Call for Proposals

Have you come in the way of new-found treasures recently? What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them? You are invited to submit proposals for individual and group presentations, showcasing best practices, success stories, and workflows that align with the theme, Tropical Treasures: Archival Preservation in South Florida.

As archives continue to face new and unforeseen challenges related to preservation, this year’s SFAC theme for American Archives Month, Tropical Treasures: Archival Preservation in South Florida examines coping strategies, best practices, and lessons learned through experience. Archival workers engage in a breadth of activities in keeping their collections safe and available for future generations. Discussions may center around areas such as the challenges faced in dealing with more frequent and extreme weather events, storage, mistakes, and emerging best practices.

Potential lines of inquiry:

• Effects of extreme weather and natural disasters in archives
• Sharing of new techniques and/or best practices learned over the past year
• Preservation “horror stories”
• Preservation mistakes and how to avoid them
• Challenges facing the preservation of digitized and born-digital collections

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions should be simple narratives of 150- 200 words that explain the purpose of the session, the intended audience, and how the session will be conducted.
• Proposals will be evaluated based on relevance to the theme and time constraints.

Presentation / Session Formats (via Zoom)

• Lighting Talks: Sessions consisting of four to six 5-to-7 minutes
• Individual/Group Sessions: Presentation followed by a comment-and-discussion period. (1 hour)
• Panel Presentations: Two to four speakers present on a common theme. May include a moderator to steer discussions and/or introduce speakers. Presentations may highlight new collections, outreach programs, innovations, software, or hands-on demonstrations. (Presentations may be from 12 to 15 minutes long, with the time allotted depending on the number of presenters. 1 hour).
• Poster Presentations: Visual displays of projects, activities, or applied or theoretical research. Presenters will be given the opportunity to discuss their poster with attendees.

Submission Deadline

The Call for Proposals closed on Friday, October 6, 2023.

Questions regarding your submission, proposal criteria, or the submission process should be addressed to Annia Gonzalez (aalfonso@fiu.edu).

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