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CALL FOR PAPERS

Value, Usefulness and Performance of Libraries

35th Annual Conference
Corporation of Professional Librarians of Quebec
May 19 to 21, 2004 – Montreal, Canada

What is the nature and scope of librarians’ and libraries’ contribution
to society?  It has often been noted that libraries are absent from
governmental or other type of studies, or from legislation that looks
into questions that concern libraries.  Libraries and therefore librarians intervene in areas such as culture, education, information, economic intelligence, reading, to mention but a few. On the international level, various libraries’ and librarians’ associations have actively tried to convince decision-makers of the political and social utility of libraries.  So, what are the reasons of such a silence?

If this phenomenon is partly due to causes inherent to the profession,
the existence of external causes over which librarians have little influence should however not be discounted.  F! or example, the existence
in Quebec of a high illiteracy rate (about 25% to 30%) steers away from
libraries as well as from book stores a great number of potential readers.  Those readers who do visit the public libraries network represent slightly less than a third of the population in the province of
Quebec.  If the literate segment of our society is an estimated 70% to
75%, why is the attendance rate so low?  Can a society suffering from a
reading deficit appreciate an institution and a profession that promote
reading?  In such a context, how can the visibility of libraries and librarians be enhanced?

In the Spring of 2003, Library Trends (vol. 51, no 4) published : Research questions for the twenty-first century, that put forth a certain number of important questions that should be on the agenda for library science researchers.  One of the articles addressed the question of the role of libraries and librarians in today’s society.  The enhancement of libraries in their respective communities is a priority in most categories : university, college or school libraries, public libraries, special libraries, etc.

For the 2004 conference, the Corporation of Professional Librarians of
Quebec is calling for papers of a theoretical and practical nature on
themes related to the value, the usefulness and the performance of
libraries in their environment.  The following are some of the themes
suggested :

SOCIAL VALUE : copyrights, democratization and equity of access to
information; participative democracy; active participation in the education process, in society, in the workplace; popular mission of educational mission; quality and adaptability of services; striking against illiteracy and strivings towards literacy.

ECONOMIC VALUE : profitability issues and definition of return on
investments; finding new sources of financing; patronage, sponsorship,
partnership (interdisciplinary, interprovincial, international…) ; cooperation, impact on the economic development of a region; new
indicators of performance evaluation and quality evaluation.

POLITICAL VALUE : municipal mergers; dealing with elected officials;
positioning libraries and librarians in the workplace; dealing with
management; government perception of libraries’ image and value;
lobbying and political clout; marketing of services and resources.

PROFESSIONAL VALUE : ethics of librarianship; adapting to new
technology; training librarians to regards to reality in the workplace; roles and abilities of librarians; transferring knowledge and succession
planning; promoting literacy and reading.

The conference is intended for librarians but also for all professionals
in the field of librarianship as well as for those who are interested in
the role and services of libraries and information centres in our society.

Deadline for Proposals : December 12, 2003
Application form available on our Web site : http://www.cbpq.qc.ca/