g. plenary vs. small group) align with their stated target audience?

Notification of acceptance

Responses to program proposals will be sent out by mid-February (exact date will be announced before the deadline for proposals).

Scheduling

Accepted proposals may be scheduled for any day or time during the main program days (4-7 May 2018). For accepted proposals, tentative scheduling should be communicated by late February 2018.

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.

Propose a session

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