2026 CALA Southeast and Southwest Chapters Joint Online Conference

Time: Friday, May 24th, 2026, 9:30-12:30 PM (CST) Virtual

Conference Program:
9:30 AM - 9:40 AM | Welcome Message
Conference Planning Committee and CALA President

9:40 AM - 10:25 AM | Keynote
Seeking the Source Code of Cultural Transmission: Research on the Genetic Map of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Presenter: Yimin Zhao, Professor, Yunnan Normal University, China

10:25 AM - 10:30 AM | Break

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM | Panel Discussion
Voices from the Field: International Library Transformation “Across the Ocean”
Presenter: Xiaojie Duan, Catalog Librarian, Tulane University Libraries & Xiaoqian Zhang, Associate Researcher, Sichuan University, China

11:00 AM - 11:10 AM | Lightning Talk 1
Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Library Metadata Workflows: A Case Study from UCF
Presenter: Sai Deng, Metadata Librarian, University of Central Florida

11:10 AM - 11:20 AM | Lightning Talk 2
From Newsletters to Insight: Using AI to Map CALA’s Organizational Evolution (2018–2025)
Presenter: Daniel Xiao, Digital Resource Librarian, Texas A&M University Libraries

11:20 AM - 11:25 AM | Break

11:25 AM - 11:45 AM | Presentation 1
Navigating the Generative AI Wave: AI Literacy Instruction in Academic Libraries Today
Presenter: Lili Li, Professor/Information Studies Librarian, Georgia Southern University Libraries & Kay Coates, Associate Professor/Information Studies Librarian, Georgia Southern University Libraries

11:45 AM - 12:05 PM | Presentation 2
Developing Rubrics for AI tools on Article Databases
Presenter: Samantha Warriner, Reference, Instruction, and Outreach Services Librarian, California State University (CSU) Dominguez Hills

12:05 PM - 12:25 PM | Presentation 3
Designing an Honors Thesis Deposit Workflow: Balancing Student Agency, Metadata Quality, and Library Capacity
Presenter: Evie Wang, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Oglethorpe University

12:25 PM - 12:30 PM | Award Reception & Closing Remark
Facilitator: Conference Planning Committee