The Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) will hold its 55th annual conference, Confluence: Where Art, Information, and Community Flow Together, in Portland, Oregon, April 4-7, 2027.
In Northern Portland, at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, waters that have traveled different paths meet, carrying distinct histories, sediments, and stories into a shared current. Maya Lin’s Confluence Project, located along the Columbia River basin, reflects on these meeting places as sites of memory, Indigenous history, and environmental reflection, reminding us that rivers and people are shaped by both movement and encounter. Confluence: Where Art, Information, and Community Flow Together, the Art Libraries Society of North America’s 55th Annual Conference, considers what these ideas mean within the context of art librarianship, and the art information ecosystem more broadly.
As art information professionals, we each bring our own unique perspectives and experiences to conferences, the Society, and the profession at large. Yet, like two rivers merging, by coming together to share our knowledge and learn from our colleagues, we foster vital connections and a more dynamic profession. Gathering at the confluence becomes a fitting metaphor: separate voices, experiences, and struggles joining together to create something stronger in common. In the spirit of the idea that “You can’t step into the same river twice,” Confluence: Where Art, Information, and Community Flow Together invites us to embrace our interconnectedness, celebrate our differences, and creatively engage with the ebbs and flows of our profession.
The deadline for proposals is Monday, September 14, 2026 at 11:59pm UTC.
The Conference Program Committee invites librarians and library professionals, archivists, curators, museum professionals, visual resources specialists, publishers, educators, artists, designers, architects, students, and scholars to propose papers, sessions, workshops, and speakers that reflect the theme Confluence as it relates to the practice of art information and scholarship. The committee also encourages submissions that stretch the bounds of traditional conference scholarship in terms of format and delivery.
Conference registration and attendance are mandatory for all presenters.
In addition to the topics listed below, we encourage proposals that explore Confluence. Examples could include: GLAM collaborations, cross-cultural knowledge creation, integrated collection systems, consortial art libraries and collaborative stewardship, community partnerships, librarian-faculty collaborations, donor relations, and other ways that networks of knowledge, and knowledge workers, intersect.
The program committee encourages submissions that include, but are not limited to the following topics:
- Alternative Publications, Artists’ Books, Comics, Zines, etc.
- Archives, Rare Books, and Special Collections
- Censorship of information and Resources
- Collection Development and Management
- Critical Librarianship
- Digital Humanities and Digital Scholarship
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
- Fair Use and Copyright Issues
- Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Field of Librarianship
- Innovations in Cataloguing
- Leadership, Mentoring, Management, and Professional Development
- New approaches to Providing Reference Services
- Social Justice, Advocacy, Anti-Racism, Public Policy, and Activism
- Teaching and Pedagogical Practice
- User Experience
- Visual Literacy, Critical Information Literacy, Media Literacy
Types of Submissions
PAPERS: An individual paper presentation, potentially addressing new research, a case study, or an innovative idea with a total time of 15-20 minutes. Presentations provide attendees with new tools, strategies, or inspiration that they can apply in their own practice. The Conference Program Co-Chairs and the Conference Program Committee will group individual presentations into paper panels with a common topic or theme, which will run from 60 to 90 minutes, including a Q&A.
LIGHTNING TALKS: A short individual presentation (5-10 minutes maximum) addressing a topic that is particularly timely or specific in scope. Lightning talks provide attendees the opportunity to hear about a range of innovative projects or ideas from a broad and varied group of colleagues in a short amount of time. Lightning talks will be grouped into sessions that may or may not be themed. Lightning talk sessions will be 60 minutes, including a Q&A.
PRE-COORDINATED PANELS: A pre-coordinated session of up to 4 presenters with a moderator addressing a common topic or theme with a total time of 60-90 minutes, including a Q&A. Panels provide attendees with multiple views/strategies on a single topical area, a comparison of tools or methods, or a number of case studies on related topics. It is not necessary to identify all potential presenters before submitting. Naming a moderator, who will advocate for and develop the session, is required. The moderator may be one of the presenters or may serve only as the moderator.
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS: Small, informal group discussions around a common theme or issue. In the abstract field, facilitators should identify a topic and submit at least three potential questions that will keep the discussion moving. Roundtable speakers should also be prepared to take questions from the audience. Discussions are 60 minutes in length.
WORKSHOPS: An opportunity to teach and explore current and emerging topics in an intimate atmosphere. Workshops encourage a focused, engaging experience led by experts who combine presentation, active learning, collaboration, and discussion. They may last 90 to 180 minutes.
SPEAKER SUGGESTIONS & PLENARIES: A plenary may be a prepared paper or discussion panel of significant importance to the profession. Plenaries are 60-90 minutes in length. No other meetings, sessions, etc. are scheduled during plenaries. The content of plenaries should be current and of broad interest to attendees. Non-member speakers who will speak on a significant topic of interest to ARLIS/NA members may be suggested here.
Additional Details
The following fields will be used by the programming committee to review proposals. In addition, some non-personally identifiable demographic information will be used by the reviewers to ensure that the papers, lightning talks, workshops, and invited speakers are inclusive and diverse, both in the voices present and content delivered.
WORD LIMIT: All proposal abstracts are limited to 500 words or fewer.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: You’ll be asked to list 2-3 learning objectives, takeaways, or goals for your proposal.
TOPICS: You’ll be asked to select 2 to 5 topics relevant to your session.
AUDIENCES: You’ll be asked to pick up to 5 target audiences for your session.
DEIA-AR: You will be asked if your presentation addresses issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and/or anti-racism. The committee is particularly interested in seeing papers and sessions that include attention to DEIA-AR.
YEARS IN PROFESSION (optional): You’ll be asked to select how long you have been working in the field.
FIRST TIME PRESENTER (optional): You’ll be asked if this would be your first time presenting at an ARLIS/NA conference.
SELF-IDENTIFICATION (optional): You’ll be asked if you are a member of a historically under-represented group. This information will only be used to help us coordinate diverse sessions and is not required to propose a paper or panel.
How to Submit Proposals
The review of proposals is a blind peer review process. You must anonymize your proposal description. All personal or institutional names must be removed from the description and learning objectives (however, these details must remain in other fields of the form), and may be replaced by terms such as “presenter,” “author,” or “speaker”, or in the case of institutions, terms such as “large academic library,” “small museum library,” etc. Non-anonymized proposals may be ineligible.
Submit your proposals via Sched: https://cfp.sched.com/speaker/dJoatUIcMG/event
The deadline is Monday, September 14, 2026 11:59pm UTC.
Funding Opportunities
Prospective presenters interested in funding and support for conference attendance are encouraged to apply to the Society’s Conference Attendance and Travel Awards or to contact their local ARLIS/NA Chapter about the availability of additional awards.
The call for posters, moderators, and other meeting proposals will be announced
later this year.
Please direct any questions to Program Co-chairs:
Stefanie Hilles, Miami University, hillessa@miamioh.edu
Stephanie Kays, Denison University, kayss@denison.edu
