Abstracts Sought for 2021 Conference Posters
If esoteric peer-reviewed journals are the gold standard for sharing in-depth research, posters are the equivalent of Twitter—a means of communicating essential information to a broad audience in bite-sized pieces. But what posters lack in editorial depth and professional reputation, they can make up for in visual appeal and audience reach, making them a favorite for venues from industry conferences to high school science fairs.
After converting to a virtual platform in 2020 and transitioning its live poster presentations to an online format, the SLA Annual Conference is back in 2021 with a poster program designed to encourage submissions by as many attendees as possible on as many topics as possible. SLA’s call for poster abstracts also packs a potent financial punch—poster presenters qualify for a discounted conference registration rate of $149, a savings of $100 off the SLA member rate and $320 off the non-member rate.
At SLA2020, the posters were located in a dedicated area of the exhibit hall, and they were easy to access thanks to the conference’s virtual format. They were on display throughout the two-week duration of the conference, and on the final day of SLA2020, the poster presenters were available to chat live with viewers during dedicated exhibit hall time (i.e., when no education sessions were taking place). To encourage attendees to view the posters, SLA2020 featured a contest with three categories: Best Visual Presentation, Best Science Topic, and Best Overall.
At SLA2021, the posters will be accessible for viewing throughout the month of August; poster presentations will take place on Thursday, August 12. The poster review committee is considering reprising the contest and/or creating other incentives to encourage attendee interaction with the posters and their presenters.
The deadline to submit a poster abstract is Tuesday, June 1, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Both SLA members and non-members are invited to submit abstracts. Submissions are welcome on any topic relevant to special librarianship and the practice of managing, organizing, storing, and sharing information.
Click here to learn more about the poster submission process or to submit a poster abstract.
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