Date: 24-26 September 2021
Host: The Leeds Library
We are delighted to re-issue the call for papers for the ILA’s annual conference and AGM, postponed from 2020. The conference theme was ‘independent libraries as the Great Good Place’, inspired by Ray Oldenburg’s concept of a space that is welcoming and free to access, and promotes pleasure, wellbeing, and engagement (you can read a short Wiki entry here).
The library has always been a place where communities can connect, grow and (re)build, and this is the case more than ever in 2021. Independent libraries responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with energy, innovation and speed, supporting their members with new initiatives. Social media, email, digital events and even the good old-fashioned pen-and-ink letter were pressed into service. Book deliveries, postal loans, online catalogues and reading groups took on new significance as the country went into lockdown.
The original call for papers can be accessed here and we welcome submissions from anyone working in or around the independent library, museum or archive sector. We emphasise that submissions need not be scholarly and we would particularly like to hear your stories from 2020 and your plans for the future. Talks should be limited to around twenty minutes. Please send your 250-word proposals accompanied by biographies of up to 150 words to library@gladlib.org.
The conference will be online, with physical events taking place if circumstances permit. Stay up to date with all the latest news by checking the Annual Meeting page.