9-12 June 2025

Richcraft Hall, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON

Student Proposals Deadline: 10 February 2025, 11:59 pm PT

Posters Session Proposals Deadline: 10 February 2025, 11:59 pm PT

The 2025 ACA Program Team invites proposals that reflect on the theme of ACA at 50: Critical Reflections, Envisioning the Future.

Submit your Student Paper Proposal Here

Submit you Poster Proposal Here

CALL FOR STUDENT PAPERS and the EMERGING VOICES Session

The ACA 2024 Conference Program Team invites Students of library, archives and information studies who have written a paper, conducted research, or participated in a project to share their experience and submit proposals. That's right, take it to the next level and gain valuable public speaking skills while building your resume. We encourage you to submit proposals related to the key topics of the ACA Conference: ACA at 50: Critical Reflections, Envisioning the Future; however, the CALL for Student Papers and the Emerging Voices Session welcomes all topics and first-time presenters!

All Student submissions will be considered by the ACA Foundation Board Members for selection in the Emerging Voices session. Three successful applicants will be invited to present, in person, in the Emerging Voices session and will receive a monetary award and complimentary conference registration. To receive the award, you must be an ACA student member.

We are also pleased to let you know that in partnership with Artefactual Systems, one presentation focused on the realm of digital archives will receive an additional monetary reward.

Call for Poster Submissions

The 2025 Program Team invites poster proposals that reflect on the theme of ACA at 50: Critical Reflections, Envisioning the Future. This is an excellent opportunity to highlight your repository, a digitization project, a research project or another initiative, and share your work with colleagues from across the country.

Up to 10 poster proposals will be selected to be displayed during the Poster Session at the 2025 ACA Conference, June 9-12, 2025, in person at Richcraft Hall, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

What is a poster?

A poster presentation is one in which information is summarized using texts and images and presented in a poster format. This is an excellent opportunity to highlight your repository, a digitization project, a research project or other initiative, and share your work with your colleagues from around the country.

●     Information is summarized using texts and images and presented in PDF format, with a maximum of 25MB file size

●    Digital files should be of high resolution and legible when viewed on a standard computer screen

●     Posters are on display during a virtual session and presenters will be given ten (10) minutes to discuss their work to the conference attendees.

Suggested Conference Topic Areas:

PEOPLE: Personal and Professional Identities

• How have the concepts of archives and archivists evolved since ACA's Inception?
• What specific role do archivists have in stewarding cultural memory?
• In what ways have excluded and underrepresented communities been welcomed into the field, and how might we work toward even greater inclusion?
• What do we envision our role to be in another 50 years?
• Additional keywords: community archives; knowledge; identity; dreams/envisioning; records and recordkeeping.
  

PROCESSES: Technologies and Techniques

• How have new technologies and workflows facilitated efficiency in archival practice?
• What are the opportunities and concerns central to artificial intelligence?
• How are collecting institutions navigating the exponential growth of born-digital fonds?
• How have archives adopted linked data and Records-in-Context?
• How do we contend with expanding ideas of the 'record' in a digital age - e.g. social media - and how are institutions taking it upon themselves to keep these records?
• What technologies/techniques might we imagine into the future of archival work?
• Additional keywords: technologies; media; ethics and legalities; processes and procedures; records and recordkeeping.
  

POWER: Turning Disconnection into Collaboration

• How are Indigenous Archives making their holdings accessible to their communities?
• What explicit and implicit barriers prevent access to Indigenous documentary heritage in non-Indigenous Archives and Indigenous Archives?
• How do Canada's and the World's archives work together?
• Is the vision of the 'Total Archives' still realistic?
• Why do certain communities reject acquisitions by traditional archival institutions, and what might we learn from these resistances?
• What role do power and privilege play in determining which records and stories are deemed archival and worthy of preservation?
• Additional keywords: reconciliation; archival ecosystems; records and recordkeeping.
  

While panels and presentations related to people, processes and power will be highlighted at the 2025 ACA Conference - with proposals approaching these topics in an intersectional manner especially encouraged - the Program Team will consider submissions exploring other areas.

Scholarships are available to students and are administered by the ACA Foundation.

Feel free to direct questions to:

Patti Harper,

Chair, ACA 2025 Conference Program Team

Program Team Members

Gracen Brilmyer
Cindy Custodio
Daniel German
Laura Hernandez
Shadio Hussein
Grace Isibor
Tracey Lauriault
Lisa Lawlis
Lisa Mullins
Rohini Singh
Adele Torrance