See below for the official CFP from the Program Committee. 

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The 2017 Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists/Northwest Archivists Joint Annual Meeting will take place from May 17-19, 2017 in Boise, Idaho.

At this year’s meeting we will be exploring our mutual experiences as archivists in the West and celebrating the richness and diversity of our collections with the theme: Preserving the Voices of the West.

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. Innovative instruction methods using special collections and archives. Unique methods of community outreach.

●     Exhibits that challenge and inspire. Creating exhibits that showcase our collections but also inspire thoughtful reflection and questions from visitors.

●       Collecting  in the West. Common collecting areas across Western repositories.

●        Advocacy and partnership building. Grant writing, marketing, fundraising, and sponsorship.

●        Collaboration. Engaging donors, students, colleagues in allied professions, and the community. Collaboration with subject and liaison librarians.

●        Innovation. Finding efficiencies, process improvements, workflow management, and innovative tools and technologies including linked data.

●        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.

●       Capturing voices of the West. Unique oral history projects and collaborations that capture the  voices of a variety of individuals and groups in the Inter-Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions.  Successes, challenges, and pitfalls.

●        Born digital records and digital preservation. 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, mentoring, and professional development. Creating opportunities that support the next generation of archival professionals. Developing programs to cultivate and mentor volunteers.

●        New Frontiers in arrangement and description. EAD3, connecting finding aids with digital content, methods for addressing your repository’s backlog, experiences with MPLP.

●       Social media in the archives. How are you using blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or other social media outlets to highlight your collections or build community?

●      Copyright. Issues and challenges with copyright in archives and special collections in both print and digital environments.

●     Community archives. Archives by the community, for the community. How do underrepresented communities create their own archives space?

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.

Poster Session. Focused visual and textual presentation on applied archival research topic or professional project as case study. Specific dimensions and guidelines will be provided.

Round Table. 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 Wednesday, May 17, 2017.

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 6, 2017. Please use the online submission form to submit your proposal at http://goo.gl/forms/kARWFi95W5