Call for Papers - International Council on Archives: Section on University and Research Institution Archives (SUV) - Conference 2011

The next conference of ICA:SUV will be held 12-16 July 2011 at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The theme of the conference is 'Best Foot Forward: Inreach and Outreach for Archivists'. In addition to their external role of service to research communities, institutional archives have always had at least two internal functions: the familiar role of providing institutional accountability and transparency, and the somewhat less familiar one of helping their institutions with fund-raising and visibility to the public. Given the current economic uncertainty, awareness and promotion of the critical role that academic and scientific archives can play is of growing importance for addressing both internal and external communities. Focusing on University and Research Institution Archives, this conference will examine current inreach and outreach activities and programmes, assessing their strengths and areas for improvement and will suggest new directions for the international archival community.

The 2011 Conference Programme Committee invites you to submit proposals for the SUV annual conference being held in Edmonton, Canada from 12 to 16 July. Within the following themes we seek individual or panel proposals. Our aim is to encourage discussion and debate throughout each session. Proposals should be analytical, not descriptive, and should reflect the changing nature of inreach and outreach activities which are being used in archives to promote their institutions and their fund- raising activities.

Panels of up to three speakers, or individual presentations, on the themes below will be considered. Synopses of 250 to 300 words for each presentation, which should aim to last for a maximum of 20 minutes (sessions of three speakers should last for no more than 1.5 hrs) should be submitted to Bryan.Corbett@Ualberta.ca by 7 February 2011. If you are submitting a proposal for a complete session, please provide a description of 250-300 words for the session as a whole in addition to 250-300 word synopses of each individual presentation.

The Programme Committee welcomes proposals relating to the overall theme of ‘Best Foot Forward: Inreach and Outreach For Archivists’ with particular but not exclusive reference to the following sub-themes:

1. Inreach and Outreach Activities and Programmes. For example, what inreach activities and programmes have been implemented by archives and archivists to enhance institutional internal profile and fund-raising; what were the strategic objectives; what were its successes; what could have been done differently to have enhanced the experience and its value; how were the objectives met; who were the most important partners in ensuring success; how were outcomes and impacts measured; what lessons were learned? Please note: proposals which simply describe activities will not be accepted.
2. New Directions in Inreach and Outreach. For example, what does current research and the archival literature say on trends in these critical activities; what skills or aptitudes are needed by archives and archivists for success in this area and where and how are these skills best acquired; how do archival education programmes deal with inreach and outreach themes; have archival education programmes given inreach and outreach adequate coverage in their teachings of theory and practice?
3. Traditional Roles of Archives. For example, how can our traditional roles in institutional accountability, transparency and memory be used to enhance institutional profile and fund-raising; how can the role of the archivist in negotiating the challenges of freedom of information, privacy concerns and intellectual property rights be used to enhance our value to our parent institutions and consequently their profile and fund- raising?
4. Integration of Archives. For example, how can university and research institution archives integrate themselves with the basic functions of their parent institutions? How can university archives better integrate themselves into the teaching, research and community service functions of the university?. How does the archives become directly involved in teaching, research and institutional administrative functions and the recruitment of new students and faculty? How can university archives support archival education programmes or courses in their institutions? How can university archives influence the way digital records-keeping is taught in computing and library science courses?

Further information about the conference, the process by which proposals should be submitted see the 'Proposal Submission Guidelines for ICA-SUV Annual Conferences' available at: www.library.illinois.edu/ica-suv/ProposalSubmitGuide.php. For a description of the process and the criteria which will be used to adjudicate proposals, see “Annual Conference Review Committee Guidelines” available at: www.library.illinois.edu/ica-suv/ReviewCommGuidelines.php

For information on bursaries go to www.library.illinois.edu/ica-suv/conferences.php and follow the link to the conference web site which will be posted shortly.

Should you have any questions please contact:
Programme Chair, Bryan Corbett at Bryan.Corbett@Ualberta.ca or
SUV Secretary, Patricia Whatley at p.e.whatley@dundee.ac.uk

PROGRAMME COMMITTEE:
Sharon Alexander-Gooding, University of the West Indies, Barbados.
Heather Briston, University of Oregon, United States.
Deirdre Bryden, Queens University, Canada.
Simon Chu, University of Hong Kong, China.
Bryan Corbett, University of Alberta, Canada (Chair).
Kathryn Dan, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Anna Domalanus, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland.
Margaret Law, University of Alberta, Canada (Ex-Officio, Local Arrangements).
Patricia Whatley, University of Dundee, United Kingdom (Ex-Officio, SUV Secretary).