The Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) is excited to announce that its 48th Conference, to be held from June 3 – 7, 2018 in beautiful Dominican Republic, will focus on the theme Open Access in Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions.
Globally, Libraries, Archives and Museums are challenged to manage their operational budgets, engage their user communities, develop innovative services and function as a gateway to open access resources. Caribbean Libraries are not immune to these challenges. In this information society, open access technologies provide opportunities for Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums to rise above these challenges and still achieve these respective goals.
Through dynamic presentations, poster sessions, workshops and the exhibitors fair, the 2018 ACURIL Conference seeks to:
- Open a discourse amongst Caribbean information professionals about the relevance of the open access movement and its future directions.
- Allow delegates to exchange information, experiences and best practices.
- Provide an opportunity for delegates to learn how to develop skills and competencies to use open access tools and technologies.
- Foster collaboration with ACURIL's Exhibitors and other stakeholders to develop new platforms to enhance service delivery.
- Establish a registry of open access projects in Caribbean Libraries, Archives and Museums.
- Open Access (OA): Global/Caribbean Context
Presentations which explore the debates in the open access field and provide interpretations and different perspectives on issues surrounding OA are especially welcomed. Participants are encouraged to share their Caribbean case studies on managing open access issues.
Key topics: Experiences of publishers, informational professionals and other stakeholder in managing open access issues; Types of open access resources/initiatives that have been developed and are being used and managed to achieve institutional goals.- Policy, Strategy and Advocacy
Key topics: How is OA impacting on copyright, public rights, and intellectual rights?; Disaster management and preservation of digital content as a result of natural disasters; New media/social media and its relation to OA; Managing open access portfolios; Creating policies and workflows; Budgeting for open access; Academic ranking and open access;
- Professional Development and User Education
Key topics: Quality control of open access resources and implications for user education; Open education: experiences in learning and opportunities for librarians; Grantsmanship: funding the enterprise.
- Innovation and Trends
