100 Years of Information Science: Understanding the Past and Building the Future
The Canadian Association for Information Science / l’Association canadienne des sciences de l’information (CAIS/ACSI) invites submissions for its 50th Annual Conference, June 7 – 10, 2022. As in 2020 and 2021, the 2022 conference will be free and open to all, online.
CAIS/ACSI’s first conference took place in 1973. That year, 171 attendees gathered at the Château Montebello for the inaugural conference (Nilsen, 2010, p.135). In the scenic Québec countryside, they discussed matters with abiding relevance today: privacy, systems, information management, metadata, policy, curriculum (Nilsen, 2010. p. 140). In 2022, CAIS/ACSI will host its 50th conference, a virtual event open to attendees around the world. Over the years, the interests discussed at CAIS/ACSI have broadened and diversified, but the community spirit, for which the conference is known, has remained constant.
To mark CAIS/ACSI’s 50th conference, the 2022 theme is “100 Years of Information Science.” We encourage consideration of the past fifty years, and of the next fifty. We invite attendees to draw insights from the history of our field, and to articulate potential futures.
Submissions may cover topics including, but not limited to, the following:
- Emergent perspectives that will illuminate the concerns of tomorrow
- Systematic reanalyses and reviews that reveal new and/or needed directions
- Revitalisation of ideas that may have initially been “ahead of their time”
- Critical reappraisals of the history of our field
- Articulations of challenges, opportunities, and visions for the future(s) of our field
- Identification of positive and/or negative futures for our field
- Examinations of the inter-disciplinary and/or trans-disciplinary character of our field, and its evolving boundaries
- Explorations of the impact of our field, historical or potential
We welcome papers, panels, and lightning talks representing diverse topics and methods. We particularly encourage contributions with connections to “Understanding the Past and Building the Future,” ie., those that unearth historical insights with relevance for today, and those that envision and argue for potential futures for library and information science.
Types of proposals
CAIS/ACSI welcomes proposals reporting on empirical, theoretical, and practice-based research. Proposals may be submitted in English or French. All proposals will undergo double-blind peer review, and should be scrubbed of personally identifying information upon initial submission.
Papers: 20-minute oral presentations of completed or well-developed projects on topics suitable for publication in scholarly journals. Proposals reporting on completed or ongoing research will be given preference. Diverse and innovative perspectives (theoretical and applied) and methodologies are welcome. Proposals should be in the form of an extended abstract (approximately 1000-1500 words excluding references). Please use this template.
Lightning Talks: 5-minute oral presentations covering a single element of a work in progress, or a new idea. Lightning talk proposals aiming to cover an entire research project will not be accepted. The purpose of a lightning talk is to start a discussion, receive input on an idea, or find collaborators. Proposals should be in the form of a 250-word abstract (excluding references). Please use this template.
Panels: 90-minute oral presentations from three or more authors on emerging domains, trends, or contrasting viewpoints, including time for questions or discussion. Panels are an opportunity to engage in discussion of shared concerns, including those not available in completed research or yet adequately recognized. Proposals should not be simply a set of related paper presentations; we encourage proposals that offer creative and unique opportunities for engagement and discussion with the audience as part of the panel session. We recommend three to five panelists plus a moderator; there will be an opportunity to modify the list of panelists after acceptance. Proposals should be in the form of an extended abstract (approximately 1000-1500 words excluding references), that identifies the topic to be discussed, provides an overview of the structure of the panel, and includes relevant qualifications and contributions of each participating panelist. Please use this template.
Student-to-CAIS/ACSI and Best Paper by a Practitioner Awards: Paper proposals by graduate students and practitioners will be considered for these awards. The Student-to-CAIS/ACSI award includes a monetary prize. Both awardees will have the opportunity to publish the full manuscript in the Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science / La Revue canadienne des sciences de l’information et de bibliothéconomie. In order to be considered for these awards, please indicate if you are a student or practitioner when submitting your proposal. Winners will be selected based on their extended abstracts. Details of the award, including previous winners, can be found at the CAIS/ACSI website at www.cais-acsi.ca.
Proposals will be evaluated on theory/methodology, clarity, impact/originality, and overall quality. Proposals will be received and reviewed using the Open Journals System (OJS): https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/ojs.cais-acsi.ca/index.php/cais-asci/about/submissions. Initial submissions should be scrubbed of identifying information for double-blind peer review. If you run into issues submitting your paper, lightning talk, or panel through OJS by the submission date, please submit instead by email to [email protected].
Student Research Forum: We are pleased to invite master’s and doctoral students to CAIS’s Student Research Forum. The Forum’s goal is to provide graduate students with an opportunity to present and discuss their research project, get feedback from senior researchers, and make connections with other students. Students at any stage of their graduate program are invited to submit to the Forum.
Please be prepared to present informally on an aspect of your research for 5-10 minutes, which will be followed by discussion. More details will be provided upon acceptance.
To participate in the Forum, please fill out the following submission form.
The submission deadline for all proposals is January 21, 2022, midnight Pacific Time.
Authors will be notified by March 15, 2022. Final versions must be submitted no later than May 15, 2022, and will then be published on the conference website and in the conference proceedings. Authors are also encouraged to submit full papers to CAIS’s diamond open access journal (no Article Processing Charges): Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science / La Revue canadienne des sciences de l’information et de bibliothéconomie.
For further information, please contact the CAIS/ACSI 2022 Conference Co-Chairs:
Alex Mayhew, PhD Candidate
Western University
[email protected]
Alison Brown, Lecturer
Dalhousie University
[email protected]
Sarah Polkinghorne, PhD
University of Alberta
[email protected]