ProgramCommittee

The program committee is a self-selected group that manages talk proposals and other aspects of the program. The process works something like this:

1. Draft the call for proposals (searching the mailing list archives should provide some good templates) and send it out.
2. People put their proposals on the Code4Lib wiki (see the 2013 talks proposals page as a template)
   • One idea that's been thrown around to help diversity is for people to self-identify as female/minority/first-timer/first-time presenter, etc. (see the Guidelines below)
3. After the proposal period ends, contact Ross Singer (rsinger) to get voting set up.
4. After the voting closes, we talk about where to place the dividing line between accepted and declined proposals. There is a bit of negotiation between us and the host committee on scheduling depending on how many talks we want to accept and any scheduling juggling that is required.

Program Voting

Pre-conf voting may need to take place if there are more proposals than spaces.

Based on past discussions (such as the pandering votes thread), for next year, consider a notification for voters 'briefly explaining how the ballot works and to reiterate the voting criteria that's on the proposal page.

There has also been discussions about whether voting should be done without names, but it was inconclusive as there are pros and cons to each.

Guidelines

For 2014, you may want to make this a bit more clear on the talk proposals page, but this is what the community agreed on through mailing list discussion:

• Max 2 presenters per talk (this should be checked at the proposal stage)
• Max 1 talk per person
• (at least) 15% talks to be decided by the program committee with "diversity" in mind. Diversity may be any of these (not an exhaustive list):
  • first-time presenter (should be major consideration)
  • gender
  • visible minority
  • technology/tool

Based on Proposed Changes thread.

Based on the comments from the 2013 feedback, the program committee may also consider proposing limiting the number of talks on a particular topic or technology used (e.g. Hydra, Solr) unless the next conference host proposes to turn the conference into a multi-track conference.

Schedule

While always posted on the website, consider putting it on lanyrd like in 2013. Worked great of adding links to sessions, which can then be copied to the website if needed.

Keynoter logistics

See Keynote Committee Duties.

Talk Acceptance Letter (samples)

Dear <<first name last name>>,
 
On behalf of the Code4Lib Program Planning Committee, I am pleased to 
notify you that your proposal, <<proposal title>> has been accepted for 
the Code4Lib <<year>> in <<location>>.  Please reply to this message to 
confirm your intention to present the approved session at the Conference.  
If at any time in the future you need to bow out or have any program 
changes, please notify us immediately.  You will be sent a letter of 
agreement soon.
 
The schedule for the conference is here:

   http://code4lib.org/conference/2011/schedule

You will have 20 minutes for your talk, including questions and answers.
A quick transition between speakers will be necessary.
 
It is very important that you focus your presentation on the more unique 
and technical aspects of your topic whenever possible.  Although Code4Lib
attendees come from many different work environments, they attend Code4Lib 
events for information technology education.
 
Experts like you are the heart of Code4Lib.  We really appreciate your contribution 
and look forward to working with you.
  
Sincerely,

Talk Rejection Letter (sample)

I'm sorry, but your prepared talk proposal for the 2010 Code4Lib Conference in Asheville, NC did not receive enough votes to make it into the program. But here are a couple things you should know:

- The field of presentations was very large (probably the largest we have had so far) and very strong, so you should not take it too hard.
- Please remember that there are many additional opportunities for participating, including lightning talks (open to anyone), breakout sessions (open to anyone to suggest and/or participate), and a special "Ask Anything" (or reply anything) open session. Also, the evening socializing opportunities are considered some of the most rewarding times of the event.

Again, my condolences on not having your talk proposal accepted, but I hope we still see you in Asheville, NC in February.
Roy