Deadline extended to Monday, January 25!

The University of North Texas is pleased to announce a call for contributions to its 7th annual Open Access Symposium, to be held May 19–20, 2016, in conjunction with the Library Publishing Forum 2016. The goal of this symposium is to bring a broad community of researchers and practitioners together to share their work and explore the value and impact of freely available scholarly literature and resources on education and research. This year's theme is "Open Access at the Tipping Point."

The symposium features a mix of invited speakers, panels, and interactive sessions in various formats, including a keynote by Johan Rooryck, executive editor of Lingua and founder of LingOA, and a keynote by Brian Nosek, founder of the Center for Open Science. There will also be a keynote by Dan Morgan, publisher of Collabra, held jointly with the Library Publishing Forum.

Proposals for both classic presentations and a variety of alternative and interactive session formats will be reviewed by staff of the UNT Libraries for relevance to the topic of open access and for inclusivity of participation. Please use the structure described below to organize and prepare your proposal in PDF format to OASymposium@unt.edu before Tuesday, January 25, 2016. Invitations to participate will be issued by mid-February.

Proposals for presentations

Proposals for individual, panel presentations, or lightning talks must follow the following format:

• Title: Event title
• Presenter(s): Names and affiliations of the presenters
• Abstract: A description of the event (approximately 150–250 words) suitable for including on the symposium website
• Length: The preferred total length of your presentation (including questions)

Proposals for interactive sessions

Proposals of no more than 1,000 words must follow the following format:

• Title: Event title
• Organizer(s): Names and affiliations of the organizers
• Abstract: Include a description of the event (approximately 150–250 words) suitable for including on the symposium website.
• Proposed activities: Describe how your presentation will be organized. While some suggested formats are below, the format is up to you: we welcome creative and innovative ideas for presentations of all kinds. We especially welcome proposals that involve some collaboration before the symposium and planned follow-through activities.
  • Fishbowl: a large-group discussion involving a handful of people in the center of the room with other participants around them
  • Birds-of-a-feather: an open discussion on a topic of shared interest
  • Working meeting: a discussion or collaboration involving a planned set of attendees but open to newcomers
  • Demo or exhibition: a demonstration of a new tool or process
  • Hands-on workshop: a tutorial or other event in which participants have the opportunity to try out a new tool or process
• Relevance to the conference and significance to the Field:  Provide a brief explanation of how this presentation will appeal to the audience both with respect to content and format.
• Length: The preferred total length of your presentation (including questions)
• Maximum number of participants: If you would prefer to cap participation, please indicate the maximum number of people.  While participants will not be asked to register for events in advance, we will schedule your event in a room appropriate for the number of participants you indicate.  If you are unsure or are sure it doesn’t matter, just state so.
• Special requests/equipment needs:  If there are any special equipment needs, room set-up requirements, list them here. Events requiring informal, flexible spaces will be accommodated.

For questions or more information, contact OASymposium@unt.edu.