Respect for Hybridity: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Archives

The Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) would like to invite you all to Albuquerque for the SSA 2023 Annual Meeting.  Over the past several years the world has changed and we would like to bring a spirit of change to this year’s meeting.  We based our theme, Respect for Hybridity: Creating Accessible and Inclusive Archives, to emphasize all the changes we have all witnessed in the world and in our profession.  LAC is pleased to announce that 2023 will be the first hybrid conference for SSA, with all sessions being offered both in-person and virtually.

Reflecting on the impact of changing events in the global, institutional, and personal sectors, this year’s conference will allow our communities to collaborate as we discuss how hybrid environments impact the collections we have, the process of how we work, and the spaces we work in.  Collections now have both physical and digital components that need to be managed in very different ways.  Where we used to work in our offices 100% of the time, we may now split our time between multiple locations.  Community-based archives and post-custodial collections have brought new working models to a profession known for its traditions.  If change is the only constant, then archivists and memory keepers need to embrace change and work with it for the future of our profession.

We would like to invite everyone to travel to Albuquerque to be with us in person, if you are comfortable and able to do so.  If you are not able to travel to be with us at the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town, we hope you will participate in this year’s hybrid conference in the online setting.  The conference sessions will be offered simultaneously in-person and via Zoom for the virtual attendees.  We will use Owl Labs video conferencing technology to stream the panel sessions allowing for interactive conversations between in-person and virtual attendees.

Albuquerque is the perfect location for a change in conference format as our city’s tagline invites visitors to “change your perspective.”  Albuquerque boasts a unique multicultural history and heritage.  Diverse cultures and dynamic traditions have helped shape the story of a centuries old city.  In Albuquerque, the past and present converge in a modern city set against the backdrop of the stunning Sandia Mountains and endless, blue New Mexico sky.  We welcome you to Albuquerque whether your visit is in-person or virtual.

NMLA Archives & Archivists SIG Land Acknowledgment