RBMS Manual / Procedures for Organizing and Selecting Preconference Seminars
- Introduction
- What Seminars Are
- Responsibilities of Seminar Organizers
- How Seminars are Selected
- Seminar Preparation Schedule
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In cooperation with the Preconference Program Planning Committee, the Seminars Committee is charged with initiating and coordinating educational programs at RBMS preconferences, with specific responsibility for developing a number of ninety-minute sessions, known as seminars, for each preconference. The Seminars Committee invites all members of RBMS to organize and propose preconference seminars and has prepared this document to assist and inform prospective seminar organizers. In addition to describing what a seminar is, it details the responsibilities of seminar organizers, gives the criteria the Committee uses to evaluate seminar proposals, and provides a timetable for the entire process of seminar planning and presentation.
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Seminars are usually ninety-minute presentations, given in a variety of formats and scheduled concurrently, with two or three seminars offered at a time. They constitute an important educational component of each preconference and a valuable forum for the exchange of ideas and information on particular topics of relevance to rare book and manuscript librarians. Each RBMS preconference features eight to twelve seminars, organized by RBMS members, which may complement or differ from the preconference theme developed in the plenary sessions designed by the Preconference Program Planning Committee.
The Seminars Committee encourages prospective seminar organizers to consider a range of formats in developing seminars, including the panel discussion, workshop, topic-focussed information exchange, multiple-session seminar with assigned readings, and paper session. Prospective seminar organizers should contact the chair of the Committee if they are interested in a seminar format not mentioned above.
Seminars vary widely in content, as suggested by a list of titles of recent seminars:
- Copyright, Ethics, and Special Collections
- South of the Border: Latin American Materials in Special Collections
- The Secret Library: Public Access to Private Collections
- Collecting and Using Artists' Books
- The Evolution of Rare Book Description: Techniques and Applications
- Quality by Design: A Practical Look at Exhibition Catalogue Production
- Coping with Thefts in Libraries: Revised Guidelines
- Emerging Archival Technologies: The Berkeley Finding Aid Project and the RLG Digital Image Access Project
- Undergraduate Use of Special Collections
- Marketing Our Collections and Ourselves Collection-level Cataloging
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III. RESPONSIBILITIES OF SEMINAR ORGANIZERS
Working with prospective presenters, seminar organizers develop and submit proposals of no more than 500 words to the Seminars Committee, 13 to 15 months in advance of the preconference. When soliciting the participation of presenters, seminar organizers must be sure to supply them with all relevant information regarding finances (see Seminar Finances below) and equipment (see Equipment below), and make certain that presenters understand preconference schedule requirements. For the convenience of seminar organizers, this information has been compiled into a handout suitable for distribution to prospective presenters in Attachment A; it is also available in electronic format from the Committee chair.
Each proposal should outline the purpose and format of the seminar and provide the names and credentials of all participants. Should a seminar have special requirements (e.g., limited enrollment with extra fees charged to participants, equipment needs, or scheduling constraints), these must be carefully described. Proposals for paper sessions should include an abstract of 50-100 words of each paper. The Committee requests that proposals be prepared using the form posted on the section Web site; submissions by mail and fax are also acceptable.
Prospective seminar organizers should attend the meeting of the Seminars Committee at the ALA Annual Conference the year preceding the preconference or send a representative to present the proposal. If the Committee selects a seminar proposal for the preconference, the organizer is then responsible for providing essential information (see Attachment C) to the Seminars Committee chair and for shepherding the seminar through to completion. Important deadlines in this process are given in the Seminar Preparation Schedule outlined below.
During the spring immediately preceding the preconference, seminar organizers should confirm that presenters have received the preconference brochure, including information that may be helpful in making travel arrangements and securing accommodations. Seminar organizers must also confirm that presenters either follow preconference registration procedures or, if they choose not to register, are aware that they receive complimentary registration only for the day of their presentation. It is essential that organizers alert presenters to any changes in schedule, and relay any scheduling conflicts to the Committee chair immediately.
When the seminar is presented at the preconference, it is customary but not mandatory for the seminar organizer to act as moderator, introducing the presenters and ensuring that the seminar ends on time (see Moderating a Seminar, below). Seminar organizers not fulfilling this role should arrange for someone else to perform this duty.
RBMS cannot provide honoraria or travel funds for seminar presenters. When an organization or individual provides funding that enables someone who is not an RBMS member to participate, this is considered an in-kind donation to RBMS. Seminar organizers should report such funding to the Seminars Committee chair, who will inform the Section Chair, in addition to reporting it to the RBMS Budget and Development Committee.
Seminar organizers should inform presenters that unregistered conference participants are indeed welcome to attend all seminars, plenary sessions, and receptions held during the day of their presentations, but, should they desire to attend pre-paid lunches or dinners for which meal tickets are necessary, they must purchase meal tickets in advance. Seminar organizers should advise presenters that meal tickets may not be available after the preconference registration deadline.
Seminar organizers are responsible for providing the Committee with a list of equipment essential to their seminars. As indicated below (see Seminar Preparation Schedule, paragraph I), requests for equipment (e.g., slide or overhead projectors, microcomputer setups, sound systems, and the like) should be made to the chair of the Committee no less than 9 months before the preconference. Since supplying equipment usually involves a monetary consequence, presenters should be counseled to request only equipment they intend to use. Seminar organizers must report any change in equipment requirements to the Committee chair as soon as possible.
To ensure a seminar's success, it is useful for seminar organizers, in the capacity of moderators, to observe certain managerial conventions. Moderators should provide brief, clear introductions for each seminar participant. Moderators must also keep presentations to a prearranged schedule, using no more time than the preconference program allows them. (Merely announcing that a seminar is "formally"over, and participants may "leave when they like" is inappropriate: moderators must conclude their seminars on time.)
The opportunity for audience members to engage speakers in spirited, meaningful exchanges following their presentations is an integral and widely-valued part of the RBMS preconference seminar. Moderators must make certain they have allowed ample time for this period of exchange (about 1/3 of a seminar or 30 minutes is customary), and ensure that everyone has a fair chance to speak.
Moderators should ask seminar attendees who speak from the floor to identify themselves by name and institution. This practice follows ALA policy and is a courtesy to newcomers, as well.
Seminar presentations may be suitable for publication (especially after revision or expansion) in Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship, and seminar organizers are encouraged to recommend suitable candidates to the journal's editor.
Proposals are judged according to how pertinent they are to the overall mission of RBMS and to the perceived needs of its members, how well they fit into the framework of the preconference for which they are intended, and how well-matched the seminar presenters are to the tasks they are being assigned.
Seminars Committee members review proposals before the Committee's meeting at the ALA Annual Conference a year in advance of the preconference. At the meeting, members may ask seminar organizers (or their representatives) to clarify or add to information given in the proposal. After open discussion of the proposals, the Committee members select those most suitable for the following year's preconference. Proposals lacking consensus support but winning the support of half of the voting members of the Committee will be deemed accepted. Should the Committee accept more proposals than can be scheduled, the chair has the authority to decide which will go forward. Seminar proposals accepted but not preferred for the upcoming preconference will automatically be considered in the following year's deliberations.
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V. SEMINAR PREPARATION SCHEDULE
A) Thirteen to fifteen months before the preconference, prospective seminar organizers should begin contacting possible seminar presenters and preparing proposals (e.g., proposals for the 1998 preconference should be underway no later than May 1997).
B) June 1, a year in advance of the preconference, is the deadline for submitting a seminar proposal to the Seminars Committee chair. Proposals postmarked, faxed, or e-mailed after June 1 will not normally be considered. As proposals are received, the chair distributes them to Committee members.
C) During June, a year in advance of the preconference, Committee members review the complete group of proposals submitted for the following year's preconference.
D) During the ALA Annual Conference a year in advance of the preconference, prospective seminar organizers attend the Seminars Committee meeting or send a representative to present the proposal before the Committee. Committee members review and discuss proposals, then select those most suitable for the following year's preconference.
E) At the RBMS Information Exchange during the Annual Conference, the Committee chair will read the list of chosen seminars, if meeting schedules permit.
F) By October 1, seminar organizers must provide the chair of the Seminars Committee with the following information in writing (see Attachment C):
1. Title of seminar as it should be listed in the preconference program.
2. Names and institutional affiliations (if any) of seminar presenters, as they should be listed in the preconference program, with an indication of their role in the seminar (for example, moderator, panelist, presenter, instructor).
3. Addresses of seminar presenters (mailing, phone & fax, and e-mail).
4. A brief (25 to 50 words) description of the seminar's purpose and format.
5. A list of all equipment needs, including specific hardware, software, and communications requirements for computer equipment.
6. Information about any special scheduling constraints for the seminar.
7. A list of any special funding requirements for the seminar, such as special fees.
8. If a special fee is charged to participants, is enrollment limited? What is enrollment limit, if so?
9. An indication of the ALA/ACRL/RBMS membership status of seminar presenters.
10. Confirmation that each presenter has been informed of the following:
a. RBMS does not provide presenters with honoraria, gratis preconference registration, or funding for housing or transportation; and
b. presenters not registered to attend the preconference may attend preconference programs and receptions on the day of their presentation, but they must pay in advance (by the preconference registration deadline) for meals requiring tickets.
G) By November 1, the Committee chair sends a final proofed copy of the information supplied by the seminar organizers to the Preconference Program Planning Committee chair and the Local Arrangements Committee chair. The Seminars chair cooperates with these committee chairs to ensure that information on seminars is included in the preconference registration brochure and program, and that scheduling and equipment needs are met.
H) During December, the Committee chair will send all seminar presenters not affiliated with RBMS a packet containing the following:
1. Information about RBMS
2. Preliminary information about the upcoming preconference
3. A formal letter of thanks for participation
4. A note that the preconference registration brochure will be mailed to them in March
5. A list of journals, electronic discussion groups, etc. in which announcements about the preconference will appear
6. A request for additional suggestions for publicizing the preconference.
I) During the Midwinter meeting, the Committee chair will announce seminars chosen and confirmed for the upcoming preconference and solicit proposals for the following year. The chair also reports relevant information from the previous year's preconference evaluations.
J) After the Midwinter meeting, the Committee chair continues to work with the Preconference Program Committee to ensure that seminars are properly scheduled and publicized, and with the Local Arrangements Committee to make sure that appropriate rooms are assigned and equipment needs are met.
K) During the spring immediately preceding the preconference, seminar organizers maintain contact with seminar presenters, checking with them to make sure they receive appropriate registration and travel information.
L) At the preconference, seminar organizers (or their appointees) moderate their seminars.
NOTE: This document was developed by the RBMS Education and Professional Development Committee, January 1992. References to the Education and Professional Development Committee were changed to Seminars Committee in 1993, when the latter committee was created to handle preconference seminars. The document was revised in October 1994 and again in February 1996.
Revisions are prepared by the Seminars Committee in consultation with the RBMS Chair and the Preconference Program Planning Committee chair. The document is issued as part of both the RBMS Manual and the RBMS Preconference Planning Manual; care should be taken to ensure that the same version appears in both manuals in any given year.