Call for Papers — Open Sessions

Rare Books & Special Collections Section

• 5 February 2019, 21:49

Theme: "The migration of books: cultural heritage (objects) and ideas on the move"

From the inception of the printing press, books, and the ideas that they carry, have been sold, traded, and carried around the globe. Manuscripts, too, were copied, sold, and given as networks of transmission of ideas developed. Books as objects move throughout time and space, and those which have survived to modern day each have their own story to tell, their own journey and influence to reveal. Today, documentary cultural heritage objects still circulate on the open market, either via bonafide markets or illicit means, especially from areas affected by violence or political turmoil.

This session aims not merely to explore the global movement or loss of documentary cultural heritage, both historically and in the modern world, but also to share strategies for addressing the international community’s challenges with theft and illegal trade. An understanding of this problem can be informed by individual academic or library research projects and case studies; however, the session’s main goal is to uncover the overarching needs of the international library and archive community and identify promising projects, tools, tactics, networks that might assist us in meeting common needs.

Topics covered could include:

– Movement of people and movement of books, cultural heritage as commercial objects;

– Spoliation or repatriation of documentary cultural heritage;

– Framework for tracing the movement of cultural heritage objects (unique identifiers for manuscripts and archival documents, individual copies of printed books, etc.; academic projects tracing the movement of documentary cultural heritage);

– Theft of cultural heritage objects, international reporting, and working together.

Submission guidelines:

Abstracts for paper and presentations of no more than 30 minutes in length are to be submitted to:

Daryl Green, Rare Books and Special Collections Standing Committee Member

Email: [email protected]

Abstracts should include name and affiliation of proposer, a precis of the proposed paper, and confirmation that if shortlisted the speaker will be able to attend the IFLA WLIC 2019 in Athens.

Important dates:

                Deadline for submission of abstracts: 5 March 2019

Deadline for response: 19 March 2019

Please note:

At least one of the paper’s authors must be present to deliver a summary of the paper during the program in Athens. Abstracts should only be submitted with the understanding that the expenses of attending the conference will be the responsibility of the author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers.

All papers that are presented at the WLIC 2019 will be made available online via the IFLA Library under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Authors of accepted papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.

All expenses, including registration for the conference, travel, accommodation etc., are the responsibility of the authors/presenters. No financial support can be provided by IFLA, but a special invitation letter can be issued to author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers.

Congress Participation Grants:

List of opportunities for support is available on the Conference Participation Grants webpage.