2018 IFLA World Library and Information Congress Open Session 84th IFLA General Conference and Assembly, 24 – 30 August 2018, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Call for Papers: The Document Delivery and Resource Sharing Section is organizing an Open Session during the 2018 WLIC in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. We invite proposals for papers to be presented at a two hour program.

Theme: “Transform Resource Sharing-exceed expectations.”

Information technology has transformed every sector of our society during the last decades and the transformation is still happening in front of our eyes. Libraries’ Resource Sharing activities were not excluded from such fundamental changes. Paper request forms were replaced by an online request form and the interlending transactions between libraries are handled by an online network. Accordingly, requested materials are delivered to our users much faster than in the previous century, thanks to email and other online delivery tools. However, these new developments combined with general use of high speed internet, increased the levels of our users expectations. Once two week of turnaround time for an article was much appreciated by our users, but now two days of waiting has become an unacceptable delay for our users who expect everything in one click. Hence, we, Resource Sharing librarians became victims of our success and we are struggling to meet our users’ ever-high expectations.

Through the Open Session, we are seeking creative ways of transforming Resource Sharing to exceed expectations for our users. How can we accomplish this goal? Or can we ever accomplish it?

We invite papers of all sorts but are especially interested in hearing your experience from the field regarding a broader aspect of ‘sharing’ resources and ideas of users’ perspectives and expectations. The topics of interests include but are not limited to:

● Resource sharing activities of all types, including: interlibrary loan, cooperative collection development, cooperative reference, direct borrowing, consortial programs, and shared licensing/purchasing of electronic resources

● Research on user behaviors and expectation regarding resource sharing services.

● Open source systems and their role in resource sharing.

● Challenges and solutions to sharing electronic resources such as e-books and e-journals including digitized works.

● Effects of alternative publishing models such as open access on resource sharing practices.

● Innovative approaches or trends in resource sharing in all types of libraries or parts of the world.

● New frontiers for library consortia or collaboration between individual libraries

● International resource sharing concerns, such as: delivery methods, payment options, interoperability of systems, computer standards.

● Intellectual property rights in different countries or regions, especially as they pertain to resource sharing of electronic resources.

● Methodologies for assessing the effectiveness of resource sharing initiatives. Important Dates

  • 1 March 2018 Submission of Abstracts
  • 31 March 2018 Decision notification
  • 1 June 2018 Final papers due

Proposals should include

If you are interested in contributing a paper, please send the following, in electronic format

(preferably via e-mail):

● An abstract of the paper consisting of approximately 350 words, including relevant URLs when necessary.

● An attached summary of the author(s) details: (name, institution, email address, and position) and a brief biographical statement of no more than 50 words. Proposals should be submitted to Peter Bae at this email address: sbae@princeton.edu no later than 1 March 2018

Selected presenters will be notified by the 31 March 2018

Papers Presenters will be expected to submit final versions of their papers (consisting of no more than ten pages on Microsoft Word, including an abstract) by 30 June 2018. Papers should be in English or in one of the official IFLA languages with an English translation attached. The language of the session will be English.

Presenters will have 20-25 minutes at the program to present their papers, and time will be allocated at the end of the session for an open forum to allow for audience interaction. Please note that the Program Committee has no funds to assist prospective authors. Abstracts should only be submitted on the understanding that the expenses of attending the IFLA Conference (including travel, expenses, and conference fee) will be the responsibility of the author(s)/ presenter(s) of accepted papers. Some national professional organizations may be able to help fund certain expenses and a small number of grants for conference attendance may be available through IFLA.

For more information please contact the Chair of the section, Peter Collins at this address: pcoll@upenn.edu