2023 SAA Research Forum

Call for Participants and Presentations

Society of American Archivists 

2023 SAA Research Forum

hosted by the Committee on Research, Data, and Assessment

July 12 from 1:00 – 4:30 pm CT

July 19, 1:00 – 4:30 pm CT

Virtual Meetings

Archivists from around the country and the world will convene in Washington, D.C. and virtually at ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2023, the Joint Annual Meeting of the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) and the Society of American Archivists (SAA).

The 2023 Research Forum, hosted by the Committee on Research, Data and Assessment, will take place in the weeks leading up to the Joint Annual Meeting, “Work in Common/Work Toward Commons”. If you’re engaged in research, seeking to identify research-based solutions for your institution, willing to participate in the research cycle by serving as a site for research trials, or simply interested in what’s happening in research and innovation, join us for the 17th annual SAA Research Forum.

Researchers, practitioners, educators, students, and the curious across all sectors of archives and records management are invited to participate. Use the Forum to discuss, debate, plan, organize, evaluate, or motivate research projects and initiatives. Here’s your chance to find collaborators or to help inform colleagues about questions and problems that need to be tackled. The Forum features the full spectrum of research activities—from “pure” research to applied research to innovative practice—all of interest and value to the archives community.

Call for Platform and Poster Presentations

The 2023 Research Forum will be conducted as two Zoom-based virtual sessions, each three-and-a-half hours long, on Wednesday, July 12, from 1:00 to 4:30 pm CT and on Wednesday, July 19, from 1:00 to 4:30 pm CT. SAA invites submission of abstracts (of 300 words or fewer) for a 10-minute platform presentation or a 2-minute poster presentation. Topics may address research or innovations in any aspect of archives practice or records management in government, corporate, academic, scientific, or other settings. (Examples here.) Presentations on research results that may have emerged since the Annual Meeting Call for Proposals deadline are welcome, as are reports on research completed within the past three years that you think is relevant and valuable for discussion. Please indicate whether you intend a platform or poster presentation.

If you have presented on a topic before, please address how your proposal for 2023 expands or updates on that work.

The organizers encourage submissions for the Research Forum that might address a range of topics, but are not limited to:

1. Global challenges and their implications for archives and archivists, such as climate change, armed conflicts, environmental disaster, and human rights;
2. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice (EDISJ) as a core value for archives and archivists;
3. Collaborating across domains – archives, libraries, galleries, and museums;
4. Repository-level data: how archives measure their output, outcomes, and activities over time;
5. Centering users in the design of archival systems for discovery; and/or,
6. Building audiences to increase the impact of archives on society.

The above themes can be found in the CORDA Research and Innovation Beta Roadmap.

Abstracts will be evaluated by a review committee co-chaired by Jennifer Gunter King, (Emory University) and Sarah Pratt Martin (Simmons University).

Abstract Submission Form

Important Dates

Deadline Extended to May 15!

Notification to submitters: June 1

Deadline for accepted submitters to finalize Abstract and Bio: June 15

Accepted poster presenters upload poster image: June 30

Please be sure to include: Presentation title, your name and affiliation, email address, and whether your proposal is for a platform or poster presentation. Contact organizers prior to the notification deadline (June 1) if you have submitted and determine that you will not be able to attend.

For ideas or to learn more about past Forums, see the 2007-2022 proceedings at http://archivists.org/proceedings/research-forum.

Questions? Contact the organizers at researchforum@archivists.org – and watch for updates on the Forum’s webpage at http://archivists.org/proceedings/research-forum and at @saaresearch on Twitter.