cfp.english.upenn.edu

CFP: Unlikely Bedfellows: Unexpected Collaborations Within the Information Environment
ALISE Conference 2010 – January 12-15, 2010; Boston, MA

From the American Library Association’s alignment with "Hustler" publisher Larry Flynt, to YALSA reading programs with the World Wrestling Federation, information workers have historically enjoyed – or, perhaps, tolerated – improbable partnerships and alliances. The Historical Perspectives SIG invites papers on this topic, for a panel at ALISE 2010. Papers should explore the unusual collaborations information workers in all venues or environments have built or been part of in order to accomplish their goals.

Within this topic, authors are encouraged to be broad as well as deep in their consideration of “venue” and “information worker,” while still operating within the Information Science field.

Venues may include but
 are not limited to:
• Public, school or academic libraries
• Museums
• Archives
• Corporate or commercial information environments
• Library and Information Schools

Information workers may include but are not
 limited to:
• Librarians
• Paraprofessionals
• Archivists
• Documentalists
• Information architects
• Catalogers
• LIS Educators

Who were these unlikely partners and why were they considered curious? What situations or issues prompted the engagement? What challenges did they encounter? Were these challenges overcome or insurmountable? Was there an impact on the LIS
profession? How – or did – this change practice? Were the collaborations successful? What lessons were learned as a part of the collaborative dance? Were the partnerships or collaborations ephemeral or enduring? Why?

Submit 300-500 word abstracts in PDF or WORD format by July 13, 2009, to Cindy Welch, University of Tennessee, cwelch11@utk.edu.