This conference, to be held at the British Library on April 4th, represents an opportunity to explore the uncertain future of literary archival sources in the present age. While information technology is changing rapidly and bringing new possibilities for the democratisation of knowledge, debates remain about intellectual property, ownership and access rights to individual archives. Uneven investment in knowledge institutions contributes to a complicated understanding of how archival values can be realised – as commercial, cultural, national, global – and of how the ethics of preservation and rescue can be addressed in the face of climatic and ideological threats.
Proposals for 20 minute papers [250 words max] or 3 paper panels should be sent to a.j.donnell@reading.ac.uk by 5 January 2015. Successful presenters will be notified by 15 Jan 2016.
Group for Literary Archives and Manuscripts (North America) 