• CALL FOR PAPERS

Call For Papers

THE 6TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIBRARIES (ICOL 2017)

Towards Lean Libraries

2 – 3 August 2017, Vistana Hotel, Penang, Malaysia

CALL FOR PAPERS

Traditionally lean method examines processes involved in manufacturing or businesses. It determines what add values to processes which improve user expectation and perception and eliminates what do not. First introduced in Japanese manufacturing company, Toyota, the principles are now widely used to increase efficiency, remove waste, streamline customer services and enhance customer experience and satisfaction.

Well known as service oriented institution, libraries must uphold the idea of responsiveness by being reactive to the ever changing demands of internal and external clients thus creating a value-added, innovative services and products in a periodic manner in time of economic downturn, aggressive competition and increased customer expectations.

Libraries must maintain a competitive edge by making continuous improvement a habit in order to survive in an environment where the budgets are shrinking, while expectations on quality services remained as preferences not to be compromised. In other words, we couldn’t help but doing more with less. Adopting Lean libraries concepts and methods not only ensures continuous productivity, it also assists in cost saving, promotes creativity and innovation, better utilization of staff and improved performance.

ICOL 2017 is a once-every-two-years opportunity to access the best information, discover new ideas and network with people in the profession. We are inviting the potential presenters from various fields which include academics, industries and agencies to participate as a presenter in the event. We believe that your contribution to this field is unparalleled and will be of great benefit for your professionalism and business.

Consult the conference topics below to stimulate your thinking and position your proposal within the conference theme (but not limited to).

Managing libraries: transformation of libraries; change management; leadership & organizational culture; acquiring knowledge and skills; learning organization; new/changing roles for librarians.

Creativity and innovation: continuous improvements; improved products; improved services; improved processes; analysis of metrics; big data; productivity and efficiency; best practices; technology transfer and innovation; research

Right tool at the right time:cost structure; budget reviews; cost rationalization; value propositions; customer segments; customer relationships; cross-collaborations; rebranding; restructuring; digital marketing; digital scholarship; digital curation; digitization; performance measurement and competitiveness; library assessment

Improve while reduce:inter-library loan; smart partnership; makerspace; creation space; niche collections; open source solutions; technology startups

Interested presenter should observe the following important dates:

IMPORTANT DATES
Abstract submission (extended): 21 April 2017
Abstract evaluation: 22 April - 6 May 2017
Notification of abstract acceptance: 7 May 2017
Submission of full paper: 4 June 2017
Registration of Authors: 11 July 2017 (latest)
The Conference (ICOL 2017): 2 - 3 August 2017

CALL FOR PAPERS

  1. Participants are invited to submit an abstract for consideration by the ICOL 2017 Committee by 19 March 2017.
  2. Abstracts will be peer-reviewed and notification of acceptance will be sent to authors by 30 April 2017.
  3. The Committee reserves the right to select the abstracts relevant to the conference theme.
  4. Full Paper submission will be on 4 June 2017.
  5. Papers must not have been presented / published elsewhere.
  6. Papers should not exceed 10 pages (about 5,000 words, but maximum 15 pages following the APA format).
  7. All papers will be published in ICOL Proceedings, deposited in USM Institutional Repository and indexed in Google Scholar.
  8. Selected papers will be proposed for publication in indexed journal of Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science (JLIS).
  9. The language of the Conference is English.
  10. Only full paper submissions will be considered for the best paper award, and accepted for the journal publication.

 Download guidelines & sample for abstract submission

Please direct any questions to:icol.conference2017@gmail.com