[Reader-list] Call for Papers for the 43rd IASA Annual Conference

[Jeebesh]

  Call for Papers for the 43rd IASA Annual Conference
  New Delhi, India, 6 – 11 October 2012

Theme: In Transition: Access for All

  Access to information is widely perceived as an uncontested good, a  
right of the same order as access to clean water and electricity.   
UNESCO says that universal access will empower people if “they can  
access and contribute to information and knowledge flows,” and that a  
digital infrastructure will provide it.  Governments all over the  
world mouth support for these aspirations and the public has come to  
expect access to all sorts of information wherever and whenever they  
want and need it, including, and perhaps especially, sound and  
audiovisual content.

With all the resources and effort expended on digitisation we would  
expect that by now access to our audiovisual collections should have  
become universally easier, and the online facilities that could  
provide unlimited and unmediated access to this content should --  
given its unprecedented use. Yet, all too often we can only access  
catalogues with no access to the actual sound, lists with no video,  
information about information, but not the information itself.
The laws and policies that control use, the technologies that deliver  
it, and the costs and distribution of resources present barriers to  
our aspirations.  Are we being realistic? Are these constraints now  
permanently built into the system, or are we just in transition on the  
way to achieve universal access to the knowledge dissemination systems?

  What can be done to ensure that our collections are becoming  
accessible? How do we deal with copyright?  Are strategies in place to  
ensure accessibility to our collections?  Do the technical systems and  
infrastructure truly support it?

This conference aims to investigate and discuss the issues pertaining  
to access alongside the following subthemes:

Copyright and IP:
·       Copyright and access: does protection of the individual's  
rights outweigh the universal right to access?
·       How do we circumvent copyright appropriately and provide  
access for all?
·       Access, copyright and reasonable risk
·       Orphan works and wider access

Technologies
·       Tools that provide access and systems that restrict
·       Technical infrastructure and information access
·       Portable devices, and sound and audiovisual collections

Users:
·       Defining the user
·       Increasing use, attracting new users
·       From the user perspective: how are people using access? (how  
access changed the way...?)
·       Examining how increased access can affect collection decisions  
such as acquisition, preservation, and documentation.

Access:
·       Access and authenticity
·       Successes and failures of providing access in the digital domain
·       The impact of access on our archives
·       Indigenous use and appropriate access
·       Ethics and access
·       What does access mean?
·       Online vs traditional access – access multiplied or context  
lost?
·       Leveraging access with increased usage of archives
·       Sustainable access
·       Innovation and access
·       What strategies are research organisations and broadcasters  
planning for access?
·       Collaborations and partnerships to make access possible
·       Open access: between freedom and control.

Online Access
·       Semantic web and access
·       Free access or mediated access?  Gatekeeper or facilitator?  
The role of reference staff.
·       Access tools/set of tools – access on- and offline

Funding
·       The affordability of free access/access for all
·       How realistic is access for all from a funding perspective?

The IASA Executive Board invites proposals for presentations, posters  
and panel discussions for the 43rd IASA Annual Conference, to be held  
in New Delhi, India, 6-11 October 2012.  The closing date for  
submissions has been extended to February 28, 2012. All proposals must  
be accompanied by an abstract (maximum 250 words).


If you require any further information or have questions please  
contact the Organising Committee and the conference administrator  
through enquiries at iasa-conference.com  The Conference Convener is  
Shubha Chaudhuri, and Ilse Assmann and Kevin Bradley are members of  
the organising committee.  Bruce Gordon is the IASA Vice President  
responsible for conferences.  All conference committee members can be  
contacted on enquiries at iasa-conference.com


The local organising committee is:

·       Leela Samson, Chairperson, Sangeet Natak Akademi
·       Kamalini Dutt, ex Director, Doordarshan Archives, New Delhi
·       Amlan Das Gupta, Director School of Cultural Texts and  
Records, Jadavpur University, Calcutta
·       G. Sundar, Director, Roja Muthiah Research Library, Chennai
·       Suresh Chandvankar, Secretary, Society of Indian Record  
Collectors, Mumbai
·       Moe Chiba, UNESCO, New Delhi
·       Shubha Chaudhuri, Director, AIIS Archives and Research Centre  
for Ethnomusicology (Conference Convenor)

Please find all conference information as well as the submission form  
on the conference website at http://2012.iasa-web.org.  It is  
preferred that presentation proposals are submitted online.  However,  
if you do not have internet access and you would like to submit a  
presentation or register for the conference, please contact Ilse  
Assmann by fax at
+27 11 714-4419.