Tuesday, December 23, 2008

IFLA 2009 (Open Access Research)

IFLA 2009 (Open Access Research)

URL: http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla75/call-theory-en.htm

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has issued a call for papers for its 2009 conference (Milan, August 23-27, 2009). The theme for the Library Theory and Research Section is "Research into open access". Abstracts are due by December 31, 2008. Submissions can be made in the IFLA languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Russian and Spanish) and Italian.

Open Access (OA) has become the subject of much discussion amongst researchers, academics, librarians, university administrators, funding agencies, government officials, and publishers. Although OA has become a topic of considerable interest, with a growing body of work exploring the impact of OA on scholarly research and communication for various disciplines, surprisingly very little rigorous research has been conducted into or about OA itself.

At its session in Milan, the IFLA Library Theory and Research Section (LTR) will focus on research that explores the reality of providing OA. The intention of the session is to provide a forum for library professionals to critically discuss key issues related to developing, managing and sustaining OA across the world. Papers may address issues such as challenges and barriers, the realities of financial and institutional support, policy and planning or principles involved in matters of OA development, management and sustainability. Papers discussing these issues from the perspective of different disciplines or contexts are welcome.

URL: http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla75/call-theory-en.htm