CONUL Conference 2025

This review of the CONUL Conference 2025 is by Michelle McMeekin who is a senior library assistant in Queen's University Belfast. 

CONUL Conference 2025

The CONUL Conference is a key gathering for academic librarians across Ireland, and I was thrilled to have been awarded the LIS Student Bursary to attend this year’s event. Having recently completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Management at Ulster University, the conference provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with professionals across the library community and support my ongoing professional development.

The theme this year, "Shaping Tomorrow – Reflections and New Directions" felt especially timely given the evolving roles of libraries and the wider impact of political uncertainty within the sector. Held at the centrally located Tullamore Court Hotel, the conference offered a rich and varied programme featuring keynote speakers, poster presentations, lightning talks, and parallel paper sessions.

The conference kicked off with a plenary session where a panel of four library professionals discussed the challenges facing libraries and reflected on issues such as cybersecurity in the protection of digital collections, redesigning library spaces, generative AI and changing user behaviour. It was reassuring to learn that other libraries are encountering similar challenges, and valuable to gain insight from their experiences and advice.

The keynote speaker on day one was Richard Ovenden from Bodleian Library who delivered a talk titled ‘Collecting and Preserving: New Imperatives and New Challenges.’ He emphasized the vital role of libraries and archives as an 'essential infrastructure for democracy’, highlighting their significance in supporting education, shaping identity, and safeguarding rights. Ovenden underscored the risks and ethical concerns associated with OpenAI scraping websites and open-access academic publications to extract free knowledge. He suggested that one way to address the influence of these technological challenges is by curating trusted collections, supported by accurate metadata and shelf marks. His thought-provoking talk shed light on the growing impact of big tech on the library sector.

'Collecting and preserving: new imperatives and new challenges.' Speaker: Richard Ovenden, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. Picture credit Michelle McMeekin.

During the break, I had the opportunity to connect with my conference mentor, Katherine McSharry from the University of Galway, who kindly introduced me to several of her colleagues. Afterwards, I attended the final session of the day, which featured a series of lightning talks. Niamh Murphy’s presentation on using Brunnhilde software to preserve digital collections was insightful, especially in relation to challenges like legacy storage and formatting errors. The discussion on trends in open access publishing was equally engaging, highlighting a shift toward Gold Open Access and a decline in Green OA. I also found it useful to learn about the National Action Plan for Open Research (NORF), which promotes open repositories as an alternative to traditional publishing models.

Ivona Coghlan from Royal College of Surgeons of England with her poster 'Pivoting from Academic Libraries to Healthcare Libraries - Tips for Transitioning Between Sectors.' Picture Credit Michelle McMeekin.

The day concluded with a drinks reception followed by a gala dinner. It was a delight to see everyone dressed up and enjoying the chance to unwind and socialise after a full day of sessions. As a first-time attendee, I was especially impressed—and it seemed widely agreed—that the food was among the best served at a conference!

Day two was equally jam-packed with a variety of interesting talks and breakout sessions to attend. Anne Jarvis started things off with her keynote speech on ‘Thriving in Uncertain Times: Building on the Past, Positioning for the Future’. As the Dean of Libraries at Princeton University, Jarvis reflected on the university library’s North Star Statement which guides their strategic planning and emphasises user empowerment, diverse collections, and the creation of an integrated student experience. She also spoke about the importance of fostering relationships and collaboration with other institutions through the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP) which supports resource sharing to more effectively meet patrons' needs now and in the future.

'Thriving in Uncertain Times: Building on the Past, Positioning for the Future.' Speaker: Anne Jarvis, Princeton University Library.
Picture credit Michelle McMeekin. 

In the first breakout session, I attended a series of lightning talks that explored topics such as a special collections toolkit, a digital and information literacy framework, and even a library managing a bat population alongside their collections! Working in e-resources, I found Áine Rice’s presentation, ‘Beyond the 2020 Paradigm: Reimagining Partnerships Through Data-Driven eTextbook Provision’, particularly engaging. She discussed how the pandemic accelerated the digital shift, initially leading to crisis-driven provision. Now, however, ebook access can be strategically developed using data and analytics to enhance access to core texts.

For the final session I participated in a workshop held by Elaine Chapman and Jennifer Flynn from Technological University Dublin on ‘Editing the Digital Landscape’. Chapman and Flynn led an engaging workshop full of practical tips for promoting library services on social media, emphasizing the use of accessible, jargon-free language. They also shared useful guidance on writing effective alt text for images. I found the session especially beneficial for improving how we promote e-resources to students. Plus, they provided a fun worksheet to reinforce the learning—a definite bonus in my book!

Worksheet from the 'Editing the Digital Landscape' workshop by Elaine Chapman and Jennifer Flynn,
Technological University Dublin. Picture credit Michelle McMeekin. 

Attending CONUL was an invaluable experience that will greatly benefit me as I advance in my library career. It provided the chance to network with colleagues from different specialisations and engage directly with key suppliers we work with. I’m grateful to have attended through the bursary, and I highly encourage anyone interested in next year’s conference to apply—it’s a truly worthwhile opportunity.