The Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians: “Social Entrepreneurship in Action”

 

Call for Proposals

As David Bornstein and Susan Davis succinctly define, “Social entrepreneurship is a process by which citizens build or transform institutions to advance solutions to social problems, such as poverty, illiteracy, environmental destruction, human rights abuses and corruption, in order to make life better for many.”*  At the third “Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians,” sponsored by the libraries at Wake Forest University and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, we will explore the paths by which librarians have engaged in social entrepreneurship to promote social change in their communities and beyond.  
This conference will provide a forum to:

• Share and celebrate the social entrepreneurial accomplishments of librarians and information professionals
• Inspire each other to innovate and promote change
• Create a community to promote entrepreneurial practices

We seek presentations from librarians and information professionals about projects that have transformed library services or have provided solutions to social problems. The successful presentation could include:

• An innovative approach that used social entrepreneurship to fill an unmet need or promoted change
• A description of how a solution was designed and implemented
• A discussion of lessons learned and what could have been done differently
• A description of the keys to a successful project
• A tone that inspires social entrepreneurship, no matter how small the project

The conference will feature keynote addresses from noted professionals in our field:

·         Mandy Henk, Librarian at The People’s Librarian, Occupy Wall Street, as well as the Coordinator of Access Services at DePauw University.

·         Brian Mathews, Associate Dean for Learning and Outreach at Virginia Tech’s University Libraries.  Creator of the popular blog, “The Ubiquitous Librarian,” Mathews recently wrote “Think Like a Startup: A White Paper to Inspire Library Entrepreneurialism.”

·         Michael Porter, President of Library Renewal, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding equitable ways for library users to access electronic content.

 

Conference dates and location:

May 16 & 17, 2013 on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

 

For more information please see the conference web page.

Formats:

Presentations may be made in one of two formats:

• One-hour break-out sessions with 45 minutes for presenting and 15 minutes for Q&A.  These may be panels or single presenters.  Proposals should include an abstract of no more than 250 words.
• Five minute "lightning rounds" with time for Q&A after all have presented.  Only a microphone will be provided so be prepared without visual aids!  Proposals should include a description of 25-50 words.

Submission Deadline:

Proposals will be accepted until November 1, 2012.  Please click here for the submission form.

For more information, contact:
Kathryn Crowe kmcrowe@uncg.edu
Mary Beth Lock lockmb@wfu.edu

*in Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know, New York: Oxford UP, 2010.

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