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CALL FOR PAPERS AND PARTICIPATION
in the 20th Serbian Library Association Conference

LIBRARY SPACES IN THE PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS
Public Library "Stefan Prvovenčani", Kraljevo
Public Library "Dr. Dušan Radić", Vrnjačka Banja
14‒16 December 2023

The Serbian Library Association (SLA), with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, the Public Library "Dr. Dušan Radić" inVrnjačka Banja, and the Public Library "Stefan Prvovenčani" in Kraljevo, announces a call for papers, poster presentations, panel sessions topics, and participation in the 20th SLA Conference that will be organized in the Public Library "Dr. Dušan Radić" inVrnjačka Banja and the Public Library "Stefan Prvovenčani" in Kraljevo from 14 to 16 December 2023.

The theme of this year's conference is Library Spaces in the Physical and Virtual Environments

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVE

By organizing the 20th annual international conference Library Spaces in the Physical and Virtual Environments, the Serbian Library Association (SLA) approaches innovatively an important topic for library and information activities − the topic of space. The understanding of space includes the physical space of buildings, rooms, and public areas in which libraries participate as cultural institutions and places for public education, but also the digital space of the internet, social networks, and virtual and augmented reality. The innovativeness of the approach is reflected, first of all, in the interdisciplinary concept of the topic of space, the most common issue of libraries worldwide for which it is difficult to find a long-term solution. For this reason, it is considered from the perspective of professional standards. Achieving the established standards is limited by professional and other obstacles, while the possibilities of overcoming them are found in practice. Critical consideration of the design of physical and virtual library space together with the aspects of providing adequate solutions are increasingly becoming the focus of library experts.

The objective of the Conference is to support the library and information professionals and other experts in the field of culture who are directly involved in issues of space, whether in its physical or virtual form. The Conference is open to sharing practical information and experiences, examples of good practice, and successful projects realized with quality results and adequate responses to changes in the environment, changed user needs, or constraints caused by factors beyond the influence of cultural institutions and their employees. In that sense, the 120h SLA Conference encourages creative approaches in proposing possible topics for papers, presentations, and panel sessions, which escape traditional thinking frameworks.

SUBTOPICS

The organizers invite interested authors to submit their papers in full text presenting innovative insights within one or more proposed subtopics of this year's conference:

Since the proposed subtopics are frameworks for thematic thinking, the organizers encourage authors to be creative in proposing papers that correspond to the main theme of the Conference.

FORMATS AND SUBMISSION OF PAPERS

The Conference will include working sessions, panel sessions, an invited lecture, poster presentations, and presentations by IT and sponsorship companies.

Authors of accepted papers will have 10 minutes for short presentations, while panel sessions will last up to 90 minutes. SLA encourages the use of PowerPoint presentations, audio-visual content, Pecha Kucha, and other interactive dynamic ways to present ideas in a short form.

A panel session of up to 90 minutes will enable a dialogue between the panelists and the audience. The proposals for panel sessions are submitted with a working title, an explanation of the topic for discussion, and a list of panelists.

The languages of the Conference are Serbian and English, with simultaneous interpretation provided.

All authors interested to present papers within the working sessions are invited to submit full-text papers limited to 30,000 characters (with spaces) that should be prepared according to the instructions for authors located at bds.rs/bibliotekar/1/about/submissions.

Interested authors of poster presentations and panel sessions should submit summaries in Serbian and English of up to 300 words, with information on authorship, participants (for panel sessions), and contact information in one document (Word or ODF or PDF format).

We invite all interested authors to submit full-text papers in Serbian or English, or summaries for poster presentations and panel sessions in Serbian or English, and information on the format (whether it is a proposal for a poster presentation or panel session) to the email konferencija2023@bds.rs, no later than 10 September 2023.

Authors of accepted and rejected papers will be notified by 1 October 2023.

The program of the 20th Conference with accepted papers, poster presentations, and panel sessions will be published in Serbian and English on the Conference website by 15 November 2023.

Proceedings of peer-reviewed Conference papers will be published in 2024.

REGISTRATION

Registration of participants will be available on the Conference website from 1−30 November 2023.

The Conference registration fee includes admission to all working sessions, conference materials, and refreshments between working sessions. The Conference registration fee is 7000 RSD or 60 EUR for foreign participants. The Conference registration fee for authors of accepted papers, posters or panel sessions is 3.500 RSD or 30 EUR for foreign participants.

Regular SLA members, and students up to 27 years of age do not pay the registration fee.

Conference participants cover the travel expenses and other costs of participation.

IMPORTANT DATES

Deadline for submission of papers: 10 September 2023 Papers submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

Notification of acceptance: 31 October 2023

Registration for the Conference: 1−30 November 2023

Conference days: 14–16 December 2023

Proceedings: 2024