For those librarians whose responsibilities include the care of music, the Music Library Association (MLA) was created in 1931 in the United States to promote the activities of music librarians, musicians, scholars, educators, and members of the book and music trades. This professional association announced that its associate organization, the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres (IAML) will be accepting submissions of papers and posters.
The papers and posters chosen will be presented at the annual Congress which will take place at the Municipal Library of Prague and the National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague, from July 24 to 29, 2022. The deadline to submit all required materials will be Monday, January 31, 2022, at midnight UTC.
They will be accepting proposals at that time for papers that relate to music in libraries, archives, and documentation centers but specifically about: "the impact of COVID-19, music bibliography, cataloging and classification, music encoding, MIR, digital humanities, copyright, professional training, issues of inclusion and diversity, user and public engagement, musicology research, special collections, performance ephemera, and digital resources," reads the website advertisement.
Anyone with an interest in the field can apply regardless of whether they are a member of the organization, but for applications to receive funds for travel, hopefuls must be members of the IAML. The proposals can be in English, French, or German.
The submission process for posters will be the same. They will convey the subject "using a combination of graphics and text attached to a presentation panel," reads the announcement on the IAML website.
Those who submit will be notified of the results on March 11, 2022. Questions about the process should be relayed to Rupert Ridgewell at programme@iaml.info.
Also of interest for those who would like to attend the Congress in Prague, the Liesbeth Hoedemaeker-Cohen Fund for IAML Congress Travel was established to provide awards to help support travel. These funds were established in honor of Liesbeth Hoedemaeker and H. Robert Cohen in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
The applications are open to members of the IAML. Preference will be given to those for whom this will be their first or second Congress, and who "either (i.) began their career as a music librarian within the previous three years, (ii.) completed their professional degree in the year before or of the Congress or (iii.) are giving a paper, extensive report or a poster presented at the Congress," reads the article here.
To apply for either award, interested members should submit a letter describing their reasons for attending, contribution to the Congress, and suitability for selection. The applicant should also submit a travel budget, a statement describing how much their home institution is providing, and a statement listing the number of times that the applicant has attended Congress.
Finally, the submission package for funding should include a CV or resume. A letter of reference should be sent directly to the President of the committee at president@iaml.info. All material should be sent in a PDF document to the President of the Committee. The deadline has not been announced as yet for the request for funding documents.