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                        CALL FOR PROPOSALS:
                     Papers and Presentations


          The VRD 5th Annual Digital Reference Conference
                        "Reference Roundup"


                      November 17-18, 2003
                        San Antonio, TX


Proposals are invited for concurrent breakout session presentations at the
VRD 5th Annual Digital Reference Conference on Monday and Tuesday,
November 17-18, 2003.


The VRD conference explores the nature of Internet-based
question-and-answer service within a broad range of contexts, including
libraries and information centers, government, business, education, and
other industry sectors or organizations, as well as the specific issues
involved in providing any type of digital reference service. The theme of
this year's conference, "Reference Roundup," emphasizes the latest
advances and practices in reference today. Authors are encouraged to
examine issues, identify practices, and propose organizational and
technological systems, standards, and procedures that advance the state of
reference librarianship as practiced in a digital environment.


Presenters will receive free registration for the conference.


Deadlines:


 * Proposals will be accepted until May 31, 2003 (see proposal submission
   instructions below).


 * Selected presenters will be notified by July 14, 2003.


 * Final papers are due Friday, December 5, 2003 in order to be considered
   for inclusion in the VRD 2003 Conference print proceedings, to be
   published in 2004.


 * PowerPoint presentation slides, handouts, and other materials to be
   published in the VRD electronic proceedings will be due Friday,
   December 5, 2003.


CONFERENCE THEMES:


Proposal themes may include, but are not limited to, the following topics
and categories:


Technology for Digital Reference


        * Real-time/live reference
        * Software selection issues
        * Commercial vs. "home-grown" solutions
        * Standards for digital reference technology, including NISO
          standards
        * Tools for digital reference, including:
            * Workflow software (for question/answering)
            * Question-answer archiving tools/knowledge bases
            * Web contact center software
            * Customer relationship management software
            * Networking/routing solutions
            * Voice over IP (VoIP)
        * Planning for technological evolution


Digital Reference Service Management


        * Foundations for building digital reference services
        * Defining service levels
        * Integration of digital reference into other reference models
          (service hybrids)
        * Archiving/tracking questions and answers/FAQs
        * Policies and standards for consortia and cooperative reference
        * Evaluation approaches and quality standards
        * Training solutions and models for service staff
        * Models for funding/pricing
        * Personnel/staffing, optimizing human resources
        * Planning for equipment and space
        * Marketing services to potential users
        * Reference outsourcing


General Issues in Digital Reference


        * Partnerships - cooperative/collaborative networks,
          sharing/pooling resources
        * Partnerships with vendors
        * Museums and other subject-specific service issues
        * Providing reference services for kids and teachers
        * Special services for special needs users
        * How to identify, attract, and keep patrons
        * How to create and maintain digital reference services (for new
          providers)
        * Intranets
        * Commercial/fee-based services
        * Question negotiation in the digital environment
        * Policies and the law - liability, privacy, ethics, copyright,
          licensing
        * Accessibility
        * Case studies (experiences from practicing digital reference
          services in all contexts)
        * Performance and evaluation measures
        * Future directions of reference


Digital Reference Resources


        * Search engines
        * Reference meta-sites
        * Collection development
        * Online resources for ready reference
        * Intermediary search services vs. end-user systems
        * Locally-mounted digital resources vs. remote resources
        * Evaluation of digital reference resources


PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:


Proposals should include speaker's name, job title, institution, address,
phone, fax, e-mail, brief biographical information, and a topic related
abstract of 250-500 words. Please e-mail your proposal to VRD Conference
([log in to unmask]) by May 31, 2003.


Print and Electronic Proceedings


Presenters are encouraged to submit papers or related materials (e.g.,
handouts, copies of slides, etc.) for publication in the conference's
print and electronic proceedings. The print proceedings will be comprised
of peer-reviewed papers from the 2003 conference, and the content will
differ from material published in the online proceedings. For more
information, contact [log in to unmask]


For more information regarding the VRD 2003 Annual Digital Reference
Conference, please contact Pat Grimsley, [log in to unmask], 800-464-9107.
For hotel and other information, please see the VRD 2003 Conference Web
site at http://www.vrd2003.org/.


DEADLINES:


Proposals Due: May 31, 2003


Notification of Acceptance: July 14, 2003


Final Papers Due for Print Proceedings Consideration: December 5, 2003


Presentations and Other Materials Due for Electronic Proceedings: December
5, 2003

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