Presenter Information

Important Dates and Deadlines

• Submissions are open from December 6, 2024 to January 17, 2025.
  • We expect to respond to your submission with a decision on acceptance by the beginning of March 2025.
• 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 Ashley Farrell, Senior Editor (senior-editor[at]chla-absc[dot]ca) by 24 March, 2025.
• Don't forget to register for the conference! Watch for the early bird registration!

Presenter Bios

The submitting author will be required to provide a short bio (100 words max) for all authors/presenters during this submission process that will be included in the conference program. There is an additional option for the submitting author to update their Pretalx bio and image on page 3 of the submission form. This information on the 3rd page of the submission process is optional and will not be used in the conference program.

Submission Formats

Option 1: Papers, Posters, or Lightning Talks

• Papers
• Posters
• Lightning Talks 

Authors selecting this type of proposal are asked to indicate their preferred format to present their work: paper, poster, or lightning talk. Abstracts not accepted to a first choice will be considered for second choice and third choices.

Please note: Interactive workshops, panels and 'other content' are their own unique type of submission and cannot be ranked along with papers, posters, or lightning talks.

When submitting abstracts for Option 1 (paper, poster or lightning talk), authors must submit one of the following:

• Research abstracts: report on designing, conducting, and analyzing a research project. The submitted abstract should include section headings and should contain no more than 250 words (excluding section headings). References should not be included unless they are necessary and complete bibliographic information is provided.
• Program description abstracts: describe the creation or improvement of products, programs, technologies, administrative practices, or services conducted by librarians, library technicians, and/or other information professionals. The submitted abstract should include bolded section headings and should contain no more than 250 words (excluding section headings). References should not be included unless they are necessary and complete bibliographic information is provided.

Note: Authors may delay submitting results and conclusions until after the peer-review process. Those accepted into the program must update these sections by mid-March 2025, ensuring the abstract remains within 250 words.

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

During the session:

• Please acknowledge any conflicts of interest
• A moderator will introduce you, manage questions, and act as timekeeper

Posters

• Your poster should be visually interesting while also being 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 the poster can be read from a distance.
  • Use 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.

Lightning Talks

• Presentations are 5 minutes in length
• PowerPoint slides are optional

During the session:

• Please select one presenter to speak for you talk
• Please acknowledge any conflicts of interest
• There will be a joint question and answer session after all the lightning talks are presented
• A moderator will introduce you, manage the joint question and answer sessions, provide a land acknowledgement at the beginning of the session, and act as timekeeper.

Option 2: Interactive Workshops

Interactive workshops will be in-depth, engaging sessions structured around interactivity and active learning. These sessions should be on a specific topic and planned for a duration of 90 minutes, including time for a break.

Workshop submission abstracts should include a 250 word description of the topic and include:

• The target audience
• A brief summary of the workshop’s objectives
• A short description of the activity/participation proposed for the session.

Additional space is provided on page 2 of the submission form for:

• 3 learning objectives (minimum) and a detailed description of the interactivity planned
• Any space or technology requirements.

During the session:

• Please acknowledge any conflicts of interest
• A moderator will introduce you
• A timekeeper will be provided to ensure the session starts and ends on time.

Option 3: Panels

Panel sessions are designed to last 60 minutes and bring together up to four panelists and a moderator to explore a specific theme or topic. These sessions should feature individuals who share diverse perspectives through brief oral presentations. The presentations will be followed by an engaging Q&A session, allowing participants to interact directly with the panelists.

Panel submission abstracts should be 250 words and include:

• A description of the topic or theme to be discussed
• A brief description of each panelist’s presentation
  • Please note: panels may include up to 4 panelists and a moderator

Additional space will be provided on page 2 of the submission form for:

• 150 word bios for each panelist and the moderator including their relevant experiences or perspectives.

During the session:

• Please acknowledge any conflicts of interest 
• Your own moderator will introduce the panelists and manage questions
• A timekeeper will be provided to ensure the session starts and ends on time.

Option 4: Other Content

Our profession is changing and so is how we share information and learn at our conference. If you have an idea for content that does not fit the traditional paper, poster, or lightning talk, panel format and is not quite right for a workshop, we want to make it work.

Abstracts for other content proposals should be 250 words and include: 

• A description of the topic and target audience, 
• Learning outcomes as applicable
• Details about any specific interactivity/participation proposed for the session you’d like to include.

Additional questions on the submission form on page 2 will ask:

• Your desired length of time (the options are: 20min, 30min, 45min, 60min, 90min)
• Any space and technology requirements.

If you’re still not sure your idea will work, please reach out to Kaitlin Fuller kfuller[at]stfx[dot]ca or Zahra Premji zahrapremji[at]uvic[dot]ca to discuss more.

Accessibility

Please consider accessibility when developing and delivering your content for CHLA/ABSC 2025. 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 and images.
• If available, use organizational branding and templates that already conform to accessibility standards.

We will also be using the live captioning feature in PowerPoint during presentations.

Here are some resources with more information on making accessible PowerPoints and posters:

• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Government of Canada - Accessible PowerPoint Page
• Government of BC - Creating an Accessible Powerpoint Presentation 
• Better Scientific Poster 
• CNIB Clear Print Accessibility Guidelines. 

If you have questions about accessibility accommodations, please contact Jeff Mason masonj27[at]mcmaster[dot]ca

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 UBC Campus Environment blog, NAHLA Land Acknowledgement, Template for Personalization, Definitions, and Speaker Protocol or the CAUT Guide to Acknowledging First Peoples & Traditional Territory.

Please note: For lightning talks, due to time constraints, the moderator will provide a land acknowledgement at the beginning of the session.

Code of 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.

Questions

If you have any other questions, please contact Zahra Premji zahrapremji[at]uvic[dot]ca or Kaitlin Fuller kfuller[at]stfx[dot]ca.

Submission FAQs

I already have a Pretalx account, can I use this same one?

Yes, you are encouraged to use an existing Pretalx account if you have one. If you do not, you will need to create an account. You will have the option to include a bio and a photo.

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 2025, 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 2025. If you are an author and have not received the notification email by mid-March, please contact Zahra Premji zahrapremji[at]uvic[dot]ca or Kaitlin Fuller kfuller[at]stfx[dot]ca. By mid-April, accepted authors will be notified of the date and time of their presentations.

Note: 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 Zahra Premji zahrapremji[at]uvic[dot]ca or Kaitlin Fuller kfuller[at]stfx[dot]ca. Be sure to include the full title of your abstract and author name(s).