The OK-ACRL Board is thrilled to invite you to our action-packed conference schedule this year! We'll be back in person in 2023 at this year's location, the beautiful Edmon Low Library at Oklahoma State University on Friday, November 10, 2023. We'll explore emerging literacies and essential pressing issues facing the modern academic library.
Emerging Literacies
Academic library workers and information professionals have continuously evolved their pedagogical methods and expanded their services to embrace a broad spectrum of literacies essential for nurturing well-informed and critically engaged citizens in the digital age. This year's theme, Emerging Literacies: New Frontiers in Supporting 21st Century Learners will offer a venue for discussing ideas for supporting all library users in navigating a complex and interconnected information landscape. The demand for these skills is underscored by the proliferation of digital platforms and social media that facilitate dissemination of misinformation, the onset of the "data deluge" necessitating advanced computational skills, the continuing challenge of broadening access to information, an escalating number of book challenges in recent years, and much more.
Announcing Our Keynote Speaker
James LaRue is the director of the Garfield County (Colorado) Public Library District. Author of The New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges and On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US," LaRue has been a public library director for many years, as well as a weekly newspaper columnist and cable TV host. From January of 2016 to November of 2018, he was director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, and ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. He has written, spoken, and consulted extensively on intellectual freedom issues, leadership and organizational development, community engagement, and the future of libraries.
Registration
Please use this form to register for the annual conference.
Registration is now open. You may register yourself and up to six other participants from your organization. Registration includes conference registration, lunch, refreshments, and light snacks. Registration also includes two preconference webinars. Registration may be completed, and payment may be delayed until participants are notified of the acceptance of their conference proposal.
Call for Proposals
We want to hear from librarians, library workers, students, faculty, support staff, and others across the Oklahoma academic library community. We welcome talks from first-time speakers, long-time librarians, new practitioners, and everyone in between. We encourage talks from underrepresented groups within the Oklahoma library community. Our goal is to expose attendees to a variety of practices and perspectives.
Please use this form to submit your proposal.
The submission deadline is September 25. Following review by the Board, members will be notified of acceptance by October 9.
All presenters at the Annual Conference are allotted 30-45 minutes, at the discretion of the committee, including time for Q&A. The presentation format allows presenters to present relevant practices, research, or collaborations. Participants may report on projects, services, partnerships, research findings, describe efforts in progress, and/or provide a provocative view on a topic of interest.
Preference will be given to proposals that relate to the conference theme, but all proposals will be considered. We encourage you to think broadly and creatively about ways your work addresses emerging literacies; for example:
- Information Literacy: Cultivating effective information seeking, such as techniques for source citation and evaluation, and understanding the cultural, socioeconomic, and legal contexts of the production and dissemination of information, including ways that people may be underrepresented or systematically marginalized within such systems.
- Media Literacy: Interpreting and analyzing various forms of media, enabling individuals to consume and create content responsibly.
- Digital Literacy: Effectively accessing, learning, and utilizing digital technologies, including emerging ones like 3D printing and virtual reality; understanding how these technologies work, their applications, and their implications in various contexts.
- AI Literacy: Understanding the foundations of artificial intelligence, machine learning, algorithms, algorithmic bias, and empowering learners to engage with AI technologies ethically and thoughtfully.
- Data Literacy: Helping learners work with and interpret data, use advanced data analysis tools, and participate in an open research culture emphasizing data sharing and reproducibility.
OK-ACRL Annual Conference presenters will be required to:
- Register for and attend the conference (a discounted registration rate of $50 will be available to presenters).
- Share their slides and/or other presentation materials with event organizers for posting in the OK-ACRL Repository.
For questions about registration, payment, proposals, or accommodations for disability, please contact OK-ACRL Web Manager Karl G. Siewert at webmanager@okacrl.org, or OK-ACRL President Clarke Iakovakis at president@okacrl.org or by phone at 405-744-9743. See our Accommodation Statement.
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Holly Reiter
Director, Library Teaching and Learning
Oklahoma State University
She/Her/Hers
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