If you know of anyone who could investigate the accessibility of virtual
reference services, please encourage her/him to present at this
conference. As far as I can tell, this issue is still largely unexplored
territory--regretfully so, given the speed with which libraries seem to
move into this area.
Axel
Library
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
-----Original Message-----
From: VRD Conference [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2003 12:59 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Call for Proposals: VRD 2003 Digital Reference Conference
Please excuse any cross-postings.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS:
Papers and Presentations
The VRD 5th Annual Digital Reference Conference
"Reference Roundup"
November 17-18, 2003
San Antonio, TX
Proposals are invited for concurrent breakout session presentations at
the
VRD 5th Annual Digital Reference Conference on Monday and Tuesday,
November 17-18, 2003.
The VRD conference explores the nature of Internet-based
question-and-answer service within a broad range of contexts, including
libraries and information centers, government, business, education, and
other industry sectors or organizations, as well as the specific issues
involved in providing any type of digital reference service. The theme
of
this year's conference, "Reference Roundup," emphasizes the latest
advances and practices in reference today. Authors are encouraged to
examine issues, identify practices, and propose organizational and
technological systems, standards, and procedures that advance the state
of
reference librarianship as practiced in a digital environment.
Presenters will receive free registration for the conference.
Deadlines:
* Proposals will be accepted until May 31, 2003 (see proposal
submission
instructions below).
* Selected presenters will be notified by July 14, 2003.
* Final papers are due Friday, December 5, 2003 in order to be
considered
for inclusion in the VRD 2003 Conference print proceedings, to be
published in 2004.
* PowerPoint presentation slides, handouts, and other materials to be
published in the VRD electronic proceedings will be due Friday,
December 5, 2003.
CONFERENCE THEMES:
Proposal themes may include, but are not limited to, the following
topics
and categories:
Technology for Digital Reference
* Real-time/live reference
* Software selection issues
* Commercial vs. "home-grown" solutions
* Standards for digital reference technology, including NISO
standards
* Tools for digital reference, including:
* Workflow software (for question/answering)
* Question-answer archiving tools/knowledge bases
* Web contact center software
* Customer relationship management software
* Networking/routing solutions
* Voice over IP (VoIP)
* Planning for technological evolution
Digital Reference Service Management
* Foundations for building digital reference services
* Defining service levels
* Integration of digital reference into other reference models
(service hybrids)
* Archiving/tracking questions and answers/FAQs
* Policies and standards for consortia and cooperative reference
* Evaluation approaches and quality standards
* Training solutions and models for service staff
* Models for funding/pricing
* Personnel/staffing, optimizing human resources
* Planning for equipment and space
* Marketing services to potential users
* Reference outsourcing
General Issues in Digital Reference
* Partnerships - cooperative/collaborative networks,
sharing/pooling resources
* Partnerships with vendors
* Museums and other subject-specific service issues
* Providing reference services for kids and teachers
* Special services for special needs users
* How to identify, attract, and keep patrons
* How to create and maintain digital reference services (for new
providers)
* Intranets
* Commercial/fee-based services
* Question negotiation in the digital environment
* Policies and the law - liability, privacy, ethics, copyright,
licensing
* Accessibility
* Case studies (experiences from practicing digital reference
services in all contexts)
* Performance and evaluation measures
* Future directions of reference
Digital Reference Resources
* Search engines
* Reference meta-sites
* Collection development
* Online resources for ready reference
* Intermediary search services vs. end-user systems
* Locally-mounted digital resources vs. remote resources
* Evaluation of digital reference resources
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:
Proposals should include speaker's name, job title, institution,
address,
phone, fax, e-mail, brief biographical information, and a topic related
abstract of 250-500 words. Please e-mail your proposal to VRD Conference
([log in to unmask]) by May 31, 2003.
Print and Electronic Proceedings
Presenters are encouraged to submit papers or related materials (e.g.,
handouts, copies of slides, etc.) for publication in the conference's
print and electronic proceedings. The print proceedings will be
comprised
of peer-reviewed papers from the 2003 conference, and the content will
differ from material published in the online proceedings. For more
information, contact [log in to unmask]
For more information regarding the VRD 2003 Annual Digital Reference
Conference, please contact Pat Grimsley, [log in to unmask], 800-464-9107.
For hotel and other information, please see the VRD 2003 Conference Web
site at http://www.vrd2003.org/.
DEADLINES:
Proposals Due: May 31, 2003
Notification of Acceptance: July 14, 2003
Final Papers Due for Print Proceedings Consideration: December 5, 2003
Presentations and Other Materials Due for Electronic Proceedings:
December
5, 2003
|
