SCONUL continues to run its forum for small and specialist institutions which brings together this group of members to share experiences, information and best practice. It is open to all those leading SCONUL member institutions who define themselves as specialist or small and their senior teams plus invited guests. 

The work of the forum is driven by its members who will choose the topics for discussion and activities arising. The Forum meets three times a year and has discussed a range of issues including the negotiations with Elsevier over provision of content; the impact of the pandemic on workforce and recruitment, and priorities for SCONUL strategy.

For more information or to express your interest, please contact sconul@sconul.ac.uk  

Our programme of events for 2024

Spring meeting:
Wednesday 17 April, 10.30am – 12pm
We will be sharing outcomes from the recent series of meetings with AI providers and discussing implications for the sector. We will also an update on the current review of the SCONUL statistics and invite members to share their thoughts on how the statistics collection and reporting can be improved. Members are also invited to suggest topics or issues to cover. E-mail sconul@sconul.ac.uk for the registration details.

Summer meeting:
Thursday 11 July, 2.30pm – 4pm
We will be discussing initiatives across the library community on climate change and sustainability and sharing information on evaluating and reporting on their own emissions. We will also hear an update on plans for the further development of the SCONUL Access Scheme. Members are also invited to suggest topics or issues to cover. E-mail sconul@sconul.ac.uk for the registration details.

Autumn meeting:
Wednesday 13 November, 10.30am – 12pm
We will receive a briefing on learning from the SCONUL Technology Survey and discussing the adoption and support of library technologies for small and specialist institutions. Members are also invited to suggest topics or issues to cover. E-mail sconul@sconul.ac.uk for the registration details.

Previous small and specialist institution forums

• The impact of the pandemic on library services at small and specialist institutions, Library services at small and specialist institutions shared a number of particular challenges as library buildings re-open and this webinar examined the impact of the pandemic on their library services and discussed a roadmap out of the crisis, 15 July 2021 (Available for members: please log in for access).