Deadline Extended to 31st May

On behalf of the National Organizing Committee (NOC) of SCECSAL 2018 Entebbe Uganda, we would like to thank all the authors who successfully submitted their abstracts by Sunday 30th April, 2017. Due to multiple gentle requests and for purposes of coverage, we have decided to extend the deadline for contributing abstracts.  The new deadline is Wednesday 31st May 2017. All interested persons are advised to have their abstracts submitted as soon as possible. 

Thank you.

SCECSAL 2018: Second Announcement and Call for Papers, Posters and Workshop Proposals

The Twenty-Third Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL XXIII), Entebbe, Uganda, 23rd – 28th April 2018

Call for Papers

The SCECSAL XXIII Organizing Committee has the pleasure of inviting Library and Information Professionals to the twenty third Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL XXIII) to be hosted by the Uganda Library and Information Association (ULIA), in Entebbe, Uganda.   

ULIA welcomes proposals for papers to be presented at the conference. The papers are expected to include both the theoretical and practical elements of Library and Information Science and Record Management. 

Theme: Positioning Library and Information services to achieve Sustainable development: Innovations and Partnerships.

Sub Themes:
1. Inclusive library and information services for national development
2. Universal literacy through library and information services
3. Broadening LIS partnerships to achieve SDGs
4. Innovations in LIS Education
5. Innovations in the delivery of Library and information services
6. Trends in Gender and information services
7. Library and Information Services advancing open governance
8. Agricultural information services and food security
9. Bettering health through Library and information services
10. Open data, Open science and Intellectual property
11. Data science and LIS institutions
12. Cloud Computing and Information management
13. Indigenous knowledge and preservation of cultural heritage
14. Effective records management to fight corruption
15. Promoting Information Ethics for sustainable development


Requirements for submission of Abstracts for papers:
Abstracts of not more than 300 words, must address the theme and sub-themes, and should have the following details:
i) Title of the abstract;
ii) Name(s) of the author(s) with official titles or professional role;
iii) Author’s affiliated institution;
iv) E-mail contact of the corresponding author, and;
v) A maximum of four keywords.

The abstracts must be submitted to email: scecsal2018@ulia.or.ug 

Important Dates: 
Submission of Abstracts:      30th April 2017
Notification of acceptance:   June 2017
Submission of full paper:      September 2017
Review of submitted paper: October 2017
Submission of camera ready paper:  December 2017

Call for Posters

ULIA welcomes proposals for Posters to be presented at the conference. The posters are expected to include the practical elements of Library and Information Science and Records Management. 

Poster Presentation Format and Guidelines

1) Your topic could be described on a printed poster with text. 

2) The language of the conference is English and therefore text on the posters should be in English. 

3) The recommended standard poster size should range from 841mm wide x 1189mm high 900mm wide x 1900mm high. If you also include text, it should also fit within the recommended area 

4) It is important that applicants describe in their abstract how they intend to present the project in the poster format – what kind of visual materials they will use, for example, photographs, data samples, graphs, et cetera, and how these illustrate the project or a particular aspect of the work. The poster has to be an experience in itself for the one who looks at it – and should show awareness of the format of a poster-session and its purpose to engage the viewer in conversation.

5) The abstracts should be in a structured format (Introduction, methods, findings, conclusion and recommendations)

6) The poster should focus on either the general conference themes or one of the sub-themes

7) Presenters of a poster will be expected to be present on 23rd – 28th April 2018 in order to explain their posters and to hand out any leaflets, or other information materials, they have available for viewers of their poster. Each presenter can therefore only present one poster. Any organization that submits more than one application should indicate a priority to their submissions or confirm there will be enough staff members available for the presentation.

8) A jury representing the SCECSAL Program Committee will review all submissions and decide which posters will be accepted.

Poster proposal submissions should be made to the email: scecsal2018@ulia.or.ug  as a file attachment with the subject of SCECSAL2018 Poster Proposal

Important Dates
Proposal Deadline - 31st July 2017
Notification of Acceptance - 31st August 2017

Call for Workshop Proposals

ULIA welcomes proposals for workshops to be conducted during the conference. 

Organization and Submission Procedure

The aim of the conference workshops is to emphasize emerging topics of particular interest to the conference attendees not specifically covered in the main Conference. Each workshop may include a mix of regular papers, invited presentations and panels that encourage the participation of attendees in active discussions.

Proposal submissions should be made to the email: scecsal2018@ulia.or.ug  as a PDF file attachment with the subject of SCECSAL2018 Workshop Proposal.

Priority will be given to proposals that not only address an exciting topic but also promise a creative format likely to generate lively interactions and foster new ideas. Examples include bringing practitioners and researchers together, as well as facilitating multi-disciplinary discussions that can lead to high impact and transformative exploration. 

Proposal Template

Each workshop proposal (maximum 1-2 pages) must include:

1. Title of the workshop (Within the main conference sub themes)

2. Description of the technical issues to be covered, emphasizing the timeliness of the proposed workshop

3. Number of participants not exceeding 30 per workshop.

4. Workshop Organizers (names, affiliation and contact information)

5. A short biography of the organizers (up to 200 words)

6. Names of potential participants, such as program committee members and invited speakers 

7. Planned format of the workshop, including

a. Duration of the workshop: Half-day, Full-day and tentative schedule

b. Preferred day of workshop: Between Monday 23rd and Saturday  28th April 2018

c. Unique, creative and novel workshops formats are strongly encouraged and will be given particular consideration.

8. Equipment required

Important Dates

Proposal Deadline:                   31st July 2017

Notification of Acceptance:     31st August 2017

Registration Details:

Early bird registration- Feb 2017- Jan 2018     -           $360  

Late Registration -      2018 -30 Mar 2018              -          $400 

On-site Registration   - 1st April 2018 - 24 April 2018     -  $430

For more information about the conference please visit the links below:

http://www.scecsal.org/
http://www.ulia.or.ug/

SCECSAL 2018: First announcement and call for papers

The Twenty-Third Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL XXIII), Entebbe, Uganda, 23rd – 28th April 2018

 Call for Papers

The SCECSAL XXIII Organizing Committee has the pleasure of inviting Library and Information Professionals to the twenty third Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL XXIII) to be hosted by the Uganda Library and Information Association (ULIA), in Entebbe, Uganda.   

SCECSAL is a bi-ennial conference founded in Nairobi in 1978, after the dissolution of the East African Library Association. It is the biggest conference for Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals on the continent and its purpose is to provide a platform for learning and sharing experiences on LIS developments in the region. Currently the conference has Library and Information Association members from the following countries:  Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Congo Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 

SCECSAL XXIII in Kampala will build on the fine tradition of this conference being the leading forum in Africa for headlining the role of library and information institutions in cultural and social development. Best practices and cutting edge innovations in fields as diverse as documenting and preserving national literary heritage and arte facts; driving the research, scientific and scholarship agenda; promoting mass literacy and; open government, human rights, democracy and accountability will be shared and showcased in the plenary presentations, workshops, posters and a conference exhibition.

This conference is coming at a time when countries in the region have made marked advances towards the attainment of Education for All (EFA) goals as noted by UNESCO. Equally to be noted, is that the same countries have registered tremendous progress in other development areas including: agriculture, health, governance, human rights, culture etc. It is therefore a timely opportunity for the library and information sector to develop a regional agenda for boosting their contribution to their countries’ development programmes especially in the context of the UN agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Investments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) especially in respect to Internet sub-marine cables and national backbones have grown, with attendant funds for ‘last mile coverage. Accordingly, the library and information sector in the region has been at the forefront of adopting measures to enhance access to information such as building institutional repositories, developing electronic collections including eBooks, e-journals; and the use of e-readers in public libraries to promote reading. There are still many challenges that have to be overcome for library user communities to have a full experience of hybrid library and information services such as lack of local content, varied pricing models, subscription licensing and privacy concerns.

It is in view of the above issues that members of SCECSAL will in 2018 convene in Kampala to draw up joint strategies for advocating and advancing library and information development in the region to facilitate LIS to play their cultural, educational roles and support innovations.

Objectives of the Conference

1. To devise strategies that will enable LIS inclusion in national development plans;

2. To provide a platform for learning new initiatives and innovations in the field of LIS from within the region;

3. To promote partnerships, networking and professional exchanges within and outside the SCECSAL region

Participants

Participants will include, among others: Librarians, Archivists, Records Officers, Information Scientists, Publishers, Authors, Book Distributors, Academics, Researchers, ICT Innovators, Literacy Experts, Policy makers and other persons with an interest in the Library and Information Sector in the SCECSAL region. As the conference has grown in importance over the years, participants are expected to come from the SCECSAL member countries as well as West and North Africa, Europe and United States.

ULIA welcomes proposals for papers to be presented at the conference. The papers are expected to include both the theoretical and practical elements of Records, Library and Information Science. 

Theme: Positioning Library and Information services to achieve Sustainable development: Innovations and Partnerships.

Sub Themes:
1. Inclusive library and information services for national development
2. Universal literacy through library and information services
3. Broadening LIS partnerships to achieve SDGs
4. Innovations in LIS Education
5. Innovations in the delivery of Library and information services
6. Trends in Gender and information services
7. Library and Information Services advancing open governance
8. Agricultural information services and food security
9. Bettering health through Library and information services
10. Open data, Open science and Intellectual property
11. Data science and LIS institutions
12. Cloud Computing and Information management
13. Indigenous knowledge and preservation of cultural heritage
14. Effective records management to fight corruption
15. Promoting Information Ethics for sustainable development

Requirements for submission of Abstracts for papers:

Abstracts of not more than 300 words, must address the theme and sub-themes, and should have the following details:
i) Title of the abstract;
ii) Name(s) of the author(s) with official titles or professional role;
iii) Author’s affiliated institution;
iv) E-mail contact of the corresponding author, and;
v) A maximum of four keywords.

The abstracts must be submitted to email: scecsal2018@ulia.or.ug

Important Dates:
Submission of Abstracts :      30th April 2017
Notification of acceptance:   June 2017
Submission of full paper:      September 2017
Review of submitted paper: October 2017
Submission of camera ready paper:  December 2017

For more information about the conference please visit the links below:

http://www.scecsal.org/

http://www.ulia.or.ug/