Changes from "IFDiSH" to "ADHO" have been made without special font-color notation. Text in red is new as of March 31, 2005, and is jointly proposed by Harold Short and John Unsworth. Text in blue represents changes proposed in the course of the Steering Committee's deliberation in April-May of 2005.
The ADHO Conference Coordinating Committee (CCC) will solicit bids for the conference venue according to the following procedure:
The International Program Commitee (IPC) shall consist of not more than 12 and not fewer than 8 members (not including the Program Committee Chair [PCC] or Local Organizer [LO]) designated by the executive councils of the constituent organizations. Each chapter may designate members up to a maximum specified in this annex; this maximum is determined by identifying an even divisor of a number falling within the number range above. Responsibility for identifying the appropriate number of members and updating this annex accordingly lies with the CCC, subject to the approval of the ADHO steering committee. As of 2004, with three constituent organizations participating, each constituent organization may designate up to four members to the IPC. In the event that any constituent organization elects to designate fewer than the maximum number of members to the IPC, unused slots will remain unfilled. Designating members of the IPC is a right of the constituent organizations, not a requirement.
It is strongly recommended that the IPC be appointed slightly before the conference two years in advance of the target conference date (i.e. slightly before the 2004 conference for a committee working on the program for the 2006 conference) and that they have their first meeting at that conference. It is also strongly recommended that members of the IPC attend the conference the year prior to the one for which they are on the PC, as well as the year of the conference they have helped to plan. In selecting members of the IPC, constituent organizations should take care to verify that the members are willing and able to take on the time commitment required and are reasonably likely to be able to attend the intervening conferences. At least one member from each constituent organization needs to have served on a prior IPC. However, new perspectives are also valuable, and the IPC should not consist of the same people year after year.
ADHO and in particular the CCC will try to explore new methods of communication for the IPC, such as video-conference, conference calls, and perhaps face-to-face meetings, to facilitate discussion.
The Executive Council of the constituent organization hosting the conference will provide the ADHO steering committee with some names of potential Program Committee Chairs, and although the steering committee need not limit itself to these names, it is expected that there will be discussion and cooperation between the constituent organization and the steering committee in coming to a decision. Although the Program Committee Chair is normally drawn from the constituent organization hosting the conference, there may be exceptional circumstances that occasionally dictate otherwise: for instance, if a small constituent organization were hosting the conference and didn't feel able to provide a provide a Program Chair. It is important that the Program Chair be experienced in running such a process, and it is highly desirable that a Program Chair should have served on several prior program committees in this community.
The Program Chair and LO should have a meeting, either at the conference the year prior to the one they are planning, or at some other time.
The Program Committee must approve all keynote speakers. However, since the financial burden of the speaker costs rests with the LO, it is important that the IPC consult with the LO about feasibility of speaker choice. The LO should have veto power in this matter. Choice of keynote speakers has an important impact: it sets the tone for the conference and affects how the conference is promoted; keynote speakers should be chosen with these goals in mind. Keynote speakers should be selected well in advance, so as make it possible to announce keynote speakers at the conference a year in advance. Invitations to keynote speakers are issued by the Local Organizer.
Authors of accepted papers from the past two years should be invited to serve as reviewers; reviewers should also be encouraged to recommend additional reviewers. A call for reviewers should be sent out every two years. ADHO will support a database to store information about member activities including conference reviewing, journal reviewing, mentoring, and other activities.
Normally there will be at least three reviews for each proposal.
In addition to reviewers' comments, other relevant factors may affect the IPC's decision to accept or reject a paper, for instance the desirability of maintaining geographic and thematic breadth, or the strategic importance of a given paper or author to the associations.
ADHO is discontinuing the practice of anonymizing papers during the review process.
Although neither ADHO nor the constituent organizations will subsidize the ordinary conference expenses, they may in special cases contribute funding towards some additional activity to be undertaken as part of the conference: for instance, new initiatives (such as provision for simultaneous interpretation), or special opportunities that arise in connection with a particular venue. These funding contributions would need to be negotiated between host and ADHO on a case-by-case basis, perhaps as part of bidding process.
Any profit or loss from the conference is absorbed by the local institution, not ADHO, and this fact must be clearly and explicitly understood by any institution making a bid to host the conference. Registration fees are decided by the LO based on the conference budget; however, discounted fees must be offered to all affiliate members of ADHO. In the case of constituent organizations, the discount should be at least the standard subscription rate for LLC; affiliated organizations receive a diminished discount, subject to approval by the CCC.
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It is important that the Program Committee communicate in advance with keynote speakers concerning the disciplinary focus and level of sophistication of the ADHO audience, particularly if the keynote speaker comes from outside the ADHO community. Information about the conference focus and theme should be made available to the keynote speaker well in advance of the conference. There may also be plenary sessions other than those involving a single keynote speaker (for example, a plenary panel).
Both in the call for papers, the review process, and in developing the program, the PC should do its best to ensure the equal standing and distinctive function of poster sessions and paper submissions. The IPC should emphasize this if recommending that poster proposal be accepted as a paper and vice versa. Such a recommendation should make it clear that it is the nature of the proposal and not its quality that motivates the change.
Some possibilities for ensuring the distinctiveness and vibrancy of poster sessions include:
In organizing papers into sessions, the Program Committee should give some thought to the chemistry between papers as well as their topical similarity.
Amended March 31, 2005 by Harold Short and John Unsworth
Original version drafted May, 2004 by Lorna Hughes (president, ACH), Harold Short (chair, ALLC), and Julia Flanders (chair of the standing committee on conferences, ADHO).