CFP: 2026 SOUCABL (Southern University and College Academic Business Librarians Conference) - May 13th & 14th, 2026 - Nashville, Tennessee

Are you an academic librarian with liaison responsibilities in business, finance, or entrepreneurship? In the Southern US? If so, the Southern University and College Academic Business Librarians Conference (SOUCABL) is for you! SOUCABL is a great opportunity to meet other information professionals, develop your regional network of colleagues, share ideas, and brainstorm solutions.

We are now accepting proposals!

https://forms.gle/MvjRNsSAymgSftJD9

Timeline

• Proposals are due Friday, January 9, 2026
• Proposals confirmed no later than Friday, January 30, 2026

We especially encourage proposal submissions from librarians who work at smaller institutions or for whom providing public and technical services for business, finance, sports management, or entrepreneurship education and programming is only part of their job.

Priority will be given to participants from the District of Columbia and 14 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

About the Conference

What: The SOUCABL Conference: Chapter 7 - "Striving & Thriving"
When: Wednesday, May 13 - Thursday, May 14, 2026
Where: Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Cost: No registration fee

• Breakfast and lunch will be provided in addition
• There will be a welcome reception on Wednesday and closing reception on Thursday
• Speakers are responsible for covering their own travel and lodging

Pre-Conference Literacy Lab
The preconference will explore strategies for teaching a range of business information literacies—including data, financial, and related competencies—within the context of today’s evolving landscape of resources, technologies and ethical questions. Sessions will emphasize practical approaches for maximizing the impact of available resources, and highlighting creative methods of instruction. We especially encourage workshops that critically examine pedagogical practices through an ethical lens, considering issues such as equity, accessibility, and responsible use of information. The aim is to inspire attendees with fresh ideas,  and equip them with practical tools and reflective frameworks. Tell us how your workshop might help our community to enhance our teaching in meaningful and conscientious ways.

Striving & Thriving: Start Where You Are, Use What You Have, Do What You Can

The theme of the 2026 conference is “Striving & Thriving.” We invite business librarians to share their creative, practical, and impactful approaches to supporting business information needs with the resources at hand or have sourced new funding in new ways. Whether you’ve developed innovative programs, forged strategic partnerships, leveraged technology in new ways, or found small changes that made a big difference, we want to hear your story. Proposals should highlight successes, lessons learned, and strategies for thriving despite today’s shrinking budgets.

Suggested topics may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Have you adapted or repurposed existing tools, collections, or spaces in ways that had a significant impact?
• What partnerships have helped you extend your reach or offer new services?
• Have you used technology creatively or inexpensively to enhance access, engagement, or efficiency?
• What lessons have you learned from experimenting with new approaches, and how have they shaped your current practice?
• How do you measure or demonstrate the impact of your work on a budget?

Formats

• Pre-conference Workshop: 55 minutes including all interactive elements
• Lightning talk: 10 minutes (includes any Q&A), limited to 5 slides maximum

We are open to accepting different formats. Sometimes a lightning talk can be expanded into a workshop, sometimes a workshop can condense into a lightning talk. We are looking for events that provide impact with the quickest return for time invested. We are also open to innovative formats. If you have an idea to develop it into a program, we’d love to hear from you. We are of course happy to consider different modalities for those who have specific requests.

Please contact Twyckoff@fsu.edu for suggestions for the program or proposals.
Please contact hd.mckay@vanderbilt.edu for any questions about travel and hospitality related to the conference.

Submit your proposals here: https://forms.gle/MvjRNsSAymgSftJD9

Kind regards,
Kara (in my role as a planning committee member)

--

Kara Van Abel, MLIS | Associate Professor | Reference Librarian
UAB | The University of Alabama at Birmingham
kvanabel@uab.edu

CFP: MiALA 2026 Annual Conference (Traverse City, Michigan - May 6-8, 2026)

The Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA) is now accepting presentation proposals for its annual conference, which will be held May 6-8, 2026, at the Park Place Hotel and Conference Center in downtown Traverse City, MI. 

This year’s theme is Finding Our True North: Creating Connections to Light Our Way. Amid an era of rapid and often unsettling change in higher education, Michigan’s academic libraries remain vital centers of integrity, inquiry, and connection. Committed to upholding intellectual freedom, access, inclusivity, privacy, and the pursuit of truth, our “True North” is the shared compass that guides our work and keeps us grounded. We invite the academic library community to reflect on how it can embody our profession’s enduring core values, even when external pressures threaten to pull us off course. This year’s conference seeks to illuminate how academic libraries across Michigan are building resilience, fostering collaboration, and staying true to our values.

 

We welcome proposals on topics covering any aspect of academic libraries. We are especially interested in those proposals that explore how academic libraries are reaffirming their “True North”—the guiding principles that sustain and inspire our work. Proposals are currently being accepted for the following formats: 

 

• Presentations, panels, or moderated discussion sessions (45 min.)
• Interactive workshops (105 min.)
• Lightning Talks (10 min.)

 

Note: Poster presentation proposals will open in early December. Participation from librarians, library staff, LIS students, and administrators from all types of academic libraries is encouraged. MiALA membership is not required to submit a proposal.

 

Please submit your presentation proposal using the application form by January 12, 2026. There is also a Breakout Session Collaboration Sheet available to find potential collaborators around a topic or idea.

• Questions about proposals can be sent to Stephanie Swanberg  at sswanberg@msp.edu. 
• Questions about the conference in general can be sent to conference@miala.org. 

 

Join us as we come together in Traverse City to reflect, reconnect, and rediscover our collective direction. Let’s amplify the stories, strategies, and sparks of inspiration that remind us of who we are and why our work matters.

CFP: Librarians to Write About Digital Tools for IT (Information Today) Magazine

Call for Articles: Librarians Wanted to Write About Digital Tools for IT Magazine

Information Today (IT) magazine (https://www.infotoday.com/it/) is seeking feature article writers for its Insights on Content: Making Sense of the Digital Maze section. If you're a library worker who engages with digital tools and/or e-resources and you have knowledge you'd like to share, please reach out to editor in chief Brandi Scardilli (bscardilli@infotoday.com) with your topic idea(s). You can propose one article or multiple. Articles will appear in the quarterly issues of 2026, and they should be a maximum of 800 words. IT pays $200 per article.

--

Brandi Scardilli

she/her | Muck Rack

Editor in Chief, Computers in Libraries

Editor in Chief, Information Today

Editor in Chief, ITI NewsBreaks, ITI NewsLink

Contributor, Streaming Media

Ebook Coordinator, ITI/Plexus

CFP: EBSCO Users Group 2026 - Omaha, Nebraska (May 5-8, 2026)

EBSCO User Group 2026 Call for Proposals Extended
May 5-8 | Omaha, NE
Conference URL: https://ebscousergroup.org/

Submission URL: https://ebscousergroup.org/submit-a-session/
Sessions will be held in one of three formats:

• Standard Presentation – 50 minutes, including time for Q&A (1-2 speakers)
• Panel Presentation – 50 minutes, including time for Q&A (3-4 speakers)
• Innovation Session – 10 minutes, lightning round format, back-to-back with Q&A at the end (1-2 speakers)

Proposals can cover a wide range of topics across EBSCO products and services, including:

• Configuration & Optimization
• UX, UI & Online Presence
• User Research Journey
• Collection Development
• Reporting & Analytics
• Tips & Tricks
• Library Landscape & Community
• Technology & Trends
• Implementation & Migration

You needed more time, and we listened. Our call for proposals for EBSCO User Group 2026 has been extended to December 1st, 2025. We are still accepting standard, panel and lightning round session proposals. Visit our website to learn more and submit your proposals.

Call for Proposals now closes 12/1/25 at 11:59pm ET.

CFP: Call for Contributors to the BizLibratory Blog! (Business and Social Science Librarianship)

Are you passionate about business or social science librarianship, creative pedagogy, or emerging trends in research and instruction? Do you have ideas, insights, or stories to share with a vibrant community of academic and professional librarians? If so, we’d love to feature your work on BizLibratory (https://bizlibratory.wordpress.com/)!

BizLibratory is a collaborative platform that explores the intersections of business, social science, librarianship, and innovation. From sharing successful teaching strategies to highlighting emerging tools and resources, our blog fosters dialogue and professional growth within the business and social science librarianship community.

We’re seeking contributors for upcoming blog posts! Whether you’re a seasoned writer or new to blogging, we welcome diverse perspectives and fresh voices. Topics we’re particularly excited about include:

• Innovative teaching practices for business research
• Insights on supporting entrepreneurship and startups
• Tools, technologies, and resources enhancing business librarianship
• Reflections on the evolving role of the business librarian
• Case studies, program highlights, or collaborative initiatives
• Don’t see your idea listed? That’s okay! We’re open to creative pitches that align with the spirit of the blog.

How to Contribute:

Tip: If you’re new to this blog, we recommend skimming a few entries of
BizLibratory to get a sense for the tone.

1. Submit your blog pitch (a few sentences outlining your topic and approach) to bizlibratory@gmail.com.
2. We’ll work with you to shape your post and provide editorial support if needed.
3. Completed blog posts typically range from 500-800 words, though this is flexible. Read more about our formats, suggested topics and editorial process here. (https://bizlibratory.wordpress.com/contribute/)

This is a great opportunity to engage with peers, showcase your expertise, and spark meaningful discussions. We can’t wait to hear your ideas and amplify your voice in the BizLibratory community.

Questions or ready to submit your pitch? Contact us at bizlibratory@gmail.com

Warm regards,
Editors, BizLibratory (Summer Krstevska, Nancy Lovas, & Angel Truesdale)

CFP: 2026 Library Publishing Forum: CFP now open and two scholarships available (Seattle, Washington - June 17-18, 2026)

 

We are excited to present two announcements: The call for proposals for the 2026 Library Publishing Forum is now open We are offering two scholarships to attend the Forum About the Library Publishing Forum The Library Publishing Forum is an annual conference bringing together representatives from libraries engaged in (or considering) publishing initiatives to define and address major questions and challenges; to identify and document collaborative opportunities; and to strengthen and promote this community of practice. The Forum includes representatives from a broad, international spectrum of academic library backgrounds, as well as groups that collaborate with libraries to publish scholarly works, including publishing vendors, university presses, and scholars. The Forum is sponsored by the Library Publishing Coalition, but you do not need to be a member of LPC to attend.

2026 Library Publishing Forum Call for Proposals

The Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) is now accepting in-person and a limited number remote proposals for the 2026 Library Publishing Forum! We are thrilled to offer an in-person conference at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, on June 17 and 18, 2026, with active remote engagement also planned.  Proposals may address any topic of interest to the library publishing community. The proposal deadline is December 12, 2025. Proposal submissions are welcome from LPC members and nonmembers, including library employees, university press employees, scholars, students, and other scholarly communication and publishing professionals. Again, we welcome proposals from first-time presenters and representatives of small and emerging publishing programs. We are committed to expanding the diversity of perspectives we hear from at the Library Publishing Forum. Working towards some of the “Continuing Initiatives” from the LPC Roadmap for Anti-Racist Practice, we ask all proposals to explicitly address how they are inclusive of multiple perspectives, address DEI, or incorporate anti-racist and anti-oppressive approaches. Presentations about specific communities should include members of that community in their speaker list, and for sessions with multiple speakers, we seek to avoid demographically homogeneous panels. Everyone submitting a presentation will also have an opportunity to complete a brief, anonymous demographic survey so we can better understand who is submitting proposals to LPF. Learn more and submit a proposal.

Call for Applications for the 2026 Library Publishing Forum Scholarships

About the Forum scholarships The Library Publishing Coalition is offering scholarships to offset travel costs for first-time Forum attendees from the United States and Canada, with a focus on individuals who will bring new and diverse perspectives to the community. There are two scholarships available, each of which will cover up to $2,500 USD in travel-related expenses, including airfare, hotel, and meals. Scholarship awardees will have Forum registration fees waived and will be paired with a community mentor to help introduce them to the conference and the community. For awardees from non-member institutions, the award includes guest access to the LPC community for the year following the in-person Forum. This would include access to the listserv and service opportunities, and the opportunity to participate in the peer mentorship program. All recipients will also receive a waived registration to the virtual Forum planned for May 2027. Eligibility This round of the scholarship program will only be open to applicants from the United States and Canada.  Applications will be accepted from individuals at both Library Publishing Coalition member and non-member institutions.  Anyone who has not attended a previous in-person Library Publishing Forum is eligible to apply. (Anyone who has -only- attended the Library Publishing Forum virtually is encouraged to apply for this scholarship for travel funding to the 2026 in-person Forum.) Applicants new to their librarianship career (first 3–5 years), new to the field of library publishing, and/or who identify as members of a group (or groups) underrepresented among library and publishing practitioners will be given preference.  These groups include – but are not limited to – members of a racial/ethnic minority, first-generation college graduates, immigrants and refugees, persons with a disability, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.  Applications from people who could contribute to the diversity of perspectives at the Forum in other ways are also warmly welcomed. How to apply for a scholarship To apply for a scholarship, please fill out the application form. Applications are due by December 12, 2025. The Library Publishing Coalition’s Forum Scholarship Committee will review applications and notify applicants by Early February 2026. Questions? Email contact@librarypublishing.org.

CFP: The Reference Librarian Special Issue on Staffing

The Reference Librarian is planning a special issue addressing how instruction librarians manage their information literacy and liaison programs while adapting to budget cuts and changes in organizational structures. How do you effectively deliver information literacy instruction while maintaining other critical services and adhering to professional standards when changes in budgeting and staffing make it difficult or impossible to specialize?

We are seeking case studies or research articles from libraries that are experiencing challenges including, but not limited to:

• The staff is too small for a liaison program to match subject experts with academic departments
• The library has lost a significant number of staff including instruction librarians, liaison librarians, or other staff positions
• Requiring librarians to fill multiple roles outside their area of expertise

Questions you might answer include:

• How have you used alternative staff models such as well-trained peer tutors, interns, or staff support to deliver instruction?
• How have you used a shared repository that any librarian or other staff members can use to teach?
• In what ways do you rely on online teaching resources rather than in-person delivery?
• How have you implemented a "train the trainer" model, e.g., by training faculty to teach information literacy?
• Or do you have another innovative model for delivering information literacy that can be adapted by other libraries experiencing similar challenges?

How do you make it work and still fulfill accreditation and other professional standards? Tell us about it!

Use the Call for Special Issue on Staffing (https://harrisburgu.libwizard.com/f/_wrefSP2526) link  to submit a 500-word proposal to by December 19, 2025.

The Reference Librarian uses the APA style, 7th ed.

Questions can be directed to co-editors Lauri Rebar (Lrebar@fau.edu) and Christine Bombaro (cbomb22@gmail.com).

All manuscripts are subject to double-blind peer review. An invitation to submit an article does not guarantee publication in the final issue. For more information about the journal, see The Reference Librarian's website at: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/wref20.

Call for CLIPP Survey Participation: Student Advisory Groups

 NOTE: Bit off topic - but for a good cause.

Please help me learn more about student advisory groups at small to medium-sized college and university libraries by completing this survey by Friday, December 19, 2025.

The survey should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Your willingness to participate is appreciated, and thanks to a faculty research grant from the College of Charleston (my current institution), the first 100 respondents to complete the survey will receive a $15 gift card.

This survey will contribute to an ACRL College Library Information on Policy and Practice (CLIPP) series book. In addition to basic questions about your institution, the survey contains questions about recruitment, membership, meetings, funding, time investment, and events/projects involving student advisory boards, committees, councils, and other student-centered and -run groups that are supervised, facilitated, or advised by faculty and staff.

Like all CLIPP surveys, it will allow you to upload electronic copies of documentation that you think would be helpful to other libraries. If you have created or revised example documents relevant to this topic in the last five years, I strongly encourage you to share them via the survey or send them by email (as attachments or stable URLs) to acrlclipp49@gmail.com. 

I am also interested in speaking with student advisory groups and the library faculty and staff who supervise, facilitate, or advise them. If you or others directly involved in this work are interested in an interview, please indicate that at the end of the survey or send an email to acrlclipp49@gmail.com. 

Thank you for your consideration of this survey; your participation is essential to the success of the CLIPP program!

Sincerely,

Amanda Kraft

UX & Engagement Coordinator

College of Charleston Libraries

CFP: Propose a Topic for an ITAL column: "From the Field" or “ITAL &”

Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL), the quarterly open-access journal published by ALA’s Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures division, is looking for contributions to two of its regular, non-peer-reviewed columns: ”From the Field” and “ITAL &” for volume 45 (2026). Proposals are due by December 1, 2025, and authors will be notified by December 31, 2025.

The two columns are intended to be practitioner-focused, and editors will happily entertain submissions from folks who have expertise in libraries and technology but who may not work in a traditional “library” environment or role. We are also happy to work with first-time authors and folks based outside of North America, though columns must be submitted in English.

Columns are generally in the 1,000-1,500 word range and may include illustrations. These will not be peer-reviewed research articles but are meant to share practical experience with technology development or uses within the library. The September 2026 issue of ITAL will likely be a special issue about AI, so we will be looking for AI-themed topics to coincide with that publication. Topics for the other three projected ITAL issues in 2026 will include a broader variety of subject areas, as outlined for each column below.

Please note: there is more information about each column below, and there are different submission forms for each column. You are welcome to submit proposals to one or both, but please avoid submitting the exact same proposal to both columns, and please ensure you are using the correct form for your submission.

From the Field:

“From the Field” highlights a technology-based project, practice, or innovation from any library in the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) community. The focus should be on the use of specific technologies to improve, provide access to, preserve, or evaluate the impact of library resources and services.

Recent “From the Field” columns highlighted innovative technology projects in small and large libraries and archives ranging from using visualization technology to make more effective use of library budgets to using ChatGPT to identify and highlight the work of early modern women printers. Sample future columns could include implementations around management of research data; implementation of new open source products; preservation of digitized or born-digital objects; uses or development of AI tools; support of open science/open education, etc.

Those who are interested in being an author for “From the Field” should submit a brief proposal / abstract that outlines the topic to be covered. Proposals should be no more than 250 words. Please submit your proposals via this form no later than December 1, 2025.

ITAL &:

“ITAL &” is a featured column that focuses on ways in which the library’s role continues to expand and develop in the information technology landscape. The emphasis will be on emerging ideas and issues, with a particular aim to recruit new-to-the-profession columnists.

Recent “ITAL &” columns have discussed accessibility requirements for web-based content, critical thinking about and usage of emerging generative AI tools, a review of a practitioner’s first year as a new systems librarian, issues surrounding knowledge access in the prison industrial complex, and a comparison of free graphic design software platforms commonly used by library workers. Future topics could include, but are not limited to: disability and accessibility, cybersecurity and privacy, the open movement / open pedagogy, linked data and metadata, digital humanities / digital praxis, digitization efforts, programming and workshops, the overlap between library technology and other library departments (acquisitions, readers advisory, information literacy and instruction, scholarly communications), or other emerging technologies and their implications for library work.

Those who are interested in being an author for this column should submit a brief proposal / abstract that outlines the topic to be covered. Proposals should be no more than 250 words. Please submit your proposals via this form no later than December 1, 2025.

____

Since these are both non-peer-reviewed columns, there is also an opportunity to engage in new or different formats, so creative submissions will also be considered. (Examples: comics, zines, videos, autoethnography, case studies, white papers, policy documents, interviews, reports, or other things commonly referred to as "grey literature.") If you would like your column to be in a format that differs from a standard editorial essay, please explain in your proposal.

Contact Cindi Blyberg at cindi@blyberg.net (From the Field) or Shanna Hollich at shollich@gmail.com (ITAL &) with any questions. Please forward to any colleagues who may be interested. Thank you!

CFP: Automation to Artificial Intelligence: Smart Knowledge Environments With Disruptive Technologies in Libraries

Call for Chapters: Automation to Artificial Intelligence: Smart Knowledge Environments With Disruptive Technologies in Libraries

We are seeking proposals for chapters in an upcoming edited book. Libraries are undergoing a huge transformation. Technologies are increasingly being integrated like AI, Blockchain, loT, and robotics creating smart knowledge environments. This edited book is seeking scholars, practitioners and technologists to contribute their chapter that explores the future of libraries and information centers through interdisciplinary lenses.The publisher is Springer Nature. Proposals have been extended to November 28, 2025.

Barbara Holland
barland1@gmail.com

Topics of Interest include but not limited to

• Artificial Intelligence
• AI and Libraries
• Blockchain and Libraries
• Information Retrieval Hybrid Search Models
• Metadata and AI
• Datascience
• ioT
• Information Technology
• Ethics
• Smart libraries & Emerging TechAI and automation
• AI and cataloging or metadata
• Machine learning in library recommender systems
• Natural language processing (NLP) in Information Retrieval:
• Voice-based Information Retrieval in libraries:
• AI into library reference services: Can chatbots and virtual assistants enhance patron support?
• Bias in library recommender systems
• Automated metadata generation using NLP:
• User Experience in Library and Information Science

CFP: Inclusive Practices: Advancing Access and Belonging in Academic Libraries (Book Chapters) #ACRL

Call for Proposals

Inclusive Practices: Advancing Access and Belonging in Academic Libraries

We are pleased to invite chapter proposals for the forthcoming ACRL publication Inclusive Practices: Advancing Access and Belonging in Academic Libraries. This book will center on how academic libraries can navigate today’s challenging political landscape while still advancing inclusion, equity, and access.

Contributions are welcome from librarians, educators, administrators, and researchers who are advancing equity and inclusion through their work. (Authors are welcome to remain anonymous in the published version of the book if they prefer.) This publication aims to share practical insights, evidence-based approaches, and personal narratives that inspire a more inclusive and equitable future for academic libraries:

• Provide practical, real-world strategies for advancing inclusivity in academic libraries amidst anti-DEI legislation and backlash 

• Center the historical and ethical role of libraries as inclusive institutions 

• Offer guidance for both administrators at all levels and librarians leading from the middle on leading with integrity in politically charged climates 

• Equip libraries to influence broader institutional culture and resilience through action, not rhetoric 

Topics could include:

Section I: Library Leaders Creating Cultures of Inclusivity

• Getting Started: Introducing an Inclusive Culture to Your Library

• Best Practices for Inclusive Management in Academic Libraries

• Helping Early Career Librarians Support Inclusivity from the Beginning

• Working with Resistant Colleagues

Section II: Learning about Inclusivity

• Lifelong Learning of Inclusivity

• Beginning Inclusivity Training: Where Can You Learn the Basics?

• Advanced Inclusivity Training: When You’ve Learned the Basics, Where Can You Learn More?

Section III: Librarians Leading and Practicing Inclusivity

• How Can Librarians Lead Inclusive Practice from the Middle?

• Coaching Colleagues in Inclusivity

• Culture of Humility in Workplace/Academic/Community Contexts

• Tools for Assessing Inclusivity and Climate on Campus

Section IV: Inclusivity in Specific Areas of Work

• Inclusivity in Instruction

• Inclusivity in Reference/Research Consultancy

• Inclusivity in Special Collection & Archives

• Inclusivity in Collection Management & Cataloging

• Inclusivity in Library Human Resources

Section V: Academic Libraries Serving as Models of Inclusivity for their Institutions

• How Academic Libraries Can Lead the Way for Inclusivity across their Institutions

• How Academic Libraries Can Support Faculty Across Campus in Inclusive Teaching

Closing Words: A Vision for the Future

Submission Details

Please submit a proposal including author names, job titles, emails, and institutional affiliations. Also include a working chapter title, an abstract up to 500 words, and a link to a current CV or list of publications. 

• Proposal deadline: November 24, 2025

• Notification of acceptance: December 22, 2025

• Chapter drafts due: May 1, 2026

• Chapter drafts returned to authors for revisions: July 15, 2026

• Chapter length: [e.g., 4,000–6,000 words]
  
  

• Submission contact: inclusive.practices.2027@gmail.com

We encourage diverse perspectives and welcome contributions from both emerging and experienced voices in the profession. We also welcome proposals for additional topics that align with the themes outlined in this call.

CFP: Open Repositories 2026 - Online Conference - June 8-11, 2026

The 21st International Conference on Open Repositories (OR2026) will be held online June 8-11, 2026.

 

The theme for the OR2026 conference is: Open to All? Repositories at the Intersection of People, Practice, and Emerging Technologies

Exploring how repositories sustain open knowledge exchange while advancing FAIR principles, preservation, community building, and responding to the challenges and opportunities of emerging technologies.

Our last online conference, OR2021, was held with “Open for All” as the theme. As we look back over the past five years, what has changed in the broader landscape of repositories? What new challenges are open repositories facing? How are repositories responding and addressing these challenges, and what opportunities are they embracing? As we embark on a fully online conference in 2026, we ask, are open repositories Open to All? 

We particularly welcome proposals aligned to the overall theme, but also on other administrative, organizational, or practical topics related to open digital repositories. We are interested in the following sub-themes:

• Sustaining open knowledge exchange: How do we balance commitments to openness with long-term resilience and sustainability through our practices and partnerships?
• FAIR principles: How are we ensuring that repository content is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reuseable and how are we addressing the ability of machines to automatically find and use digital assets?
• Preservation: How are financial and resource impacts addressed in our work to ensure that repositories and their digital content are preserved into the future?
• Community building: How do we strengthen and continue to build an open community of practice?
• Responding to challenges and opportunities of emerging technologies: New technologies have the potential to offer both opportunities and challenges to repositories and scholarly communication infrastructure. How are we taking advantage of opportunities and mitigating potential threats?

 

Submission categories include workshops, panels, roundtable discussions, presentations, and pre-recorded lightning talks.

 

Please visit the Call for Proposals page to learn more about the submission categories including a full list of submission templates that can be downloaded, recording and dissemination information for accepted proposals, and key dates. Note that all submissions must be made in ConfTool, our conference management tool. 

 

The deadline for submissions is January 11, 2026.

Please note: This is a firm deadline for submissions and there will not be an extension.

 

We are thrilled about the opportunities an online conference provides and only plan to charge a small registration fee to attendees from “high income” countries to cover the online platform costs. Registration for all other attendees will be free. 

 

Program Co-Chairs:

Joseph Kraus, Colorado School of Mines

Ianthe Sutherland, University of Edinburgh

Paul Walk, Antleaf Ltd.

Maureen P. Walsh, The Ohio State University Libraries

 

Contact: or26-program-chairs@googlegroups.com

 

For the Open Repositories Steering Committee:

Liz Krznarich and Ilkay Holt

Website: https://or2026.openrepositories.org/