Lightning Talk Proposals

The LOEX 2025 Conference Planning Committee invites you to submit lightning talk proposals for consideration to the 53rd Annual LOEX Conference. The conference will be held May 15-17, 2025.


A small, but fun & invigorating, part of the LOEX Conference are the Lightning Talks, which are a great way to share with a big group of people your ideas and best practices that don't warrant a full-blown, almost hour-long, breakout session. Topics can be practical implementations or conceptual ideas, and they should showcase effective practices or highlight new projects in various stages of development.

Proposal Tracks

Successful proposals will show evidence of being lively, fast-paced and thought provoking, while reflecting elements at least one of the conference tracks: 


  • Collaboration and Outreach: Stitching Us Together

Academic institutions stitch together multiple units that work together to support students. What partnerships have you built for your library? Is there a campuswide program that you have either built or involved your library in? Do you work with Student Affairs to plan or market events? How do you support initiatives in your community at public schools, public libraries, or with organizations that support underserved groups? What outreach efforts are most effective at reaching your students? Tell us how you knit something better, together.

  • Research and Assessment: Shaping Our Practice 

As information professionals and teachers, we continue to shape our craft through learning. How has research, professional development, or the scholarship of teaching and learning informed your practice as a librarian? What assessment practices or tools have you used to find out what works and what doesn’t? Are there methodologies that have changed the way you think about your work? What research have you conducted to better inform your practice? Let us know how you ensure high-quality in your craftsmanship.

  • Advocacy and Justice: Paving Our Path  

Information exists within a context of sociopolitical power structures that shape how information is produced and disseminated. What are the intersections of information literacy and justice? How have you paved a path towards justice by addressing antiracism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in your teaching or outreach? In what ways have you been an advocate within your institutions, in your community, or in our profession?  

  • Frontiers and Innovation: Forging Our Future 

Our ability to learn and innovate impacts how—and what—we teach our students. How are you adapting your practice to address quickly-changing technologies, like generative AI? How do you teach students to interrogate information that is machine-created or manipulated? Are there any interactive technologies that you utilize in instruction—virtually, in-person, or hybrid? What inventive learning activities or tools have you created or used? Share how you create and utilize new tools.

  • Teaching and Learning: Honing Our Craft   

As instructors, we are always looking to sharpen and refine our pedagogical skills. What best practices have you developed to ensure your lesson plans are inclusive and accessible? How do you learn from other instructors on your team or at your campus? Have you been able to build a sustainable model of embedded librarianship? Do you teach a for-credit information literacy course with a unique theme? How have you maximized the limited time you have with certain students? Let us know how you use the tricks of the trade to fine-tune your instruction. 

  • Stewardship and Leadership: Weaving Our Strengths   

When you lead people, coordinate programs or projects, or cultivate communities, you are weaving together individual strands to work towards a common goal. Have you initiated something new, rebuilt something, led from the middle, or had the courage to retire something that wasn’t working? How do you support wellbeing or manage change? How do we practice stewardship and care? Share how you've nurtured others and/or yourself.


Lightning Talk Format, Timing, and Quantity

Each presenter will have seven minutes total. There will not be additional time for questions, but presenters may reserve part of the seven-minute allotment for Q&A if desired.


Lightning Talks will very likely take place after lunch on the Saturday of the conference, and be presented in a general session open to all attendees.

We expect, at maximum, five Lightning Talks proposals will be accepted for the conference. 


Lightning Talk Submission Information


Proposals can be submitted only through the ***online submission form*** and must be received by Monday, January 20, 2025.


There is only one presenter permitted for each Lightning Talk presentation due to time constraints.


If your proposal is accepted, the presenter will be automatically registered for the conference, and required to pay registration in full by the due date in April. A Lightning Talk presenter is not required to, but can choose to submit a full paper version (up to 1,000 words) of their talk for inclusion in the LOEX Conference Proceedings.


Note: Failure to pay the registration fee will result in the cancellation of your lightning talk and conference registration. All presenters are responsible for paying their own travel and lodging expenses.  


Contact for Lightning Talk presenters: Becca Greer at lightning2025@loexconference.org

 

Lightning Talk Submission Timeline

  • January 20, 2025: Deadline to submit lightning talk proposals
  • February 11, 2025: Notification of acceptance of lightning talk proposals
  • May 9, 2025: Deadline for all Lightning Talk presenters to submit full papers (up to 1000 words) for inclusion in the LOEX Conference Proceedings
  • May 15-17, 2025: 53rd Annual LOEX Conference in Pasadena, CA


Lightning Talk Proposal Selection Criteria

The committee will be using a rubric to score the proposals during a double-blind review process. The rubric grades each proposal on:

  • Content and objectives of presentation
  • Clarity of topic, particularly how presenter will achieve presentation objectives in seven minutes or less
  • Relevance to the field of library instruction
  • Originality and creativity
  • Demonstrated expertise of the presenter(s) on the topic
  • Methods used to inform and also engage the audience

For more guidelines on preparing and giving lightning talks at LOEX, please visit our Lightning Talk Guidelines page.


Presenter Benefits

The solid reputation of the LOEX Conference ensures that presenters benefit as much as their audience. Presenters can expect to:

  • Contribute to the field of library instruction and information literacy
  • Receive professional recognition at the conference
  • Highlight their institution's accomplishments
  • Receive automatic registration at the LOEX Conference in Pasadena, CA.