General Conference Questions

• When is the conference?

• Where is the conference held?

• How do I keep up to date with news on Atla Annual?

• How do I submit a proposal?

• What are the types of sessions?

• How do you select proposals?

• What is the new conference proposal timeline?

• What are the best practices for submitting a proposal?

• What are some resources for presenting online?

When is the conference?

The hybrid conference will be held June 16-19, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas, and online.

Where is the conference held?

Given public health concerns related to the pandemic and the increased volume of attendees at Atla Annual 2020 Online, the Conference Committee is planning a hybrid experience for 2021. We expect some conference sessions will be held in person and some will be held in an online environment. 

The in-person conference will be held at the Hilton Fort Worth (815 Main St, Fort Worth, Texas, USA).

How do I keep up to date with news on Atla Annual?

Sign up for alerts to be notified when news is announced.

How do I submit a proposal?

To submit your proposal(s), click on this link. You will be asked to log in to or create your account at the My Atla web portal. Once logged in, under “My Activities” select “Proposal Submission” on the left to begin the process.

Submissions are due on Sunday, January 3, 2021. Remember that leaders of interest groups and denominational groups should also use this form, submitting business meetings or presentation sessions on behalf of their group.

Read more about submitting your proposal.

What are the types of sessions?

Business Meeting (50-minute Session)

• Denominational Group – A meeting of an Atla Denominational Group. All meetings of this type are held concurrently at a time to be assigned.
• Interest Group Meeting – A meeting of an Atla Interest Group. Groups will be given time slot options to select from in the Spring.
• Regional Group Meeting – A meeting of a Regional Group. Groups will be given time slot options to select from in the Spring.
• Other Meeting – A meeting of any other group, such as NACO, Reciprocal Borrowing, Atla Digital Library, Atla Open Press editorial boards, etc. Groups will be given time t options to select from in the Spring.

Conversation Group (50-minute Session) – Presenter(s) gives brief introductory remarks (5-10 minutes) and facilitates a discussion among participants.

Excursion – Groups or an individual organize an excursion for conference attendees. Atla staff will follow up in the Fall to discuss logistics and feasibility.

Exhibitor (50-minute Session) – Exhibitors present or demonstrate their products and services to conference attendees during a concurrent time slot. Sponsorship or additional fees may be required.

In-Conference Workshop (50-minute Session) – Workshop leaders operate in a classroom environment to deliver in-depth practical training on a specific topic.

Listen & Learn (50-minute Session) – The session leader(s) introduces a new product or idea, showcases best practices in an area of librarianship, and/or provides suggestions for practical application in attendees’ library settings — time for questions should be included.

Panel Presentation (50-minute Session) – A panel presentation is a small group (a moderator and a maximum of three panelists) in which the individual participants interact and present differing viewpoints on a topic. The purpose of a panel presentation is to be able to hear a wide range of perspectives on a given topic and to hear support and reasons for those positions from a group of experts.

Paper (50-minute Session) – Presenters give an executive summary of a paper that includes a research-based component. Presenters are encouraged to post their papers to the conference website one month prior to the conference to allow attendees to review the paper in advance of the presentation. At the conference, the presenter should designate a respondent to facilitate discussion.

Poster – An informal session in which presenter(s) deliver(s) information that would be useful to the theological librarianship community.

Pre-Conference Workshop – Workshop leaders operate in a classroom environment to deliver in-depth practical training on a specific topic.

• ¼ day – 2 hours
• ½ day – 4 hours
• Full day – 8 hours

Worship – Groups or individuals organize worship or other observance including identifying program and officiant and possibly a location other than the conference hotel. Atla staff will follow up in the Fall to discuss logistics and feasibility.

How do you select proposals?

Each year, the Conference Committee asks for proposals from members of Atla and the theological library community to build the conference schedule for the coming year.

Submissions are collected by Atla staff and forwarded to the committee for the initial review prior to the committee’s fall meeting.

During the meeting, committee members discuss each proposal in turn, noting the strengths of each proposal; the places where more clarification is needed to make the intent clearer to the committee and the eventual conference attendees; any similarities between proposals received that might warrant a joint presentation; and if there are additional topics not present that should be included (and if so, where we might find members able to present on these topics).

The committee then attempts to create a rough schedule for the conference. The final schedule aims to place topics of interest for the same general audience at different times when possible and to keep one person from making different presentations close together. The time period requested for each session is considered also as the committee develops the general time table for each day.

Following the meeting, committee members contact each proposal submitter with information about the acceptance process, including requests for additional information or suggestions to consider joining forces with another member who has proposed a similar topic. The final schedule is built from these accepted proposals.

Overall, the goal of the conference committee is to ensure that topics proposed are in line with conference objectives, are clear and appropriate for the type of session and time slot selected, and represent a broad range of the interests of Atla Annual attendees. The committee welcomes sessions from both new and returning conference presenters.

As Atla members themselves, the committee shares an interest in making the Atla Annual as helpful and educational as possible.

What is the new conference proposal timeline?

• November 2020 – Call for proposals
• December 2020 – Webinars detailing best practices for submitting a successful proposal
• January 3, 2021 – Deadline for conference proposal submissions
• January/February 2021 – Conference committee reviews submissions
• February 2021 – Notification to proposal submitters

What are the best practices for submitting a proposal?

Coming this December.

What are some resources for presenting online?

• Setting Up Your Computer For An Online Presentation (Video)
• Top 5 Tips For Creating Slides (Video)

More questions? Contact us.