Presenter Information

The conference will be held in-person in Winnipeg Manitoba, from 11 to 14 June 2024. Please note that presenters are responsible for their own cost of registration and must register for the conference in order to present. Abstracts for research projects or program descriptions must follow the Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association Author Guidelines. Accepted abstracts will be published in the Conference Program and in JCHLA.

The theme of the conference is Disruptive & Diverse, highlighting the transformative power of diverse perspectives and innovative disruptions, while acknowledging the dynamic challenges and opportunities in health science libraries today. Submissions may cover, but are not limited to:

  • Innovative approaches to information access and delivery
  • Diversity, equity, and social justice in health sciences libraries
  • Emerging technologies and their impact on health sciences libraries
  • Strategies for effective collaboration and partnerships in healthcare and research
  • Best practices in data management and evidence syntheses
  • The evolving role of librarians in healthcare education

However, we are excited to see any and all ideas of interest to those who work in health sciences libraries. If you have questions about programming, please email the Program Chair, Caroline Monnin.


Presentation formats: Papers - Lightning Talks - Posters - Workshops

More: Important Dates - Accessibility - Land Acknowledgement - Code of Conduct - FAQ


Important Dates and Deadlines

  • Presenters have now been notified! Please make sure to make amendments to your abstract as required by 17 March
  • Your abstract will appear in the conference issue of JCHLA/JABSC. If, for any reason, you wish to withhold your abstract from publication in JCHLA/JABSC, please contact Jessica McEwan (Senior Editor) by 24 March.
  • Don't forget to register for the conference! Early bird registration closes on 10 May.

Papers

  • Presentations are 15 minutes in length followed by 5 minutes for questions, for a total of 20 minutes
  • PowerPoint is the preferred presentation software
  • Please acknowledge any conflicts of interest
  • A moderator will introduce you, manage questions and act as timekeeper



Lightning Talks

  • Presentations are 5 minutes in length
  • There will be a joint Q&A session after all of the lightning talks have been presented
  • Should you so choose, you will be permitted to accompany your talk with PowerPoint slides
  • Please select one presenter per talk
  • Please acknowledge any conflicts of interest
  • A moderator will introduce you, manage questions (at the end) and act as timekeeper

Posters

  • Your poster should be visually interesting while also informative. Some tips for poster design:
    • Posters are visual. Add pictures, graphs, charts etc.
    • Keep text to a minimum and use a large font size so that the poster can be read from a distance.
    • Keep some white space; don't overwhelm the reader with too much text or graphics.
    • If you laminate the poster, consider using a low-glare or matte finish.
    • Consider an approach like #betterposter to improve engagement
  • The dimensions of your poster will be specified in advance of the conference
  • Official poster set-up time, presentation time, and take-down time will be shared prior to the conference. Poster authors will be asked to staff their poster during a scheduled poster session.
  • We are exploring an option to print posters locally. More details to come.

Interactive Workshops

  • These workshops will be in-depth, engaging sessions on a specific topic relevant to health libraries. They will include a hands-on component.
  • We ask that the presenters place their workshop in the context of current or emerging practices, and link to the broader theme of the conference.
  • Sessions will be 60 to 75 minutes
  • Each workshop must embody active learning principles
  • Please acknowledge any conflicts of interest
  • A moderator will introduce you, manage questions, and act as a timekeeper

Accessibility

Please consider accessibility when developing and delivering your content for CHLA/ABSC 2024. Making your material accessible to all helps everyone. Consider the following suggestions to improve accessibility for printed content (slides or posters):

  • Use an easy-to-read font and font size.
  • Ensure there is an appropriate level of contrast between your text and background, and avoid using colour alone to draw attention to specific elements.
  • When presenting, verbally describe important charts.

We recommend WebAIM and DLF as resources for improving presentation accessibility. We will also be using the live captioning feature in PowerPoint during presentations.

Land Acknowledgement and Positionality Statement

We encourage all our speakers to include an appropriate land acknowledgement and positionality statement in their presentation. For support on creating a land acknowledgement, we recommend the NAHLA Land Acknowledgement, Template for Personalization, Definitions, and Speaker Protocol (particularly the sample statement on page 10) or the CAUT Guide to Acknowledging First Peoples & Traditional Territory.

Due to time constraints during lightning talks, the moderator will provide a conference land acknowledgement at the beginning of the session.

Conduct

CHLA/ABSC's Code of Conduct applies to all presenters and attendees. We ask that all presenters review the JCHLA Publication Ethics Policy and the ICJME recommendations for guidance on appropriate reporting of scholarly work.

Submission FAQ


May I enter my results/outcomes and discussion when I submit my abstract?

Yes, you may enter your results/outcomes and discussion when you submit your abstract. All parts of the abstract (introduction, methods/description, results/outcomes, and discussion sections combined) may not exceed 250 words. Authors MAY postpone entering results and conclusions until after the peer-review process is completed. Authors selected for inclusion in the program will need to add the results and conclusions sections by mid-March 2024, if they did not already do so in the initial abstract submission. Note that the word limit for the abstract cannot exceed 250 words. Original abstract submissions may need to be modified to meet the 250-word limit.


May I include tables, figures, or citations in my abstract?

Structured abstracts should NOT contain tables, figures, or bibliographic references.


How will I know if my abstract is accepted?

All authors will receive an email notification regarding the outcome of their abstract submission by mid-March 2024. If you are an author and have not received the notification email by mid-March, please contact Caroline Monnin. By mid-April, accepted authors will be notified of the date and time of their presentations. At least one of the authors must attend the conference in person to present.


How do I withdraw or cancel an abstract or presentation?

All withdrawals or cancellations must be in writing and emailed to Caroline Monnin. Be sure to include the full title of your abstract and author name(s).