09.30 – 10.00

Registration and coffee 

10.00 – 10.10 

Welcome and introduction to the conference from SCONUL Co-chair Anna O'Neill 

10.10 – 11.00

Keynote speech: Can we handle the truth?

Professor Karen Stanton, Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts London

11.00 – 11.50

Panel discussion and Q&A: Defending Openness in a Fragmenting World
The library community has a commitment to openness embedded in its DNA - fostering access to knowledge for all, formalised in our commitment to the open access in publishing and to open research. However, there are countervailing pressures within our society including growing economic and political nationalism; cybersecurity concerns around open systems; financial pressures on institutions to prioritise retaining IP over open sharing; on-going academic scepticism of OA publishing; and concerns over LLMs capturing and commercialising research which is openly shared.  How can the advocates of openness address these challenges and continue to move the open research agenda forward?

Speakers:

• Professor Theo Papaioannou, Professor of Politics, Innovation and Development, Open University
• Vanessa Proudman, Director, SPARC Europe
• Nick Hillman OBE, Director, HEPI
• Andrew Barker, Director of Library Services & Learning Development, Lancaster University

11.50 – 12.10

Coffee & tea break

12.10 – 13.00

Library Exchange Labs
SCONUL is introducing a new initiative to allow members to come together, network and share challenges, opportunities and experiences or simply to connect with people with similar priorities via a set of three library surgeries.  Each session will have a facilitator.

We will be holding discussions on:

• Digital transformation and managing legacy technology
  Questions members might want to explore include: Given tight budgets, how can we utilise our existing technologies in new ways? Are there collaborative approaches to help us manage the transformation process? How can we get involved in priority projects for our institutions?  And are there technologies we may be able to dispense with as a result of technological shifts?
  
  
• Space planning
  In addition to the questions of renovation and redevelopment of libraries, the kinds of questions members might want to explore include navigating the shifting landscape as institutions consolidate buildings and estates; harnessing our students’ love for our spaces for library advocacy; meet the sustainability challenge and the opportunities and challenges of co-location and partnerships?
  
  
• Squaring the circle on meeting institutional priorities with a shrinking budget
  Members might want to consider exploring new approaches to team structures as well as what it means to lead with authenticity both with institutional leadership teams and library teams given the necessity of changing the nature of the service that we can offer, as well as how we can we support staff navigate the change process.

13.00 – 13.45

Lunch

13.45 – 14.35

Lightning talks and Q&A: The Collaboration Zone: harnessing our collective power
We will have lightening talks highlighting new and exciting collaborations taking place across the library community.  We will hear from:

• Dr Jessica Gardner, University Librarian and Director of Library Services, Cambridge University Library, will introduce the recently formed Libraries Alliance, a new partnership of library bodies from school libraries to academic, from public libraries to independent, from legal deposit libraries to nationals. The Libraries Alliance is working to strengthen and champion libraries of all kinds. Jessica will outline the group’s remit and goals round the theme of “libraries through life”.
  
  
• David Beales, University Librarian, Brunel University of London, who will give an update on the progress of the OER Community of Practice for UK & Ireland since its launch in 2025 including a first look at the new Open Textbook Library for UK & Ireland, and opportunities for colleagues to get involved in the work of the community.
  
  
• Jane Saunders, Associate Director: Content and Discovery, University of Leeds, and Amy Warner May, Associate Director, Scholarly Resources, The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, will introduce the newly created UK Open Bibliographic Metadata Task and Finish Group sponsored by SCONUL's Markets and Technologies Group. The group aims to identify and implement the steps needed to create a more open, dynamic and cost-effective metadata environment for the benefit of libraries and their users.  Amy and Jane will talk about the advantages of Open Metadata and outline the 3 key areas of work: open policies and licensing for metadata; BIBFRAME as a vehicle for delivering a linked open metadata environment; technical solutions and infrastructure required to sustain a UK open bibliographic metadata environment.

14.35 – 14.55

Coffee & tea break

14.55 – 15.50

Panel discussion and Q&A: The next generation of students: How prepared are libraries for a future shaped by Gen Z and Alpha learners?
The next generation of students (Gen Z, born 1995–2009, and Gen Alpha, 2010–2024) are commonly seen as digitally fluent, preferring interactive, personalised, and "bite-sized" learning, and as expecting on-demand, flexible education. How true a picture is this of these generations of students, and how will our institutions adapt their teaching and support systems to meet the needs of these cohorts. What will this mean for libraries?  How will we shape how we support our users and deploy our systems and resources?

Speakers:

• Jonathan Neves, Head of Business Intelligence & Surveys, Advance HE
• Dr George Hulene, Deputy Dean of the College of Business and Law, Coventry University
• Lesley Castens, Director of Education Services, University of Plymouth
• Duncan Calvert, President, Glasgow University Students’ Representative Council

15.50 – 16.00

Concluding remarks from SCONUL Co-chair Rachel Beckett

16.00

Close