Proposal Tracks

Proposals should reflect elements of one of the following six 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.

Eligibility

Proposals for poster sessions will be limited to graduate students currently enrolled in library and information science programs (or those who have graduated in the last three years and have yet to find employment as a full-time librarian) and to library residents or fellows who have been in the field no more than five years.

Poster Presentation Format

Academic conference posters are a single canvas that have a mix of text with pictures, narratives, data tables, and graphics on a particular topic. A typical printed out poster is 36" x 48", but it can be a bit smaller or larger depending upon the amount of information.  The conference committee will provide each poster session with a 36" x 48" trifold presentation board. Photocopying and materials to make the poster will be the presenter's responsibility. Poster session presenters will be expected to informally discuss their presentations and answer questions on Friday, May 16th.  

Supporting materials (e.g., handouts) can also be created, but those should not be required for the attendee to understand the poster.

Submission Information

Proposals can be submitted only through the ***online submission form*** and must be received by Monday, January 27, 2025.

If your proposal is accepted, then you will be automatically registered for the conference, and required to pay the poster session registration amount by the due date in April.

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

Contact for poster presenters: Breeann Austin at posters2025@loexconference.org  

Proposal Timeline

• January 27, 2025: Deadline to submit poster session proposal
• February 17, 2025: Notification of acceptance of poster sessions
• May 15-17, 2025: 53rd Annual LOEX Conference

Proposal Selection Criteria

The following will be considered:

• Relevance of the topic to instruction and information literacy across as diverse a set of populations and institutional types as possible
• Originality of the topic
• Clarity of evidence of presenter's knowledge and experience with topic

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
• Develop excellent experience to include on a resume
• Obtain valuable feedback from a wide cross-section of librarians from across the country, including some who are on university/college hiring committees
• Receive a registration spot for the LOEX conference (and at a significantly reduced rate, if you are a student)