Welcome Letter
On behalf of the Conference Committee, please join us for the 87th Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) Annual Meeting.
We are excited that the ASIS&T Annual Meeting is taking place in Calgary, Canada, a lively city surrounded by stunning natural beauty. We look forward to many thought-provoking paper presentations, workshops, and panels, inspired discussions, and enjoyable social events.
This year’s theme for our Annual Meeting is ‘Putting People First: Responsibility, Reciprocity, and Care in Information Research and Practice’. Our theme recognizes that information research and practice take place in diverse settings, where the relationships between people, information and technology shape/are shaped by local norms and practices and broader economic and political systems. As information researchers and practitioners, we are perpetually mindful of the people in the information-technology-people triad, even in the face of the dramatic rise of AI systems. This involves interrogating how biases are embedded in information systems, how technologies may both support and limit human activities and freedoms, how complex societal issues involve and transcend individuals, and the ways that people can be empowered through information, metaliteracy skills, and tools. This year’s ASIS&T Annual Meeting will centre the people-centered aspects of information research, education, and practice. By putting people first, we make visible responsibility, reciprocity, and care in what we do and how we do it.
We have two keynote speakers for our Annual Meeting. Our opening plenary session will feature Lerato Chondoma, Associate Director for the Indigenous Research Support Initiative at the University of British Columbia. Her keynote address title will be announced soon.
Our closing plenary keynote speaker, Dr. Ranjit Singh, is a senior researcher at Data & Society, conducting qualitative research for the Algorithmic Impact Methods Lab. His keynote is entitled, ‘The Ordinary Ethics of Putting People First.’
We are most grateful to our conference leadership team for all their insight, dedication, and hard work. Thanks to paper chairs Annie Chen and Jenny Bossaller, poster chairs Dana McKay and Syeda Hina Batool/Shahid, panels & alternative events co-chairs Alex Poole and Daqing He, and doctoral colloquium co-chairs Howard Rosenbaum and Denise Agosto, we have a stimulating and inspiring programme.
We look forward to an important and exciting conference in Calgary. We hope to see you there!
Heather O’Brien, Conference Chair
June Abbas, Conference Vice-Chair