2009 Best Practices Exchange: call for proposals

The University at Albany, SUNY has issued the call for proposals for the 2009 Best Practices Exchange. It's making its way onto listservs targeting state government electronic records archivists, digital librarians, electronic records managers, and IT professionals. Just in case you haven't seen it yet, here it is . . . .

CALL FOR SESSION PROPOSALS: 4TH ANNUAL BEST PRACTICES EXCHANGES (BPE)

We are seeking proposals for sessions to be presented at the 4th annual Best Practices Exchange (BPE), which will be held in Albany, New York, at the University at Albany, SUNY, on September 2-4, 2009. The BPE is a conference that focuses on the management of digital information in state government, and it brings together practitioners to discuss their real-world experiences, including best practices and lessons learned. The theme of this year's BPE is "Tackling Technology Together." Its focus will be on collaboration between and within branches of state government, and between librarians, archivists, records managers, information technology professionals, and others concerned with managing state digital assets.

This year's conference has four tracks. Each track is enumerated below, along with a list of themes embraced by each track. We ask that potential speakers be guided, but not limited, by the themes indicated. Each session will be 90 minutes long.

1) Finding Funding: securing support, developing a marketing strategy, unexpected funding sources, and advocacy

2) Creative Collaboration: finding common ground, a seat at the table, and unexpected partners; crossing professional boundaries; fostering leadership; building communities; and sustaining collaboration

3) Educating Each Other: learning new technical skills and new "soft" skills, learning each others' language, and ensuring professional development

4) Living Without Closure: morphing from project to program, defining "finished," planning for an unknown future, finding new uses for old ideas and tools, and managing change

Please send all session proposals to Brian Keough, Head of the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University at Albany, SUNY, bkeough[at]uamail.albany.edu. The deadline for submission is July 15, 2009.