[SOA] Call for Proposals: RBMS 2017 Seminars

[Melissa Hubbard]

Dear Colleagues,

I invite you to submit seminar proposals for the 2017 RBMS conference in Iowa City. Please see below for full details, and feel free to reach out to me with any questions. The conference planning committee is happy to help with proposal development if you have an idea but aren’t sure how to frame it within the RBMS Seminar structure.


The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the American Library Association Seminars Committee invites cultural heritage professionals and scholars to propose and organize conference seminars to be presented in 2017. Seminars are 90-minute sessions, given in a variety of formats. They constitute an important educational component of each conference and are a valuable forum for the exchange of ideas and information on particular topics of relevance to rare book and manuscript librarians. Topics to be covered at the 2016 Coral Gables conference include: diversity and outreach, balancing sacred materials and openness, book collecting contests, IMLS-RBS diversity fellows’ reflections, linked data, managing soft skills, security trends, web archiving, succession planning for rare materials cataloging, self-directed undergraduate research in special collections, and donor relations.

What learning opportunities should seminars provide at the Iowa City conference in 2017?  You can help shape the content of these sessions by submitting a proposal for an RBMS seminar.  Past seminars have been organized as panel discussions, Pecha Kucha presentations, and as informal workshops.  A crucial component of any seminar, however, is that it have an instructional and educational component; seminar presentations should not be merely case studies or project reports but should consider broader issues emphasizing practical instruction or practical knowledge. Interested in proposing a seminar but unsure about potential topics? The committee brainstormed ideas at our Midwinter meeting, which can be viewed at http://rbms.info/files/committees/minutes/2016/seminarminutes16m.pdf <http://rbms.info/files/committees/minutes/2016/seminarminutes16m.pdf>; this list is by no means inclusive or perscriptive.

Please submit your proposal online at http://rbms.info/committees/seminars/seminar_proposal_form/ <http://rbms.info/committees/seminars/seminar_proposal_form/> or email it to seminars at rbms.info <mailto:seminars at rbms.info> with a brief description (500 words or less) of the purpose, content, and format of your proposed seminar and list the names and affiliations of any presenters; you should also indicate any equipment or audiovisual needs that you anticipate.  While the Committee wants to hear your ideas, even if they are not yet fully fleshed out, more complete information will be helpful to the Committee in making its decisions.  Proposals submitted by June 3 will be considered by the Seminars Committee for selection at its meeting during the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando. Organizers should consider attending this meeting, or sending a representative, to present the proposal to the Committee.

Feel free to contact Sarah Horowitz, the Seminars Committee chair, with any questions about submitting proposals, the suitability of topics, or organizing seminars in general.


Best,

Melissa Hubbard
Co-chair, 2017 RBMS Conference
Head of Special Collections & Archives, CWRU
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