OCULA Lightning Strikes Student Award

This award is to promote OCULA to LIS and library technician students and provide an opportunity to participate in the OLA Super Conference.

Candidates for this award should be students with an interest in academic libraries who are either currently enrolled in a Master’s program in library/information studies or library technician program at an Ontario university or college or who have graduated within 6 months of the Ontario Library Association’s Super Conference.
The proposed lightning talk should address an original topic or reconsiders a past topic in a novel way that would be relevant to academic librarianship.
Applicants should submit a proposal for a 10-minute lightning talk to be given as part of the Student Award Session at the Ontario Library Association’s Super Conference. For group proposals, students will still only have 10 minutes to speak.
Presentations can be delivered in French as long as the presentation is accompanied by slides and/or supporting materials in English so that the content can be understood by the audience and voted on fairly.
Presentations can use visuals that are in slide format, or other forms of creative expressions.

The session proposal form may be filled out by visiting the OLA website awards page.
A title, description, and up to three tags for the lightning talk must be included on the session proposal form.
Descriptions may be submitted in writing or via video. o Written descriptions are limited to 125 words, and videos must be no more than one minute long. o Videos should be uploaded via Google Docs/Drop box, or similar and the link provided in proposal form.
Only one submission per applicant will be considered.
Proposals must be submitted in English.
Submissions will be accepted between: August – November.
The closing date for nominations in any given year is: 15 November.
The OCULA VP President will contact all successful applicants for presentation logistics.

Submissions will be judged based on creativity, relevance of the topic to academic librarianship, and appropriateness of the topic for a lightning talk i.e. can be covered in ten minutes.
All entries will be reviewed by an OCULA panel of judges, at least one of whom will be an OCULA Super Conference Program Planner.
Up to six (6) applicants will be chosen to speak at the Student Lightning Strikes Award Session. Successful applicants will receive free registration to the Super Conference for the day they are speaking.
The winner will be determined at the Super Conference, by a vote of all audience members attending the Lightning Strikes Student Award Session.

The “Lightning Strikes @ OCULA” session will be scheduled on the Thursday afternoon of the Super Conference.
This award is presented at the OLA annual Super Conference at the end of the OCULA Annual General Meeting. The winner must be present to receive the award.
All students selected to present will attend the Conference the day of award presentation at no charge and will also receive a complimentary one-year membership in the Ontario Library Association and Ontario College and University Library Association.
Winners are also invited to sit on OCULA council for a year.
Guests of award winners are welcome to attend the award presentation, however, must be a registered conference attendees or registered guests.