Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures, invites you to submit a virtual or in-person preconference proposal for the upcoming 2021 ALA Annual Conference.
If ALA is unable to hold an in-person Annual Conference, Core staff will work with you to transition your proposal to a Virtual Event, if accepted.
The Core Program Committee welcomes topics that are of current and ongoing interest to the Core membership, including:
1. Access and Equity
o Advocacy in areas such as copyright, equity of access, open access, net neutrality, and privacy
o Preservation Week
o Equity, diversity, and inclusion, both within the division and the profession, as related to Core’s subject areas
2. Assessment
o Emphasizing the role of assessment in demonstrating the impacts of libraries or library services
o Assessment tools, methods, guidelines, standards, and policies and procedures
3. Leadership and Management
o Developing leaders at every level
o Best practices for inclusion by using an equity lens to examine leadership structures
o Leadership for talent management and human resources
4. Metadata and Collections
o Best practices and knowledge in work areas that support collections and discovery
o Best practices for equity, diversity, and inclusion in the development and description of collections
o Standards and best practices for selection, acquisition, description, access, and preservation of information resources
o Preservation of both print, media, and digital resources
5. Operations and Buildings
o Changing trends in organizational structures, services, staff operations, and facilities
o Best practices for inclusive practices and design
6. Technology
o Best practices for inclusive practices and design
o Emerging technologies and actionable plans for library services
o Bridging the technology related needs across all types of libraries and operational areas
Submission Process
- To propose an event, please submit an online proposal using the Core Preconference Proposal Submission Form.
- Anyone can submit a proposal, regardless of membership status.
- Submission Deadline: November 20, 2020
- Proposals will be reviewed by the Core Program Committee and proposal submitters will be contacted to discuss their submission.
- Final Decisions will be announced by December 2020.
Presentation Format Options
- *An In-person Preconference – a full day or half day interactive training workshop held at Annual. The number of presenters are limited to 3 for a full day event and 2 for a half day event.
- A virtual preconference – consists of two or three one-hour virtual sessions held a few weeks prior to Annual.
Questions & Comments
Please send any questions or comments about submitting a proposal to:
- Sarah Wallbank – Core Program Committee Co-Chair at wallbank@uci.edu
- Richard Guajardo – Core Program Committee Co-Chair at rguajardo@utexas.edu
- Tom Ferren – Core Program Officer, Professional Development at tferren@ala.org
