Spring Forward 2025
Call for Proposals
Launching Libraries into New Frontiers
Have you been dreaming big lately? Pushing the limits of what your library offers? Exploring new horizons in the vast expanse of library science? This year Forward Libraries is Springing Forward further than we’ve ever sprung before.
Forward Libraries strives to bring workers from all types of libraries together to learn and grow with one another. We’re looking for proposals that are fun, engaging, and will leave our attendees ready to try out new things at their institutions, with a support system of new friends and colleagues behind them!
Session Formats
Live Sessions:
Lunar Labs (45-60 minutes)--Sessions with high participant engagement, skill building, and/or collaborative activities; focus should be on the group learning together not the “expert.”
Comet Talks (7-10 minutes)--Share an idea, a tool, or a success story in a shorter live session.
Mind Melds (45-60 minutes)--Facilitate a roundtable of people interested in talking about a topic or issue in libraries.
Dark Matter (10-15 minutes)--Bring a question, problem, or scenario and ask participants to help you solve it.
Asynchronous Content:
Captain’s Log (asynchronous article, video, or podcast)--Tell us about something cool you’ve done, and how others can do it too.
Planetary Maps– Infographics, posters (not a wall of text!), virtual zines, or other visually engaging content that needs to be seen to be believed.
Or, something else entirely! Tell us your great idea that’s in a world of its own.
Rocket Fuel (aka some ideas to propel your imagination):
All things Open: access, pedagogy, educational resources
Assessing and reflecting on library services, programs, and collections
Cataloging, aka how do we keep track of all this stuff?!
Concerns and opportunities using AI in libraries
Connecting with your community, sparking interest, or increasing your reach
Designing instruction and research help that helps students learn
Developing and enhancing access to collections
Fighting the power, fighting book bans, fighting for your library
Hiring, getting hired, and finding library jobs
Keeping privacy and security in your library
Making your library spaces and collections more accessible and inclusive
Have another idea? Go off course and help us discover new worlds!
Timeline
September 16 to November 1: Proposals Accepted
November: Peer Review
Early December: Invitations to Present Sent
January 2025: Registration Opens
March 10-20, 2025: Spring Forward Conference!
Content for Spring Forward will be spread over two weeks in March. We know that 8 hours of online meetings is exhausting, and we want participants to be able to breathe between sessions. Plus we know that just because you're conferencing, it doesn't mean your library stops functioning!
