Proposals for ALAO’s 38th Annual Conference, which will be held October 26th, 2012 at the Robert Centre in Wilmington, Ohio, are now being accepted.

The deadline for proposals is May 11, 2012.

The ALAO Conference Planning Committee invites you to submit proposals for presentations, lightning sessions, round table discussions and poster sessions for the 2012 Annual Conference. Share your experiences, practical solutions, expertise, and innovative practices with colleagues from all types of academic libraries. Applicants are encouraged to develop creative proposals that show thoughtful exploration of this year’s conference theme: “Impact Factor: The Value of Academic Libraries.” Join us as we explore the many ways in which academic libraries impact the campus, our communities and our profession.

Possible topics include:

• Calculating value through assessment
• Identifying the library’s role in student learning and retention
• Reallocating resources to increase return on investment
• Promoting the library through marketing, programming, and public relations
• Showcasing the value of library staff
• Meeting the needs of our diverse user communities
• Serving our community through outreach & service learning
• Curating and publishing unique institutional content
• Adopting new technologies to connect users with information
• Need help? Here is a PDF document describing the online proposal process.

Guidelines:

• You are welcome to submit multiple proposals, however, please know that no more than 2 will be included in the final program.
• All proposals will be blind-reviewed for content, relevance to the conference theme, and overall appeal. A concise, clearly written description and abstract will help the reviewers evaluate your offering more clearly.
• Exclude the name of your institution, department and any personal names in the abstract to expedite the blind review process. You do not need to exclude this information in the brief description.
• You will be contacted regarding your a-v/technology requirements when your proposal is accepted.
• All presenters will be responsible for their own registration and travel costs.
• Please print a copy of the completed form for your records before submitting.
• You will receive an email confirmation upon submission. If you do not receive this confirmation email, please contact: Aaron Olivera, The Ohio State University, olivera.3@osu.edu

Proposals are being accepted for the following:

• Presentations may take the form of contributed papers, demonstrations, workshops, research, or panel discussions.
• Lightning Talks are designed to be fast-paced, thought provoking, and energizing. Presenters will have 7 minutes to deliver their practical or conceptual topics. There will not be scheduled time for Q & A; however, presenters may use part of their 7 minutes for this purpose.
• Roundtables are small, informal group discussions designed to facilitate networking and information exchange. Facilitators should identify and develop a topic that will allow participants to discuss how they are dealing with specific issues at their libraries. Please include 2-3 questions to be addressed during the discussion in the proposal.
• Posters should graphically represent a topic and include text, tables, images, or other multimedia formats. Handouts are welcome and encouraged. Presenters will share their ideas with attendees during a designated time slot of the conference.

Reminder:
ALAO provides financial support of $150 to assist and encourage support staff members and library science students whose presentation proposals will be considered by the Program Committee for the 2012 ALAO Annual Conference. All grant applications will be considered by the Program Committee and more than one recipient may be chosen. Please indicate on your program proposal if you are support staff or a library science student for consideration.

Additionally, support staff must complete and submit an online application for the grant. Library science students must also complete an online application. Applications should be completed at the same time you are submitting your proposal for full consideration.