Call for Proposals for Virtual Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference + MDL Annual Meeting

The joint Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference (#UMDCC20) and the Minnesota Digital Library Annual Meeting (#mndiglib2020) will be held virtually November 5-6, 2020.

Call for Proposals

You can help make this a great conference! Consider sharing your experience and expertise by submitting a program proposal tailored for a virtual format. 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 Wednesday, August 5, 2020.

Submit your proposal: https://z.umn.edu/proposals2020

Suggested Topics

• Platforms for digital cultural heritage / storytelling (e.g. Mukurtu, ArcGIS StoryMaps)
• Rapid digital collection building and preservation in times of crisis or emergency (e.g. COVID-19 pandemic)
• Web archiving at the local/regional/consortial level (especially opportunities for organizations with limited staff or resources)
• Emerging research methods for using digital collections (e.g. digital humanities, digital scholarship, collections as data)
• Incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into digital collections workflows
• Collaboration of all kinds (e.g. inter-institutional, consortia, between units involved in digital collections)
• Navigating rights and/or open access 
• Reuse/remixing digital content
• User experience and/or digital collection assessment
• Selection and digital collection development (especially examples of integrating digital projects selection with archives selection)
• Digital collections and limited resources/staffing (how small and large shops can learn from each other, etc.)
• Connecting your collections with DPLA (Digital Public Library of America)
• Linked data projects (e.g. Wikidata and digital collections, pilot projects) 
• Building collections of student work (e.g. promoting, selecting, and creating policies for theses, capstones, and other work of undergraduates/graduates)
• Minnesota Digital Library specific project or initiative

Proposal Information

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

• Whether you are submitting for the Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference track or for the Minnesota Digital Library Annual Meeting track, or for either.
• Type of session (solo presenter, group/panel, lightning round, or other)
• Connection to suggested topics (if applicable)
• Title and description
• Learning objectives and audience engagement
• Name of system or platform used to host your digital collection (if applicable)
• Preference on recording your session
• 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, and 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. 

Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to hearing from you!

- Sara Ring (ring0089@umn.edu), on behalf of the Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference and MDL Annual Meeting planning committee

More About the Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference

The 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. 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 195+  libraries, historical societies, museums, and archives. Each year, MDL offers a conference at which MDL participants, partners, and interested professionals gather to learn about the 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.