CHICAGO - The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is accepting proposals for the association’s 2012 Spring Virtual Institute, “Extending Reach, Proving Value: Collaborations Strengthen Communities.” Submissions will be accepted through Dec. 15, 2011.  Complete details are available online.

Taking place April 18-19, 2012, the ACRL Spring Virtual Institute will explore how libraries are capitalizing on community collaborations in order to facilitate connectedness and demonstrate value. The institute will offer both synchronous and asynchronous sessions, which will be archived after the institute for viewing on-demand.

Proposals are invited for session formats including:

·  Interactive Webcasts (Synchronous): An interactive webcast allows presenters to give a presentation in real time, while also showing visuals, such as PowerPoint slides and desktop applications. Presenters may also conduct polls, which can be loaded in advance or created on the fly. Participants can interact with webcast presenters by talking with live audio or typing in questions and comments. Webcasts may last up to 45 minutes each and should include time for Q&A with the online audience. Webcasts should include an active learning element(s) in order to engage the online audience. Interactive Webcasts will be offered on either April 18 or 19, 2012.

·  Lightning Talks (Asynchronous): Lightning Talks are short, asynchronous presentations of five-eight minutes, combining a PowerPoint presentation or other visual materials with voice narration by the presenters. Similar to a virtual poster session, presenters will submit visuals together with a pre-recorded narration describing their topic or case study. The committee encourages creative uses of technology.

Send questions to Margot Conahan at mconahan@ala.org or (312) 280-2522.

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ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing more than 12,500 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments. ACRL is on the Web at http://www.acrl.org, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ala.acrl and Twitter at @ala_acrl.

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