Library Research Seminar IV
by Jing Liu ~ September 29th, 2006. Filed under: News & Announcement.London, Ontario
October 10-12, 2007
Theme: The Library in Its Socio-Cultural Context: Issues for Research and Practice
Abstracts of 600-800 words, including references, are due by February 1, 2007 to the Conference Chair, Dr. Gloria Leckie (address noted below).
It is a longstanding truism that for too long, too much library research has been focused inward, on practices, means, and ends articulated in our own logic and language. Research which accounts for the social and cultural contexts of libraries is much needed and will expand this horizon by more fully integrating the insights and methods of other fields to inform library practices and research, with a view to improving service to users. Libraries do not stand outside of their communities, schools, universities or organizations – and those institutional contexts are themselves powerfully affected by the social and cultural contexts of the societies they inhabit.
The goal of Library Research Seminar IV is to stimulate and share research on libraries and the people who might benefit from them, utilizing many disciplinary perspectives which allow for analysis and insights into libraries in their various contexts. For example, the context of school reform efforts like No Child Left Behind powerfully affects the direction, funding, relationship to curricula of school libraries, and library research should address the fiscal, ethical, or educational implications of this context.
We invite papers that critically explore:
-the intellectual contexts that inform library research and practice
-the local, community contexts that shape the development and implementation of library programs and services
-the policy issues and general social forces shaping libraries
-the broad cultural trends affecting libraries
-multi- or interdisciplinary perspectives on the everyday contexts of libraries affecting their collections, services, budgets, user groups, external relations etc.
