Theme: Renewal

The SNCA Program Committee is now accepting applications for the 2022 SNCA conference that will take place virtually March 17-18, 2022. Please submit via the online form. 

This year’s theme is Renewal. In Michelle Caswell’s 2021 book Urgent Archives: Enacting Liberatory Memory Work, she writes, "this is an urgent plea, but it also demands careful, considerate, slow work. Urgent and slow are not opposing forces in this conception, but rather work in tandem." As we continue professional (and personal, perhaps) transitions that were thrust upon us in 2020, we can also consider how to revisit, renew, and revitalize our modes of doing work - in the way that Caswell describes or otherwise. In these transitions, how are we working in new ways and adapting approaches to records lifecycles? What new and/or different approaches to our professional work, our concepts of labor, or ourselves have occurred? We welcome presentations that illustrate how renewal runs through our ongoing transitions and adaptations in our workplaces, our homes, and our profession.

Workshops will be held virtually in advance of the event, and the conference held and viewed virtually Thursday-Friday, March 17-18. As the Society of North Carolina Archivists, we collaborate with a variety of professionals to ally ourselves with the mission of preserving and making history accessible to all. We encourage submissions from archivists, librarians, and other memory worker allies from North Carolina and beyond our state borders.

We invite proposals for panels, lightning rounds, and individual presentations, as well as posters. All sessions will be pre-recorded.

• Panel and lightning rounds proposals: This format may be submitted by an individual speaker interested or by an individual on behalf of a group of presenters. Each should provide an abstract (150 words max) of the proposed topic. Panel sessions consist of 3-4 speakers who each have 15-20 minutes to present. Lightning rounds include more speakers with less time for each, usually 5-10 minutes. 
• Poster proposals: Please submit an abstract (150 words max) for your proposed topic. Since poster sessions will be virtual, poster presenters may want to consider proposing a lightning round. Alternatively, poster presenters may be invited to record a 2-minute audio summary to submit along with a PDF of their poster to make it more accessible and interactive despite the virtual format. The Committee invites submissions that reflect the diverse experiences and perspectives of those active in the field. 

Any individual involved in archives–including students, staff, volunteers, researchers, donors, academics, and allied professionals–are welcome to submit proposals. Students and new professionals are particularly encouraged to submit. Speakers are not required to be SNCA members. More details about the conference, including social events being held Wednesday, March 16, in cities around the state and the pre-conference workshops, will be shared when available. All proposals must be submitted via the online form.

Submission Deadline is: January 12, 2022.

Please email Stephanie Bennett at bennetse@wfu.edu if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. We look forward to your submissions! 

The 2022 Program Committee: Randi Beem, Stephanie Bennett (chair), Kait Dorsky, Liz Harper, Peggy Higgins, and Nancy Kaiser