HSLI Newsletter

(via Laura Rooney, Association of Moving Image Archivists)

The Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) invites additional proposal submissions for papers, sessions, and workshops for the 2020 Annual Conference – online November 16-21, 2020. The deadline to submit a proposal is now Saturday, August 15.

Thank you all who responded to our survey  – overwhelmingly, while everyone’s first choice would be to meet in person in El Paso, concerns about the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic make a virtual event the safest approach this year. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, we also believe this is an opportunity to reimagine the conference as an online event that allows broader participation and new voices, is more affordable to attend, and can help us model ways of keeping what we learn as part of our next in-person experience.

The goal of the AMIA Conference is to present a broad-based program that speaks to a wide range of attendees with a balance of theory and practice, inviting new ideas and concepts that stimulate additional interest, involvement, and educational benefit. In keeping with ongoing membership discussions about diversity and inclusion, we urge proposers to use AMIA Conference sessions as an opportunity to include new voices and offer diverse viewpoints.

In addition to general programming, the Conference has two potential program streams this year, “Content as Data: Archival Approaches to Computational Analysis” and “Borders and Borderlands: Conversations and Documentation” (more information on the latter is available here).  The Committee welcomes proposals on these topics and all issues to do with media archives with particular emphasis in the area of Latin American media heritage and practices.  Other areas of interest include innovative technical solutions, tools and strategies for workflow and data management, sustainable preservation practices & archival approaches to climate crisis, and development of an equitable and inclusive profession.

For more information and to submit a proposal, please visit the Conference website.

(via Anne Marie Casey, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)

The Distance Library Services 2020 Conference will take place virtually, from Tuesday, November 3, to Wednesday, November 4.While we may be going to a digital platform, that doesn’t mean that we will be missing out on many of the “extras” that conference attendance provides. We will have social events, networking opportunities, and unconference space for people to gather and collaborate, generate ideas, and/or simply chat. In planning of the schedule, which will be posted as soon as possible, we are mindful of timezones and work-life balance. You can expect sessions and social events to take place from coffee to cocktails or club soda. The presenters will be offering a mix of live and prerecorded sessions as well as poster presentations. 

Registration is open here and is $90. We are using a conference platform, Whoova, to host the DLS 2020 events. You can expect an excellent spread of presentations and posters, and an active space for conversations which are almost more crucial now than ever before. The website will be updated to reflect all of the changes to the conference. 

We are also opening an additional call for short presentations. We are seeking proposals for 15 minute talks focusing on how Distance Librarianship has been impacted over the past six months, or during other times of major upheaval and crises (i.e. Hurricane Katrina in 2005, or the 2017 Charlottesville, VA demonstrations), and what innovative plans, ideas, actions have come from such scenarios. Were they successful or unsuccessful? Were the withstanding or have they evolved or faded over time? We will be hosting a block dedicated specifically to these talks. The full Call for Proposals will open Monday, August 3, and will close Monday, September 14.