Call for Papers — Open Sessions

Local History and Genealogy

• 24 March 2023, 13:03

Theme: "Colonialism and Libraries, Archives, & Museums"

The Call for Papers: Open Session of Local History and Genealogy Section of IFLA, The 2023 WLIC

The Local History and Genealogy Section of IFLA is accepting submissions on colonialism and libraries, archives, museums, and universities at the open session of IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2023 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The impact of colonialism on the people, cultures, and history of the pre-colonial populations is immense. The colonizing empires force their beliefs, languages, and customs on the exploited often erasing or greatly diminishing indigenous ways of life. These changes have an impact on local histories, as well as the larger cultural identity.

This panel explores how libraries, archives, museums, and universities collect, explore, and document the histories of colonialism. The theme can be broadly interpreted. All papers should reflect in some way the conference theme: “Let’s work, Let’s Library; Building a sustainable future through the Sustainable Development Goals.”

We would like to invite papers particularly, but not exclusively, on the following sub-themes:

• History of libraries established due to colonialism
• Library collections that focus on colonization and decolonization
• Programming and outreach relating to colonialism
• Colonization and the impact on indigenous knowledge
• Using collections to interact with school groups
• Access to pre-colonial resources
• Disappearance of pre-colonial resources
• Decolonized perspectives and libraries, archives, and museums

Date and Location

TBD. The time and location of this session has not been scheduled yet, but it will be held during the WLIC 2023 Conference from 22 August to 24 August 2023.

Each presentation will be 15 minutes and in English. Time for Q&A will be scheduled after the paper presentations.  

Abstract Submission

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

• Title of the proposed presentation.
• Abstract of the proposed paper (no more than 300 words)
• Presenters’ name(s), professional affiliation, and country
• Presenters’ email addresses.
• Short biographical statement of no more than 100 words
• Note a willingness to comply with IFLA’s Authors’ Permission
• Papers and/or PowerPoint presentations will be published in IFLA’s online repository following the conference.

Please submit your proposal abstracts by 24 April 2023 here.

If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Brannock at [email protected]. 

Important Dates

• 24 April 2023: Deadline for submission of abstracts
• 5 May 2023: Notification of acceptance
• 31 July 2023: Deadline for submission of presenter information and final paper.
• 7 August 2023: Deadline for submission of slides

Please Note

The paper must be an original submission not presented or published elsewhere. All papers that are presented at the WLIC 2023 will be made available online via the IFLA Repository under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Authors of accepted papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.

All expenses, such as conference registration, travel, and accommodations, are the responsibility of the presenters. No financial support can be provided by IFLA.

Conference Participation Grants and Awards

A list of opportunities for support is available on the Conference Participation Grants and Awards webpage.