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North American Serials Interest Group
18th Annual Conference
June 26-29, 2003

CALL FOR PAPERS

“SERIALS IN THE PARK: BLAZING DIVERSE TRAILS IN THE INFORMATION FOREST”

 The 18th Annual Conference of the North American Serials Interest Group will
be held June 26-29, 2003, at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.
Portland State University, a nationally acclaimed leader in community-based
learning, is located along the tree-lined South Park Blocks of downtown
Portland. The University's position in the heart of Oregon's economic and
cultural center enables PSU students and faculty to apply scholarly theory to
the real-world problems of business and community organizations. Portland
State offers over 100 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees, as well
as graduate certificates and continuing education programs. PSU serves more
students and confers more graduate degrees annually than any other Oregon
university. See:  http://www.pdx.edu/. Downtown Portland will welcome NASIG
conference goers as it is a highly accessible city, easy and pleasant to walk
about in, and also has a fabulous light-rail system. There are 37,000 acres of
parks in the Portland metro area, including the 5,000 acre Forest Park. As
Portland’s 25-year vision plan elegantly notes, “vibrant, diverse
neighborhoods are home to all manner of people, but it’s the other things that
give a place its soul – the cafes and markets, the art, parks, plazas, vistas
and sanctuaries.”  Portland will offer NASIG a truly rich environment from
which to drawn energy as we expand our thinking and integrate new ideas into
our current realm.  See: http://www.pova.com/visitors/

 NASIG’s annual conference provides participants with an open and collegial
forum to discuss current and relevant issues and to meet colleagues who are
involved in various aspects of the serials information chain—from publication
to presentation, from promotion to preservation. The conference is an
opportunity for participants to exchange information about serial
publications, trends, issues, innovations and other related topics. The
conference proceedings are published in both electronic and print formats. The
electronic version is made available to all NASIG members at NASIG’s website:
http://www.nasig.org.

 The 2003 Program Planning Committee invites original proposals for
pre-conference, plenary, concurrent and workshop sessions that support this
year’s conference theme— “SERIALS IN THE PARK: BLAZING DIVERSE TRAILS IN THE
INFORMATION FOREST.”  This year’s theme underscores the variety of formats,
emerging technologies, and newly entering as well as continuing providers in
the field who partner together to offer opportunities that we commonly know as
serials and serials services. Just as parks can grow into beautifully complex
forests, these products and services continue to transform shape and purpose;
what we define as a serial continues to evolve. As we explore and navigate the
forest of serials and their supporting services, the species of trees and the
landscape itself are changing before our eyes. Today’s colleagues are often
those we do not recognize as the traditional serialist; therefore, we must
form synergies as we explore these trails together. .
 In the past, librarians, vendors and publishers have played carefully defined
roles in the delivery of serial-based information. These roles are rapidly
changing as digital platforms become more and more accessible and accepted.
Integration and shifting of roles and the effect of globalization are having a
very real impact on the serials environment.

Plenary Papers and Concurrent Sessions:

The Committee seeks original proposals (not published or presented elsewhere)
for plenary papers and concurrent sessions that are visionary and/or
comprehensive. These sessions should provide conference participants with a
conceptual framework based on new trends, the intellectual underpinnings for
reconsidering information delivery models, the effects the restructuring of
the serial publications industry has on scholarly communication and
intellectual property rights, or any other presentation of  “big picture”
issues. Sessions also may focus on analyses of trends, historical perspectives
and their influence on current economic models, the future of the serials
industry and libraries, among other possibilities.

Those submitting proposals for plenary and/or concurrent sessions may want to
consider the following questions:
· How will new technologies be incorporated to improve access to serial
information?
· How will roles change and what stakes will publishers, vendors and
librarians have in the production and dissemination of future serial
publications?
· What effect will new technologies have on “best practices” and “core
competencies”?
· What does it mean to “redefine serials” and what effect will it have on
information users and information practitioners?

Other additional suggestions to spark ideas include but certainly are not
limited to:
· Transforming libraries and user needs
· Transforming serials production and presentation
· Distance education and distributed learning
· Knowledge management, skills and tools
· Preservation models and “refreshing” technologies
· Digital and virtual “libraries”
· Distribution models and personalized information requirements

Workshop and Pre-conference Sessions

The Committee invites original proposals (not presented elsewhere) for
workshop and pre-conference sessions that provide practical information about
implementing change, restructuring procedures, managing serials within a
rapidly evolving work and business environment, promoting positive
reassignments of duties, and developing new skill sets. Typically,
pre-conference sessions provide a hands-on demonstration and learning
environment, with a limited number of registrants. Workshop leaders provide
collegial support and facilitate discussion with participants. Such sessions
are designed to impart and share information regarding local processes,
procedures, and practices.

Some suggested topics to spark ideas include but certainly are not limited to:

· Evaluating, acquiring, managing and accessing electronic journals and
gateways
· Assessing and managing electronic journal publishers and aggregators
· New roles for publishers, vendors, or librarians
· Forging new partnerships and relationships
· Intellectual property rights and copyright management
· Managing change while managing staff
· Developing new partnerships and new business models
· Metadata management
· XML, ONIX, and implementing other new standards
· Outreach and strategic planning—identifying information users and their
needs
· Re-evaluating traditional practices

Poster Sessions

The NASIG Program Planning Committee invites applications to present poster
sessions at the 18th NASIG conference in Portland, OR, June 26-29, 2003.
Poster sessions provide an opportunity to share innovative ideas and new
applications of technology. They may present a report of a research study, an
analysis of a practical problem-solving effort, or a description of an
innovative program that may be of interest to the serials community.

Deadline for submission: Applications must be received by Friday, March 7,
2003
[This call will be sent out again in early 2003]

 NASIG’s 2003 Program Planning Committee invites members of the information
community to submit proposals and to suggest topics or speakers. Since the
Committee reviews all submitted proposals for their content, timeliness, and
relevance to the conference theme, the Committee reserves the right to
combine, blend, or refocus proposals to maximize their relevance and to avoid
duplication.  While the Committee welcomes proposal suggestions from teams of
three or more people, such groups need to designate no more than two official
co-presenters per session.

NASIG reimburses plenary and concurrent speakers for expenses; workshop
presenters receive one-half off their basic registration. For more information
about NASIG’s reimbursement policy, please see:
http://www.nasig.org/public/NASIGreimburse02.htm

Submissions should be original in that they should not be exact repeats of
presentations given at other conferences; due to the fact that NASIG publishes
proceedings, content needs to be unique for copyright purposes.

When submitting a proposal, please include ALL of the following information:
1. Name(s) [No more than 2 contacts]
2. Mailing address(s)
3. Telephone number, fax number, and email address(es)
4. Short (50 words or less) biographical description about proposed speakers
5. Proposed Program title
6. Program type proposal (plenary, concurrent, workshop or pre-conference)
Note: Proposals may end up being accepted as any one of these types of
presentations - this decision is the purview of the Program Planning
Committee.
7. A 200-300 word abstract, which clearly states the proposal topic, its
relationship to the conference theme, and its relevance for conference
attendees.  NOTE: Proposals are welcome from non-NASIG members, but must be
clearly relevant to the aims of the organization and presenters should make
themselves aware of NASIG’s mission and purpose.

Proposals (except for poster sessions) should be submitted via electronic mail
(attachments in standard word processing programs are welcome)
                               no later than:
                             AUGUST 1, 2002 to:

                             Bea Caraway NASIG Secretary
                             BCARAWAY@TRINITY.EDU

--

Connie Foster
Professor/Serials Coordinator
Editor, Serials Review (v.28- )
    http://www.elsevier.com/locate/serrev
Past President/Publicist-NASIG(North American Serials Interest Group)
    http://www.nasig.org
Western Kentucky University Libraries
1 Big Red Way
Bowling Green KY 42101-3576

email: connie.foster@wku.edu phone: 270-745-6160 fax: 270-745-3958
http://www.wku.edu