Information in Repair: The 54th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Information Science

Welcome to CAIS 2026

The Canadian Association for Information Science (CAIS/ACSI) invites submissions for its 54th annual conference, June 22-26, 2026. The conference will be free and open to all, online, hosted by conference organizers at the University of British Columbia School of Information.

This year’s theme, “Information in Repair,” centers the maintenance and reparative work that is always required, but rarely lauded, across information systems. Scholarly attention and resources are often directed towards the new and novel, the conceptualization and design of innovative systems and interventions. This tendency risks ignoring opportunities to learn from the vast amount of knowledge, practice and technical expertise that goes into monitoring, adjusting, and navigating changes within critical, long-term components of longer-term/ongoing/continuing information systems. We are particularly interested in information science perspectives on practices of disposability or reuse, of reparative work, and theories of repair. We invite creative and expansive views of what is being repaired and maintained, as well as exploration of repair itself as information work. As CAIS seeks to be a home for information science across Canada, our yearly conference routinely develops and supports scholarship in:

  • Information seeking and behaviour
  • Information literacy and education
  • Knowledge management and organization
  • Information technologies and systems
  • Social media
  • Bibliometrics and scholarly communication
  • Information policy and ethics
  • Cultural heritage and preservation
  • Health information management
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion in information science
    Diverse and innovative perspectives (theoretical and applied) and methodologies are welcome.

The CAIS/ACSI Awards

Every year, The CAIS/ACSI Awards recognize exceptional work from Master’s research, emerging leaders, doctoral dissertations, career achievement, and conference papers. Nominations are now open! Please see the CAIS-ACSI Awards page for more information. The deadline is Wednesday, April 8th at midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Important Dates

  • Submissions due: January 31 February 7
  • Peer reviews due: March 1
  • Notifications to authors: March 23
  • Student forum applications due: March 31
  • Final submissions due: May 11

Organizing Committee

Julia Bullard
Melissa Nelson
Cameron Pierson
Lisa Nathan

For more information, contact us at conference@cais-acsi.ca.