Online Northwest is a one-day conference focusing on topics that intersect libraries, technology and culture. Presentations address technical, social, and policy issues associated with information technology, information management, and librarianship.
This conference is about the technologies that libraries use to manage, create and share information. It is for anyone who uses and interacts with information from librarians to programmers and system administrators
While technology often functions to exclude or surveil, the planning committee takes seriously the library’s role as a place for everyone. We recognize the Northwest’s history of racial exclusion, and work actively to center racial justice and inclusion in this conference. We also recognize the ways that technology can increase–or decrease–access for disabled and other marginalized people, and are interested in conference topics on this subject.
History of Online Northwest
In 1984 librarians at the nine schools of the Oregon State System of Higher Education (OSSHE) and the Inter-institutional Library Council (ILC) created this conference, originally called Oregon Online. At the time, online databases were accessible only by librarians with specialized technical knowledge in the arcane language of searching. The conference was an opportunity for librarians across the OSSHE to share their knowledge and experience with the frequent technological changes in academic libraries.
Around 1990 the name of the conference changed to Online Northwest to include information professionals from Washington, Idaho, Montana, and northern California. The conference is regularly attended by librarians in higher education, as well as public and special libraries. Over the years, the conference has evolved into one of the most-beloved library conferences in the region. Presentations address technical, social, and policy issues associated with information technology and librarianship.
In June 2015 the Oregon University System officially disbanded, and Portland State University Library provided logistical support from 2017 to 2022. In 2024 the Orbis Cascade Alliance inherited the website domain and funding to resume in-person conferences in spring 2026.