What we’re looking for in a proposal

We invite presentation proposals on all topics relevant to libraries, technology and/or pedagogy at AMICAL member institutions.

Proposals should target one or more of the event’s expected attendee profiles:

• Librarians (incl. library directors and instruction librarians)
• Faculty developers
• Faculty
• Chairs of academic departments/programs
• Deans & provosts
• Instructional technologists and designers
• IT directors and staff

Speakers should be in a role at their institution that aligns with the topic of their session, or the reason for the discrepancy should be adequately explained in the proposal.

Proposals should clearly and succinctly communicate to prospective attendees what the presentation will cover and what their main takeaways will be.

The scope of the proposal should respect the limits of the presentation format in terms of the length and other features (see below for more details on the format).

We will give priority to proposals that do one or more of the following:

• Address AMICAL members specifically, speaking to issues relevant to AMICAL institutions, with their American-international liberal arts environments.
• Have timely topics that address emerging trends and/or current needs.
• Offer concrete ideas on improving practices and resources, or addressing challenges, at our institutions.
• Showcase local initiatives, projects, resources, or research.
• Involve or discuss collaboration across professional roles or AMICAL institutions.
• Have speakers from different roles and/or institutions (only applicable if there are two speakers)

Non-exhaustive list of potential topics drawn from the consortium’s strategic priorities, the work its member groups are engaged in, and other timely topics:

• Leadership in libraries, academic technology or centers for learning & teaching
• Information, digital & other literacies
• Digital pedagogy and scholarship (incl. digital liberal arts, oral history)
• Open education & OERs
• Open scholarship and research support
• Teaching writing & writing centers
• Impact of generative AI
• Library services and technology

The presentation format

We are inviting presentation proposals only from AMICAL members, and only in the following format:

• Each presentation will run for 10 minutes and will be grouped in sessions of four presentations, based on their topic or target audience. The presentations will be followed by a shared Q&A period of at least 15 minutes.
• Presentations can be delivered by 1 or 2 speakers. Speakers will be able to use all the features of Zoom (screen sharing, polls, etc.) One of the two speakers may be a student at your institution.
• Speakers may pre-record their presentation if they need to, but will still need to attend the event for the Q&A.
• There will be no parallel presentations, and speakers will be presenting to the entire group of attendees. This is different from the Shift & Share format used in AMICAL 2021 and AMICAL 2022.

Note: Sessions in other formats may be organized by AMICAL’s member groups. If you would like to contribute a session in a different format, you may reach out and work on it with a member group appropriate to the session’s topic.

Guidelines for multiple speakers

If a presentation has 2 speakers, both of them must be contributors in the development and delivery of the presentation.

We understand that presentations often represent the work of several people (co-authors or project collaborators). 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.

How will proposals be reviewed?

Proposals will be reviewed for inclusion into the program on the basis of the criteria noted above by at least 2 reviewers (members of AMICAL’s Coordinating Committee or invited advisors).

All things being equal, priority will be given to speakers from institutions or professional roles underrepresented in AMICAL programs, and to proposals with topics that have not been addressed by other proposals.

A response will be sent out within three weeks of the deadline, noting whether the proposal is:

• Accepted into the program as-is
• Accepted into the program with minor revisions, along with a list of requested revisions
• Declined and not included in the program. This may be due to the proposal not being well-aligned with this call, insufficient space in the program, or both.

We are not able to offer individualized feedback, but we can share our review notes with you if requested.

Accepted proposals may be scheduled for any day or time during the planned conference dates (27 May – 6 June 2024). Tentative scheduling will be communicated to speakers by early May (or sooner). 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.

Assistance with your proposal

To help you submit a strong proposal, we’ll be holding brief online Q&A sessions to answer questions and offer advice:

• Q&A #1 – 21 March, 11:00 Paris time (see local time)
• Q&A #2 – 26 March, 11:00 Paris time (see local time)
• Q&A #3 – 1 April, 11:00 Paris time (see local time)
• Q&A #4 – 9 April, 12:00 Paris time (see local time)

If you have questions about the proposal process, you can email us at contact@amicalnet.org

Submit a proposal

We strongly recommend preparing your proposal content as a separate document before entering it in the proposal form below.