To submit a proposal, please fill out the proposal submission form by Friday, December 4, 2026.

Proposals Due: December 4, 2026

Conference Dates: February 23-25, 2027

The NAVROC planning committee is currently seeking proposals for this free, online conference held Tuesday through Thursday, February 23-25, 2027. We are seeking proposals for 45 minute sessions and 20 minute lightning talks from virtual reference providers relating to our theme, Access, Assessment, Advocacy. These sessions will comprise the 2-3 hour time frame of each conference day. Because this is a virtual conference, presenters can present from anywhere as long as they have a stable internet connection.

Conference description:

New technologies affect how people find, evaluate, and use information, presenting both challenges and opportunities for virtual reference services. It's important that libraries remain responsive to changing needs. Advocating for the diverse needs of our communities, expanding outreach, improving accessibility, and assessing how we connect with patrons and deliver reliable and accessible information helps us to strengthen connections, demonstrate the value of reference services, and ensure libraries continue to play a meaningful role in facilitating access to information, resources, and spaces for learning, discovery, and creativity.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

• • Adaptability

  • Accessibility

  • Challenges

  • Equity & Engagement

  • Evaluation & Appraisal

  • Marketing & Promotion

  • Reference

  • Technology

To submit a proposal, please fill out the proposal submission form by Friday, Dec. 4, 2026.

Keynote:

The keynote address for this year’s conference will feature Hannah Cyrus on AI Refusal in Reference Services.

Reference librarians are encountering "AI" in the course of our work in myriad ways, from hallucinated citations, to questions from patrons, to pressures from vendors and administrators to adopt products marketed as AI. As information experts, library workers are uniquely suited to help patrons understand how generative AI works beyond the hype, and make informed decisions about whether, when, and how to engage with these products. This presentation will focus on the reference interview as a key tool for navigating the changing information landscape and working with patrons to assert their own autonomy in the face of some of the largest, most powerful technology corporations in the world, and will also discuss strategies for library workers to remain aligned with library values of access, equity, privacy & intellectual freedom, the public good, and sustainability, working to build power together at a time when many people are re-thinking their relationships with technology.

Hannah Cyrus (she/her) works as the Digital Media Librarian at Bangor Public Library in Bangor, Maine, with a focus on technology instruction and digital privacy. Her work often centers around patrons concerned about their accounts being compromised, overwhelmed with junk email and spam phone calls, or worried by the ubiquitous creepiness of online surveillance capitalism. Hannah received her Master of Science in Library & Information Science from Simmons University in 2016. She is a member of the Library Freedom Project and a recipient of the 2026 Jim Campbell Intellectual Freedom Award from the Maine Library Association. Her article, “Refusal as Instruction: Equipping Patrons to Resist AI, Data Brokers, Big Tech, & More,” was published in Information Technology & Libraries in March of 2026.