2021 Annual Conference - we made it to The Leeds Library!

The Independent Library as the Great Good Place

In the heart of their communities and repositories of some of the most independent cultural collections in the UK, independent libraries are social, educational, working spaces which deliver numerous personal benefits to those who use them. This year’s theme is inspired by Ray Oldenburg’s The Great Good Place (1989), in which Oldenberg discusses the desirable ‘third place’: public places where anyone can gather and interact. Unlike the first place (home) and the second place (work), third spaces offer inexpensive access to discussion, pleasure, and community, leading to social cohesion, civic engagement, and the wellbeing that comes from a sense of place. Third spaces can be cafes, main streets, coffeehouses, beer gardens…

But it is the library which is a third space par excellence. Its collections, exhibitions and spaces inform debate and encourage self-education, its membership creates and promotes social equality, while its events create and promote social vitality and community.

In 2021 The Leeds Library drew on the theory of the Great Good Place as it worked to ensure its future and so the ILA’s conference that year explored every way in which independent libraries have been, and will continue to be, Great Good Places to their local, national, and international users in the digital age.

Because of the pandemic not everyone could attend in person, and it was brilliant that in the year of The Great Good Place the conference went hybrid, live-streaming talks and events to the world.

The keynote address was The Widening Circle of a Library, given by Peter Francis. Peter’s been Warden of Gladstone's Library for 25 years, following a career in the Church, and he has penned a personal and revealing memoir. The Widening Circle of Us grapples with ideas of faith, family and personal politics, as well as the changes he’s witnessed in the independent library sector - many of which resonate with Oldenburg’s ideas in The Great Good Place.

We were also delighted to continue the tradition of creative events as part of the ILA conference, with a performance of MR James’s spookiest ghost stories, Casting the Runes. Performed by Nunkie Theatre in the heart of the Leeds Library, it was a night not easily forgotten…

Download the full programme by clicking here (valid as of 20th September 2021). You can also see the full biographies of all contributors by clicking here (tbc).

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2020 Annual Conference - it should have been The Leeds Library!

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In 2020 our conference should have been at the Leeds Library.

Due to the UK’s lengthy lockdown and other Covid-19 restrictions around mass gatherings, it was postponed to 2021. The ILA were determined to meet, however, and two very well-attended ‘town hall’ style meetings were held via Zoom. The notes from one of the Zoom meetings can be found here. As you’ll see it was frank, funny, and inspiring, filled with advice on how to cope with Covid-19 and its challenges. You won’t find advice like that in your disaster manuals!

The ILA want to thank Melanie Duffil-Jeffs of Bromley House Library, Nottingham, whose enthusiasm for hosting and chairing both meetings allowed for some moments of real positivity in a challenging pandemic.

2019 Annual Conference - The Devon and Exeter Institution

2019 was the Independent Library Association’s thirtieth birthday! In this celebratory year the annual conference theme was one of adaptation: ‘the action or process of altering, amending, or modifying something (esp. something that has been created for a particular purpose) so that it is suitable for a new use’.

Any library is an adaptable space: we’ve embraced technology, changing reader demographics, the loss of original buildings, the addition of new buildings, ever-shifting collections, and much more. What is so intriguing about libraries is that continuity is as important as adaptation. All libraries treasure their original buildings and oldest books; their longevity is their USP. How do libraries change while also remaining the same? How do libraries emphasise the new while retaining the old? 

The theme was ably embraced by a fantastic keynote speaker, Naomi Korn, one of the UK’s leading authorities on copyright, licensing and data protection.

This special ILA annual conference brought together those working in and around the independent library sector, fostering networking between all those who work in or around libraries, archives, and special collections. Papers from library founders, readers, members, subscribers, librarians, archivists, interns, volunteers, trustees, benefactors, partner institutions and the general public were all part of a wonderful weekend!  

Download a PDF copy of the full 2019 programme here

Details of all talks and contributors can be found here

2018 Annual Conference - The Library of Innerpeffray & The Leighton Library

The Independent Libraries Association’s annual conference 2018 continued the aim of bringing together those working in and around the independent library sector. 2017’s conference followed the theme of ‘collections’, the core of any library; but what are texts without their readers? In 2018 the conference focused on people. The membership of independent libraries is growing healthily, but individual institutions often battle against perceptions of exclusivity and anonymity.

People who use independent collections, as well as the people who make the collections accessible were all welcomed under this year’s theme. Papers on library founders, readers, members, subscribers, librarians, archivists, interns, volunteers, trustees, benefactors, partner institutions and/or the general public were all part of this year's programme.

The keynote address was 'Bibliographers, Biographers, and Independent Libraries', by Dr Kelsey Jackson Williams, Lecturer in Early Modern Literature, University of Stirling. For the first time the keynote address was joined by a creative performance, with delegates treated to an exclusive cast reading of 'The Lamp', a play inspired by and written for the Library of Innerpeffray by writer and playwright Linda Cracknell.

We were delighted to be holding the 2018 conference in Scotland, with joint hosts the Library of Innerpeffray, by Crieff, and the Leighton Library, Dunblane. The Associations’ intention is to foster networking between all those who work in or around libraries, archives, and special collections. 

For a conference report of the whole weekend, see Mhairi Rutherford's report here, and Jessica Hudson's report here.

Download a PDF copy of the 2018 conference programme.

2017 Annual Conference - Chawton House Library

We were delighted to announce the 28th Annual Conference, held at one of our newest member libraries, Chawton House Library in Alton, Hampshire. This was the second to be held in the new conference format, after the successful launch in 2016 at Bromley House Library, Nottingham. We more than doubled the number of speakers and welcomed delegates from across the UK and the world.

The keynote speaker was Mark Purcell, Deputy Director of Research Collections at the University of Cambridge. The programme allowed delegates to hear from some of the world's most unique library and archive collections, while also allowing delegates the chance to explore one of the UK's finest independent libraries, Chawton House Library. The audience was diverse - librarians, archivists, researchers, academics, as well as the general public who wanted to learn more about one of the UK's key cultural industries. The ILA conference is a weekend of learning, networking, discussion and #librarychat, held during the weekend, so all member libraries and independent members will have a chance to have their say. 

Download a PDF copy of the 2017 conference programme

Independent Libraries as the 'Great Good Place' - ILA Annual Meeting 2021

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.

ORIGINAL 2020 Conference and AGM Call for Papers

Please note that this is the text of the 2020 call for papers and is no longer valid. For the 2021 information, please click here.

The 2020 Independent Libraries Association Annual Conference and AGM

FRIDAY 29 - SUNDAY 31 MAY 2020

HOSTED BY THE LEEDS LIBRARY

CALL FOR PAPERS: ‘Libraries as the “Great Good Place”’

In the heart of their communities and repositories of some of the most independent cultural collections in the UK, independent libraries are social, educational, working spaces which deliver numerous personal benefits to those who use them. This year’s theme is inspired by Ray Oldenburg’s The Great Good Place (1989), in which Oldenberg discusses the desirable ‘third place’: public places where anyone can gather and interact. Unlike the first place (home) and the second place (work), third spaces offer inexpensive access to discussion, pleasure, and community, leading to social cohesion, civic engagement, and the wellbeing that comes from a sense of place. Third spaces can be cafes, main streets, coffeehouses, beer gardens…

But it is the library which is a third space par excellence. Its collections, exhibitions and spaces inform debate and encourage self-education, its membership creates and promotes social equality, while its events create and promote social vitality and community. This year’s host, The Leeds Library, is drawing on the theory of the Great Good Place as it works to ensure its future, and the ILA’s 2020 conference will explore every way in which independent libraries have been, and will continue to be, Great Good Places to their local, national, and international users in the digital age.

 Topics for papers, discussions, workshops, roundtables, and anything else could include, but are not limited to:

  • Collective Voices – a Manifesto for Independent Libraries;

  • Independent Libraries – Sustaining the Great Good Place;

  • Tradition and Change – The next 10 years for the Independent Library;

  • The Voices of Independent Libraries;

  • Creativity and Engagement – Independent Libraries as the Third Place;

  • Independent Libraries in the Information Age;

  • Using our Roots to Shape our Futures;

We emphasise that papers do not need to be scholarly, and can take the form of discussions, conversations, case studies, panels, and roundtables. Please send 250-word proposals for 20-minute papers, as well as a 250-word biography by Friday 22nd February 2020, to Carl Hutton and Louisa Yates at independentlibraries@gmail.com

ILA and Beginning Cataloguing team up for a free course place (deadline Monday 3rd August)

Do you want to be able to work out format and collation, create a title-page transcription, and how to use cataloguing techniques in description and research? The Independent Libraries Association is delighted to offer a free place on ‘Beginning Bibliography’, an online, asynchronous course ideal for those new to cataloguing. Guided by teachers, Anne Welsh and Yvonne Lewis, participants will look at the core principles of bibliographic description. The online course begins on Monday 3rd August but can be followed at your own pace.

Please note that anyone who is deeply familiar with Gaskell and Bowers, or who took the Historical Bibliography course at UCL (2009-2019) will be unlikely to benefit from this course and should not apply at this time.

The ILA is able to offer this course (usually worth £200 + VAT) due to a generous offer by Anne Welsh, founder of Beginning Cataloguing. A venture which offers training and advice on cataloguing and related activities, Beginning Cataloguing began life online before moving to bespoke in-person solutions. Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic their courses and advice have shifted entirely online until January 2021.

Anne is the author of Practical Cataloguing and has over twenty-five years’ experience in the areas of cataloguing and bibliography. Anne began her career in independent libraries and they remain dear to her. She was moved to offer this free place in recognition of her early days as a SCONUL trainee and early career librarian, where funds for professional development were in short supply. The ILA is deeply grateful to Anne for her generous offer.

To apply, please send a short email explaining why you would benefit from ‘Beginning Bibliography’ to emma.marigliano@gmail.com by 12 noon on Monday 3rd August. The successful applicant will have their participation featured on the Beginning Cataloguing blog and must contribute at least one blog post (5-800 words) about the course. A recent post by a course participant can be found here: https://beginningcataloguing.com/learning-to-catalogue/beginning-data-manipulation/

ILA Annual Conference and AGM 2020 - AN UPDATE

Following on from the decision taken in March to postpone this year’s ILA Annual Conference and AGM, the committee has decided to cancel the conference entirely. The 2021 Annual Conference will take place on 28/29/30 May 2021, at The Leeds Library, and we look forward to seeing you all there.

 As many of our member libraries work to re-open and re-engage with their communities, their energies are naturally focused on their staff, users, and buildings. The ILA is therefore working to develop new methods of staying in touch using digital methods. As such, the AGM for 2020 will take place remotely. The date will be well-publicised in advance.

Keep an eye on our website and social media, too, for news of a day of remote talks and presentations, coming soon!

general enquiries: info@independentlibraries.co.uk