Call for Papers — Open Sessions

Indigenous Matters Standing Committee Call for Proposals

• 11 April 2023, 17:49

Theme: "Working Together Toward Guidelines for Library Services With Indigenous Peoples"

The IFLA Indigenous Matters Section is seeking proposals for papers to be presented at their Open Session at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2023 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Session Purpose and Background:

The focus of the proposed session is to introduce and frame the emerging development of the IFLA Guidelines for Library Services with Indigenous Peoples. The guidelines aim to educate and promote Indigenous worldviews and protocols for the GLAM sector associations and institutions that serve Indigenous communities, have Indigenous materials, seek to acquire Indigenous materials, or employ Indigenous peoples. As the Guidelines are still under development, this session will catalyse discussion on the document and encourage feedback and participation from the wider IFLA community in the development process.

Each individual in our global Indigenous society has the right to a full range of library and information services. By working together with Indigenous peoples, libraries can ensure their services are culturally appropriate and responsive. Working together as Indigenous and non-Indigenous library professionals to respectfully and appropriately support the needs of Indigenous populations within libraries, the Guidelines will be strengthened by soliciting input from Indigenous populations on a global scale.

The session will begin with an overview of the guidelines project, including an introduction to the purpose, scope, and draft structure of the document. This will be followed by presentations drawn from the open call. The session will conclude with a question and answer discussion period.

We invite presentations particularly, but not exclusively, on the following themes:

• Examples of the implementation of library services developed by or with Indigenous communities such as collection development, language services and support, information literacy, outreach initiatives, archives and special collections, digital repository management, or cultural heritage management.
• Examples of partnerships and collaborations with Indigenous communities.
• Examples of documentation describing best practices, frameworks, ethical practices, or guidelines related to the respectful provision of library services to Indigenous peoples as a whole or with specific communities or Nations. These guidelines might address specific aspects of library services, such as digital repository management, collection development, and/or working with communities.
• Examples of community-informed consultation in the development, provision, or continuation of library services.
• Examples of services focused on specific populations and user groups, such as children, elders, school children, gender-based, LGBTQ2+ services, and urban Indigenous peoples or Indigenous peoples outside their home communities, Services from specific kinds of libraries and cultural centres, such as public libraries, cultural centres, national libraries, academic libraries
• Methods and examples of evaluation and assessment of impact, appropriateness/relevance, or similar measurement of services

Presentations should be 15 minutes in length and in English. Presenters should be prepared to participate in an open discussion and question and answer session at the conclusion of the presentation section of the program.

At least one presentation slot may be reserved for a virtual presentation and virtual presenters should be prepared to particulate in the Q&A session live.

Proposals must be submitted in an electronic format and must include the following information:

• Name, title, employer or affiliated organization, country, and email of speaker(s)
• Brief biographical statement about each speaker (maximum 100 words) including clear identity information (i.e. Indigenous Nation or community membership, non-Indigenous presenter)
• Title of proposed presentation
• Abstract of presentation (maximum of 300 words), including specific mention of Indigenous involvement in the topic of the presentation.
• Willingness to comply with IFLA’s Authors’ Permission (Papers / Slides will be published in IFLA’s online Repository following the conference)
• Indication of whether presentation will be in-person or remote
• For in-person presentations: Confirmation that at least one of the authors can attend the IFLA Congress and present in-person if accepted.
• For virtual presentations: Confirmation that a recorded presentation will be made available to the session organizers at least one week before the scheduled session. Confirmation that presenters will be available to participate virtually in the discussion.

Send proposal abstracts by 5 May 2023, to both:

• Sandy Littletree, University of Washington, [email protected]
• Jade Alburo, UCLA, [email protected].

All proposals and presentation slides will be required to be in English. Please refer to Guidelines for Paper Authors and Presenters.

Important dates:

• 5 May, 2023. Deadline for submission of proposal abstract
• 15 May, 2023. Notification of acceptance
• 1 July, 2023. Deadline for submission of author permission form
• 15 August. Deadline for submission of pre-recorded presentation(s)
• 21-25 August, 2023. WLIC

Please note:

• Priority will be given to in-person session proposals.
• Authors of accepted full papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.
• All papers/presentations will be made available online via the IFLA Library under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
• All expenses for attending the Open Session (e.g., travel, accommodation, etc.) are the responsibility of the authors/presenters. No financial support can be provided by IFLA, but a special invitation letter can be issued to authors.