History of Library Services and Collections for Business, Industry, Labor, and Artisans

The Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) seeks papers for its Research Forum at the ALA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, June 2011. The theme of the forum will be the history of library services and collections for business, industry, labor, and artisans. We hope to present a range of papers that examine a variety of types of libraries and historical periods. The theme should be interpreted broadly. Possible topics might include mechanics and mercantile libraries in the nineteenth century; special libraries in the twentieth century; public libraries and unions or entrepreneurs. Presenters should place their topic within larger social, cultural, and political contexts. They are encouraged to consider the various motives and values that influenced the users of the libraries as well as the librarians providing services and collections.

LHRT welcomes submissions from researchers of all backgrounds, including students, faculty, and practitioners. Each proposal must give the paper title, an abstract (up to 500 words), and the scholar’s one-page vita. Also, please indicate whether the research is in-progress or completed. It is recommended that the abstract include a problem or thesis, as well as a statement of significance, objectives, methods/primary sources used for the research, and conclusions (or tentative conclusions for works in progress).

The LHRT Research Committee will select a number of authors to present their completed work at the Forum. The program will be publicized in January 2011. So that the forum’s facilitator may introduce and react to each author, completed papers are due June 12, 2011. The Research Forum will most likely take place on Sunday, June 26, 2011. All presenters must register to attend the conference. For registration options, see the ALA conference page at: http://ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/upcoming/annual/index.cfm.

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS:                                      Dec. 15, 2010

DEADLINE FOR COMPLETED PAPERS:                               June 12, 2011

Please submit proposals and direct inquiries to:

Tom Glynn
LHRT Vice-Chair/Research Committee Chair Alexander Library, Rutgers University Libraries
169 College Ave.
New Brunswick, NJ 08904
Telephone: (732) 932-7129, ext. 128
E-mail: glynn@rci.rutgers.edu

This year, the CLA conference is being held in Montreal, a city that holds great historical significance as the place where the first formal library science education program in Canada — and one of the first programs for librarianship in the world — began at McGill University.  To read more about the history of the program please visit the GSLIS 100th Anniversary website.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Library & Information History (Formerly Library History)

Throughout history, libraries have been the repositories of knowledge of all kinds. More recently, this has broadened into a history of information as we have entered the information age, with historians reconsidering the fundamental concepts and manifestations of knowledge and information in society.

Library & Information History is a fully-refereed, quarterly journal publishing articles of a high academic standard from international authors on all subjects and all periods relating to the history of information, in its broadest sense, and on the history of libraries and librarianship world-wide. Library & Information History is a journal for anyone interested in the social, cultural and intellectual history of information, books, libraries and all forms of knowledge in society.

The editorial board of Library & Information History invite scholars to submit papers to their learned journal that conform to the usual standards of publishing within the journal. Papers relating to all aspects of the journal’s aims and scope are welcome, but the editorial board are very interested in developing particular themes within the journal, areas of interest are:

- The theory, development and methodology of information history

- The history and origins of the information age

- The cultural and social role of the library and/or librarian in the past

- The role of the library and/or librarian in times of war or conflict

- The history of the intellectual organisation of knowledge

- The future directions of Library History as a discipline

Contributions and other correspondence should be sent to the Editor, Dr Toni Weller via email: tweller@dmu.ac.uk Please see the website for submission guidelines and Notes for Contributors www.maney.co.uk/journals/notes/libraryhistory

Selected papers may be published by the Library History Interest Group in conjunction with CLA.

Papers are solicited in any of the following categories of library history:

1. Overviews and syntheses.
2. Studies of particular individuals, institutions, or developments, which provide generalizable interpretations or else serve as case studies.
3. Methodological studies, which look at various aspects of research in library history.

It is anticipated that papers will be based upon personal, funded, institutional, or degree projects. Papers should not have been previously published elsewhere. They should be fully documented, and accompanied by illustrations where appropriate. They may be presented in either English or French.

Deadlines:

October 1, 2008        proposals and brief abstracts
May 15, 2009            completed papers

For further information, or submission of proposals, abstracs, and papers please contact:

Professor Peter F. McNally
School of Information Studies
McGill University
3459 McTavish St.
Montreal, QC
H3A 1Y1

Telephone: 514-398-3367
FAX: 514-398-7193
email: peter.mcnally@mcgill.ca