Once again, it was down to the wire for proposals for Museums and the Web 2009. If we didn't know you better, we'd be worried that we wouldn't have a program, but, true to form, the MW community came through, with most of your 150+ proposals arriving right before the deadline. That's in the last 24 hours before the deadline ... and in the 12 hours after the deadline here, when it still wasn't the deadline where you are ...

Call for Participation:
Museums and the Web 2009
Deadline: September 30, 2008

Don't miss this great chance to present your best work at the only international conference devoted to culture, heritage, art, and science on-line: Museums and the Web. MW2009 will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA,  April 15-18, 2009.

Submit your proposal using our on-line form.

The International Program Committee has completed their review of Museums and the Web 2008 proposals, and this weekend David and i sat down to put together the conference program.

Per usual, all of the proposals came in right at the last minute (see the graph). We wondered if not mailing a physical "Call for Papers" postcard this year would have an impact (Did you notice that you didn't get it?).

There were fewer proposals this year (~150 instead of ~180 last year), but we can't negate the 'San Francisco effect'. MW2007 was a bigger meeting all around.

We certainly didn't see any change in quality. If anything, some of this year's proposals seemed a bit stronger, more well reasoned.

Program Review is always very challenging. There is a lot of good work, and many more proposals than we can include on the formal program. As we struggle to put together the schedule, we're balancing a number of factors, including the:

well, true to form, we've been watching the proposals for Museums and the Web 2008 flow in all day. what is it about our always on culture that's embedded this last minute madness in the way we work?

i know that even though it's late on friday (most places) we'll see some more filter in tonight. and then there's tomorrow and the next day (did anyone notice it was a weekend?); we didn't when we set the deadline...

ah well – we know that there's a problem in museum culture: a lack of time to be reflective, even though that's one of the things we try to provoke in our work [thinking, learning, seeing anew – aren't these what we want our visitors to do?].

as our small contribution to collective memory, we've insisted on written papers for Museums and the Web (and we keep them all online).

so now, make that reflexive jump towards the next deadline: September 30, 2007. Museums and the Web, Montreal, April 9-12, 2008. Call for Particiption. we want to see your best work, and participate in the process of discussing, documenting and sharing it. we can all take some time out to learn.

/jt