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The 2027 CHLA/ABSC Conference Program Committee invites submissions for the 50th annual conference to be held in Montréal (Québec), June 1 to 4, 2027 at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) located at 1050, rue Saint-Denis, Montréal (QC) H2X 3J4.


Submissions for CHLA/ABSC 2027 are managed using Pretalx.

Use this link to submit a proposal with Pretalx (open on September 28th, 2026)


Please note: Presenters are responsible for their own cost of registration and will have to register for the conference in order to present. There will be no hybrid or online option to present.

We welcome and encouraged submissions in English and French from all information professionals, including students, library technicians and librarians.

The theme of the conference is: 50 Years of Shared Knowledge and the Best Is Yet to Come! This is a special edition of the conference where we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first conference held in Montréal in 1977.


Proposal topics may address, but are not limited to:

  • Strategies and techniques in teaching and learning
  • Current strategies, challenges, or best practices related to library management and library services
  • Diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice in health sciences libraries
  • Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, and their impact on health sciences libraries
  • Strategies and techniques for engaging in patient education or consumer health support
  • Strategies for effective partnership between library technicians and librarians
  • Innovative projects led or supported by library technicians
  • Strategies for effective collaboration and partnerships in healthcare and research
  • Best practices for knowledge synthesis and data management
  • Current challenges, strategies, and trends in collection development or resource management
  • Outreach strategies and techniques
  • Scholarly communication topics such as open access, research integrity, and open education resources
  • A 'case report' of a particularly challenging or complex literature search
  • Other - we welcome ideas from other areas!

We are excited to receive submissions covering any and all ideas of interest to those who work in health sciences libraries.


More: Important Dates - Submission Instructions - Submission Formats -  Code of Conduct - Submission FAQs


Important Dates and Deadlines

  • The call for proposals is open from September 28 to November 7 (23:59 EST) 2026. CHLA/ABSC 2027 submissions will be managed using Pretalx.
  • Content submitters will be notified of a decision of acceptance by December 15, 2026.
  • Look out for the early bird rate announcement in February to register for the conference!




Instructions for submitting a proposal

Individuals submitting a proposal must provide the following information:

  • A biography (maximum 100 words) for themselves, as well as for any co-presenters. These biographies will be included in the PDF Conference Program (not in JCHLA or Pretalx Online Interactive Conference Schedule).
  • The names and affiliation for all authors (including the submitter) who contributed to the work. This information will be published along with the submission abstract in the Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association (JCHLA).

Note: At least one member of your group must attend the conference in person to present.

  • Pretalx biography and picture
    • Additional space is available on page 3 of the submission form to update the submitter’s Pretalx account biography and picture. We strongly encourage the submitter to complete their Pretalx bio and picture on that page as this information will be used in the Online Interactive Conference Schedule.

All presenters are encouraged to create a Pretalx account and complete their bio and add a picture for inclusion in the Online Interactive Conference Schedule.

Research project abstracts or program descriptions must adhere to the Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association Author Guidelines and should include the section headings described in the Components of a Research Article or Components of a Program Description of the guidelines.

Proposals will be peer-reviewed. You may consult the evaluation rubric before writing and submitting a proposal.

Accepted abstracts will be published in the Pretalx Online Interactive Conference Schedule, the PDF Conference Program, and published in JCHLA.

Submission Formats

Option 1) Paper, Poster & Lightning Talk Submissions

Submitters selecting this type of proposal must also indicate their preferred format for presenting their work: Paper (20 minutes), Poster or Lightning Talk (one presenter, 5 minutes).

  • The title should be written in sentence case: only the first letter of the title should be capitalized. The rest of the title should be written as a sentence, with capitals used only for proper nouns, product names, and brand names (e.g., MEDLINE, ChatGPT).

  • The abstract must not exceed 250 words excluding section headings (e.g., Introduction, Methods/Description, Results/Outcomes, and Discussion) which should appear in bold. The abstract should follow the Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association Author Guidelines and should include the section headings described in the Components of a Research Article or Components of a Program Description of the guidelines. References should not be included unless necessary, in which case full bibliographic citations must be provided.

You may submit either:

  • i) Research abstracts: report on designing, conducting, and analyzing a research project.

or

  • ii) Program description abstracts: describe the creation or improvement of products, programs, technologies, administrative practices, or services conducted by librarians, library technicians, and/or other information professionals.

Note: If research results and conclusions are not yet available, they may be added to the abstract at the end of the peer review process, provided the abstract does not exceed 250 words.

Option 2) Interactive Workshop Submissions

Interactive workshops are in-depth, participatory sessions designed to promote learning through action. Workshops must focus on a specific topic and be 90 minutes in length, including time for a break if needed.

  • The title should be written in sentence case: only the first letter of the title should be capitalized. The rest of the title should be written as a sentence, with capitals used only for proper nouns, product names, and brand names (e.g., MEDLINE, ChatGPT).

  • The abstract for a workshop must not exceed 250 words excluding section headings (e.g.,Topic, Target Audience, Activity Description/Interactive Activities, Objectives) which should appear in bold. The abstract should include the topic, target audience, objectives, and a description of the interactive activities. The abstract should follow the Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association Author Guidelines.

Additional space is available on page 2 of the submission form to include three (3) learning objectives, a detailed description of the planned interactive activities, and logistical requirements (room setup, technology).

Option 3) Panel Submissions

A panel discussion is 60 minutes long and may include up to four (4) panellists, in addition to a moderator. Panellists are invited to share differing perspectives through brief oral presentations, in order to explore a specific theme or topic. Presentations are followed by a Q&A period, allowing participants to interact directly with the panellists.

  • The title should be written in sentence case: only the first letter of the title should be capitalized. The rest of the title should be written as a sentence, with capitals used only for proper nouns, product names, and brand names (e.g., MEDLINE, ChatGPT).

  • The abstract for a panel must not exceed 250 words excluding section headings (e.g., Panel Description/Topic, Panelists) which should appear in bold. The abstract should include a description of the topic/theme to be covered, as well as a brief overview of each panellist’s presentation. The abstract should follow the Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association Author Guidelines.

Additional space is available on page 2 of the submission form to include the biography of each panellist and the moderator.

Code of Conduct

CHLA/ABSC's Code of Conduct applies to all presenters and attendees.

We ask that all presenters review the JCHLA Publication Ethics Policy and the ICJME recommendations for guidance on appropriate reporting of scholarly work.

Submission FAQs

I already have a Pretalx account, can I use this same one?

Yes, you are encouraged to use an existing Pretalx account if you have one. If you do not, you will need to create an account. You will have the option to include a bio and a photo.

How can I add or remove presenters from my proposal in Pretalx?

You can add presenters to your proposal by following the instructions below. To remove presenters from your proposal, please contact Alla Iansavitchene at alla.iansavitchene[at]lhsc[dot]on[dot]ca or Heather Ganshorn at Heather.Ganshorn[at]ucalgary[dot]ca or Daniela Ziegler at daniela.ziegler.chum[at]ssss[dot]gouv[dot]qc[dot]ca

May I enter my results/outcomes and discussion when I submit my abstract?

Yes, you may enter your results/outcomes and discussion when you submit your abstract. All parts of the abstract (introduction, methods/description, discussion and results/outcomes sections combined) may not exceed 250 words. Authors MAY postpone entering results and conclusions until after the peer-review process is completed. Authors selected for inclusion in the program will need to add the results and conclusions sections by the beginning of January 2027 if they did not already do so in the initial abstract submission. Note that the word limit for the abstract cannot exceed 250 words. Original abstract submissions may need to be modified to meet the 250-word limit.

May I include tables, figures, or citations in my abstract?

No, structured abstracts should NOT contain tables, figures, or bibliographic references.

How do I know if my proposal was successfully submitted?

Everyone who submits a proposal will receive an automatic email from Pretalx confirming receipt. If you haven’t received a confirmation email within 24 hours of submitting your proposal, please check your spam and trash folders.

How can I withdraw a submitted proposal?

Everyone who submits a proposal can withdraw a proposal before the call for proposals closes by logging into your Pretalx account and navigating to 'My proposals', click on the proposal title and use the withdraw button at the bottom of the page. To withdraw a proposal after the call for proposals has closed, please contact  Alla Iansavitchene at alla.iansavitchene[at]lhsc[dot]on[dot]ca or Marie-Hélène Nicol at marie-helene.nicol[at]umontreal[dot]ca

How will I know if my proposal has been accepted?

Everyone who submits a proposal will receive an email notification from Pretalx regarding the outcome of their abstract submission by December 15, 2026, if you haven’t received a notification email by mid-December, please check your spam and trash folders.