The 2025 CHLA/ABSC Conference Program Committee invites submissions for the annual conference to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, June 3 to 6, 2025 at the University of British Columbia.

The theme of the conference is Building Futures Together

Author Instructions:

Option 1 ) Paper, Poster, & Lightning Talk Submissions

Authors selecting this type of proposal are asked to indicate their preferred format to present their work: paper, poster, or lightning talk.
Abstracts not accepted to a first choice will be considered for second choice and third choices.

Please note: Interactive workshops, panels and 'other content' are their own unique type of submission and cannot be ranked along with papers, posters or lightning talks.

When submitting abstracts for Option 1 (paper, poster or lightning talk), authors must submit one of the following:
i) Research abstracts: report on designing, conducting, and analyzing a research project. The submitted abstract should include section headings and should contain no more than 250 words (excluding section headings). References should not be included unless they are necessary and complete bibliographic information is provided.
or
ii) Program description abstracts: describe the creation or improvement of products, programs, technologies, administrative practices, or services conducted by librarians, library technicians, and/or other information professionals. The submitted abstract should include bolded section headings and should contain no more than 250 words (excluding section headings). References should not be included unless they are necessary and complete bibliographic information is provided.

note: Authors may delay submitting results and conclusions until after the peer-review process. Those accepted into the program must update these sections by mid-March 2025, ensuring the abstract remains within 250 words.

Research project abstracts or program descriptions must adhere to the Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association Author Guidelines.

Option 2) Interactive Workshop Submissions

Interactive workshops will be in-depth, engaging sessions structured around interactivity and active learning. These sessions should be on a specific topic and planned for a duration of 90 minutes, including time for a break.

Workshop submission abstracts should include a 250 word description of the topic, target audience, brief summary of the workshop objectives, and a short description of the interactivity/participation proposed for the session. Additional space will be provided on page 2 of the submission form for 3 learning objectives, a detailed description of the interactivity planned, and space and technology requirements.

Option 3) Panel Submission

Panel sessions are designed to last 60 minutes and bring together up to four panelists and a moderator to explore a specific theme or topic. These sessions should feature individuals who share diverse perspectives through brief oral presentations. The presentations will be followed by an engaging Q&A session, allowing participants to interact directly with the panelists.

Panel abstract submissions should include a 250 word abstract which includes a description of the topic/theme to be covered, and brief descriptions of each panelist's presentation. Additional space will be provided on page 2 of the submission form for inclusion of each panelist’s and moderator's bio.

Option 4) Other Content Submissions

Our profession is changing and so is how we share information and learn at our conference. If you have an idea for content that does not fit the traditional paper, poster, or lightning talk, panel format and is not quite right for a workshop, we want to make it work.

Other content submissions should include a 250 word description of the topic, target audience, overall session objectives (if applicable), and a brief description of the interactivity/participation proposed for the session (if any). Additional questions on the submission form are available on page 2 for selecting the desired length of time (the options are: 20min, 30min, 45min, 60min, 90min), and for detailing any space and technology requirements.

All accepted abstracts will be included in the Conference Program and published in JCHLA.

Please refer to the Presenter Information page for additional information.

note: The submitting author will be required to provide a short bio (100 words max) for all authors/presenters during this submission process that will be included in the conference program. There is an additional option for the submitting author to update their Pretalx bio and image on page 3. This information on the 3rd page of the submission process is optional and will not be used in the conference program.

If you have any other questions, please contact Zahra Premji zahrapremji[at]uvic[dot]ca or Kaitlin Fuller kfuller[at]stfx[dot]ca

If you have questions about accessibility accommodations, please contact Jeff Mason masonj27[at]mcmaster[dot]ca

Visit our website for more conference information, and keep up to date with the latest conference news on X (Twitter) and Instagram, or use our hashtag #CHLAABSC25

You can enter proposals until 2025-01-20 14:49 (UTC), 3 weeks, 3 days from now.