VIRTUAL REFERENCE DESK CALL FOR PROPOSALS Papers and Presentations The VRD 6th Annual Reference Conference "Creating a Reference Future" November 8-9, 2004 Cincinnati, OH Proposals are invited for concurrent breakout session presentations at the VRD 6th Annual Reference Conference on Monday and Tuesday, November 8-9, 2004. The VRD conference explores all aspects of reference service in a broad range of contexts, including libraries and information centers, government, business, education, and other industry sectors or organizations. The theme of this year's conference, "Creating a Reference Future," emphasizes the rapid growth and changing nature of reference, as the latest technologies meld with traditional reference service to create dynamic new hybrids in information provision. 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 variety of environments and mediums. Please note that the scope of this year's conference has been expanded to explore reference work in its entirety, and not just digital reference. Presenters will receive free registration for the conference. Deadlines: * Proposals will be accepted until June 1, 2004 (see proposal submission instructions below). * Selected presenters will be notified by July 16, 2004. * Final papers are due Friday, December 10, 2004 in order to be considered for inclusion in the VRD 2004 Conference print proceedings, to be published in 2005. * PowerPoint presentation slides, handouts, and other materials to be published in the VRD electronic proceedings will be due Friday, December 10, 2004. CONFERENCE THEMES: Proposal themes may include, but are not limited to, the following topics and categories: Administrative Issues * Training solutions and models for service staff * Planning for technological evolution * Performance measures, evaluation approaches, and quality standards * Personnel/staffing, optimizing human resources * Marketing services to potential users * Partnerships with vendors * Planning for equipment and space * Reference outsourcing * Copyright and. licensing issues for resources, such as pricing, legal ramifications, etc. General Reference Issues * Special services for special needs users * Accessibility * Emerging trends * Legal issues and liability * Archiving/tracking questions and answers/FAQs * Commercial and fee-based services * Case studies (experiences from different ways of providing reference service in all contexts) Digital Reference * Software selection issues * Standards for digital reference technology, including NISO standards * Integration of digital reference into other reference models (service hybrids) * Policies and standards for consortia and cooperative reference * Training and education for staff * Models for funding/pricing * Policies and the law - liability, privacy, ethics, copyright, licensing * Question negotiation in the digital environment * Providing reference services for kids and teachers * Technology and tools, such as: * 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) Reference Resources * Search engines * Reference meta-sites * Collection development * Online and print resources for ready reference * Intermediary search services vs. end-user systems * Locally-mounted digital resources vs. remote resources * Evaluation of 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 June 1, 2004. 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 2004 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 2004 Reference Conference, please contact Jo Ann Cortez, [log in to unmask], 800-464-9107. For hotel and other information, please see the VRD 2004 Conference Web site at http://www.vrd2004.org/. DEADLINES: Proposals Due: June 1, 2004 Notification of Acceptance: July 16, 2004 Final Papers Due for Print Proceedings Consideration: December 10, 2004 Presentations and Other Materials Due for Electronic Proceedings: December 10, 2004 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Virtual Reference Desk Information Institute of Syracuse 621 Skytop Road, Suite 160 Syracuse, NY 13244-5290 phone: 315 443 3640 fax: 315 443 5448 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ __________________________________________________________________ Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org//membership.html Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html Questions may be addressed to list owner (Kerri Scannell) at: [log in to unmask]