Call for Proposals

**The call for proposals is now closed. Authors will be notified by January 31, with additional information to come in February.**

Contributed Papers & Posters

The Contributed Papers and Posters Committee is now soliciting proposals for the 19th Biennial United States Agriculture Information Network (USAIN) Conference, being held jointly with the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) 56th Conference. "Growing Together, Branching Out" is the theme for the 2024 conference to be hosted by the Michigan State University Libraries, May 5-8, 2024 in East Lansing, MI.

An individual may be lead author and presenter on a maximum of two submissions - one presentation (either a contributed paper or an Interest Group session) and one poster.

Contributed Papers should be on a topic of interest to a large proportion of conference attendees, are presented orally, and should be no more than 15 minutes long with 3-5 minutes for Q&A. At least one presenter must attend the conference in-person; other co-presenters can participate virtually with a pre-recorded presentation. Presentation slides will be deposited in the USAIN Conference Proceedings repository.  

Posters are suitable for sharing preliminary research or short project reports. Poster presenters must attend in-person. Posters will be deposited in the USAIN Conference Proceedings repository.

In addition to the Contributed Papers & Posters sessions, two USAIN Interest Groups are soliciting contributions for their programs. See their calls for proposals further below.

Contributed paper and poster proposals should be submitted online via Easy Chair. Be sure to indicate whether you are submitting a paper or poster proposal.

Deadline for proposal submissions: January 5, 2024
Deadline for presentation/poster content and the USAIN Conference Proceedings Repository release forms: April 30, 2024

Submission Guidelines

• Abstracts, presentations, and posters must be in English.
• Abstracts maximum length: 300 words
• At least one author must be a USAIN or CBHL member.
• All presenters must register for the conference (in-person, or virtually for pre-recorded paper presentations).
• An individual may be lead author and presenter on a maximum of two submissions - one presentation (either a contributed paper or IG session) and one poster.
• Submissions must be properly identity-hidden. Any information in the title or body of the abstract identifying individuals or institutions must be redacted by the author before submission.
• Upon acceptance, authors may be asked to finalize the abstracts.

Selection Criteria

The proposal should:

• Report on original research or project; or demonstrate a new application of an existing technology, method, or thought
• Contribute to the knowledge of the fields of agricultural, horticultural, or botanical information and education
• Be of broad interest to the USAIN and/or CBHL audience
• Be of suitable scope and content for a presentation or poster
• Add to the quality and diversity of the conference program
• Be related to the conference theme - Growing together and branching out

Guidelines and FAQs- more information about submissions

Please contact the Contributed Papers & Posters Chair, Sarah Williams (scwillms@illinois.edu), if you have any questions about submissions.

USAIN Interest Group Calls for Proposals

The Agricultural Research Services Interest Group (ARSIG) will host a panel session focused on how librarians can engage with their liaison departments. The submission options for this session are:

• Individual panelist (10 minutes for individual content with a combined 20 minute Q&A for all panelists)
• Group panel session (as many presenters as you like with a 45 minute presentation and 15 minutes for Q&A)

Please submit your proposal for the ARSIG session here by January 5. An individual may be lead author and presenter on a maximum of two submissions - one presentation (either a contributed paper or IG session) and one poster. The ARSIG will review the proposals and contact you regardless of whether or not you have been accepted.

The Animal Health Information Interest Group (AHIIG) will host a lightning talk session (8 minutes each) at the conference.

The purpose of the AHIIG is to facilitate access to veterinary and animal health related information, coordinate information sharing between librarians, and serve as advisors on related policy matters. Topics may include areas of collaboration within animal health projects, early stages/ideas for new projects, projects that need feedback and guidance, etc. If you need help deciding if your talk is appropriate for the AHIIG lightning session, please contact the AHIIG co-conveners Tisha Mentnech (tdmentne@ncsu.edu) or Hilary Fox (hefox@ncsu.edu).

Proposals will be reviewed by the co-conveners. Submissions should include a title, presenter names, and proposal abstract (250 word max). Please submit entries here by January 5. Priority will be given to first time USAIN attendees/presenters or early career library personnel and students. Applicants will be notified of their status after the review period.