Program

 ALIA LARK’s biennial symposium 2024 is about Australian and international connections. This is the first time that LARK is hosting a symposium outside of Sydney.  The event is associated with the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) Information Futures Summit in Brisbane. LARK is delighted to use this opportunity to connect with our colleagues from across Australia and around the world. Members of IFLA’s Library and Research Theory Section will be our special guests with a dedicated slot on our program.

Key dates

8 April – 26 May Call for papers open (extended to 9 June)

10 June (extended to 23 June)

• Notifications about decisions
• Grant applications open

Organising Committee

• Dr Suzana Sukovic (Chair), PLC Sydney
• Emilia Bell, University of Southern Queensland Library
• Dr Katherine Howard, Intersect
• Mr Paul Jewell, Western Sydney University Library
• Dr Mary Anne Kennan, Charles Sturt University
• Dr Bhuva Narayan, University of Technology Sydney

Program Committee

• Emilia Bell, University of Southern Queensland Library
• Dr Katherine Howard, Intersect
• Dr Mary Anne Kennan, Charles Sturt University
• Dr Bhuva Narayan, University of Technology Sydney
• Dr Suzana Sukovic, PLC Sydney
• Dr Elizabeth Tait, Charles Sturt University

Keynote

Professor Sylvia Lauretta Edwards

Cloudy with a chance of …?: What research tells us is needed to drive LIS forward  

As a profession, we have always strived to be at the cutting edge of technology; to stay relevant amidst rapid technological and societal changes. Given the rising cost of living, emerging environmental issues, developments in AI, and other significant issues we face, it is timely to reflect on what the future of libraries and information services might look like. To explore, albeit briefly, the research lessons learned over the past couple of decades and try to imagine the opportunities, strengths, and challenges of our future. This exercise may provoke and challenge us, but it should also expand and hopefully inspire our thinking about the role and importance of our future services.

Biography 

Dip.Lib.(RMIT), GCEd(HE), MIT(Res.), PhD (QUT), AALIA, MACS

Sylvia Edwards works in the higher education sector as an executive coach, advisor, consultant and mentor. Sylvia’s career has focused on innovation in higher education and she is passionate about the curriculum renewal required to engage our current digital native students. She is the recipient of the prestigious Australian Award for University Teaching (2006). For eight years Sylvia worked in executive roles leading faculty reorganisation to facilitate significant change at QUT, to deliver curriculum renewal at whole of program levels and led successful implementation of a variety of innovative approaches in learning & teaching. Sylvia researches higher education leadership, information searching behaviour and information literacy, and specialises in applying her research findings in practice. She has published over 80 refereed publications, delivered over 50 academic and industry presentations, and has 29 PhD student completions.

Invited speakers from IFLA

 Dr Saif Al Jabri has more than 25 years of experience in library management. He has worked in different levels of library management and administration. He has an optimistic vision of library development and its future role and he always encourages young people in the Arab region to enter the field and join the world of knowledge professionals. Beside his duties in library administration, he teaches in the Business communication department and the Information Studies department. Currently, he chairs the MENA Regional Division Committee, IFLA and play an active role in the in the LIS field in the MENA region, as well as serving as a member of the Literacy and Reading Standing Committee. Saif is one of the founders of the BSLISE (Building Strong Library and Information Science Education) working group when he was chairing the IFLA Section on Education and Training (SET) standing committee.

Professor Susmita Chakraborty, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Calcutta and Chair of IFLA’s Library Theory and Research Standing Committee (See here for more details).

 Jasenka Pleško has been working in the libraries of the city of Zagreb, Croatia, Europe, for over 30 years. She is the Subject Analysis Coordinator at the City Library of Zagreb. Her area of ​​interest besides subject analysis is the training and lifelong education of librarians. She chaired the Commission for Education and Lifelong Learning of the Croatian Library Association several times. She is a member of the IFLA Education and Training Section in her second term. Since 2022, she has been the president of the Croatian Library Association. 

Dr Steven Witt is the Head of the International and Area Studies Library at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he is also the subject specialist for Global Studies and Japanese.  In addition, he has been the Director of the Center for Global Studies (CGS) at the University of Illinois since 2015. In 2018, the Center was designated a US Department of Education National Resource Center for the 5th consecutive time.  Witt is also editor of IFLA Journal, the flagship journal of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

The keynote and IFLA’s LIBTHEORY Standing Committee session are presented by invited guest speakers. All other presentations were selected in a double-blind peer-review process.

8.30am – 9am Registration, AUDITORIUM 2

Registration

On ALIA’s website

• $120 (AUD) – ALIA members, speakers and students
• $150 – non-ALIA members

Please note that attendance is in person. We are not able to provide symposium recordings.

Connecting with the theme of IFLA’s Summit and key professional and societal issues, LARK is opening a call for papers with a particular interest in examining the meaning of research for our profession now and into the future.

Call for papers – submission form

We would like to explore research in library and information studies (LIS) within the context of the mental health crisis, rising cost of living, environmental issues, developments involving AI, and other significant issues. We invite proposals for theoretical and reflective presentations as well as reports on research results related to any aspect of professional practice. We also welcome papers on initiatives aiming to support and promote research in practice.

LARK is accepting written proposals for the following: 

• Lightning talks – short presentations (5-10 minutes) – typically, presentations on work in progress and small practice-based research projects (around 300 words, excluding references)

• Long presentations (20 minutes) – to present results of finished projects (around 300 words, excluding references)

• Panels (30 minutes) including a group of presenters (around 500 words, and information about presenters).

Instructions

• Proposal length 
  • Lightning talks and long papers  – around 300 words, excluding references
  • Panel proposals – around 500 words, and information about presenters
  • Indication whether it is for a short or long presentation, or a panel.
• Proposals are due on 9 June AEST.

Proposals will be reviewed by the Program Committee. Presenters will have the opportunity to develop their presentations into full papers for publication in The Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association (JALIA) (following the usual JALIA review processes). 

While a limited number of proposals may be accepted for remote presentation, the priority will be given to proposals for face-to-face presentations.

Contact: lark.kollektive@gmail.com