Poster Proposals

The Call for Proposals (CFP) for poster submissions opens March 15 for the NCLA 64^th Biennial Conference. This year’s conference will be held October 18-22, 2021 and is hosted jointly by NCLA and SELA (Southeastern Library Association). 

The conference theme is “S.E.E. the Future: Support. Educate. Empower.” All posters will be virtual. We look forward to receiving poster proposals that represent all types of library work and all types of library staff, including LIS students. 

The CFP for poster submissions closes on June 15, 2021. Poster acceptance emails will be sent by July 16, 2021.  Poster design specifics will be posted after July 15.

Poster Proposal Information Needed

• Primary Contact Name, Title, Library/Institution, Email

• Membership Affiliation (NLCA, SELA, NCSLMA, none)

• Speaker 1 Contact Name, Title, Library/Institution, Email

• Speaker 2 Contact Name, Title, Library/Institution, Email (if needed)

• Speaker 3 Contact Name, Title, Library/Institution, Email (if needed)

• Additional Speakers (if needed)

• Poster Title

• Poster Description (maximum of 200 words)

• Poster Takeaways

• Related Tracks (will choose from list)

• Is there any additional information that you would like to share with the Poster Committee?

Important Dates: 

• February 15, 2021: CFP opens 

• March 15, 2021: Poster proposals open

• April 16, 2021: CFP closes; Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by the Programs Committee (see criteria below)

• May 14-19, 2021: Acceptance emails sent for presentations

• June 15, 2021: Poster proposals close

• July 1, 2021: Conference registration opens

• July 12-16, 2021: Acceptance emails sent for posters
  

• August/September 2021: Schedule times for pre-recording sessions or for rehearsing live sessions; solicit volunteer moderators 

• September/early October: Pre-record sessions and host rehearsal sessions; assign moderators as needed

• October 18-22, 2021: NCLA/SELA Conference 

Session Proposal Information Needed

• Primary Contact Name

• Primary Contact Email

• Primary Contact Library/Institution

• Membership Affiliation (NLCA, SELA, NCSLMA, none)

• Format of Proposed Program

• Presenter’s Name, Title, Library/Organization, and Email 

• Moderator’s Name, Title, Library/Organization, and Email (for Panel Discussions only)

• Pre-Conference Workshop OR Presentation Title

• Pre-Conference Workshop OR Presentation Description (maximum of 500 words)

• Pre-Conference Workshop OR Presentation Takeaways

• Related Tracks [will choose from list]

• Presentation Delivery Preference (for Presentations and Panel Discussions only) (Pre-Recorded [*Preferred]; Live with recording permission; Live with no recording permission)

• Additional Information [Is there anything else you would like the Programs Committee to know about this proposal? (Section-sponsored; Speaker's unique expertise on/relationship to this topic, etc.)]

Session Formats: 

Proposals should fall into one of these categories: 

• Pre-Conference Workshop (half-day, 3 hour) - These hands-on sessions will be offered on Monday, October 18 or Tuesday, October 19 and will not be recorded. These sessions should be interactive and collaborative. 

• Paired Presentation (15-20 minutes per presentation; 2 presentations per time slot) - Presentations will be paired (by the Programs Committee) with another presentation on a related topic during the same session. 

• Presentation (30-45 minutes) - Session presented by an individual or a group. 

• Panel Discussion (45 minutes) - Session featuring a moderator and 2-4 panelists discussing a particular topic. 

• Posters (Virtual) - Poster design specifics will be posted after July 16, 2021
  

Speaker Information/Expectations (For accepted proposals)

• All speakers must register for the conference.
  

• We strongly encourage speakers to pre-record their sessions to avoid technical issues. 

• If a session is being pre-recorded, Speakers will record their presentations and submit them to the NCLA Program Committee prior to the conference. Training and specific instructions for recordings will be provided to all speakers at a later date.
  

• All recordings will have transcripts/captions for accessibility. 

• Note that presenters who pre-record their sessions will still have an opportunity for Q&A with conference attendees through our virtual conference platform. Q&A will be moderated by NCLA volunteers. 

• If a session is live, speakers will be contacted by the NCLA Programs Committee to set up a time in September or early October to rehearse their session so that they are comfortable with the conference platform.