New Issue: IFLA Journal

IFLA Journal Volume 51 Issue 1, March 2025
(partial open access)

Editorial

Trends in academic and research libraries
Jayshree Mamtora and Bertil F. Dorch

Articles

Perceptions of the role of research librarian: A phenomenological study
Rahma Sugihartati, Dessy Harisanty, Anita Dewi, Bagong Suyanto, Arya Wijaya Pramodha Wardhana and Nadia Egalita

Australian academic libraries and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Roxanne Missingham

Fostering scientific integrity in Vietnam: The contribution of library and information services
Thuy Thanh Bui and Lan Thi Nguyen

Model proposal of libraries functions to implement open science: Analysis from Latin American librarianship
Juan Miguel Palma Peña

Scholar-led publishing and diamond open access: The professionalised role of libraries
Ursula Arning

Integrating evidence synthesis services in Zimbabwean state university libraries
Notice Pasipamire

Moldovan academic librarians’ perception on research data management
Viorica Lupu, Nelly Țurcan and Rodica Cujba

Influence of research collaboration on research excellence in Kenya
Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha

The impact of big data on university libraries in Bangladesh
Md. Habibur Rahman, Asmadi Mohammed Ghazali and Mohd Zool Hilmie Mohamed Sawal

Case Study

Co-creating open initiatives at De La Salle University Libraries: The Animo Repository experience
Luis Ezra Cruz, Mennie Ruth Viray and Roana Marie Flores

Exploring the use of generative artificial intelligence in systematic searching: A comparative case study of a human librarian, ChatGPT-4 and ChatGPT-4 Turbo
Xiayu Summer Chen and Yali Feng

Review Article

Research data management in university libraries: The need for data literacy and technological revamp
Magnus Osahon Igbinovia, Chidi Deborah Segun-Adeniran and Omorodion Okuonghae

CFP: Australian Society of Archivist Conference

The Call for Papers is now open and will close on:

  • AEST: 9:00 am on Monday 28 April 2025
  • AWST: 7:00 am on Monday 28 April 2025
  • ACDT: 8:30 am on Monday 28 April 2025
  • NZDT: 11:00 am on Monday 28 April 2025

How to Submit

  1. Read the information below regarding the theme and proposal types.
  2. Click on the Submit Your Proposal button below to create an account and follow the instructions to submit your abstract. Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words.
  3. If you have any technical issues accessing the portal or submitting your proposal, please contact us.
  4. If you have questions about the theme or your proposal in general, please contact the Program Chair.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

Theme

The purpose of archives is often explained as being for the benefit of societal memory. As the International Council on Archives’ Universal Declaration on Archives states; they are authoritative sources of information which play an essential role in the development of societies by safeguarding and contributing to individual and community memory and that open access to archives enriches our knowledge of human society, promotes democracy, protects citizens’ rights, and enhances the quality of life.

What has been the societal impact of archives and archival practice over the past 50 years? How is this changing over time? How should it be changing?

The conference aims to bring together a wide range of perspectives and stories on our profession and practice by showcasing what archives mean to communities, institutions and individuals. It is also a space to explore where we have been, are, and want to develop as a sector.

Call for Papers

The Australian Society of Archivists is excited to invite your proposals for contributions to our upcoming conference “Telling Our Stories: Community, Connection, Resilience”, to be held 10-12 November 2025 in Warrane/Warrang/Sydney.

We invite you to share your experiences, reflections and research by ‘telling our stories’ from and about the archives by submitting a brief proposal of no more than 300 words.

Topics could include, but are not limited to:

  • Archival history
  • Community and school archives
  • Impact of technology on archives
  • Digital accessibility
  • Access to and repatriation of displaced archives
  • Privacy and ethical considerations
  • Cultural considerations
  • Audiences: who is missing?
  • Social responsibility
  • Reparative description, Indigenous self-determination
  • Teaching with archives
  • Community outreach and access
  • Archival education
  • Using technology to improve engagement
  • Impact of digital transformation on archival concepts
  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
  • Big data

We encourage submissions from all who engage with archives: students, new professionals, experienced archivists and recordkeepers, information professionals, academics, researchers, artists, and community members.

Conference Audience

Your audience will mainly be archivists, records and information professionals from small, medium and large organisations in government, private and community sector organisations. It will also include students, academics, educators and researchers.

The conference will be face to face, however it should be noted that sessions will be recorded for on-demand viewing. This should be considered when developing your abstract and any subsequent presentations.

Proposal Types

All presentations will be presented on location and in-person:

  • Posters
    • presentation of research, project, idea, or other type of work in a paper poster
    • presenters will be required to present during the poster session in order to answer questions and further explain their poster
    • we specifically invite students to use this category
    • posters will need to be printed
  • Project show and tells (10 minutes)
    • strictly limited to 10 minutes per talk (all speakers combined), including questions
    • short, less formal presentations to share information about in-progress or completed projects
    • provide opportunities to share project status and potentially engage and network with other delegates interested with relevant expertise
    • speakers may use slides to enhance their talk
  • Lightning talks (10 minutes)
    • strictly limited to 10 minutes per talk (all speakers combined), including questions
    • short, less formal presentations to share information about ideas and research and connect with other delegates
    • speakers may use slides to enhance their talk
  • Individual papers (30 minutes)
    • comprise one or more speakers presenting on a topic for a maximum of 30 minutes
    • presentations should last 20 minutes to allow at least 5 minutes for questions
    • papers will be grouped to form 90 minute sessions around a common theme
  • Interactive presentations (30-60 minutes)
    • comprise one or more speakers
    • an interactive presentation designed to engage the audience in active discussion
  • Panels (90 minutes)
    • comprise 3 to 5 speakers who together present on a topic for 90 minutes
    • panels have options in how they use the time available, potentially giving each panellist a set time to speak and allowing time for questions during or at the end of the panel session
    • panellists may use slides to illustrate or enhance their contribution to the panel
  • Workshops half-day or full day, to be held on day before or after the conference
    • hands-on sessions designed to involve participants in practical activities
    • limited capacity per workshop (please note maximum capacity requirements in the submission).

Book Launch Event: Ways of Knowing: Oral Histories on the Worlds Words Create

Join us May 6, 2025 at 7pm Eastern for virtual book launch for the new title Ways of Knowing: Oral Histories on the Worlds Words Create edited by Amanda Belantara and Emily Drabinski.

Register Here

Ways of Knowing: Oral Histories on the Worlds Words Create sits at the heart of the library project, shaping how materials are described and organized and how they can be retrieved. The field has long understood that normative systems like Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress do this inadequately and worse, deploying language and categories that are rooted in white supremacy, patriarchy, and U.S. imperialism. Ways of Knowing presents unique and timely oral histories of alternative thesauri created in response to the inadequacies and biases embedded within widely adopted standards in libraries. The oral histories tell the stories behind the thesauri through the narratives of the people who created them, revealing aspects of thesauri work that ordinarily are overlooked or uncovered.

The set of oral histories included in the volume document the Chicano Thesaurus, A Women’s Thesaurus, and Homosaurus. The authors recorded hour-long oral histories with two representatives from each project, documenting the origins of each thesaurus, the political and social context from which they emerged, and the processes involved in their development and implementation. Introductory essays provide a context for each thesaurus in the history of information and activism in libraries. The book and accompanying digital files constitute the first primary source of its kind and a unique contribution to the history of metadata work in libraries. Capturing these stories through sound recording offers new ways of understanding the field of critical cataloging and classification as we hear the joy, frustration, urgency, and seriousness of critical metadata work.

Learn more and purchase the book here.

CFP: Visual Resources Association Annual Conference

The Call for Proposals has bee extended! The submission deadline is Monday, April 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm PDT.

Whether you are a current member or a potential attendee, we encourage you to reflect on your experiences, ideas, and expertise. We encourage submissions from VRA members and non-members, seasoned attendees and first-timers, as well as students, early-career, mid-career, and senior professionals.

Please direct any questions about the submission process to VRA’s Directors for Events & Initiatives at initiatives@vraweb.org. 

VRA 2025 Virtual Whiteboard

Interested in engaging with the VRA community to develop or refine a proposal or suggest ideas? VRA’s Education Committee has set up a Virtual Whiteboard where you can brainstorm collaboratively about potential papers, panels, special interest/user groups, workshops, meetings, and poster sessions. Reach out to the Education Committee co-chairs at education@vraweb.org if you have any questions about the whiteboard. 

Suggested Topics

We welcome proposals on a wide range of topics related to visual resources, including case studies, lessons learned (both successes and challenges), practical applications, innovative methods, ongoing projects, ethical considerations, research, and pedagogical practices. Suggested topics include:

  • Coding
  • Community outreach
  • Copyright/intellectual property
  • Digital asset management, digital curation, digital preservation, etc.
  • Digitization (workflows, digital capture and imaging technologies)
  • Digital scholarship and digital humanities
  • Diversity, equity, inclusion, cultural competencies, social justice
  • Project management (communication, grant writing, prioritization, leadership, etc.)
  • Linked data
  • Materials/objects collections
  • Metadata/cataloging ethics (decolonizing vocabularies, radical cataloging)
  • Storytelling and oral history
  • Technologies (GIS and mapping, 3D imaging, etc.)
  • Tools: open source, evolution, future trends
  • Workplace cultures and professional transitions (academic departments, libraries, cultural heritage institutions, archives, corporate, etc.)

This is not an exhaustive list. Do not hesitate to propose something new or highlight an area of concern that you feel has not been adequately addressed in the past! 

Past conference schedules can give you an idea of the range of topics presented in previous years.

Conference Format

As we look ahead to VRA 2025, we are excited to announce a carefully considered shift in the structure for our upcoming annual conference. 

Five years since the onset of the pandemic, the landscape of large-scale conferences has profoundly transformed. Priorities have shifted, placing greater emphasis on health and safety, accessibility, affordability, and environmental sustainability. These changing expectations have inspired us to reimagine how we structure our conferences to better serve our community.

Over the past three years, the VRA Annual Conference has embraced a hybrid model, accommodating virtual and in-person attendance with a mix of in-person and remote presenters. However, in 2025, we are embarking on a new approach to enhance the experience for all participants.

VRA 2025 will feature two distinct components: virtual pre-conference programming held a week prior to the main event, followed by three days of on-site conference programming at the Porter Hotel in Portland, OR.

On-site conference attendees will automatically be registered for the virtual pre-conference, and folks unable to attend on-site will have the option to register for the virtual pre-conference programming separately. 

This change is designed to ensure flexibility and accessibility while creating a more engaging experience. It will also lessen the burden on both our organization’s finances and the volunteers who make this event possible. Furthermore, by separating virtual and on-site programming, we aim to avoid the challenges posed by the hybrid model, which often leads to a fragmented experience for both in-person and virtual participants.

To help us in this effort, we invite you to share your feedback through an anonymous survey. Your voice matters, and we want to hear from you as we work toward a more inclusive and engaging conference. Click here to access the feedback form.

Working together, we can design a conference experience that adapts to the evolving expectations of our field for 2025 and beyond.

Please direct any questions about the conference format to VRA’s Directors for Events & Initiatives at initiatives@vraweb.org. 

Proposal Types

VRA 2025 is an in-person conference, and accepted speakers are expected to deliver their presentations onsite (barring extenuating circumstances). To accommodate those unable to attend in person, there will be a limited number of all-virtual sessions during pre-conference programming the week of September 29, 2025. Presenters should plan their submissions and participation accordingly.

Committees, chapters, and user groups may choose to meet virtually before the conference, in-person during the conference, or both (two meetings, one virtual and one in-person).

Please note, there will be a separate call for posters in June 2025.

Individual Paper (15–20 minutes): Individual presentations that may highlight new research, a project, a case study, or an innovative idea relevant to the VRA community. Papers should aim to provide attendees with fresh tools, strategies, or inspiration they can apply in their own practice. Grouped thematically with other individual papers into sessions with a total run time of 60 to 90 minutes, including a Q&A.

Lightning Talk (5–7 minutes): Short individual presentations addressing a timely or specific topic. Lightning talks provide attendees the opportunity to hear about a range of innovative projects or ideas from a broad group of colleagues in a short amount of time. Grouped into sessions that may or may not be themed, with a run time of 60 minutes, including a Q&A.

Pre-coordinated Panel (60–90 minutes): Moderated sessions typically consisting of 3–4 presenters speaking for 15 minutes each, followed by a facilitated Q&A. Panels provide attendees with diverse perspectives on a single topic, a comparison of tools or methods, or a number of case studies on related subjects. If you are proposing a panel, it is your responsibility to fill the time with presenters. It is not necessary to identify all potential presenters before submitting, but conference planners will need names of presenters several months prior to the conference.

Workshop (90 minutes–3 hours): An opportunity to teach and explore a specific tool, technique, workflow, or concept relevant to the VRA community. Recent conference workshops have included sessions on digital cartography, accessibility, salary negotiation, critical cataloging, grant writing, coding, open data, photogrammetry, and more. 

Special Interest or User Group (60 minutes): Small, informal, facilitated group discussions on topics or tools related to specific segments of the VRA community. Facilitators may propose a meeting for an existing group, or you may also propose a meeting for a topic of interest to you to see if others share that interest.

Committee or Chapter Meeting (60 minutes): Sub-groups within VRA can use conference time to gather and discuss their efforts to continue the work of the organization. These groups are generally regional chapters or established organizational committees.

Schedule

  • January 27: Call for Proposals opens
  • March 14, 11:59 pm PDT: Call for Proposals deadline
  • April 7, 11:59 pm PDT: Call for Proposals extended deadline
  • On or around May 12: Notification of final decisions
  • On or around June 2: Tentative programs released for conference and virtual pre-conference

Code of Conduct

All presenters are expected to adhere to VRA’s Conference Code of Conduct.

CFP: Materiality and Precarity: Preserving Holocaust Memorial Sites 

United Kingdom

Call for Papers: Materiality and Precarity: Preserving Holocaust Memorial Sites 

We are delighted to announce a upcoming postgraduate conference at the University of Cambridge, in partnership with DAAD Cambridge, for graduate and early career researchers to share emerging research on challenges to preserving Holocaust sites. 

The conference will take place in Cambridge on June 25-26, 2025; paper proposals are due on March 31, 2025.

We welcome proposals on topics included – but not limited to – the following:

  • Evolving interpretations of ‘Authenticity’
  • Climate Change and Memorial Sites; impact, planning, prevention
  • Memorialisation
  • Holocaust tourism
  • Sources of “wear and tear” to physical objects, buildings, and landscapes at Holocaust sites
  • Representing place in cultural and popular media
  • The role of ‘virtual space’ and digital media
  • Political controversies about management of memorial sites
  • Contemporary comparisons between climate change and Nazi genocide 
  • Contemporary and historical conflicts over space at sites (national, religious)

Applicants are invited to submit a paper title, short bio (150 words) and abstract (300 words) to Beatrice Leeming (University of Cambridge) rl699@cam.ac.uk and Jonathan Marrow (University of Cambridge) jm2521@cam.ac.uk
Applications close on 31 March, 2025. There will be funding to support travel costs and accommodation.

Contact Information

 Jonathan Marrow (University of Cambridge) jm2521@cam.ac.uk and Beatrice Leeming (University of Cambridge) rl699@cam.ac.uk 

Contact Email

jm2521@cam.ac.uk

CFP: Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium

Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium

Save Our Stuff (SOS), the Annual Conference and Meeting of the Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium (ICPC), will be held on June 20, 2025, at the Iowa State University in Ames. The ICPC Board of Directors is sending out this ‘Call for Presentations.’

Preserving and conserving cultural heritage is a pillar in the missions of many institutions around the state. During the 2025 ICPC conference, speakers are invited to share programs and applications for the preservation and conservation of cultural heritage in Iowa and surrounding areas.

Proposals are now being accepted for SOS sessions. Presentations may be given in person or virtually. Topics should directly address issues of preservation and conservation of cultural materials, including, but not limited to, books, manuscripts, ephemera, and artifacts. Presentations should be applicable to institutions with various staff sizes and budgets.

Speakers may propose sessions in the following formats:

1.  Full sessions – 50 minutes in length.  If you are proposing a roundtable or panel presentation, please include the names and titles of all participants.

2.  Half Session – 20-minute presentation as a joint session on a common topic.  

Proposals should be submitted via e-mail to Amanda Latta, MLIS, CARST, the ICPC Administrative Assistant at iowa.conserveandpreserve@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is April 15th. Proposals accepted for sessions will be notified by April 25th.  Speakers are requested to donate their time, expertise, and travel. Conference fees (including lunch) are waived for presenters. However, those wishing to attend conference sessions other than their own must register.

New Issue: Museum Worlds

Museum Worlds, vol. 12 (2024)
(open access)

Editorial 
Conal Mccarthy and Alison K. Brown 

I. Articles 
Expanded Loans as Forms of Indigenous Access, Reconnection, and Sovereignty: Mnaajtood ge Mnaadendaan—Miigwewinan Michi Saagiig Kwewag Miinegoowin Gimaans Zhaganaash Aki 1860 / To Honour and Respect—Gifts from the Michi Saagiig Women to the Prince of Wales, 1860 
Laura Peers, Lori Beavis, and Christine Beavis 

Community Collaborations and Social Biographies of Museum Collections from Colonial Contexts: Meanings of Zulu Beadwork 
Njabulo Chipangura and Motsane Getrude Seabela 

Digitization Is Not Decolonization: South Africa’s Amagugu Ethu Museum Project and Colonial Documentation in Digital Times 
Laura Gibson 

II. Special Section 
Introduction: Beyond the Nature/Culture Divide—Reimagining Human–Environment Relations in and through Museums 
Philipp Schorch and Nicholas Thomas 

The Entwined Human and Environmental Costs of the Colonial Project: Perspectives from Natural History Collections 
Jack Ashby 

Intertwining the Ethno-botanical Amazonian Collections of Spix and Martius and Beyond 
Gabriele Herzog-Schröder 

A Munduruku Headdress: Transforming the Relations between Natural History and Ethnography 
Anita Herle 

Curating the In-Between: A New Approach at BIOTOPIA–Naturkundemuseum Bayern 
Samara Rubinstein and Colleen M. Schmitz 

A Landscape of Well-Being: Bridging the “Nature–Culture Divide” at Trumpington Meadows Country Park, Cambridge 
Jody Joy 

III. Reports and Dispatches 
Connecting Collections: Transforming Access to Museum Collections at Scale for Knowledge Generation in Australia 
Jason M. Gibson, Gaye Sculthorpe, Alistair Paterson, and Andrea Witcomb 

Preserving Indigenous Knowledges and Practices as Moana Oceania Diaspora in Aotearoa: Views from Niue and Kiribati 
Lagi-Maama and Jackie Leota-Mua 

Enhancing the Usability of Stored Museum Items: Loans and Exchanges 
Lara Corona 

New Urban Peace in Delhi: The Partition Museum 
Neha Khetrapal  

Setting Agendas for Mass Media: The Case of the Beijing Palace Museum 
Zhitong Mu 

Report on CoMuseum 2023: Museums and Justice: 13th CoMuseum International Conference, 6–8 December 2023 
Sophia Handaka 

IV. Review Essays 
Our Colonial Inheritance; The Loud Archive: Love & Loss and the Critical Theory of Emotion and Affect; The Northwest Coast Hall Reimagined; The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do; Memorialising the Holocaust in Human Rights Museums; The Weave of “Fashion Diplomacy”; Interpreting Africa in South Korea; Ecological Art Exhibitions in London 
Mary Caton Lingold, Camus Wyatt, Bryony Onciul, Andy Everson, Jaimie N. Luria, Olga Zabalueva, Matthew Raj Webb, Sumi Kim, and Sara Selwood 

V. Exhibition Reviews 
Radical Stitch; Rising Tide: Art and Environment in Oceania; Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance; The Light of Day: Unearthing the Past; Polarity: Fire & Ice; Tibuta – Kinaakiia Ainen Kiribati: Tibuta – Identifies Kiribati Women; Cellphone: Unseen Connections; The Tora-san Memorial Museum 
Linda Grussani, Rachel E. Smith, Garance Nyssen, Luiza de Paula Souza Serber, Na’ankwat Kwapnoe-Dakup, Jessica Hope van Heerden, Maraya Takoniatis, Emelihter Kihleng, Amrita Ibrahim, and Yi Wang 

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 

Sign up for Email Updates: http://bit.ly/2SmixtG  

Please support the Subscribe-to-Open initiative and recommend Museum Worlds to your institution’s library by filling out this one-step web form: https://museum-worlds.berghahnjournals.com/library-recommendation 

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 TypesConference Proceedings (in Phaidra)Openly published (OSF, etc.)
Individual citable documentAs part of summary abstract bookAs part of aggregated submissions
Full & short Papers, PostersYesYesYesYes (with presentations)
Workshops, Tutorials, PanelsNoYesYesYes (with presentations)
Ad hoc formats (Lightning Talks, Games, etc.)NoNoNoYes (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…