Who can propose a session?

Staff or faculty members from all AMICAL member institutions can propose a session. Up to two people can co-present in one session.

Framing and proposal topics

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

However, priority will be given to proposals with a focus on any of the following:

• Collaboration across institutions and/or between librarian-faculty-technologists
• Managing the transition out of emergency remote teaching and library services
• Strategic and institutional directions for next academic year
• Reimagining teaching and library services after the pandemic
• Original or innovative contributions in some useful context – e.g., in the context of your own institution, institutions of similar sizes/environments, among AMICAL members, etc.
• Issues relevant to to AMICAL institutions and their American-international liberal arts environments
• Impacting actual practice or resources at other AMICAL institutions or at your own institution

A non-exhaustive list of potential topics you may propose a session on:

• Library and technology leadership
• Libraries and learning spaces
• Information literacy & digital literacies
• Digital pedagogy
• Digital liberal arts (incl. digital humanities)
• Online, blended and hybrid teaching
• Engaging and inclusive teaching
• Open education and OER
• Copyright and licensing
• Diversity, equity and inclusion
• Civic engagement and social justice
• Humane and public interest technology
• Assessment practices and data
• Digital collections
• Capacity-building and professional development for faculty and staff
• Well-being and remote work

Proposals should aim to be directly relevant to at least one of the event’s main attendee groups: librarians, technologists, and faculty from member institutions. In addition to these groups, the conference is attended by faculty development coordinators, as well as heads of libraries, IT or instructional technology services, academic departments or programs, and other academic leaders.

Session format: Community Idea Exchange

This year’s proposals can only be submitted in the Community Idea Exchange Session (a variation of a format also known as “Shift & Share”).

This is an online roundtable session where attendees virtually move from table to table (actually, Zoom breakout rooms) to learn and discuss with their peers. It is also a bit like a poster session, because you will repeat your presentation three times to different audiences.

You will have 15 minutes total. You will give a brief talk of about 10 minutes (with or without slides) that is followed by at least 5 minutes of attendee questions and discussion. Of course, you can make room for more interaction throughout.

How will proposals be reviewed?

Each proposal will be evaluated by members of the Program Committee on the basis of the following criteria:

• The presenters are in a role at their institution that aligns with the topic of their session (or the reason for the discrepancy is adequately explained in the proposal)
• The proposed presentation addresses one or more of the focus areas and/or potential topics indicated above, and targets an audience coherent with the event’s expected attendees.

Proposals will be evaluated against each other for the available space in the program. It is possible that even proposals well-aligned with the above criteria may be declined if stronger proposals are submitted.

All things being equal, priority will be given to presenters from an institution or professional role underrepresented in AMICAL programs, and to proposals with a focus area/topic that has not been addressed by other proposals.

When will I know if my proposal was accepted?

A response will be sent out soon after the deadline (likely within two weeks), which will note whether the proposal was accepted into the program, or whether it could be accepted if very minor revisions are implemented, or whether it was declined.

Due to the volume of proposals and the short time available for reviewing, the committee will not be able to offer any further feedback. However, we maintain internal review notes about each proposal, which we can share with you if you’d like to find out more about the reasoning behind our decision.

Accepted proposals may be scheduled for any day or time during the planned conference dates (21–24 June). Tentative scheduling will be communicated to presenters by early June.

You 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.

Submit your proposal

Submit your proposal through the following form by 30 May:

Submit a proposal

If you have any questions about your proposal, you can send us an email at contact@amicalnet.org

Answers to common questions

Can I submit a proposal for other session formats?

Due to the short amount of time until the conference, the Program Committee invites only Community Idea Exchange sessions from membership at large. They will invite proposals for other types of sessions (workshops, discussions, etc.) from active working groups within AMICAL or external experts.

Can you list my collaborators on the website?

Only presenters are listed on the online schedule. We understand that presentations often represent the work of several people (co-authors or project collaborators) and you are encouraged to recognize them in your presentation description and materials. But they cannot be listed formally on the schedule, as that exclusively represents the speakers who will be delivering the session.