Category: Call for Presentations

CFP: 5th Biennial GSISC 2026

Existence is Our Resistance

How do the very acts of being, knowing, and communicating outside of normative frameworks create new forms of information, alternative archives, and innovative approaches? How do diverse gender and sexual identities illuminate biases in existing information practices and inspire more just and equitable futures?

Librarians, archivists, and information workers are on the frontlines of the assault on free speech, academic freedom, dissent, DEI, and the intellectual and creative foundations of social equity. As we convene in 2026 for the fifth Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies Colloquium (GSISC), we seek to explore and celebrate the myriad ways in which lived realities, information practices, and intellectual contributions of queer, trans, non-binary, and other gender and sexually diverse individuals inherently challenge, disrupt, and transform the information landscape in this challenging time.

The GSISC planning committee invites you to join us June 17 and 18 for a virtual gathering to foster community and connection as we confront forces that seek to erase our existence, honor the legacies of the movements before us, and work to collectively imagine liberatory futures into being: we are everywhere. We welcome proposals that address a range of topics on how we nurture resistance in our profession, with consideration for its locus among the intersections of gender, queerness, race, and sexuality.

Questions and considerations might include, but are not limited to:

Existence as Resistance

Queer Realities

  • Affect in the body
  • Entering the LIS profession in 2026
  • Where can we work: navigating the assault on intellectual freedom and free speech

Self-care/Collective-care

  • Coming out whole on the other side: surviving the present wave of authoritarianism
  • Protecting our peace: stepping up and stepping back as strategic defenses
  • Loving the work when the work doesn’t love you back

Resistance as Existence

Misinformation, Disinformation, Censorship, and Freedom of Expression

  • Identifying silences, gaps, and lies in dominant information landscapes
  • Activating/archiving alternative information resources
  • Working outside of/against the establishment: providing information in defiance of institutional compliance
  • Teaching and mentorship in LIS graduate education in this liminal time

Know Your Rights

  • The right to resist: addressing rights information as an information literacy issue
  • Protest and the right to privacy on college campuses
  • Labor organizing and collective action, within and without unions

Submit your proposal: forms.gle/Uc9G3ofbvZxzCnoZA 

Please direct any questions or concerns to GSISC2026@gmail.com. Please note that we are a fully volunteer run conference. While we staff our inbox, sometimes we may take a few days to get back to you.

Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies Colloquium (GSISC) logo by Bernadette Floresca.

Important dates

Deadline for proposals – February 27, 2026

Notification of acceptance – March 31, 2026

Registration opens* – April 13, 2026

Colloquium dates – June 17 and 18, 2026, Noon – 4pm (EST) each day

*Rates: Please note there will be a modest registration fee for this event, 

Note: Further logistics will be unfolding.

The Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies Colloquium emerged from the Litwin Books and Library Juice Press Series on Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies, and was founded by the series founding editor, Emily Drabinski. The first GSISC colloquium was held in 2014, inspired in part by the Feminist and Queer Information Studies Reader (2013). Its aim was to respond to the challenges posed by critical perspectives on gender and sexuality in our field. This gathering seeks to create an inclusive space for difficult, fruitful conversations that foreground gender, sexuality, and the body, with consideration for libraries and cultural heritage institutions as sites of both liberation and oppression. The colloquium intends to foster dialogue among librarians, archivists, and information workers on our profession and its locus among the intersections of gender, queerness, race, sexuality, and the freedom to exist and thrive in our bodies.

CFP: Treasures of Jewish Material Culture: Living Archives of Memory, Heritage, and Research in the Middle East and North Africa

The Ben Zvi Institute in Jerusalem invites scholars to submit proposals for a day-and-atwo-day-half conference, to be held in Jerusalem on March 29–30, 2026. This conference will explore the rich material legacy of Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa, examining how these tangible remnants serve as living archives of social, cultural, and historical experience. 

Although today only a few Jewish communities remain in the Middle East and North Africa, the region preserves a rich and multifaceted Jewish past. This heritage is embodied in an extensive array of material culture, including hundreds of synagogues and cemeteries, and countless Judaica items and textual sources dispersed across Arab and Islamic countries.These materials are not static relics; they form part of a living archive, a dynamic and tangible conduit through which the histories and experiences of Jewish communities can be reinterpreted within their lived environments and the social, cultural, political, and historical dynamics thatshaped them and continue to reshape them. The study and preservation of this living archive emerges within the broader context of minority rights and cultural heritage in the region, though this conference will focus specifically on Jewish heritage itself rather than minority issues more broadly. 

Building on this perspective, the dynamic character of the living archive is continually reinforced, as ongoing discoveries and studies of archives, sites, and genizot further underscore its vitality. It is a continually evolving repository, offering invaluable sources for both qualitative and quantitative research across disciplines. Beyond their historical significance, these materials are vital for understanding how Jewish heritage is preserved, reused, and reinterpreted within local cultural practices and public discourse today—usually taking place through government institutions and civil-society organizations—most of whom are not Jewish and who regard the products of Jewish culture as part of the local culture. 

The conference invites contributions that explore, but are not limited to, the following themes: 

  • Mapping Jewish Material Culture: aesthetics, spatial organization, and reinterpretations of Jewish-Muslim relations 
  • Jewish Sites as Spaces of Memory: synagogues, cemeteries, and public heritage sites 
  • Libraries, Genizot, and Papyri: archival discoveries and the study of Jewish life in MENA 
  • Contemporary Responsibilities: preservation and legal status of Jewish sites, Judaica, and cultural heritage in modern Arab states  
  • Nationalism and Identity: the positioning of Jewish heritage within national narratives 
  • Repurposing and Reuse: adaptive uses of Jewish sites and Judaica in contemporary contexts 

Each talk will be 20 minutes long, followed by a discussion. 

Interested participants should submit a 300-word abstract and a short biography to: via this link  by November 9, 2025.

Questions may be directed at Ms. Sandra Furtos:  Sandra@ybz.org.il  The conference will be conducted primarily in Hebrew, with several lectures in English. Proposals may be submitted in either language.

CFP: Popular Culture Association Libraries, Archives, and Museums

The Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (https://pcaaca.org/) annual conference will be held April 8-11, 2026, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia. Scholars from a wide variety of disciplines will meet to share their Popular Culture research and interests.

The Libraries, Archives & Museums area is soliciting papers dealing with any aspect of Popular Culture as it pertains to libraries, archives, museums, or related areas. Possible topics include:

  • Descriptions of research collections or exhibits
  • Developments in technical services for collecting/preserving popular culture materials
  • Using popular culture materials in education programs and/or information literacy
  • Analyses of social networking or web resources
  • Challenges and bans on library materials and related attacks on libraries and personnel
  • Issues related to museum and archive repatriation
  • Representations of libraries, librarians, or museums in popular culture and media
  • The future of libraries and museums, including the effects of emerging technologies and generative AI on exhibits, collections, or services.

The deadline for submitting a proposal is November 30, 2025. Proposals may be submitted at https://pcaaca.org/page/submissionguidelines.

Please direct any questions to the area chair for Libraries, Archives & Museums, Beth Downey, at edowney@library.msstate.edu.

Contact Information

Elizabeth “Beth” Downey
Professor and Popular Culture Librarian
Mississippi State University Libraries
Mississippi State, MS 39762
662-325-3834
Contact Email: edowney@library.msstate.edu
URL: https://pcaaca.org/members/group.aspx?id=250621

CFP: Best Practices Exchange 2026

Best Practices Exchange 2026

Sustaining Best Practices: Humans Required

The Best Practices Exchange (BPE) Program Committee is now accepting session proposals for our next unconference, which will be held May 18-20, 2026, at Indiana University Indianapolis in Indianapolis, IN.

Submit your proposal via this short form (https://forms.gle/KphBNMQcnsSYrL8E7) by Friday, November 21, 2025. Acceptance notifications will be sent in January 2026.

About BPE

BPE is a community of practitioners in the area of the management and preservation of digital information who gather annually to share experiences and have honest conversations about our work. It is an unconference in the sense that we prioritize providing a safe space for active participation and peer-to-peer learning both in the sessions and outside of them. Speakers and attendees come from a variety of backgrounds, including government and university archivists, library and information science educators, technologists, special collection librarians, records managers, and product developers.

This year’s theme: Sustaining Best Practices – Humans Required

Since 2006, the Best Practices Exchange (BPE) has brought together practitioners to share ideas and strategies for managing, preserving, and providing access to digital information. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we invite you to join us in reflecting on what sustains the work we do and the people who do it.

For BPE 2026, we are seeking proposals that explore how we maintain and evolve “best practices” in a rapidly changing world. Possible topics include—but are not limited to:

  • The impacts of reduction in budgets and grant funding
    • How do we sustain digital work in a largely grant-funded world?
    • How do we advocate for funding to stakeholders? How do we justify the long-term funding commitment required to simply maintain and steward what we already have? 
  • Strategies for sustaining professional ethics in a shifting societal landscape
    • Navigating new laws and requirements (e.g. DEI changes, ADA Title II compliance)
    • Environmental impact of digital infrastructure
    • Keeping our professional ethics (i.e., ALA and SAA code of ethics) and judgement to align with changing technologies
    • Balancing our authentic selves and professional ethics while responding to emerging directives
  • The positive and negative impacts of AI on digital preservation and access
    • Practical applications 
    • Mitigating bias in AI algorithms 
    • AI as an enhancement of human intelligence – supporting professional expertise rather than replacing it
    • Navigating the tension between user access and protecting infrastructure against AI bots 
  • How do we sustain the people who do this work?
    • Strategies for addressing burnout, retention, and workload balance

Tips for creating a strong proposal

A strong proposal for BPE is one that is:

  • Based on real-world examples and experiences
  • Open and honest
  • Examines successes and key factors to that success

OR

  • Examines failures and discusses steps taken to rework ideas or lessons learned
  • Includes practical take-ways
  • Encourages active participation from attendees

*Please note that sessions will not be recorded.

Session formats

Sessions can be designed for a variety of formats including a full 45-minute presentation or panel discussion, a 20-minute presentation that may be combined with a complementary presentation to create a full session, a 10-minute lightning talk, a workshop offering hands-on experience, or use your imagination! 

We welcome new ideas and will do our best to accommodate them.

BPE also offers birds of a feather sessions that provide space for ad hoc, peer-to-peer learning based on a specific topic. These sessions lean toward being less structured, but topics and general goals for discussions will receive a light review. Please submit your birds of a feather session ideas via the short form for proposals. Some examples of past topics can be found here. 

Looking for more information?

Find more information about the 2026 unconference here: https://bpexchange.wordpress.com/2026-conference/. View programs from past conferences here for examples of topics and session formats.

Interested in collaborating with others on a particular topic? Connect with others about potential proposals: BPE Proposals Brainstorming Spreadsheet

CFP: Reclaiming Craft: Decolonial Perspectives on Heritage and Innovation in the Islamic World

Craft traditions from the Muslim world have often been framed through colonial and Eurocentric lenses, reducing them to exotic artifacts or static relics of a bygone era. This session seeks to disrupt these narratives by exploring and reimagining traditional crafts in present and future contexts while maintaining their profound historical and cultural significance. Can crafts be represented in contemporary art and museums without erasing their original meaning or commodifying their heritage? Can current theoretical and/or methodological frameworks dismantle colonial legacies and promote equitable engagement with these traditions?

We invite submissions of papers presenting a critical examination of the decolonizing process of craft histories within the Islamic world and their evolving paths. Case studies exploring different artistic traditions are welcome, as well as ones focusing on specific media (including ceramics, textiles, metalwork, woodwork, calligraphy). Panel contributors could address topics such as intersections between craft and contemporary art expressions, technological adaptations of crafts, the role of Islamic aesthetics, and resistance to cultural appropriation. We also encourage different methodological approaches to examine the various facets of craft preservation and innovation, such as postcolonial theory, material culture studies, Islamic art historiography and Islamic epistemologies. Submissions may be in the form of traditional research papers or more informal practice-based presentations. We would also consider combining some presentations into a roundtable discussion, allowing for a more collaborative dialogue.

Ultimately, the session seeks to reframe traditional crafts as dynamic, living practices that contribute to the formation of cultural and spiritual identities, an exploration of the ways in which decolonial perspectives can encourage sustainable and innovative approaches to craft representation and evolution in a global context.

Submit your Paper via this form. Please download, complete and send it directly to the Session Convenor(s) below by Sunday 2 November 2025:

Sami L. De Giosa, University of Sharjah, lgiosa@sharjah.ac.ae

Mariam Rosser-Owen, V&A Museum, m.rosserowen@vam.ac.uk

For further information, see: https://forarthistory.org.uk/reclaiming-craft-decolonial-perspectives-on-heritage-and-innovation-in-the-islamic-world/

CFP: Online Northwest, Re: Community – Reimagining Connections, Reframing Communications, and Redefining Collaboration

Online Northwest is pleased to announce we will be hosting an in-person conference on April 10, 2026. It will be held at the University of Oregon, Portland Campus. 

We invite proposals for 30-minute and 45-minute sessions, trainings, or panels on the theme: Re: Community – Reimagining Connections, Reframing Communications, and Redefining Collaboration. Presenters will be given a reduced registration rate to attend the conference. For more information, please visit our website.

The Program Committee is open to session proposals that explore areas of this theme in a variety of contexts. The committee welcomes proposals from library professionals at any level and from all libraries. We welcome work that is in progress, inspires us to explore areas in which we are not experts, and will help us grow as professionals and libraries.

There are many paths for sharing experiences, and we are able to accommodate a multitude of formats including (but not limited to) panel discussions, social/networking gatherings, and presentations. Please be aware that we are not offering hybrid or recorded options. There will be a reduced registration cost for presenters.

Want some inspiration or a place to start? Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Reviewing the “unwritten” aspects of library and archives work – why we do what we do
  • Navigating change – with projects, systems, structures, and more
  • Explorations – new processes, platforms, services, and interactions
  • Updates about pilot projects or early research
  • Collaborations and communities – supporting each other and fostering growth

Proposals will be accepted until 5pm on December 16, 2025. To submit a proposal, follow this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OnLineNWProposals

Thank you for your time and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Tamara Marnell or Elizabeth Duell

CFP: Best Practices Exchange 2026

The Best Practices Exchange (BPE) Program Committee is now accepting session proposals for our next unconference, which will be held May 18-20, 2026, at Indiana University Indianapolis in Indianapolis, IN.

Submit your proposal via this short form (https://forms.gle/KphBNMQcnsSYrL8E7) by Friday, November 21, 2025. Acceptance notifications will be sent in January 2026.

About BPE

BPE is a community of practitioners in the area of the management and preservation of digital information who gather annually to share experiences and have honest conversations about our work. It is an unconference in the sense that we prioritize providing a safe space for active participation and peer-to-peer learning both in the sessions and outside of them. Speakers and attendees come from a variety of backgrounds, including government and university archivists, library and information science educators, technologists, special collection librarians, records managers, and product developers.

This year’s theme: Sustaining Best Practices – Humans Required

Since 2006, the Best Practices Exchange (BPE) has brought together practitioners to share ideas and strategies for managing, preserving, and providing access to digital information. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we invite you to join us in reflecting on what sustains the work we do and the people who do it.

For BPE 2026, we are seeking proposals that explore how we maintain and evolve “best practices” in a rapidly changing world. Possible topics include—but are not limited to:

  • The impacts of reduction in budgets and grant funding
    • How do we sustain digital work in a largely grant-funded world?
    • How do we advocate for funding to stakeholders? How do we justify the long-term funding commitment required to simply maintain and steward what we already have? 
  • Strategies for sustaining professional ethics in a shifting societal landscape
    • Navigating new laws and requirements (e.g. DEI changes, ADA Title II compliance)
    • Environmental impact of digital infrastructure
    • Keeping our professional ethics (i.e., ALA and SAA code of ethics) and judgement to align with changing technologies
    • Balancing our authentic selves and professional ethics while responding to emerging directives
  • The positive and negative impacts of AI on digital preservation and access
    • Practical applications 
    • Mitigating bias in AI algorithms 
    • AI as an enhancement of human intelligence – supporting professional expertise rather than replacing it
    • Navigating the tension between user access and protecting infrastructure against AI bots 
  • How do we sustain the people who do this work?
    • Strategies for addressing burnout, retention, and workload balance

Tips for creating a strong proposal

A strong proposal for BPE is one that is:

  • Based on real-world examples and experiences
  • Open and honest
  • Examines successes and key factors to that success

OR

  • Examines failures and discusses steps taken to rework ideas or lessons learned
  • Includes practical take-ways
  • Encourages active participation from attendees

*Please note that sessions will not be recorded.

Session formats

Sessions can be designed for a variety of formats including a full 45-minute presentation or panel discussion, a 20-minute presentation that may be combined with a complementary presentation to create a full session, a 10-minute lightning talk, a workshop offering hands-on experience, or use your imagination! 

We welcome new ideas and will do our best to accommodate them.

BPE also offers birds of a feather sessions that provide space for ad hoc, peer-to-peer learning based on a specific topic. These sessions lean toward being less structured, but topics and general goals for discussions will receive a light review. Please submit your birds of a feather session ideas via the short form for proposals. Some examples of past topics can be found here. 

Looking for more information?

Find more information about the 2026 unconference here: https://bpexchange.wordpress.com/2026-conference/. View programs from past conferences here for examples of topics and session formats.

Interested in collaborating with others on a particular topic? Connect with others about potential proposals: BPE Proposals Brainstorming Spreadsheet

CFP: Ozarks Studies Association Annual Meeting

Call for Presentations

Ozarks Studies Association 6th Annual Meeting

April 3th, 2026

at

Springfield-Greene County Library

Springfield, Missouri

The Ozarks Studies Association (OSA) invites presentations, papers, and posters for its fifth annual meeting in Springfield, Missouri on April 3, 2026. Presentations from across the disciplines on broad array of issues related to any aspect of Ozarks life throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas are invited. 

We invite proposals 

  • of complete panels (with or without a chair) or individual papers
  • by scholars, archivists, museum staff, independent scholars, and graduate students
  • in the fields of anthropology, archelogy, biology, environmental studies, engineering, geography, geology, history, literature, museum design, pedagogy, preservation, urban studies, zoology, etc.

To be considered, submit

  • an abstract 
  • a two-page CV
  • label it as paper or poster

To Dr. Jared Phillips at jmp006@uark.edu. 

All materials must be received by January 16th, 2026. Notifications will be made by February 6th, 2026. 

If you would be willing to chair a panel, submit a two-page CV Dr. Jared Phillips by March 6th, 2026.

All inquiries should be sent to Dr. Jared Phillips at jmp006@uark.edu. 

Contact Information

Jared Phillips,

Ozarks Studies Association President

University of Arkansas

Contact Email

jmp006@uark.edu

URL

https://www.ozarks-studies-assoc.com/about-6

Call for Proposals: MAC/SOA Annual Meeting 2026

The Program Committee for the Midwest Archives Conference (MAC) and Society of Ohio Archivists (SOA) are seeking session proposals for the 2026 joint annual meeting. MAC and SOA will hold a joint 2026 Annual Meeting on May 14-16, 2026, at the Ohio Union, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, THE Ohio State sits a few miles north of downtown Columbus. A city unto itself with an enrollment of over 65,000, Ohio State is known for its top ranked academic programs in engineering, agriculture, and business, its world class research endeavors, and, of course, football. For more information about the host and the conference, see the meeting website: https://www.midwestarchives.org/2026-annual-meeting 

From 2015 until 2023, Ohio’s tourism slogan was “Find it Here.” As a slogan, it raised the obvious question “find what here?”; but as an archives motto…well, to “Find it Here” is an archivist’s greatest hope for anyone exploring their collections. Join us as we explore the myriad ways in which archivists and memory workers make their collections accessible, discoverable, and usable.

The Program Committee encourages submissions from newer professionals, first-time presenters, and colleagues from non-academic institutions. A MAC or SOA membership is not required. Presenters may submit more than one proposal but may present only one session OR poster. We also encourage those from smaller shops to submit presentations for a focused SOA track. We want to hear from the solo archivists or from those with more limited institutional support! For a list of possible topics and details on the proposal process, please view the MAC/SOA 2026 Call for Proposals website.

To facilitate collaboration among those brainstorming session ideas, the Program Committee encourages use of the MAC Facebook page, SOA Facebook page,  and this spreadsheet for brainstorming session proposal ideas.

The deadline for submitting session proposals for the 2026 MAC / SOA Annual Meeting is October 17, 2025, at 5 pm CST. Use the Call for Proposals form to submit your proposal. There will NOT be an extension to the call, so make sure to get your proposals in by the deadline.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Program Committee Co-Chairs Hayley Jackson (jackha01@luther.edu) and Adam Wanter (awanter@midpointelibrary.org).

CFP: Cold altitudes: knowledge, imagination, and experiences of mountain ice

Editor’s Note: I think this is the first time I’ve seen the phrase “ice as archive,” and I hope there is an archivist who is able to participate!

Call for conference papers

Cold altitudes: knowledge, imagination, and experiences of mountain ice

Date: 11-12.05.2026

Venue: University of Fribourg, Switzerland

Organisers: Christine Bichsel (University of Fribourg), Katja Doose (University Lyon 2)

From glaciological expeditions to snow myths, from avalanche laws to mountain poetics, ice has shaped how humans engage with high-altitude environments. This conference explores how societies have known, represented, and inhabited mountain ice—broadly understood to include glaciers, snowfields and avalanches —through empirical and conceptual lenses across the humanities and social sciences. Recent advances in the ice humanities and related fields explored the manifold relationships between humans and ice mainly focusing on examining polar and circumpolar contexts. A systematic account on mountain ice is missing in the social sciences and humanities. This conference seeks to examine human-ice relations as part of the cultural, political, ecological, spiritual and scientific dimensions of mountains. 

We invite contributions that investigate mountain ice as a medium of knowledge, cultural meaning, and social life. How have glaciers and snow been imagined in literature and art? How have they been measured, inhabited, feared, celebrated, or transformed into resources? What epistemologies, cosmologies, infrastructures, or legal regimes have crystallized around frozen heights? We particularly welcome papers that address: 

• Histories of mountain glaciology, avalanche science, and snow observation 

• Scientific, local, and indigenous knowledge practices related to mountain ice 

• The cultural imagination of glaciers, snow, and avalanches in literature, film, or visual arts 

• Ice as a legal, political, or territorial entity in mountain regions 

• Aesthetic, emotional, or sensorial engagements with mountain ice 

• Ice as archive: materiality, memory, and temporality in frozen mountainous environments 

While grounded in mountain regions, we also welcome conceptual reflections that connect mountain ice to broader discussions in environmental humanities, environmental history, historical geography, or science and technology studies.

We welcome submissions from junior and senior scholars. The format of the conference will be interactive. Conference papers will be pre-circulated, and participants’ commentaries will guide the discussions. We expect participants to submit their full draft conference papers by 01.05.2026. We aim to produce an edited volume from this conference.

Abstracts of up to 300 words, with an indication of the sources the research is based on, and a short biography (max. 100 words) should be sent by 31.10.2025 to christine.bichsel@unifr.ch AND katja.doose@univ-lyon2.fr. 

Accommodation and transport will be partially covered by the organisers, with priority given to financial support for junior scholars. 

Contact Information

Katja Doose

Université Lyon 2

Contact Email

katja.doose@univ-lyon2.fr