Thursday, September 17, 2015

Call for Online Learning Proposals (RUSA)

RUSA seeks webinar and online course proposals through October 1, 2015

Call for Proposals: RUSA seeks submissions for new webinars and online courses by October 1, 2015:

RUSA invites subject matter experts and experienced librarians with knowledge to share to submit proposals for RUSA webinars and online courses to be presented between October 2015 and August 2016 as a part of RUSA’s outstanding online learning offerings.

RUSA welcomes proposals on topics that will assist our diverse membership, who work in all types of libraries, to improve service delivery and job performance. Topics should reflect RUSA’s expertise across the profession. Review RUSA’s current online learning offerings for hot topics, like instructional design for librarians, content marketing, reader’s advisory, reference interviewing and many more.

Proposals will be accepted through October 1, 2015. Webinars approved for presentation will be offered between Oct. 22, 2015 and August 31, 2016. Approved online courses will launch in November 2015 through August 2016.

Webinar presenters and online learning instructors are compensated for their work ($150 to be split among webinar presenters; a development fee and per student rate for online courses) and will receive training and support for Adobe Connect, the webinar technology platform used by the division, and Moodle, the online tool used for courses.

RUSA serves librarians in reference, user services, adult readers advisory, collection development, resource sharing, genealogy and archives, business reference and reference technology.

Webinars and online course proposals submitted during this open call period will be approved for presentation occurring between October 2015 and August 2016.

Successful online learning proposals will:
  • Show plans for content and presentation strategies that will fill the allotted time: 60-75 minutes for webinars, and 4-6 weeks for courses; 
  • Identify clear learning outcomes for participants; 
  • Clearly illustrate the qualifications of the presenter(s)/instructor(s) with respect to the proposed topic; 
  • Show how the presentation addresses a topic either of interest to RUSA members, or represents an area of RUSA’s expertise that benefits other types of librarians, and is unique from other available online learning offerings. 

Following are suggested topics, but by no means the only ones; we look forward to receiving innovative proposals with trending topics:
  • Copyright in the digital age 
  • Developing community partnerships 
  • Government data and related resources 
  • Ideas for Library programs – best practices for developing 
  • Library marketing and display ideas 
  • Library spaces and assessing future needs 
  • Reference for specialized audiences 
  • Change Management and evaluation 
  • Advocacy 
  • Leadership development 
  • Role of the reference librarian 


Presenters for accepted proposals will receive compensation for their time and will also receive training for Adobe Connect, RUSA’s online webinar presentation software, and support for Moodle, the online course platform.

Questions about RUSA’s online learning can be sent to Andrea Hill, RUSA web manager at ahill@ala.org.