Charleston Fast Pitch Competition: Recognizing and rewarding new innovation in academic library and information management.

The Fast Pitch Competition at the 2017 Charleston Conference is looking for proposals that pitch a winning idea to improve service at an academic or research library. The proposal should describe a project or venture that is innovative, useful and better or different than what has been done in the past or done currently.

Conference registrants with unique and implementable ideas for change and improvement at their library are encouraged to submit a proposal to present at the Fast Pitch Session. The proposals should describe the project in fewer than 1,000 words. Proposal deadline is September 15, with finalists notified by October 2. Selected proposers will have five minutes to pitch their idea before a Charleston Conference audience on Wednesday, November 8, and a panel of judges who will determine the finalists. The Goodall Family Charitable Foundation will sponsor two $2,500 awards for the finalists. 

Last year's winners were Syracuse University for their Blackstone LaunchPad for student entrepreneurship, and St. John Fisher College, for their Coordinated Collection Development API Project. A write up of the session is available on the conference blog (http://www.against-the-grain.com/2016/11/charleston-fast-pitch-competition/), and an ATG Special Report on all the winners, runners up, and honorable mentions is available on the Against the Grain website (http://www.against-the-grain.com/2017/01/atg-special-report-the-charleston-library-conference-fast-pitch-2016/).

Timeline:

Application Deadline: September 15, 2017
Notification to all applicants: October 2
Finalist Preparation and Coaching: October 16 - 30 
Fast Pitch Competition: Wednesday, November 8

For application and eligibility details, please visit https://www.charlestonlibraryconference.com/fastpitch/ 

If you have questions, please contact fastpitch@charlestonlibraryconference.com.