Call for Participation for the SSP 39th Annual Meeting

October 20, 2016 – The SSP 39th Annual Meeting will be held May 31-June 2, 2017 in Boston. We invite you to submit a proposal for a session by completing the Call for Participation, open now through November 11.

The 2017 conference will focus on the theme and tracks below. We invite content that fits into these tracks, but also welcome creative, non-thematic submissions. We are especially interested in sessions that benefit attendees by providing case studies, tips on best practices, and thought-provoking ideas.

We encourage proposals from and for all types of stakeholders in scholarly communications, whether your institution is large or small, nonprofit or commercial, focused on books or journals, or specializing in STEM or the Humanities and Social Sciences. NOTE: The submissions process has changed for 2017. Please see below for details.

Striking a Balance: Embracing Change While Preserving Tradition in Scholarly Communications

Scholarly publishing and the communities it serves are in flux. New technologies, globalization, and the commodification of education, among other developments, all pose challenges to those who work in scholarly communications. Of course, change offers opportunities as well as challenges, and failure to embrace change can have dire consequences—sustainable organizations must explore, grow, and innovate if they don’t want to be left behind. At the same time, however, we must not lose sight of the history of scientific and academic discourse, and the core values on which our respective enterprises have been built.

Success depends on our ability to balance these seemingly conflicting goals. This year we will meet in Boston to discuss the ways in which we as publishers, librarians, vendors and academics manage to explore and develop new technologies, business models, and partnerships while also remaining focused on our mission to publish and distribute quality scholarly content to researchers and students.

Proposed tracks:

• Global/International Challenges (new markets and customer needs, market expansion strategies, regulatory and pricing issues, partnership opportunities)
• Practical Skills/Publishing 101 (skills-based instruction, management and leadership; topics can include advice on career development or content geared toward early-career professionals)
• Product Strategy (business models, funding challenges, sustainability, funding innovation)
• Marketing Insight (responding to user needs, product differentiation/enhancement, creating value, analytics)
• Technology (breakthroughs and innovations, content management / workflow tools, data, development methodologies)
• Stakeholder voices (roundtables or panels of academics, librarians, end users, or other industry groups; topics can include gender and diversity in scholarly communications)
• Scholarly Infrastructure (standards, metrics, analytics, security)
• User Experience (design principles, user research, discoverability, usability testing, accessibility)

Submission Process (New for 2017)

This year SSP is using ScholarOne’s abstract submission system to manage the submission process. All proposals must be submitted through this system.

Note that there are four possible types of session proposal. Submitters must select their session type at the beginning of the submission process for each proposal. You are permitted to submit more than one proposal or proposal type:

• Concurrent session: 45 or 90 minutes in length, held on June 1-2. These often take the form of a panel, although nontraditional formats are welcome. Interactive sessions are encouraged.
• Pre-meeting seminar: These are three-hour educational sessions offering an in-depth perspective on an issue or skill. They will be held on Wednesday, May 31, prior to the concurrent sessions.
• 5-minute preview session: Brief, back-to-back presentations showcasing new products, platforms, and/or content from publishers and vendors.
• (NEW for 2017!) Sponsored session: 45 minutes in length, held on Wednesday, May 31. These sessions offer value by means of education, information, or professional development to attendees. Organizers may share information about a product or service, but sessions will be most effective if they present case studies/use cases, customer testimonials, timely information about industry issues, best practices, innovative solutions to everyday challenges, roundtable discussions, etc.

Tips for submitting a compelling session proposal:

• Your session should appeal to a broad base of attendees in an engaging way. Attendees at the SSP Annual Meeting are there to meet colleagues, learn about new trends, and gain practical skills that help them in their careers. They are executives, editors, salespersons, marketing and product managers, librarians, and technologists.
• We encourage interactive sessions and seminars which promote audience engagement.
• We will not consider concurrent session or pre-meeting seminar submissions that are focused on a single solution or are commercial in nature. Such content is more appropriate for the 5-minute previews session or for sponsored sessions.
• Multi-speaker proposals will be given precedence over proposals with only one speaker. SSP is interested in providing a variety of viewpoints from a diverse pool of speakers.
• Your submission must be in by the November 11 deadline! Our committee will begin reviewing proposals immediately after this deadline, so we regret that we cannot accept late submissions this year.
• Please be sure to reach out to us at info@sspnet.org if you have any questions while submitting a session proposal.

For a more detailed set of submission guidelines, please visit the SSP web site here.

After reviewing these guidelines, please proceed to the SSP abstract submission site to submit your proposal. The organizers of the sessions selected for the final program will be contacted in December to confirm their participation. 

Thank you very much for your interest in participating in the 2017 SSP Annual Meeting, and again, if you have any questions, please email info@sspnet.org.

Sincerely,

Mary Beth Barilla
Laura Ricci
Annual Meeting Program Committee Co-Chairs