Apologies for cross-postings

SECOND CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS

Libraries Without Walls 6
Evaluating the distributed delivery of library services

An international conference organised by CERLIM - 
The Centre for Research in Library and Information Management

To be held on the Aegean Island of Lesvos, Greece, at the   
Delphinia hotel, Molyvos http://www.molyvoshotel.com/eng/hotel.htm 

16 - 20 September 2005
Cost GBP 450 (including accommodation for four nights)

Keynote speaker: Sue McKnight, Director of Libraries and Knowledge Resources, Nottingham Trent University, UK, and formerly of Deakin University, Australia

From their beginnings in 1995, the Libraries without Walls conferences have mapped a major change in the practice of librarianship. While library services are still concerned to provide users with physical access to their buildings, electronic access, often from remote locations, is becoming ever more dominant. Papers presented at previous LWW conferences have mapped this change and provided examples of how libraries are pushing out the frontiers of their services.

In 2005 we intend to take a different approach. We want to ask the question, 'How do we know whether these new services are having a positive impact on our users?'. We are therefore inviting papers on the following themes:

*       Theoretical approaches to the evaluation of these services, with an emphasis on qualitative methods.
*       The user experience: what do we know about the users of these services?
*       Assessment of the usability, including the accessibility, of services.
*       Measuring the outcomes and impact of services.

As in the past these themes are indicative and we remain open to proposals which, while in the general area of interest of the conference, do not fit neatly into the defined themes.

In addition to research papers, we welcome papers based on truly innovative practice, and proposals for workshops can be made.

Reviews of Libraries without Walls 5, held in 2003, prompted these comments:

"The conference was in many ways the high point of my professional career." (Penny Dale, Relay  May 2004)

"Ideas sparked by reading one paper are further provoked and challenged by reading another, resulting in a cumulative effect which leaves the reader with a critical overview of the contemporary issues and practice * LWW6 should be very interesting indeed". (David Parkes, Ariadne, October 2004)


All papers will be considered by a panel of independent referees.

Papers will be published by Facet Publishing in the LWW Conference Proceedings series.

Presentations at the conference can either be papers of 30 minutes duration or Workshops of 60 minutes. To be considered please submit an abstract (between 400 and 800 words) together with a 50 word biographical statement and a 50 word synopsis of the paper. Please send submissions, preferably by email (as text rather than an attachment), to the address below by 3rd March 2005. Applicants will be informed whether their submissions have been selected during April 2005. 

Please note that, as the conference does not aim to make a profit, we are unable to offer discounted conference rates to all presenters.  However, a small number of subsidised places are available at LWW6, covering the conference fee and a contribution to travel and subsistence costs. These places are intended for participants from countries under-represented at conferences (especially those from developing countries) who would be prevented from attending for financial reasons. To apply for a subsidised place please submit the abstract of your paper accompanied by a short statement of up to 300 words which sets out the grounds for your application and your estimated travel costs.

For further information please visit the website at http://www.cerlim.ac.uk/conf/lww6/ 

All enquiries should be addressed to the organisers:

Libraries Without Walls 6 Conference
Centre for Research in Library & Information Management (CERLIM)
Department of Information and Communications
Manchester Metropolitan University
Geoffrey Manton Building
Rosamond Street West
Manchester
M15 6LL
United Kingdom

Email: [log in to unmask] 
Tel: ++44 (0)161 247 6142
Fax: ++44 (0) 161 247 6979

To make a provisional booking, please provide the information below. This does not commit you in any way, but indicates to us the level of interest.  We will contact you again when booking opens.

I wish to make a provisional booking for the conference only
OR
I wish to make a provisional booking for the conference and submit a paper 
(delete as appropriate)


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