This is second call for papers for the annual conference of the
International Association for Social Science Information Services
and Technology (IASSIST), being held in May 2005 in collaboration
with the International Federation of Data Organisations (IFDO).
Proposals for papers, sessions and poster/demonstrations should
be submitted by 10th January 2005.

The IASSIST/IFDO Conference is being hosted in Edinburgh, Scotland
UK over the period Wednesday 25th to Friday 27th May, 2005; this
is preceded by workshops earlier in the week and followed by a
Highland Weekend, for a less formal exchange of views. Details
may be accessed via the IASSIST website at

   http://www.iassistdata.org

or directly at

   http://datalib.ed.ac.uk/iassist/

IASSIST is an international organization of professionals working
in and with information technology and data services to support
research and teaching in the social sciences. Typical workplaces
include data archives/libraries, statistical agencies, research
centres, libraries, academic departments, government departments,
and non-profit organizations, see the IASSIST website for further
information.

IFDO was established in 1977 in response to advanced research
needs of the international social science community. The purpose
of IFDO is to stimulate and co-ordinate worldwide data services
and thus enhance social science research. For further information
please visit

   http://www.ifdo.org/

For over thirty years, IASSIST conferences have brought
together data professionals, data producers, and data
analysts from around the world. The Annual Conference,
which itself moves about the world, and was last in Europe
in 2001, is the forum for presentation of papers covering
both new and persistent issues relating to access to data,
documentation of data, and digital preservation, with
special emphasis on the social sciences. The social sciences
have a long history of data sharing activity which may make
the conference of interest to colleagues in disciplines
where open access practices to data have been on the policy
agenda, with clear overlaps with digital curation, data
publishing and e-science/cyberinfrastructure initiatives.

The IASSIST Quarterly (IQ), available online from the
IASSIST website and in print, is another important means
of communication for the data community, and a suitable
place for publication of papers presented at the Conference.
Of special note is the IASSIST Publication Award, intended
to promote the Association's Five Year Strategic Plan,
involving a cash prize for the winning paper. For further
details see:

   http://www.iassistdata.org/publications/pubaward.html

The theme for the 2005 Conference, Evidence and Enlightenment,
highlights the need for empirical data in a society that wishes
to know itself, and of the role that the IASSIST membership have
in ensuring that researchers have continuing access to the data
necessary for furthering scholarship and understanding. It also
hints at intellectual activity during the latter half of the 18th
century in Europe, and in Scotland in particular, which "would
generate the basic attitudes and habits of mind that characterise
the modern age" - Arthur Herman, The Age of Enlightenment, 2002.

As IASSIST enters its fourth decade, the organization and the
data community must confront a range of socio-economic and
organisational challenges as well as technological opportunities.
We seek submissions of papers, poster/demonstration sessions,
and panel sessions on topics that address these issues, especially
those that bear on:

   a. data access
   b. data documentation
   c. data preservation
   d. data use and current research activity.

Additional topics might also include data, information and
statistical literacy, GIS and spatial data, and such as data
publishing, annotation, provenance and authenticity in digital
curation. For other key topics see previous IASSIST Conferences
at

   http://www.iassistdata.org/conferences/index.html

Procedure

The deadline for paper, session, and poster/demonstration
proposals is 10th January 2005. The Conference Program
Committee will send notification of the acceptance of
proposals on or before 10th February 2005.

Please send submissions, including proposed title and an
abstract (recommended length 150 words) to:

   [log in to unmask]

Proposals for complete sessions, conventionally of a panel
or of three/four papers within a 90 minute session, should
contain information on the focus of the session, the organizer
or moderator, and possible session participants. The session
organizer or moderator will be responsible for the arranging
and securing session participants.

Make plans to come to Edinburgh for the IASSIST/IFDO Conference
in the week commencing 22nd May 2005 to help us make the 31st
IASSIST Conference 'the best conference ever!' Further
information on travel and accommodation is available at links
from the IASSIST website. Online registration is scheduled to
open on 17 January 2005.

On behalf of the IASSIST/IFDO Programme Committee,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robin Rice
Data Librarian
Edinburgh University Data Library
http://datalib.ed.ac.uk/
Phase One Project Coordinator
Digital Curation Centre, www.dcc.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 651 1431
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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