Dear SAA Colleagues,
You are warmly invited to submit your work for presentation at the LIDA 2027 (Libraries and Information Institutions in the Digital Age) biennial international conference to be held in Šibenik, Croatia, 19-21 May 2027. More information and call for papers is in the email below.
Best,
Marija Dalbello
===
Libraries and Information Institutions in the Digital Age (LIDA)
Šibenik, Croatia, 19-21 May 2027
Libraries and Information Institutions in the Digital Age (LIDA) conference addresses the changing and challenging environment for libraries and information systems and services in the digital world. LIDA is an international biennial conference that brings together researchers, educators, students, practitioners, and developers from around the world in a forum for sharing ideas, discussions, and learning taking place in Croatia.
The LIDA 2027 conference will be held in Šibenik, a historic town included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List, and one of the oldest Croatian self-governing cities on the Adriatic coast.
The LIDA 2027 conference explores questions prompted by the major transformations of memory institutions in the age of artificial intelligence with two inter-related themes: "Artificial Intelligence and Ethical Institutional Response" and "Emotion and Creativity." In the age of artificial intelligence, technological, philosophical, and humanistic values are becoming intertwined and present new opportunities and challenges for memory institutions, while encouraging a deeper understanding of the role of emotion and creativity in designing spaces for reflection and even counter-response to artificial intelligence.
We welcome papers that engage in a critical and theoretical examination of these themes, present related research and evidence, and best practices from the field and practitioner perspectives and applications. We will prioritize thought-provoking, philosophical, and futures-oriented contributions as well as empirical studies, applications, and institutional evaluations that focus on cultural heritage and information contexts, known as GLAMs (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) and on the broader contexts for knowledge creation and cognitive and social processes by which information is acquired, shared, and used in the age of increased adoption of artificial intelligence.
LIDA 2027 conference seeks to address the AI challenge with the two inter-related themes:
Theme 1: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Ethical Institutional Response will focus on the potential of AI and uses of AI for good; on integrating values in AI research; and on how AI creates institutional capacity and development of new ways for engaging users. We ask for contributions that highlight programmatic research, development, and implementation but also critically examine the consequences on intellectual property, equity, and user privacy.
The topics will include but will not be limited to the following:
Using AI in institutional settings
AI for heritage management
AI and digital preservation
Metadata and applications for knowledge organization and processing using AI
Collections as data and AI-ready corpora
GLAM Labs as spaces for responsible AI experimentation
AI and data privacy and security
AI ethics and responsible use of AI-based technologies
AI and sustainability
AI for social good
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging (EDIB) in the age of AI
AI and information integrity
Identifying, analysis, and evaluation of sources of disinformation, misinformation, and malicious information
AI literacy, education, and critical thinking
Education of information professionals for the age of AI
(skills and workforce development)
Opportunities, limitations and risks of AI
Open Science
AI and scholarly and academic publishing
AI and copyright, intellectual property, and authorship
AI and research data
Theme 2: Emotion and Creativity will explore links between the subjective, unique, and local and the overall theme of artificial intelligence and the broader role of human emotion and creativity in the information environments. Contributions that focus on broader related topics of emotion and creativity in Library and Information studies will be considered as well.
The contributions will include but will not be limited to the following:
Creative and artistic practices in GLAM contexts
Technology, innovation and creativity
AI and ethical creativity, authorship and responsible innovation
Care, well-being and community care in GLAM contexts
Eco-historical and re-envisioning projects and recreation of heritage and memory
Communities of affinity and learning networks
Community-centered collaborations and community stewardship ("slow archives")
Libraries as safe spaces and places for play
Design of library spaces, collections and services
for well-being and inclusion
Storytelling, playfulness, escape-rooms
Analysis and critique of vocational awe, "library faith",
professionalism and trust
Emotion and creativity in community-based activities
(citizen science, crowdsourcing, co-creation)
Emotional dimensions of analogue/digitized heritage
(trust, loss, authenticity of digital surrogates)
Materiality and sensoriality of analogue/digitized primary sources
The following types of contributions are invited:
1. Papers: up to 20 minute presentations on scholarly research, practical advances, best practices, and educational projects. Both completed research and early work/preliminary results are invited. Submit a 1,500 word abstract, plus references.
2. Panels: up to 90 minute sessions that are interactive and offer different perspectives and approaches to a specific topic. Authors must propose the format and invite up to five panelists (including the moderator). Submit a 750 word abstract, including names and affiliations of panel organizer and panelists, plus references.
3. Workshops (including creativity workshops): up to 90 minute sessions that will be tutorial, educational or playful in nature, and are intended to foster interactive discussions for attendees who share common interests. Submit a 750 word abstract, plus references.
4. Posters: short graphic presentations that will be presented in a poster session. An award
will be given for Best Poster. Submit 750 word abstract, plus references.
5. PhD Forum: short presentations by doctoral students, related to their dissertation. The PhD Forum provides doctoral students the opportunity to present their work to senior faculty in a relatively informal setting and to receive feedback on their dissertation by a panel of international educators. Submit a 750 word abstract, plus references.
6. Student Showcase: short presentations by undergraduate and graduate students, related to their academic research, practical projects, etc. The showcase will provide students with an opportunity to get feedback on their work in an informal setting and advice on how to develop their work further and get published. The best showcase presentation will receive the LIDA 2027 Outstanding Student Award. Submit a 750 word abstract, plus references.
7. Other Innovative/Alternative Types of Contributions: up to 90 minute sessions. Submit a 750 word description.
Invitation to institutions:
Libraries, information agencies, professional organizations, publishers, and service providers are invited to consider participation at LIDA by providing a demonstration, workshop, or exhibit about their products, services or advances, or by presenting a paper or poster about their activities, as related to the theme.
Deadlines:
Submission of all proposals (extended abstracts): 10 October 2026
Notification of acceptance: 1 December 2026
Important Submission Information:
All proposals will be refereed in a double-blind process and MUST follow formal LIDA guidelines and templates (will be available at the LIDA 2027 website). Only proposals following the LIDA templates will go forward for review. The conference language is English and all work should be in English, original and not previously presented or published. Submission of proposals/extended abstracts should be made using the EasyChair submission system (
https://easychair.org).
For all paper submissions, at least one author MUST be registered and present their paper at the conference. Authors can choose to 1) orally present their paper only, or 2) both present their paper orally and to submit a full-text manuscript to be considered for publication in a peer-reviewed open access scholarly publication (to be announced).
Publication:
Traditional conference proceedings will not be published and authors are not requested to send full papers but only prepare a presentation. However, authors who choose to prepare a full-text manuscript will have a chance to publish their papers in the scholarly open-access journal (to be announced).
Sponsorship Opportunities:
We invite Institutional Sponsorships. If you are interested in sponsoring LIDA, including individual events, please see the LIDA website
http://lida.ffos.hr/
Conference Co-Directors:
MARIJA DALBELLO, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
MARTINA DRAGIJA IVANOVIĆ, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, University of Zadar, Croatia
KORNELIJA PETR BALOG, Department of Information Science, University of Osijek, Croatia
Venue - Amadria Park Šibenik, Croatia:
Šibenik is a unique destination on the Dalmatian coast and it is famous for numerous cultural and historic sights. It is best known for the UNESCO-listed Cathedral of St. James, built entirely of stone. The city features a charming old town with narrow stone streets and medieval fortresses overlooking the sea.
Amadria Park Šibenik is not only a large seaside resort with hotels, a waterpark, beaches, restaurants and family attractions, but has the biggest innovative, award winning Convention Centre Šibenik. Sustainability is also at the core of this company that started with a family-owned restaurant that originated in 1904, and of the surrounding venues like the Dalmatian Ethno Village and Mediterranean City that provide a unique setting for blending professional gatherings with the region's cultural and natural beauty.
Amadria Park Šibenik Information:
A. Hoteli Solaris 86, 22000 Šibenik
T. +385 22 361 001
Accessibility:
Convention Centre Šibenik and hotels in Amadria Park are accessible to all. All hotels within the resort have rooms adapted for people with disabilities, as well as adequate access to the main entrances. The Convention Centre, where LIDA 2027 sessions will be held, also has an elevator which connects the floors planned for the event. Mice Brochure has clearly marked elevator locations, access and signs for people with disabilities. Amadria Park Šibenik Virtual Tour enables the additional viewing of the halls and common areas of the Conference Centre as well as the surrounding areas.
Join our mailing list if you want to receive updates about LIDA 2027 conference!
==
Marija Dalbello ��
Professor
School of Communication and Information
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
MI-Archives and Preservation concentration faculty coordinator
[pronouns: she/her]
Selected publications:
I acknowledge that the land on which we stand is the ancestral territory of the Lenape People. We pay respect to Indigenous people throughout the Lenape diaspora- past, present, and future- and honor those that have been historically and systemically disenfranchised. We also acknowledge that Rutgers University, like New Jersey and the United States as a nation, was founded upon the exclusions and erasures of Indigenous peoples.