“Join or Die: Collaboration in Special Collections” – A Call for Papers: 2010 RBMS Preconference

The 51st Annual ACRL / Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) Preconference, Join or Die: Collaboration in Special Collections, taking place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, June 22 through Friday, June 25, 2010

CALL FOR CASE STUDIES ON COLLABORATION

The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is seeking proposals for short papers on case studies related to the theme of its 2010 Preconference, Collaboration in Special Collections.

The 2010 Preconference will explore the entire spectrum of collaborative relationships: with colleagues, scholars, students, users, booksellers, donors, other institutions, and funding organizations -- any combination in which we can achieve more through cooperation than we could alone.  It is our hope that attendees will depart the conference with practical ideas about collaborative enterprises they can bring to their home institutions in order to maximize their resources in a time of constrained budgets.

The short paper session is intended to present case studies that involve collaboration within the special collections profession.  We would like to hear about how collaboration occurred, description of the collaboration, mistakes made, lessons learned, and successes achieved.  Speakers should be prepared to encourage interaction with the audience and to retain time for questions & comments at the end of the presentation.

Applicants selected will be allotted twenty minutes for their presentation. Papers will be presented in small group sessions, and audience response will be encouraged. Proposals should not exceed 250 words and must be submitted by 31 October 2009 to:

John Overholt
overholt@fas.harvard.edu

Please include the title of the proposal, name and institutional affiliation, mailing and email addresses, and telephone and fax numbers. Also indicate whether you are a current member of RBMS, and if the proposal has been accepted for publication or presentation elsewhere.

Final papers should not exceed 3,000 words in length or ten double-spaced pages.  Papers will be ranked based on relevance to the Preconference theme, quality of research and writing, and potential interest to RBMS members. Speakers will be notified by email by 1 December 2009.  Submissions are encouraged from all interested individuals. We are particularly interested in hearing from faculty and staff from small libraries and institutions.