Author: Cheryl

CFP: Inter- and Transcultural Heritage. Conflicts, Overlaps, Coexistence

November 6-7, 2025

Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, as part of the FORTHEM Alliance, invites scholars, researchers, and practitioners to submit proposals for the upcoming Cultural Heritage Lab International Conference, dedicated to exploring cultural heritage within, across, and beyond the European Union’s borders. This year’s theme investigates the dynamics of intercultural, interethnic, and social interactions—especially in regions where boundaries (geographical, political, linguistic, or symbolic) are fluid and contested.

Global migration, forced polyglossia, and renewed regional tensions that often result in military conflicts and the encroachment of far-right movements on the global polity have become telltale signs of “living in the end times,” as Slavoj Žižek would have it. This has transformed heritage into both a site of conflict and a field of negotiation, whereas the simple dichotomy imposed by structural discrepancies such as core vs. periphery, North vs. South, East vs. West, etc. cannot by any means account for the nuanced changes in how cultural heritage is perceived, curated, and lived. These new tendencies compel us to interrogate whether or not cultural heritage has always possessed an intercultural character and has always resulted from the negotiations of different perspectives and power dynamics.

In this context, our conference aims to create a space for critical reflection on the intersections, frictions, and alliances formed in the in-betweenness of cultural spaces and in the peripheries—areas which are often overlooked yet abound in cultural hybridities and shared legacies.

We welcome contributions from fields including cultural and heritage studies, anthropology, archaeology, sociology, history, linguistics, political science, art history, literature, digital humanities, economics, media and religious studies, drama, film, the performing arts, and memory studies. Interdisciplinary approaches are welcome and encouraged.

Contributors are invited to submit their abstracts on (but not limited to) the following themes:

  • Inter- and transcultural memory and heritage in borderlands;
  • The politics of cultural preservation and erasure in multicultural societies;
  • Heritage in conflict zones and the afterlife of heritage;
  • Minority narratives and “discarded” national identities;
  • “Minor” languages and cultures and their relationship to cultural hegemony;
  • Syncretism vs. conservatism in EU peripheries;
  • East-West/ North-South divides: migration, displacement, and their link to cultural heritage;
  • “The West and the Rest”: Postcolonial and decolonial approaches to cultural heritage;
  • Combined and uneven heritagisation: urban vs. rural heritage;
  • The (digital) afterlife of cultural heritage: discard, rubbish, digital avatar, etc.;

Submission Guidelines:

Please submit an abstract of 250–300 words, along with a short biographical note (max. 100 words), to Ovio Olaru and Daniela Stanciu-Păscărița (ovio.olaru@ulbsibiu.ro; daniela.stanciu@ulbsibiu.ro) by 20.07.2025. For effectiveness, please include “Cultural Heritage Lab conference submission” into the title of your email.

The conference will be held in English and French and will take place exclusively on-site.

We look forward to your contributions!

Kind regards,

The organisers.

The “Inter- and transcultural Heritage: Conflicts, Overlaps, Coexistence” conference is organised within the EU-funded project “Establishing a Laboratory of Cultural Heritage in Central Romania” (ELABCHROM) (https://grants.ulbsibiu.ro/elabchrom/conference-2025/)

Contact Information

Andrei Terian; andrei.terian@ulbsibiu.ro

Ovio Olaru; ovio.olaru@ulbsibiu.ro

Daniela Stanciu-Păscărița; daniela.stanciu@ulbsibiu.ro

Contact Email

ovio.olaru@ulbsibiu.ro

URL: https://grants.ulbsibiu.ro/elabchrom/conference-2025/

CFP: Bibliographic Society of Australia and New Zealand Conference: Whose Work Is It Anyway?

Conference Dates: 18–21 November, 2025

CFP Deadline: August 1, 2025

Conference information: https://bsanz2025.wordpress.com/ 

Description:

A book is the product of multiple actors (author, agent, printer, editor, publisher), and once a book exists, its life beyond the printer depends on a whole series of additional actors (distributors, booksellers, purchasers, reviewers, prize committees, second-hand sellers, collectors, libraries).  This conference focuses on all of these processes, at different times and in different places.  Whether we regard these agents as part of a full circuit of connections or fortuitous players that may interact haphazardly, we should not conceive of the book as simply a unified container of ideas, though books often try to appear that way.  Papers that examine how any of these interactions impact on or account for the power of the book are welcome.  We especially welcome studies that examine points at which Darnton’s circuit is disrupted or rerouted in unexpected directions.  And ‘book’ encompasses all written communication: in manuscript, periodical or monograph form, physical or virtual.

The 2025 Annual Conference is now open for submissions. To participate, please submit a 250–300 word abstract along with a brief biographical blurb for the online programme. Submissions close on Friday, 1 August, with acceptance decisions by mid-August to facilitate travel plans. Presenters must be members of the BSANZ at the time of the conference. Registration fees will include a welcome reception on the evening of the 18th and morning and afternoon teas and lunch on the 19th and 20th. The Librarians’ Day on Friday the 21st will not have a separate registration fee and it will be possible to attend at least part of that day via Zoom if you are unable to join us in Dunedin.

In addition to plenary sessions, we envision 6 90-minute panels across the two days. Each panel may take the form of 3 20-minute papers with Q&A following or a roundtable format with a group of speakers each presenting very briefly to open a topic for discussion. It may also be possible to organise a panel for early-career scholars who may prefer to present shorter research talks. We are also happy to receive proposals for an entire panel. So please feel free to propose a format that works best for your topic or interests and we will see what we are able to arrange.

To submit an abstract, please send a word processor file (Word, Pages, etc) rather than a PDF, as we will be editing abstracts for a consistent style for the programme. Feel free to include an image for your topic if you wish, since the programme will be digital. We will not include pictures of speakers in the programme. Send abstracts as an email attachment to books@otago.ac.nz. (If the link [a mailto link] is blocked by your provider, just copy or type the email address the old-fashioned way.). Feel free to send any questions to that same address.

CFP: Records Management Journal

Volume 35, Issue 2, 2025
(subscription)

Artificial intelligence and records management in contemporary organizations: what cultural aspects are required? Insights from the information culture framework (ICF)
Siham Alaoui

Competencies, skills, and personal attributes in job advertisements for archivists and records managers in Finland Open access
Saara Packalén, Lauri Partanen

The Norwegian ministries’ records centers in the public sphere
Ida-Therese Kleve

The impact of artificial intelligence on data privacy: a risk management perspective
Norman Mooradian, Patricia C. Franks, Amitabh Srivastav

Development of a Web-based records management system: an ERMS initiative for the Office of Senior Citizen Affairs in the Philippines
Monira Libadia, Khavee Agustus Botangen, Pauline Joy Lucero, Jolene Tecson

Recordkeeping needs and capabilities of small migrant community organisations run by volunteers
Viviane Frings-Hessami, Zoe Henderson

A comprehensive assessment of the government of Tanzania health operation management information system using participatory action research
Cesilia Mambile, Augustino Mwogosi

New Issue: Collections

Volume 21 Issue 2, June 2025
Focus Issue: American Food Culture: Collecting, Curating, and Sharing Its Complexity
(subscription)

The Long Life and History of the Ebony Test Kitchens
Joanne Hyppolite

Edible Education: Recentering 100 Years of Collecting, Preserving, and Interpreting Food
Debra A. Reid, Shannon Murphy, Kayla Wendt

Hamburgers for Breakfast: A Student Exhibit on Food and Community at Eastern Michigan University
Nancy E. Villa Bryk

Traditions, Connections, Journeys: Conversations About Families’ Foodways Treasures
Abigail Ayers, Teresa Safranek, Rebecca Murphy, Mariam Ktiri, Nancy E. Villa Bryk

Nourishing Love: Documenting the Cookery and Foodways Collections at the Michigan State University Libraries
Leslie Van Veen McRoberts

Food as Folklife: Public Folklore Practice in the Museum and Archive
Virginia Siegel

Call for Contributions: Panoramic and Immersive Media Studies (PIMS) Yearbook

The Panoramic and Immersive Media Studies Yearbook (PIMS Yearbook) invites contributions for publication consideration in its third yearbook. The PIMS Yearbook is the annual yearbook of the International Panorama Council (IPC), published by De Gruyter. It surveys the historical and contemporary landscape of panoramic and immersive media. This open call invites scholarly, creative, and practical contributions in seven areas including scholarly essays (peer-reviewed) and creative essays.

Panoramic and Immersive Media Studies (PIMS) Yearbook 3 (2026)

The Panoramic and Immersive Media Studies Yearbook (PIMS Yearbook) invites contributions for publication consideration in its third yearbook. The PIMS Yearbook is the annual yearbook of the International Panorama Council (IPC), published by De Gruyter. It surveys the historical and contemporary landscape of panoramic and immersive media. This open call invites scholarly, creative, and practical contributions in seven areas including scholarly essays (peer-reviewed) and creative essays.

Panoramic & Immersive Media Studies (PIMS) Yearbook 3 (2026)

The Panoramic & Immersive Media Studies (PIMS) Yearbook is the annual yearbook of the International Panorama Council (IPC, Switzerland), published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg (Germany). It surveys the historical and contemporary landscape of panoramic and immersive media. This interdisciplinary field includes—but is not limited to—optical and haptic devices; 360-degree paintings; long-form paintings, photography, and prints; dioramas; museum displays; games; gardens; literature; maps; music; printed matter; still and moving images; virtual and augmented reality; and theatrical productions. Whereas the notion of the panoramic describes extensive, expansive and/or all-embracing vistas, immersion refers to porous interfaces between representation and the real, observer and observed, nature and culture, and past, present, and future. Together, the concepts of panorama and immersion have catalyzed time- and space-bending strategies for creating, experiencing, and transforming culture, ideas, and built and social space across the arc of human history.

This open call invites scholarly, creative, and practical contributions in seven areas including scholarly essays (subject to double-blind peer review); visual and creative essays; restoration, management, and field reports; opinion forum pieces; IPC conference reports & papers (this section is open only to IPC conference presenters; contributions subject to single-blind peer review); reviews; and reprints. Contributions may explore a range of ideas in panoramic and immersive media, such as historical and contemporary uses of immersive technologies; innovative methods in preservation and heritage interpretation; tools for applications in museum interpretation and display, contemporary art practices, or educational settings; exploring contested heritage; and analyzing nationalist and imperialist discourses. View the publisher’s PIMS Yearbook page at De Gruyter Oldenbourg.

We welcome contributions from IPC members and non-members alike. The PIMS Yearbook is managed by three Executive Editors, a team of Section Editors, and an IPC Editorial Advisory Board. In addition, each issue invites one or more Guest Editors. Section details appear below. Sections not edited by named section editors are edited by PIMS Executive Editors.

SECTIONS

Scholarly Essays
This double-blind peer reviewed section invites scholarly essays that explore themes in panoramic and immersive media studies. We welcome consideration of historical and contemporary immersive media, technologies, aesthetics, and cultural practices and their continuing influence today. Contributions to the Scholarly Essays section are first reviewed by section editors and then subject to double-blind peer review coordinated by De Gruyter. If accepted for further consideration, the editors will request an anonymized copy for external double-blind peer review with the publisher.

Section Editors

  • Liz Crooks, Director, University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
  • Melissa Wolfe, Curator and Head of American Art, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Invited Guest Editors

  • Leen Engelen, LUCA School of Arts, KU Leuven, Belgium
  • Prof. Victor Flores, Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal
  • Susana S. Martins, University of Nova Lisbon, Faculdade De Ciências Sociais e Humanas, University of Lisbon, Portugal

Forum
The Forum is responsive to current debates and public conversations surrounding old and new immersive media. It welcomes opinion pieces, interviews, etc. that make an argument, are delivered in the author’s own voice, are based on fact, and are drawn from the author’s research, expertise or experience. For example, contributions may explore the historical and contemporary uses of immersive technologies in preservation and heritage interpretation, as tools for exploring contested heritage, in museum interpretation and display, in educational settings, as entertainment and leisure enhancements, and in the service of promoting nationalist and imperialist discourses.

Reprints
The PIMS Reprints section makes space for revisiting articles, documents, other printed media and objects pertinent to the study of multimodal immersive technologies and media. Subject to permissions, this section features previously published, out-of-print and out-of-copyright materials understood to be significant to the production, reception and study of panoramic and immersive media. Contributions may also include historical and unpublished manuscripts, and/or other archival materials, such as illustrated presentations of objects and optical devices. Please include a short editorial/introductory essay (up to 800 words) to contextualize the proposed article, paper, document, translation, or object. If including images, please ensure they are print-ready and supply evidence of permission to publish.

Restoration, Management, and Field Reports
We invite papers and reports on the preservation, restoration, management and interpretation of historic panoramas and related immersive media formats. Contributions are subject to editing by section editors.

Section Editors

  • Patrick Deicher, President, Bourbaki Panorama Foundation, Lucerne, Switzerland​​
  • Gabriele Koller, Jerusalem Panorama Foundation, Altötting, Germany

Visual and Creative Essays
We invite visual and creative approaches including visual essays, artistic projects, creative writing, and other makerly modes of reflection and material research on immersive media. Contributions are editorially curated and prospective authors for this section are encouraged to contact section editors before submitting full proposals. Direct your message to IRMA360 [at] protonmail [dot] com.

Section Editors

  • Ruby Carlson, Director/Co-Curator, Velaslavasay Panorama, Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Sara Velas, Director/Co-Curator, Velaslavasay Panorama, Los Angeles, California, USA

33rd IPC Conference Report & Papers
This single-blind peer reviewed section publishes the IPC conference program, abstracts, keywords, and presenter biographies. It also invites conference presenters to contribute papers of up to 3,000 words that reflect the substance of their presentations. Conference presenters are welcome to contribute to this section or any other section. Contributions to the Conference Reports & Papers section are subject to single-blind peer review.

Section Editors

  • Liz Crooks, Director, University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
  • Melissa Wolfe, Curator and Head of American Art, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Reviews
This section invites reviews of recent books, exhibitions, events, performances, archives, and products of a panoramic and/or immersive nature.

GENERAL NOTE
Contributions to the Scholarly Essays section are first reviewed by section editors and then subject to double-blind peer review coordinated by De Gruyter. Contributions to the Conference Reports & Papers section are subject to single-blind peer review. All other sections are reviewed by the PIMS Yearbook editorial board. Following the initial review of submitted materials, PIMS Yearbook editors may re-assign a submission for consideration in another section. On occasion, a submission will be recommended for publication in a succeeding volume.

Executive Editors

  • Prof. Dr. Molly Briggs, School of Art & Design, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
  • Prof. Dr. Thorsten Logge, University of Hamburg, Germany
  • Prof. Nicholas C. Lowe, John H. Bryan Chair of Historic Preservation, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA

Section Editors

  • Ruby Carlson, Velaslavasay Panorama, Director/Co-Curator, Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Liz Crooks, Director, University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
  • Patrick Deicher, President of the Bourbaki Panorama Foundation, Lucerne, Switzerland​​
  • Prof. Victor Flores, Lusófona University, Lisbon, Portugal
  • Leen Engelen, LUCA School of Arts, KU Leuven, Belgium
  • Susana S. Martins, University of Nova Lisbon, Faculdade De Ciências Sociais e Humanas, University of Lisbon, Portugal
  • Gabriele Koller, Curator, Museum Panorama Altötting, Altötting, Germany
  • Sara Velas, Velaslavasay Panorama, Director/Co-Curator, Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Dr. Melissa Wolfe, Curator and Head of American Art, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Editorial Advisory Board

  • Prof. Dr. Thiago Leitão de Souza, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Dr. Blagovesta Momchedjikova, Expository Writing Program, New York University, USA
  • Robin Skinner, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand
  • Suzanne Wray, Independent Scholar & Researcher, New York City, New York, USA

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
The PIMS Yearbook accepts original and complete illustrated manuscripts written in the English language.

How to Submit
Please send your initial submission to pimsyearbookipc [at] gmail [dot] com

Please indicate which section you are submitting to:

  • Scholarly Essays (double-blind peer review)
  • Forum (edited)
  • Restoration, Management, and Field Reports (edited)
  • Visual and Creative Essays (edited)
  • International Panorama Council Conference Report 2024 (single-blind peer review)
  • Reviews (edited)
  • Reprints (edited)

Contributions need not be anonymized at the initial submission stage

Word limits

Scholarly Essays: Abstract up to 300 words plus 4 to 7 keywords (do not include title words); main text up to 10,000 words including notes, references, image captions, and author bio (in exceptional cases we can accommodate up to 15,000 words).

Visual & Creative Essays: Abstract up to 300 words plus 4 to 7 keywords (do not include title words); main text up to 5,000 words plus works cited; author biography up to 150 words. Contributions to this section may be more image-rich and may be shorter in word count.

Forum, Restoration, and Conference sections: Abstract up to 300 words plus 4 to 7 keywords (do not include title words); main text up to 5,000 words plus works cited; author biography up to 150 words.

Reviews: Title as the “[Book/Exhibition/Event] Review: [Title of Book/Exhibition/Event (plus author/maker name if applicable)]”; main text up to 3,000 words.

Reprints: Accompany the content to be reprinted with an original introduction, up to 1,500 words plus 4 to 7 keywords.

Manuscript Preparation & Formatting
Please use MS Word.docx file format if possible. If you don’t have access to MS Word, use Google.docs to prepare as a .docx file.

All submissions must be formatted in compliance with the PIMS Style Sheet, and the PIMS Manuscript Template, and the Chicago Manual of Style 18th Edition.

Download and use the PIMS-ManuscriptTemplate as your starting point; follow all instructions and examples provided therein. Again, if you do not have access to MS Word, we recommend composing as a .docx file in Google docs.
Also, download the PIMS Yearbook v3 StyleSheet and refer to it as you work.

Images
Only include images that are central and necessary to your argument; do not include images solely for the purposes of illustration.

Contributions to the Visual and Creative Essays and Reviews sections can be more image-rich.

All images must be accompanied by in-text image callouts. Images not referred to in the text, e.g. without callouts, cannot be published.

Contributions to the Visual and Creative Essays and Reviews sections may not require image in-text callouts

Image files are not required upon initial submission. However, we strongly recommend gathering print-ready image files now, so that if accepted for publication you will be prepared to move forward. Minimum specifications for file size and quality:

  • 7 in / 17 cm in longest dimension
  • 300 dpi (600 dpi preferred)

If your contribution is accepted for publication, you will be required to provide legal proof of image permissions for each image, even open source images. Now is a good time to begin gathering that information.

Contributions for v3 are due 3 October 2025

Send inquiries and contributions to pimsyearbookipc [at] gmail [dot] com

PIMS Yearbook at De Gruyter Oldenbourg

Contact Information

Executive Editors

  • Dr. Molly Briggs, School of Art & Design, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
  • Prof. Dr. Thorsten Logge, Universität Hamburg, Germany
  • Nicholas C. Lowe, Professor, John H. Bryan Chair of Historic Preservation, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA

Contact Email: pimsyearbookipc@gmail.com

CFP: NeuroGLAM 2025

The members of Neuro-GLAM-orous Canada invite you to participate in their third annual free online conference.

August 22nd 2025 — Online

9 AM – 1 PM Pacific Standard Time
12 PM – 4 PM Eastern Standard Time
1 PM – 5 PM Atlantic Standard Time

What is Neuro-GLAM-orous Canada?
Neuro-GLAM-orous Canada emerged from the success and elevated feelings around the Ontario College and University Library Association’s 2022 Neurodiversity in the Library conference when it was seen just how badly there needs to be a place for neurodivergent gallery, library, archive, and museum workers in Canada to share their interests, experiences, research, and support.

Conceived of as part professional, self-advocacy, and support group, Neuro-GLAM-orous Canada is still in its early stages and primarily organizes on our Discord server (you can contact Ben Mitchell (bemitchell@tru.ca<mailto:bemitchell@tru.ca>) for an invite link).

Potential Topics:
The theme of this year’s conference is neurodiversity, GLAM, fascism, and its discontents. Presentations and panels may relate to, but are not limited to:

Research, professional work, and ongoing projects related to the theme.
Personal accounts of being neurodivergent in GLAM spaces in the context of eugenic and authoritarian cultures, practices, and laws.
How GLAM professions have historically resisted or facilitated fascism in different contexts or are currently resisting or facilitating it.
Surveillance and ableism in GLAM professions.

For those interested, the conference will conclude with a “Five Minute Fascinators” event where participants are invited to talk about a special interest for five minutes and why they think it is so interesting.

After the conference there will be a channel created on the Neuro-GLAM-orous Canada Discord server for ongoing discussions and follow up to discussions raised during the event and where links to recordings will be posted.

Guidelines
We invite proposals for individual presentations as well as for panel submissions. Presentations and panel discussions can be pre-recorded or delivered live.

For individual presentations, please submit an abstract of no more than around 2500 characters (approximately 400 words) a presentation title, a brief biographical statement (including pronouns if you feel comfortable doing so), contact information, and any potential trigger warnings for your presentation. You may also indicate the expected length of your presentation (10 minutes or 20 minutes max).

For complete panels, please submit a panel abstract of no more than 2500 characters (approximately 400 words) as well as a list of all participants and brief biographical statements (including pronouns if you feel comfortable doing so). Please identify (up to three panelists and one moderator) and provide participants’ contact information for the panel organizer.

At Neuro-GLAM-erous Canada we believe that the personal and professional are political, and encourage participants to think of themselves as whole beings. The sphere of vulnerability this creates will require tact and understanding. While this is a space to learn and be vulnerable, harassment, bigotry, and bad-faith actors will not be tolerated.

Proposals can be submitted to neuroglamcon@gmail.com<mailto:neuroglamcon@gmail.com>

Any questions can be directed to Ben Mitchell at bemitchell@tru.ca<mailto:bemitchell@tru.ca>

Proposal deadline: July 31st 2025

SHARP Annual Bibliography 2024

SHARP, the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing has compiled a bibliography of 2024 publications related to book, reading, and publishing history.

See also past bibliographies.

Ideas from oral history colleagues for a 4th edition of The Oral History Reader

Dear oral history colleague/s

We – myself and Alexander Freund – seek your expert advice, and would like to share your suggestions about oral history writings with colleagues, as appropriate, through H-OralHist.

We have been contracted by Routledge to edit a fourth edition of The Oral History Reader, which was first published in 1998 (Rob Perks, who co-edited the first three editions with Alistair, has decided to take a more back seat role in the fourth edition, as a founding editor). 

We are seeking your suggestions about oral history journal articles, or book chapters or extracts, published from 2015 on, that we might consider for inclusion in the fourth edition. We are looking for well-written pieces from the last decade that use oral history in original and imaginative ways, that include especially insightful reflections about aspects of oral history theory and method, and that would work for an international English-language readership that includes oral history students, researchers and practitioners. 

You don’t need to tell us about articles in the major English language oral history journals (Oral History, Oral History Review, Oral History Forum, Studies in Oral History, and Words and Silences), or about chapters in the major oral history books series (Palgrave Macmillan, Oxford and Routledge) – as we’ll be reading everything in those book series and journal issues.

We are keen to include writings from across the oral world, and from the range of disciplines and practices that work with oral history. They might concern any aspect of oral history, though the publisher, and reader reports, urged us especially to include new writing about the following topics:

  • Remote interviewing
  • Audio and video interviewing
  • Developing an oral history project
  • New digital media formats (podcasting, soundscapes etc)
  • ‘Shared authority’ 
  • Oral history and artificial intelligence

We will probably use the same five-part structure for the Reader (Critical Developments, Interviewing, Interpreting Memories, Making Histories, and Advocacy and Empowerment) so ideally the writings will work within that scheme though they may of course work across different categories. 

Please also let us know about appropriate, exceptional oral history writings that have been published in languages other than English (we don’t have a budget for translation, but AI now makes it easier to do quick and rough translations so we can consider such pieces).

Finally, if you have used earlier editions of the Reader for teaching or in other ways, we’d love to hear your thoughts about the chapters in previous editions that are indispensable, and about chapters you think should be replaced by new writings. 

We look forward to hearing your thoughts through this group or, if you prefer, email privately to alistair.thomson@monash.edu and / or alexanderfreund9@gmail.com 

With best wishes, Alex and Al

CFP – Ephemera Society of America Conference

250 years: Ephemera Shapes America

Preamble 

On July 4, 2026, the United States will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. John Dunlap, a twenty-nine-year-old Irish immigrant, spent much of the night of July 4, 1776, hastily setting type and printing final copies of the single-sheet broadside of the Declaration. One was attached with a seal and folded into the Continental Congress manuscript journal after the words: “The Declaration being again read was agreed to as follows.” The others were distributed throughout the new United States to be read aloud in each of the 13 colonies and to the continental troops. Newspapers quickly published the contents. It is self-evident that ephemera played a pivotal role in the founding of our country. This broadside not only described the reasons for the country’s founding, it was also the means by which the public learned of our separation from Britain. Finding an original “Dunlap Broadside” continues to be the holy grail for collectors of American historical documents. Of the estimated 200 originally printed, twenty-six examples are known today. Most reside in institutions, including three at the National Archives, London. But copies have been unearthed in such places as Philadelphia’s famed Leary’s Book Store in 1968, in a crate that had not been opened since 1909. One, still in private hands, was discovered about twenty-five years ago behind a picture frame purchased for $4 at a Pennsylvania flea market.

Request for Proposals:

This historic anniversary is an apt moment for examining how ephemera played a key role not only in our founding, but also during the significant political events and social movements that make up our nation’s history.  Ephemera has helped to ignite, inform, commemorate, and reflect such events as the Civil War, the abolition of slavery, the Western land rush, the Centennial celebration, women’s suffrage, the World Wars, the Second Red Scare, counterculture movements in the 60s and activist activities today. Sometimes, ephemera serves as primary evidence. Without such survivors as hand-written accounts, photos, news clippings, and maps to establish the historical record, we might not know of the existence of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street and the tragic Race Massacre of 1921.

We invite submissions for talks at our 2026 conference in March on how ephemera has shaped and mirrored the major events and movements that have marked America’s growth. These presentations should be richly illustrated and supported by ephemera. Examples include: broadsides, posters, pamphlets, handbills, leaflets, newspaper articles, trade cards, billheads, letterheads, photographs, scrapbooks, diaries, circulars, brochures, booklets, signs, correspondence, playbills, menus, ration books, tickets, postcards, draft cards, arm bands, and buttons. 

Ephemera 46, the Ephemera Society of America (ESA) annual conference, will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, Connecticut, on March 20, 2026. 

Each presentation will be 30 minutes in length, followed by a brief Q&A.  Please submit the following:

  • Presentation title and a written abstract, focusing on the way ephemera tells the story of your chosen topic. Please describe the specific types of ephemera you will use to illustrate your topic. Each presentation needs to feature at least three different types of ephemera. Proposals should not exceed 150 words.
  • 5 to 6 representative ephemera images 
  • A one-paragraph biography, including any affiliations
  • A jpg photograph of yourself for publicity purposes
  • Mailing address, phone number and e-mail address

Following a review of all proposals, finalists may be asked to submit 10 to 15 images of the types of ephemera that will be used to illustrate their talk. Proposals must be submitted via e-mail or post by September 15, 2025, to:

Barbara Loe, Ephemera 46 Conference Chair

e-mail: bjloe@earthlink.net or

post: Ephemera Society of America, Inc., P.O. Box 95, Cazenovia, NY 13035-0095.

Decisions and notification about proposals will be made by November 30, 2025. Presenters will be requested to sign a release at the time of acceptance allowing their presentation to be filmed for use by the ESA.

If selected, a draft PowerPoint presentation must be submitted by February 28, 2026. The final presentation must be submitted by March 12, 2026. Presentations must include 25 or more ephemera images. At this time, funding is not available from ESA to support travel or presentation costs. 

ESA is eager to expand the use of ephemera in the classroom, and we encourage presentations on all subjects addressing the use of ephemera in teaching and academic research. We encourage undergraduate and graduate students to submit proposals for the Emerging Scholars Program to be held on Thursday afternoon, March 19th.  For more information, please see “Emerging Scholars” under the “Discover” tab on our website:  www.ephemerasociety.org

Call for Chapter Proposals: Navigating Archival Backlogs: Strategies for Success

Title: Navigating Archival Backlogs: Strategies for Success
Editors: Heather Gilbert, College of Charleston and Claudia F. Willett, Stanford University
Publisher: Bloomsbury

We are excited to invite chapter proposals for Navigating Archival Backlogs: Strategies for Success, a double-blind peer reviewed edited volume to be published by Bloomsbury. Please email the editors at navigatingarchivalbacklogs@gmail.com with any questions.

About the Book

Nearly every archive has an accessioning and/or processing backlog.  It is an almost universal truth accepted by the profession. This situation reflects long-standing issues in the profession: limited staffing, resourcing, space, and institutional support. We know the consequences of archival backlogs: they prevent accessibility and discoverability of our collections and, therefore, our history, and they contribute to archival silences and obstruct researchers. However, the practical and physical extent of this problem is often left undiscussed, and the residual issues are left unaddressed. 

This edited volume will provide contemporary case studies of the development and implementation of successful backlog reduction strategies. It will address a range of backlog material types (including both physical and digital backlogs) and a spectrum of resource availability (including institutions with little to no budget to address their backlog issue). Readers should come away fortified with practical and accessible solutions that they can use to address their specific backlog problem(s). 

Call for Chapter Proposals

Proposals are invited from individuals working in archival and cultural heritage institutions who have experience navigating, working with, managing, or addressing archival backlogs. Case studies and exploratory research are invited and welcome, as are essays that incorporate scholarly writing with personal narratives. Final chapters should be between 2,500 – 5,000 words. All selected chapters will undergo double-blind peer review prior to publication. This is not an exhaustive list, so do not feel limited by the following suggested topics.

Section 1: Physical backlog strategies

Themes for this section could include: 

  • Processing, accessioning, deaccessioning, and/or proactive collecting practices and strategies as a function of backlog management.
  • “More product, less process” processing style (MPLP) and/or extensible/efficient processing as a means of addressing a backlog.
  • Backlog workflow creation, implementation, and management and/or software and/or tools used in these processes.   

Section 2: Digital backlog strategies

Themes for this section could include: 

  • Born digital processing, accessioning, deaccessioning, and/or proactive collecting practices and strategies as a function of digital backlog management.
  • Building cross departmental collaborations and workflows.
  • Software and/or tools used in addressing digital backlogs.

Section 3: Hybrid backlog strategies

Themes for this section could include: 

  • Discussion of the extent of hybrid collections (and their backlogs) and the unique challenges they present
  • Resource and knowledge sharing that leverage collaborative solutions
  • Personnel proficiency requirements for successful hybrid backlog resolution.

Section 4: Leadership & Management 

Themes for this section could include: 

  • Change management related to backlog management
  • Large scale project management for backlogs
  • Conflict resolution and personnel and donor management as related to backlog issues
  • Impacts of having an archival backlog

Proposal Instructions

Please submit your proposals using the Call for Chapter Proposals Google Form by June 2, 2025. The proposal should include all contributing authors, a working title, 3-5 keywords describing your proposed topic, which book section you believe your proposal fits best, and a description of your proposed chapter that does not exceed 500 words.  

Authors will be notified of acceptance by August 15, 2025. See below for the full project timeline. Please email the editors at navigatingarchivalbacklogs@gmail.com with any questions.

Project Timeline

  • CFP closes June 2, 2025
  • Authors notified of acceptance by August 15, 2025
  • Chapter outlines sent to editor by September 15, 2025
  • First drafts due January 1, 2026
  • Draft reviews completed and feedback provided to authors by March 2, 2026
  • Final drafts due April 1, 2026
  • Publication anticipated August 2026