Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference and Minnesota Digital Library Annual Meeting

The Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference (#umdcc25) and the Minnesota Digital Library Annual Meeting (#mndiglib25) will be held jointly on May 6–7, 2025. It will be an in-person event held in Saint Paul, Minnesota at the Union Depot. 

Program Description 

The theme of this year's conference is "Digital Directions: Lessons Learned and Future Pathways." Digital Collections work is often cyclical. We plan, digitize, describe, provide access, preserve, and repeat. We sometimes need to revisit our collections to enhance and make them more accessible. We tell stories with our digital content, help users make meaningful connections, and explore future pathways. 

In your work, what have you learned along the way? What would you share with other practitioners if they were to do a similar project? Have you recently completed a project or are you planning a new one?  Whether you're fine-tuning existing collections or embarking on new initiatives, come join us to discuss the future of digital collections work together.

Call for Proposals

Help us make this a great conference! Consider sharing your experience and expertise by submitting a program proposal. The planning committee has created a list of potential topics, but proposals on any topics relevant to digital collections are welcome. The deadline to submit proposals is Friday, December 6, 2024.

• Submit your proposal

Suggested Topics

• Inclusive metadata projects (e.g. traditional knowledge labels and notices) and other DEIA practices in digital collections
• Digital genealogy work
• Growth and management of audiovisual collections 
• Artificial intelligence in digital collections work
• Working with community-centered collections/archives
• Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) issues and initiatives
• Initiatives in digital cultural heritage storytelling 
• Re-evaluating/auditing digital collections (remediation projects and other best practices for reviewing content)
• Open source digital content management systems/migrating to new systems
• America 250 initiatives
• Crowdsourcing digital projects
• Changing landscape for national and other large-scale digital collections
• Future directions in digital collections work

Proposal Information

When you submit a proposal, you will be asked to indicate:

• Type of session (solo presenter, group/panel, round table discussion, or other)
• Connection to suggested topics (if applicable)
• Title and description
• Learning objectives and audience engagement
• Presenter contact information and co-presenter details (if applicable)

Vendors may also submit proposals, but we ask that it be in partnership with a library or cultural heritage organization to discuss projects and initiatives.

We plan a diverse conference appealing to anyone working with digital collections at all types of cultural heritage organizations. We strongly encourage presenters from all backgrounds, staff/student roles, and organizations to submit proposals. The planning committee will review and rank submissions based on the quality of the written proposal, knowledge about the topic submitted, planned objectives and audience engagement, and how the proposal relates to the goals of the conference and suggested topics. 

Keynote Speaker

Craig Stevens from Northwestern University IT and the Knight Lab will be the opening keynote speaker. He will discuss his work on augmented and virtual reality technologies that create captivating library-based experiences from university collections for visitors.

About Craig Stevens

Craig is completing his doctoral research in the Anthropology Department at Northwestern University. His work seeks to express anthropological and archaeological data through creative processes and immersive products. His archaeological research investigates the placemaking strategies of nineteenth-century Black American and Caribbean Back-to-Africa settlers and their descendants in Liberia. Through the use of 3D digitization and innovative curatorial strategies, Craig seeks to expose broad and diverse audiences to African and African Diasporic material culture. He recently developed and curated the Augmented Curiosities exhibition for the Herskovits Library of African Studies, which leverages Augmented and Virtual Reality technologies to provide opportunities for intimate engagement with African object collections.

Questions

If you have questions, contact planning committee co-chairs Sara Ring (Continuing Education Librarian, Minitex) and Molly Huber (Outreach Coordinator, Minnesota Digital Library).

Code of Conduct

Conference attendees are required to abide by the University of Minnesota Code of Conduct. The UMDCC and MDL Annual Meeting seeks a variety of opinions, voices, and perspectives at our conference. We encourage participation from people of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, abilities, religions, and sexual orientations. We strive to create an inclusive and respectful conference experience, inviting diverse perspectives and opinions.

Planning Committee

• Rick Adler
  Michigan Service Hub (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Greta Bahnemann
  Minitex/Minnesota Digital Library, (Minneapolis, MN)
• Justin Clark
  Indiana Memory (Indianapolis, IN)
• Molly Huber (Co-Chair)
  Minitex/Minnesota Digital Library (Minneapolis, MN)
• Ellen Lynch
  Lake County Historical Society (Two Harbors, MN)
• Trevor Martinson
  North Dakota State Library (Bismarck, North Dakota)
• Sara Ring (Co-Chair)
  Minitex (Minneapolis, MN)
• Penelope Shumaker
  State Library of Ohio (Columbus, OH)
• Kelly Thompson
  Augustana University (Sioux Falls, SD)

More About the MN+ Digital Collections Conference

The Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference (UMDCC) provides opportunities for digital collections creators and curators in the region and beyond to network, share best practices, participate in hands-on workshops, and learn from leaders in digital cultural heritage. As it has for the past few conference years, the event includes the Minnesota Digital Library annual meeting.

Minitex staff, along with a regional planning committee, are the primary organizers of the Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference. 

More About the Minnesota Digital Library 

The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) supports discovery and education through access to unique digital collections shared by cultural heritage organizations from across the state of Minnesota. Our contributors include over 200 libraries, historical societies, museums, and archives. Each year, MDL offers a conference at which MDL participants, partners, and interested professionals gather to learn about MDL, what the collaborative is currently doing, and to attend sessions on a variety of topics such as best practices (scanning, preservation, metadata), teaching approaches, sharing MDL projects, technical skills, and more.