[AISWorld] Call for Papers

[Land,F]

Call for Papers: Special Issue Library Trends



Hyper-connected societies and Empowerment



In 2013 IFLA released a succinct and evocative document entitled 'Riding the Waves or Caught in the Tide? Insights from the IFLA Trend Report'.  It was part of a strategy that was intended to encompass 'more than a single document - it is a selection of resources to help you understand where libraries fit into a changing society' (http://trends.ifla.org/) The trend report identifies 'five top level trends which will play a key role in shaping our future information ecosystem'

*       TREND 1 New Technologies will both expand and limit who has access to information.

*       TREND 2 Online Education will democratise and disrupt global learning.

*       TREND 3 The boundaries of privacy and data protection will be redefined..

*       TREND 4 Hyper-connected societies will listen to and empower new voices and groups.

*       TREND 5 The global information environment will be transformed by new technologies.



IFLA give some key indications of the ways in which the report and supporting materials are intended to promote discussion and further insights - see for instance the links at http://trends.ifla.org/about; http://trends.ifla.org/how-to-use; http://trends.ifla.org/forum (this last one is only available to IFLA members).



This Call for Papers invites submission of papers that focus on Trend 4 concerned with empowerment of 'new voices and groups' in hyper-connected societies.



The editors of this special issue of Library Trends invite contributions that take up this theme, developing it in the light of specific examples that address the ways in which 'our future information system' does or does not listen to and empower new voices and groups.



Papers not centrally located in a library context but which impinge on, or have implications for, libraries are very welcome.  We are particularly keen to publish papers that focus on Africa, Asia and Latin America.  Other possible topics are suggested below, but there are many other appropriate ones and we encourage a wide variety of subjects.

*       The sense in which certain groups or forms of internet presence are 'listened to', and whether this goes any further towards actual empowerment.  Also the extent to which certain groups are ignored, discounted, or worse.

*       Empowerment and disempowerment - the upsides and the downsides of empowerment

*       The struggles for control and openness across the internet

*       The internet as a site for struggles around class, race, gender, and sexuality

*       Issues for libraries and archives



SCHEDULE

The Special Issue is scheduled to appear in mid-2017.  Papers should be submitted by 30 November 2016, following the guidelines detailed on the journal website https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/library_trends/guidelines.html

If you are intending to submit an article, or require further guidance regarding topicality or suitability please contact the editor - Tony Bryant - a.bryant at leedsbeckett.ac.uk<mailto:a.bryant at leedsbeckett.ac.uk>



Antony Bryant

Professor of Informatics, Leeds Beckett University Headingley Campus, Leeds LS6 3QS, UK



phone  +44 (0) 113 812 7422

skype tonybryantleeds OR tonybryantleedsbeckett