CFP: Visual Resources Association

The VRA invites you to submit proposals for papers, sessions, special interest/user groups, and workshops for the 2021 Conference program.

The VRA’s 2021 Annual Conference will be held in Chicago, IL from Tuesday, March 23th through Friday, March 26th, 2021 at the Westin, Michigan Avenue. We are exploring hybrid (in-person and online) conference options, so please consider ways you could present materials to both physical and virtual audiences.

About the VRA:

We are a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to furthering research and education in the field of image asset management within the educational, cultural heritage, and commercial environments. For more information on VRA: http://vraweb.org/.

Presenting at the VRA Conference provides you with the opportunity to see how your ideas, research, work, and passion connect to those of other dedicated professionals while building networks and friendships in an open, collaborative environment.

Presentation Types:

• Individual Paper- A paper is an individual idea submission, which will be reviewed for possible grouping into a session. Your ideas, whether they come to us alone or in a group, are equally valued in the Board’s proposal and selection process.
• Session – A session is typically a 60-minute moderated panel with 3 presenters, speaking for 15 to 18 minutes, followed by a brief facilitated question and answer period. If you feel your session topic requires more time, consider dividing it into two sessions, consisting of a Part I and a Part II.
• SIG/SUG- A special interest/user group is a 60-minute informal, community -driven, facilitated group discussion on topics related to a specific segment of the VRA membership.
• Workshop- A workshop is a 2, 4, or 8-hour workshop to develop skills and experience in the field of visual resources with hands-on activities.

All proposals are welcome, and if you have other conference ideas or suggestions that do not fit the conference proposal form, please reach out to the Vice President for Conference Program, Sara Schumacher at vpcp@vraweb.org.

To Apply:

The deadline for submissions is Monday, July 27, 2020. Program submissions received after this date will not be considered for the 2021 conference.

Preview the Paper, Sessions, Special Interest/User Groups Submission Form. Preview the Workshop Submission Form.

Submit your proposal here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/cfpvra2021.

All speakers/presenters must register for the conference and may register under the Conference Speaker rate for the full conference (same as member rate) or under the one-day rate. Speakers/Presenters may apply for Travel Awards through the VRA Travel Awards Committee or through select VRA Chapters.

Suggested topics:

• Challenges and Lessons Learned from Remote
  • The Workplace, Institutional Transitions, Personnel Issues
  • Copyright & IP in Education and Beyond
  • Teaching & Research Needs, Visual Literacy
  • Equity, Ethics, Privacy, Advocacy
• Metadata
  • Best Practices and Standards (VRA Core 4, CCO, etc.)
  • Critical Cataloging, Alt-Text, Rights Statements, Geolocation Data
  • Crowdsourcing
• Managing Collections
  • Digital Asset Management, Digital and Institutional Repositories
  • Preservation, Planning for Collections Growth
• Outreach and Instruction
  • Instruction using Materials, Special, and Digital Visual Collections
  • Accessibility, Universal Design, Open Educational Resources, Online Exhibitions, Social Media
• Emerging Technologies and Applications
  • 3D Photography Imaging and Digitization, Audio and Video Editing
  • Coding, GIS, IIF, Omeka S, Story Maps
  • Digital Humanities/Scholarship Tools, Projects, Research Processes

Sara Schumacher
Vice President for Conference Program
VRA, http://vraweb.org/
Architecture Image Librarian
Architecture Library
Texas Tech University Libraries
sara.schumacher@ttu.edu
806.834.1245
Pronouns: she, her, hers