New Issue: Museum Worlds

VI. Book Reviews
Dóra Bobory, Anamaría Rojas Múnera, Dan Spock, Brian Yang, Conal Mccarthy, Anthony Alan Shelton, Anna Woodham, Kirsty Kernohan, Varda Nisar, Jorunn Jernsletten, Anne Malmendier, Arnar Árnason, Yi Zheng, and Lanzhou Luo

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CFP: IPRES 2025

Call for Contributions

We are excited to invite peer-reviewed contributions for iPRES 2025, the premier international conference on digital preservation. We will make a further call for ad-hoc contributions in June 2025.

iPRES 2025 will take place in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), Aotearoa (New Zealand), from 3-7 November 2025, and will offer a combination of in-person and virtual participation opportunities. We warmly invite contributions from researchers, practitioners, and organisations across the globe who are involved in the field of digital preservation.

The themes for iPRES 2025 are: Haerenga (Journey), Tūtaki (Encounter), and Tūhono (Connect). These themes encourage reflections on the evolving practices, innovations and partnerships shaping the future of digital preservation. Each theme reinforces the others, creating a holistic view of how digital preservation research and practice can adapt, innovate and thrive.

Haerenga (Journey) – This theme focuses on the broader narrative of digital preservation, emphasising the ongoing processes, challenges, and learning experiences practitioners face.
Tūtaki (Encounter) – This theme is focused on innovation, disruption, and the re-evaluation of long-held norms.
Tūhono (Connect) – This theme is all about the importance of communities, collaboration and interdisciplinary work in digital preservation.

You can read more about the conference themes, and examples of topics that relate to the themes here.

Types of Contributions

This is a call for the submission types that will be peer-reviewed:

Full Papers: In-depth research papers, technical papers, or case studies (max 8 pages).
Short Papers: Concise reports on work-in-progress or emerging topics (max 4 pages).
Workshops: Interactive, hands-on sessions focusing on tools, methods, or best practices.
Tutorials: Educational sessions or demonstrations aimed at teaching participants new skills or technologies relevant to digital preservation. Tutorials should be structured to provide a clear learning outcome and can range from beginner to advanced levels.
Panels: Discussions addressing key issues or trends in digital preservation.
Posters: Visual presentations of projects or ideas, encouraging one-on-one engagement.

In June 2025 we will have a call for non-peer reviewed submission types (Lightning Talks, Birds of a Feather, Games, etc.) and for participation in a Digital Preservation Bake-Off. These ad-hoc submissions will go through a light internal assessment that will be detailed on the conference website.

You can find the submission instructions, including the link to the online submission portal here.

Evaluation Criteria

Submissions will be peer-reviewed based on the following criteria:

Relevance to the conference themes
Originality, innovation, and contribution to the field of digital preservation
Clarity and organisation of ideas
Significance for the digital preservation field and impact on the community

Important Dates for Peer-Reviewed Contributions

Submission deadline: 14 April 2025, End of Day, Anywhere on Earth (No planned extension of date)
Notification of acceptance: 2 June 2025

You can find a more detailed version of important dates here.

Diversity and Accessibility

iPRES 2025 values manaakitanga – kindness, respect, and hospitality towards others. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. We strongly encourage contributions from Indigenous and underrepresented voices in the digital preservation community.

Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, the conference venue for iPRES 2025, has been designed and built to be accessible for everyone. You can find more information about Accessibility at iPRES 2025 both for in-person and remote participants here.

AI Usage

In recognition of the potential benefits and increasing use of AI tools, iPRES 2025 permits their usage, under the conditions outlined in these guidelines . These guidelines are designed to help maintain the integrity and quality of iPRES publications while allowing the beneficial use of AI tools. They are informed by guidelines from international organisations and publishers regarding the use of AI.

Conference Proceedings and Publication

After the conference, all iPRES 2025 submissions will be made openly available online in one or more forms:

Submission Types	Conference Proceedings (in Phaidra)			Openly published (OSF, etc.)
Submission Types	Individual citable document	As part of summary abstract book	As part of aggregated submissions	Openly published (OSF, etc.)
Full & short Papers, Posters	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (with presentations)
Workshops, Tutorials, Panels	No	Yes	Yes	Yes (with presentations)
Ad hoc formats (Lightning Talks, Games, etc.)	No	No	No	Yes (with presentations)

Contact Information

For questions or support regarding the submission process, please contact us.

CFP: Request for Speakers: Libraries in Unexpected Places – 2025 ALA LHRT Research Forum (Library History Round Table)

Libraries are not confined to traditional institutions; they exist in a myriad of unexpected places, serving diverse communities in innovative ways. From lighthouses and artists’ studios to mobile book vans and digital platforms, libraries continue to evolve, offering knowledge and resources in creative and unconventional settings. This call for papers seeks to explore the rich and often overlooked world of libraries that exist outside the norm—whether in remote villages, repurposed structures, personal collections, or virtual spaces.

We invite scholars, librarians, historians, and researchers from various disciplines to present their research at the 2025 LHRT Research Forum, which will focus on how libraries in unexpected places serve communities, preserve history, and expand access to knowledge. The forum aims to highlight historical studies of library outreach and development, including 20th and 21st-century topics. Single-case studies, theoretical perspectives, and other approaches are welcomed, but use of primary sources is expected. Each speaker will be asked to present for approximately 20 minutes, with a 10-minute Q&A to follow.

To accommodate as many attendees as possible, the 2025 Research Forum will be held virtually after the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition, on Wednesday, July 23, 2:00-3:30 EST.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

Libraries in Unconventional Spaces

Libraries and library collections housed in unique buildings or premises.
Personal and private libraries with public impact.
Community-based initiatives such as Little Free Libraries and other book-sharing projects.
Rural and mobile libraries that reach remote and underserved populations.

Library Outreach and Collaboration

Librarians bringing books and services to nontraditional settings.
Novel partnerships between libraries and other institutions and organizations.
Efforts to preserve and document library collections that exist outside formal institutions.

Access Beyond Physical Spaces

Online and open-access libraries in areas lacking traditional library services.
Hybrid models that combine physical and digital library services to reach broader audiences.
The role of technology in expanding knowledge beyond geographic and economic barriers.

Submission Guidelines:

We welcome submissions from a variety of perspectives, including historical studies, case studies, ethnographic research, theoretical analyses, and reflective essays. We will consider research projects already underway or, if at the beginning of the project, a discussion of new methodologies to be used in the work. Please note that projects or project plans should include a primary source research component.

Each proposal must include the paper title, an abstract (up to 500 words), and the presenter’s one-page vita. Please indicate in the abstract whether the research is in progress or completed.
Proposals are due March 15, and decisions will be communicated shortly thereafter.
Completed papers are due May 31.

Please submit proposals and direct inquiries to Jennifer Bartlett, LHRT Vice Chair/Research Committee Chair, at jen.bartlett@uky.edu.

We encourage interdisciplinary approaches and diverse voices to contribute to this exciting exploration of libraries in unexpected places. If you have a unique perspective or case study that falls outside these categories but aligns with the theme, we welcome your proposal! We look forward to your submissions and to celebrating the vast and varied ways libraries continue to inspire, adapt, and serve.

Research Committee Members:

Jennifer Bartlett

Bernadette Lear

Catherine Minter

Deborah Smith

Rachel Trnka

CFP: Histories of Disabilities and Living Spaces from Ancient to Modern Worlds

Histories of Disabilities and Living Spaces from Ancient to Modern Worlds

Royal Holloway’s Bodies and Material Culture Research Group invites papers for a one-day workshop in Central London on histories of disabilities and living spaces from the ancient to the modern world. The relationship between historical actors with physical and mental disabilities and the places they live is complex, with embodied experiences and the material world offering scope for both agency and frustration. Drawing on the recent expansion in histories of disabilities across ancient, medieval, early modern and modern studies, this workshop applies this new critical approach to the study of past living spaces. The workshop will focus on how people with physical impairments, mental illness, chronic illness, degenerative, and age-related conditions (including any intersection of the above) interacted with historic domestic environments. The workshop will use comparative histories – from the ancient past to the contemporary present – to look at similarities and differences across time and space. We will explore new methodologies for interpreting embodied experiences, drawing on ideas of co-production and participatory research. We aim to further shared understandings of lived experiences, and to explore how these might be represented in public histories and heritage.

Keynote Speakers: Kyle Jordan (Independent Curator and Researcher) and India Whiteley (QMUL)

Papers might address, but are not limited to, the experience of people with disabilities, chronic or mental illness, degenerative, and/or age-related conditions (including any intersection of the above) in relation to the following themes:

The planning, design, building and adaptation of living spaces
Embodiment and the interaction of bodies with domestic material culture
Development of historic assistive technologies and therapies
Household structures and hierarchies e.g. Roman households and their extended family members, early modern apprentice households, nuclear families including: development of support networks; exploitation and/or abuse
Changing patterns of individual, family and collective residence e.g. monasteries or schools
Identification with domestic space and home as an emotional construct
New approaches to interpreting historic embodied experiences e.g. participatory research or co-production
Methods and source materials that reveal living spaces including archaeological, textual, legislative, visual and material
Strategies for representing historical actors in domestic heritage

The workshop will take place on Tuesday June 24th 2025 at Senate House, University of London. Please send proposals (300 word abstract and 100 word biography) to Jane Hamlett jane.hamlett@rhul.ac.uk and Hannah Platts Hannah.platts@rhul.ac.uk by March 31st. We welcome proposals from those at all career stages of academia, independent scholars, heritage and museum professionals. Papers can be presented in person or online.

Contact Information

Jane Hamlett

Contact Email

jane.hamlett@rhul.ac.uk

URL

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and-education/research/research-enviro…

New Issue: ESARBICA Journal: Journal of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives

ESARBICA Journal: Journal of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives, Vol. 43 (2024)
(open access)

Editorial
Segomotso M Keakopa, Mehluli Masuku

Digital records management in the banking industry within the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives region
Nna Motlhasedi

A South African perspective on data privacy in consumer Internet of Things
Mfanasibili Ngwenya, Mpho Ngoepe

Modernising records management in selected commercial banks in Uganda
challenges and strategies
Francis Ekwaro, David Luyombya

Perceptions of staff at the University of Dar es Salaam on establishing an archival repository
Iddy A Ndimbo , Evans F Wema

The ‘invisible hand’ of archives and records management in the Malawi 2063 vision
McDonald Mike Baluti

Government AI readiness in the ESARBICA community
findings from the Oxford Insights AI Readiness Index 2022
Liah Shonhe, Qingfei Min, Ritha Phuti

Artificial intelligence to support public digital archiving in South Africa
Mashilo Thomas Modiba, Ngoako Solomon Marutha

Management of cartographic archives in Namibia
Beauty Matongo, Wilson Yule

Trustworthiness of digital records in the public sector of Zimbabwe
Munyika Sibanda, Isabel Schellnack-Kelly

Legal and institutional issues for the management of electronic records at an archival institution in Zimbabwe
Godfrey Tsvuura, Patrick Ngulube

Implementation of records management provisions of archival legislation in the provincial departments of Limpopo province, South Africa
Ouma Malatji, Ngoako Solomon Marutha

Digital curation of records at the National Archives of Zambia
Abel M’kulama, Tuesday Bwalya

The state of records management at the University of Zimbabwe
Njabulo Bruce Khumalo, Samson Mutsagondo, Tafadzwa Zawi

nnovative provision of archival services at the National Archives of Zimbabwe during and post Covid-19 era
Peterson Dewah, Felizada Mudzaki, Kudakwashe Tonhodzai

JCLIS Special Issue – Strike Wave: Changing Tides of Labor Organizing in Libraries and Information Fields

CfP Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies (JCLIS) Special Issue

Strike Wave: Changing Tides of Labor Organizing in Libraries and Information Fields

Guest Editors: Dr. Britt Paris, Emma May

This special issue aims to engage in a conversation on how concerns of labor, precarity, and economic forces more broadly take shape within information ecosystems and library and information professions. In the midst of record inflation, an ongoing global pandemic, and increasingly precarious occupational conditions, labor organizing is on the rise in the United States, culminating in ongoing strike actions across industries. The global discourse around such organizing efforts has become more prominent, as social movements around reproductive justice, gender liberation, and protests challenging systemic racism and policing primed the broader public for thinking critically about power and oppression. In alignment with increased interest and participation in labor organizing across industries, knowledge sectors—such as libraries and higher education—are undergoing a shift towards increased unionization and labor organizing efforts. Through both deft online and offline outreach efforts, workers have highlighted how interconnected issues such as record inflation, stagnant wages, and the rampant defunding of public services reflect broader systems of power and inequality.

Rather than simply questioning how inequalities arise within information ecosystems, it is crucial that the library and information science literature critically examine the political economic conditions that create these inequalities in the first place. In recent labor organizing efforts in libraries and beyond, workers have made clear how struggles for economic, racial, gender, and disability justice are interconnected. Therefore, it has become increasingly important to explore intersectional analyses of information and information systems with attention to their economic dimensions—which include questions of labor.

We invite practitioners and researchers to send proposals for exploratory or other experimental and nontraditional works, short papers (no more than 4000 words), and traditional research papers that explore various perspectives on issues of labor as they relate to library and information studies. We greatly encourage contributions from library workers and from scholars outside the library and information studies field. Contributions may include, but are not limited to, topics such as:

– Unionization in libraries
– Worker-led and worker-centered organizing around technology such as generative AI
– Undercommons of librarianship, the importance of insurgency, and how we might build liberatory alternatives in the face of ongoing institutional oppression
– History of professionalization in libraries
– The intersectional dimensions of precarity within library work
– Information access in the face of contemporary informational capitalism (e.g., large-scale boycotts, alternative publishing avenues, regulating data collection and use)
– The use of online and offline media (e.g., memes, Discord, zines, etc.) to initiate and engage in conversations about issues relevant to library workers
– Political education within LIS curricula and professional development

Potential contributors should submit a 500-word abstract (which excludes references), and the contact information of the corresponding author to Dr. Britt Paris (britt.paris@rutgers.edu) and Emma May (emma.may@rutgers.edu).

If an abstract is selected, the author(s) will be invited to submit their work to the journal. It should be noted that the acceptance of an abstract does not guarantee publication in JCLIS, given that all manuscripts will go through a peer review process.

Tod Rutherford, “The Labor of Strikes: Unions, Workers, and the 2023 US Strike Wave,” Human Geography 17, no. 2 (July 1, 2024): 220–26, https://doi.org/10.1177/19427786241227171; Drew DeSilver, “2023 Saw Some of the Biggest, Hardest-Fought Labor Disputes in Recent Decades,” Pew Research Center (blog), January 4, 2024, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/01/04/2023-saw-some-of-the-biggest-hardest-fought-labor-disputes-in-recent-decades/.

James B. Thelen, “A New Era of Union Activism in Higher Ed,” Inside Higher Ed, March 15, 2023, https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2023/03/15/new-era-union-activism-higher-ed-opinion; Diana Castillo and Kelly McElroy, “Solidarity Is for Librarians: Lessons from Organizing – In the Library with the Lead Pipe,” Solidarity Is for Librarians: Lessons from Organizing (blog), August 24, 2022, https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2022/solidarity/.

CFP: 2025 SAA Research Forum

MAY 2 DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS FOR THE SAA RESEARCH FORUM

On behalf of the 2025 Research Forum Committee, we invite you to submit abstracts (of 300 words or fewer) for either 10-minute platform presentations or 5-minute lightning talks. Topics may address research on, or innovations in, any aspect of archives practice or records management in government, corporate, academic, scientific, or other settings.

The 2025 Research Forum will be conducted as two Zoom-based virtual sessions, each four hours long, on July 23 from 12:00 – 4:00 pm CT and July 30, 12:00 – 4:00 pm CT.

The 2025 Research Forum will be made up of 10-minute platform presentations and 5-minute lightning talks, extended from 3 minutes. A limited number of presentations will be accepted to allow for longer presentation times, extended Q&A periods, and opportunities for discussion between attendees. An abstract submission rubric will be used by the Committee to evaluate submissions. The 2025 Research Forum webpage provides additional information about the schedule and links to past Forum proceedings.

We invite presentations on research results that may have emerged since the 2024 Joint Annual Meeting Call for Proposals deadline, as well as reports on research completed within the past three years that are relevant and valuable for discussion as defined by the rubric. On the submission form, please indicate whether you intend a platform presentation or a lightning talk. See the full call here: https://www2.archivists.org/am2025/research-forum-2025.

The Research Forum Committee and CORDA encourage submissions on a range of topics, which may include:

Global challenges and their implications for archives and archivists, such as climate change, armed conflicts, environmental disaster, and human rights;
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (EDISJ) as a core value for archives and archivists;
Collaborating across domains-archives, libraries, galleries, and museums;
Repository-level data: how archives measure their output, outcomes, and activities over time;
Centering users in the design of archival systems for discovery; and/or,
Building audiences to increase the impact of archives on society.

These themes can be found in the SAA Research and Innovation Roadmap (v1.4).

Abstracts will be evaluated by the 2025 Research Forum Committee convened by Chris Marino (Stanford University) and Emily Lapworth (Kennedy Presidential Library).

Deadline for submission of abstracts: May 2, 2025. You will be notified of the Committee’s decision by June 2, 2025.

Proposals should be submitted here.

CFP: Association for Gravestone Studies Annual Conference

Association for Gravestone Studies Annual Conference – June 17-22, 2025, York College of Pennsylvania, York, PA

Call for Papers, Presentations, Student Posters, and Student Fellowships – Submission deadline March 31, 2025

The Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS) is an international organization that promotes the serious study of gravestones and cemeteries from historical and artistic perspectives, educates and expands public awareness of the significance of historic gravestones and burial landscapes, and encourages individuals and groups to document and research gravestones and historic cemeteries. Recent scholarly presenters have come from the fields of history, African-American studies, archaeology, cultural studies, libraries and archives, historic preservation, public history, religious studies, art history, material culture, anthropology, and art. Professionals include conservators, cemetery directors, monument company personnel, state and local historic preservation officers, and historic site managers. AGS welcomes presentation and paper proposals from graduate students, emerging and independent scholars, and advocational researchers as well as established scholars and AGS members. This year students have the opportunity to submit proposals for a student-only poster session. In addition, advanced graduate students may apply for one of two conference fellowships to present their research.

Contact Information

Dr. Perky Beisel, pbeisel@sfasu.edu

History Dept., Stephen F. Austin State University

President, Association for Gravestone Studies

Contact Email

info@gravestonestudies.org

URL

https://www.gravestonestudies.org/conferences/2025-conference-york-pa

Article Discussion: Teaching with Primary Sources Subcommittee

The Teaching with Primary Sources Subcommittee of the Reference, Access and Outreach Section would like to invite you to an article discussion on Friday, March 21 at 1:00 PM (EDT)/12:00 PM (CDT)/11:00 AM (MDT)/10:00 AM (PDT). We will be discussing the new article “It’s So Liberating To Do The Work: Education In Archives Creates Space For People With Disabilities” by Jen Hoyer and Julia Pelaez. To register for this event, please sign up here: TPS Article Discussion March 2025.

CFP: for Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) events

The Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) is currently inviting proposals for events that will take place between June 2025 and August 2025. The deadline for applications is April 1 2025

The BSA can offer financial and logistical support for a variety of events, including lectures, panel presentations, hands-on workshops, conference sessions, or other online or in-person events. Examples of past and upcoming events can be found here. Please reach out to the Events Committee if you have questions about event formats, financial support, or topics.

In all BSA events, the material text – that is, handwritten, printed, or other textual or visual artifacts, broadly conceived – as historical evidence, and/or the theory and practice of descriptive, historical, and/or critical bibliography, should be a central concern to participants and organizers.

BSA requests a general overview of the content of sessions and a short bio for presenters as well as information about the budget, promotion, and general organization of the event. For full details about the application process, and to submit an application, please visit the following webpage: https://bibsocamer.org/events/funding-opportunities

For additional questions or queries, please contact events@bibsocamer.org.

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