Quick Summary
Save the date for the Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference and the Minnesota Digital Library Annual Meeting, to be held jointly on May 6–7, 2025. Consider submitting a proposal for the conference!
We’re excited to announce that the Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference and the Minnesota Digital Library Annual Meeting 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. The theme for the conference is Digital Directions: Lessons Learned and Future Pathways.
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.
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.
Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to hearing from you!
- Sara Ring (ring0089@umn.edu) and Molly Huber (mollyh@umn.edu), co-chairs, on behalf of the Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference and MDL Annual Meeting planning committee.
Learn more about the conference by visiting the event webpage.
