The deadline for paper and immersion session submissions for MLA ’21 has been extended to November 5, 2020.
The 2021 National Program Committee invites submissions for immersion sessions, papers, posters, and lightning talks. There will be two abstract submission rounds for MLA ’21:
- Round 1: Contributed papers and immersion sessions (September 15–October 21)
- Round 2: Posters and lightning talks (December 11–January 22)
The submission site for contributed papers and immersion sessions for MLA ’21 is now open.
Contributed papers are fifteen-minute presentations that fall into two broad categories:
- Program description abstracts describe the creation, improvement, and assessment of products, programs, technologies, administrative practices, or services conducted by librarians and information professionals.
- Research abstracts report on designing, conducting, and analyzing a research project.
Immersion sessions are seventy-five-minute “deep dives” into a single topic. The format may include several invited papers, a panel presentation, group discussion, audience engagement, or other appropriate activities.
Authors will be asked to categorize their submissions into one of the seven MLA Areas of Practice: Clinical Support, Education, Global Health & Health Equity, Information Management, Information Services, Innovation & Research Practice, and Professionalism & Leadership. The 2021 National Program Committee will then use these categories to organize and schedule meeting content. Individual members, caucuses, and domain hubs are encouraged to submit.
Acceptance notices for papers and immersion sessions will be sent in early December. Abstracts that are not accepted in round 1 can be resubmitted for poster and lightning talks in round 2. Acceptance notices for posters and lightning talks will be sent in late February.
The two rounds for abstract submissions allow reviewers to provide feedback to authors and gives those whose submissions were not accepted in the first round the opportunity to review feedback and resubmit their proposals as posters or lightning talks.
Round 1 submissions are due October 21, 2020, at 6:00 p.m., central time. Please enter your submission early to avoid a last-minute rush and allow time for any assistance.
Find additional information in the MLA ’21 FAQ: Papers, Posters, Lightning Talks, and Immersion Sessions.