Northwest Archivists Annual Meeting 2016: Call for Proposals

The 2016 Northwest Archivists Annual Meeting will take place from April 28 to 30, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. At this year’s meeting we will be exploring archives and archivists’ community involvement and outreach efforts with the theme ARCHIVES: COMMUNITY ALL STARS. 

The Program Committee welcomes proposals on all aspects of archival practice and research, including proposals that feature:

• Reference, instruction, and outreach.Creative use of social media and emerging technology.
• Advocacy and partnership building. Grant writing, marketing, fundraising, and sponsorship.
• Collaboration. Engaging donors, students, colleagues in allied professions, and the community.
• Innovation.Finding efficiencies, process improvements, workflow management, and innovative tools and technologies.
• Activism and social justice. Archivists as advocates for or supporting social change, facilitating objective and judgement-free spaces, and absences and silences in the archives.
• Digital Preservation and archiving.Workflows for acquiring, preserving, processing, and making digital materials accessible.
• Disaster mitigation and response.How are archives and conservators responding to climate change and natural disasters?
• Archives management. Strategic planning, project management, and program management.
• Archival education and mentoring.Creating opportunities that support the next generation of archival professionals.
• Any and all other ideas welcome! Including failure stories or experiences that can help others learn from mistakes and use challenges to innovate and inspire.

We welcome proposals for sessions in traditional and nontraditional formats, including:

Traditional. An open session with 2-3 papers of  about 15 minutes each and a comment and discussion period after the papers.

Panel Discussion. An open session with a panel of 3-4 individuals informally discussing a variety of theories or perspectives on the given topic.

Roundtable. An open discussion anchored by brief, 5-7 minute presentations. Active participation encouraged.

Lightning Talks. A fast-paced open session with many concise presentations delivered under a tight time limit.

Workshop. A limited enrollment full or half-day session that allows interaction and focused instruction with participants. Workshops usually teach or refine archival skills. Workshops will be held Thursday, April 28, 2016.

The committee welcomes proposals from anyone involved with archives, including archival staff and volunteers, community organizers, researchers, creators and donors, allied professionals, and academics. We especially encourage students and new professionals to share your fresh perspectives with us.

DEADLINE for submission is January 11th, 2015. Please use the online submission form to submit your proposal at: http://goo.gl/forms/kARWFi95W5