Theme: “Transforming the Information Landscape: community partnerships in local history in the digital age“
Introduction
The IFLA, Local History and Genealogy Section and Metropolitan Libraries Section is seeking proposals for papers to be presented at a session to be held at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Busan, South Korea, 10-13 August 2026.
The session reflects the fact that, as society undergoes rapid digital transformation, the local history collections provided by public libraries—and the citizens and communities they serve—are themselves changing significantly. In this context, libraries are expected to develop and offer new types of services that are appropriate for this evolving environment.
In this session, we aim to explore how libraries in diverse regions can collaborate to provide new services empowered by citizen science, community partnerships and AI. By bringing together theoretical perspectives and best practices, we hope to offer participants valuable insights that may serve as guidance for future initiatives in their own libraries.
In addition:
Papers should reflect the conference theme, “Libraries Powering Transformation”
Suggested topics
- Best practices for library collaboration across diverse regions to deliver new services
- Theoretical perspectives for library collaboration across diverse regions to deliver new services
- User‑centered service design among libraries
- Community‑responsive service models in public libraries
- Cross‑regional capacity development among libraries
- Strengthening local history and genealogy networks
- Engaging communities in history projects
- Addressing challenges in representing diverse genealogies
- Ethical considerations in genealogical research
- Collaboration with local cultural groups
- Information equity and digital inclusion
- Digital transformation in public institutions
- Grassroots collaboration for local history
- Partnerships with local heritage group
- Citizen science for local heritage documentation
- Local history and genealogy services in the age of AI
- Cross‑regional knowledge exchange in the local history fields
Important dates & deadlines:
- 27/April/2026: Deadline for submission of proposals/abstracts
- 5/May/2026: Notification to authors about the status of a submission
- 1/July/2026: Submission of the full text of the paper
- 20/July/2026: Submission of accompanying PowerPoint slides for presentation
Submission guidelines
We accept 6 presentation proposals as 7-minute Ignite talks and the session is 60 min. All talks must be presented in English and include the following information:
- Title of proposed presentation
- Abstract of proposed paper (no more than 300 words)
- Name of presenter plus position and/or title
- Employer / affiliated institution
- Contact information including email address, telephone number
- Short biographical statement of presenter
Submit your proposal: Call for Papers: IFLA WLIC 2026 Open Session – Fill out form
Ignite talks
Think of Ignite Talks, TED Talks, Pecha Kucha sessions, and beyond and you’ll get an idea of what to expect. We don’t want to limit presenters at our Open session to any of these formats, although you are welcome to use them. The only restriction that we have is that after 7 minutes, you hand over the microphone!
Please note:
- At least one of the paper’s authors must be present to summarize the paper during the program in Busan. Abstracts are to be submitted only with the understanding that the expenses of attending the conference will be the responsibility of the author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers.
- All papers must use the WLIC Paper template, which will be provided when your paper is accepted
- The language of the session is expected to be English.
- All papers presented at the WLIC 2025 will be available online under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
- All papers must be unpublished and not previously presented.
- Authors must disclose whether they submit this proposal to another WLIC 2026 session.
- Authors of accepted papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.
- Authors and presenters must adhere to the Presenter guidelines, provided when your paper is accepted
- All expenses, including registration for the conference, travel, accommodations, etc., are the responsibility of the authors/presenters. IFLA does not provide any financial support.
Congress Participation Grants
A list of opportunities for support is available on the Grants and Awards page of the WLIC website.