(via Dr. Scott Walter, University Librarian at DePaul University)
CFP: Cultural Heritage and the Campus Community: Academic Libraries and Museums in Collaboration [working title]
Call for Chapter Proposals
Background
In January 2016, a “working summit” was held at the University of Miami that brought together leaders from academic art museums and libraries to discuss the potential for deeper and more sustainable collaboration on campus among galleries, libraries, archives, and museums in support of strategic concerns in U.S. higher education. Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, this summit came after more than a decade of interest in the question of how best to initiate and sustain meaningful collaboration among cultural heritage organizations on campus, including libraries, archives, art museums, science museums, anthropological collections, local history collections, and others.
This discussion of collaboration among libraries, archives, and museums on campus has dovetailed with broader discussions of the value of academic libraries and museums, alignment of the mission and activities of museums and libraries with those of their parent institutions, and the future of higher education. A new study, also funded by the Mellon Foundation, and led by OCLC Research and Ithaka S&R, is currently exploring the relationship between library service programs and the outlook for the future of libraries in the academy. With academic libraries and museums often closely connected in their provision of unique collections, expert services, and opportunities for learning outside the classroom, it is appropriate to consider how best to ensure the value of all campus cultural heritage organizations, and other sites for expertly-curated collections, to the evolving goals of higher education.
In light of continuing changes in the cultural heritage and higher education sectors in the decade since OCLC Research, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and others convened international discussions of “collaboration and convergence” in the missions of libraries, archives, and museums, the time is ripe for a new study of collaboration among academic museums and libraries informed by innovation in practice, especially as these efforts reflect efforts to bring campus cultural heritage organizations together in support of strategic initiatives related to teaching, learning, scholarship, creative activity, and community engagement.
Timeline
· Deadline for Chapter Proposals: August 17, 2018
· Notification of Acceptance of Proposals: September 6, 2018
· First Draft of Chapters Due: January 4, 2019
· Second Draft of Chapters Due: March 1, 2019
· Final Draft of Chapters Due: April 5, 2019
· Submission of Manuscript to Publisher: May 31, 2019
Possible Topics
Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
· The current state of academic museum-library collaboration in institutions of higher education
· Trends in the cultural heritage or higher education sectors promoting opportunities for collaboration among academic museums and libraries
· Challenges and opportunities in academic museum-library collaboration
· Organizational cultures and structures promoting collaboration among academic museums and libraries
· Cultural heritage organizations as strategic investments for institutions of higher education
· Implications of collaboration and/or convergence in service programs for professional education, continuing professional education, and staffing in academic libraries and museums
· Case studies in collaboration, especially as these relate to impact in teaching, learning, scholarship, creative activity, or community engagement initiatives on campus, e.g.:
o Collection Development and Management
o Digitization, Digital Projects, and Digital Scholarship
o Description and Discovery of Collections
o Collaboration with Faculty in Collection-Centered Teaching, Learning and Scholarship
o Exhibitions and Public Programs
o Publishing Programs
· Assessment of Collaborative Programs
· “Value” studies looking across campus museums and libraries
Submissions
Chapter proposals should be submitted to co-editors Scott Walter (swalte11@depaul.edu) and Julie Rodrigues Widholm (julie.widholm@depaul.edu) by August 17, 2018 (see “Timeline,” above) with the subject line: Library-Museum Collaboration Chapter Proposal [Author(s) Last Name].
Chapter proposals should briefly describe your proposed topic, including the organizational setting, the partners in the collaboration, the nature of the collaboration, and the ways in which the collaboration is responsive to broader discussions in library-museum collaboration, or the value of campus cultural heritage organizations to broader trends in higher education.
Proposals should be no more than 500 words in length and should present a topic that can be fully explored in a final chapter of approximately 2,500 – 5,000 words.
Proposals should identify all authors, as well as the corresponding author, and co-authored essays drawing on expertise from both the library and the museum side of the collaboration are encouraged.