Posters & Lightning Talks are the Shining Stars of iPRES 2024

When I was a student in library school at the University of Cape Town a very long time ago, I had the chance to present a collaborative poster at an international conference (IFLA in Glasgow) about some emerging digital preservation workflows. It was my first time engaging with the global digital preservation community through a professional conference and I can honestly say it was one of the most impactful opportunities of my life, even to this day.

Not only did we win the Best Poster Award (an unexpected bonus!) but this experience had several long lasting impacts that I have carried with me, 22 years later and counting.

Some of these take aways include honing my presentation and public speaking skills to get my point across in a concise and creative way; receiving and reflecting upon feedback about the project itself including what I might do differently as well as what I did successfully; and participating in the scheduled discussion sessions helped me expand my professional network.

I also had a wonderful time for myself at the conference where I went in knowing pretty much no one but came out with a cadre of pals and colleagues from across the world. All of this due to the relatively low stakes effort of putting together a poster. The return on investment more than paid off.

In short, my first poster presentation changed the trajectory of my professional life and iPRES 2024 could enable the same for you.

Posters and lightning talks are a low risk and high reward opportunity to connect with the international community without the full commitment of a panel or paper. These short format options offer the perfect setting for more immediate and immersive feedback for new projects and research ideas in a more relaxed setting with immediate connection with peers and colleagues. Even the submission process is geared towards lowering the barrier for participation. All it takes is a 200 to 350 word abstract along with a questionnaire. The full details about how to submit are described in the guidelines for contributors.

But what might be best for you? Both options provide the opportunity to discuss emerging issues, works in progress, case studies and late breaking results and innovative solutions. Lightning talks are very short (no more than 5 minutes) presentations on any relevant topic or theme while Posters aim to improve knowledge, foreground new capabilities, or share practical solutions, workflows and experiences.

New this year at iPRES 2024 is that both posters and lightning talks will be included in the conference proceedings, so your effort will have continuing results and recognition far beyond the conference dates. All submissions are peer-reviewed in a transparent process.

No matter what stage you are in your career or project, consider submitting a lightning talk or poster for iPRES 2024. Abstracts are due by 15, May 2024.

Need some more practical instructions? Find out how to submit and how to present your chosen format here:

• Lightning talks

• Posters