Access 2008 CFP

I’m not sure if you know, but McMaster will be co-hosting the Access Conference with the Hamilton Public Library and Mohawk College this year! This is exciting news! I’ve heard great things about the conference but have never been able to attend. It’s on the techy side of things and lately, I’ve been a techy-type wanna be, so I can’t wait to go – it should be great. They’ve put a call for proposals out, so here it is:

Call for Proposals for Access 2008
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Date: October 1-3, 2008 (Hackfest: Oct 1; Conference: Oct 2-4)
CFP Deadline: Friday, February 22, 2008
URL: http://access2008.mcmaster.ca

Access is Canada’s premier library technology conference, featuring a single stream of sessions that deal with technology planning, development, challenges and solutions. We are now accepting proposals for prepared talks on the following topics (other ideas are more than welcome):

• customized web applications and search interfaces
• open source software
• national and provincial/state-wide consortia technology initiatives
• information policy
• digital and social media
• library catalogue innovations
• digitization projects
• institutional repositories
• end-user searching behaviours
• protocols and metadata

…or anything else suitably geeky, innovative and/or awe-inspiring! Sessions are usually 45 minutes or 1 hour in length. Proposals should include:

• your name, title, institutional affiliation, contact information, blog/website URL
• 100 word (max) abstract describing your proposed presentation
• co-presenters you will (or hope to) present with

Submission Procedures:

• deadline for submission is February 22, 2008.
• send your proposal to Amanda Etches-Johnson, Program Chair, at etchesa AT mcmaster.ca
• each submission will be acknowledged and all presenters will be notified of the status of their proposal by April 15, 2008.
• if you’d simply like to recommend topics and/or speakers (other than yourself), feel free to get in touch!

Depending on the number of submissions, we can’t promise that every proposal will be accepted. However, we will have sessions set aside for Lightning/Thunder talks, which provide an informal opportunity to share your ideas with your peers.

For more information about Access, see the Access 2007 website. Alternatively, feel free to get in touch with the members of the Program Planning Committee:

Amanda Etches-Johnson
User Experience Librarian, McMaster University
etchesa AT mcmaster.ca

Jenn Horwath
Virtual Branch Manager, Hamilton Public Library
jhorwath AT hpl.ca