[Asis-l] Call for Papers: 34th IASSIST Annual Conference

[Katherine McNeill-Harman]

Conference Theme: Technology of Data: Collection, Communication, Access and Preservation

The 34th International Association for Social Science Information Services and Technology (IASSIST) annual conference will be held at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA, May 27-30, 2008. This year's conference, Technology of Data: Collection, Communication, Access and Preservation, examines the role of technology and tools in various aspects of the data life cycle.

The theme of this conference addresses how technology can affect aspects of data stewardship throughout the data lifecycle.  The methods and media by which data are collected, shared, analyzed and saved are ever-changing, from punch cards and legal pads to online-surveys and tag clouds.  There has been an explosion of data sources and topics; vast changes in compilation and dissemination methods; increasing awareness about access and associated licensing and privacy issues; and growing concern about the safeguarding and protection of valuable data resources for future use. The 2008 conference is an opportunity to discuss the role of technology--past, present, and future--in all of these arenas. We seek submissions of papers, poster/demonstration sessions, and panel sessions on the following topics:

- Issues and techniques for preserving "old" data as well as information "born digital" 
- Methods, technology and questions surrounding data dissemination, including best practices and innovations
- Archival and preservation challenges presented by new processes
- Metadata
- Innovation in the use of data for teaching and research
- The legal issues surrounding new technologies
- Changes in resource discovery methods
- Data services in virtual spaces
- Providing services to users with different degrees of technical "savvy"
- Tools and spaces for research collaboration 

Papers on other topics related to the conference theme will also be considered. The deadline for paper, session, and poster/demonstration proposals is December 17, 2007. The Conference Program Committee will send notification of the acceptance of proposals by February 8, 2008.

Individual presentation proposals and session proposals are welcome. Proposals for complete sessions, typically a panel of three to four presentations within a 90-minute session, should provide information on the focus of the session, the organizer or moderator, and possible participants. The session organizer will be responsible for securing session participants.  Organizers as well as panel participants are also welcome to submit additional paper proposals but please note that the Conference Program Committee may need to limit the number of presentations per person.

Proposals for papers, sessions, and posters/demonstrations should include the proposed title and an abstract no longer than 200 words.  Longer abstracts will be returned to be shortened before being considered.  Please note that all presenters are required to register and pay the registration fee for the conference.  Registration for individual days will be available.

Proposals can be submitted via email to:  iassist08 at gmail.com.  A conference website with an on-line submission form will be available shortly.  A separate call for workshop proposals is also forthcoming.

For more information about IASSIST, visit the website at http://www.iassistdata.org/.

___________________________________________
Katherine McNeill-Harman
Data Services and Economics Librarian
Dewey Library for Management and Social Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
mcneillh at mit.edu | 617-253-0787
http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/data/