Call for abstracts now open.
We will hold our annual conference in the Ashling Hotel, Dublin on Thursday 12th March 2026.
Our theme is “Celebrating Our Collective Power: Finding Strength in Difference“.
We all have different values, preferences, priorities, stakeholders, professional goals and ways of working. This diversity provides benefits to our profession with greater access to new ideas and innovations.
- Technology – how do we prepare for technological innovations such as AI
- Impact – how do we make a difference to others
- User Engagement – how do we ensure our services meet the varied needs of library users
- Resilience – how do we function well in the face of adversity
- Lifelong Learning – (such as CPD)
Submit your abstract to contacthslg@gmail.com by Tuesday 13th January 2026. Please include a presentation title, name of presenter(s), organisation, abstract of 250-300 words, and whether you will speak for 10 or 20 minutes.
Successful presenters will have the conference fee waived.*
Ticket Prices:
HSLG member: €35
Non-LAI member: €80
LAI member/Student/Unemployed: €50
[*Note: Standard presentation will be limited to a maximum of two presenters, with short presentations limited to one.]
We will hold our annual conference in the Ashling Hotel, Dublin on Thursday 12th March 2026.
Our theme is “Celebrating Our Collective Power: Finding Strength in Difference“.
We all have different values, preferences, priorities, stakeholders, professional goals and ways of working. This diversity provides benefits to our profession with greater access to new ideas and innovations.
- Technology – how do we prepare for technological innovations such as AI
- Impact – how do we make a difference to others
- User Engagement – how do we ensure our services meet the varied needs of library users
- Resilience – how do we function well in the face of adversity
- Lifelong Learning – (such as CPD)
Submit your abstract to contacthslg@gmail.com by Tuesday 13th January 2026. Please include a presentation title, name of presenter(s), organisation, abstract of 250-300 words, and whether you will speak for 10 or 20 minutes.
Successful presenters will have the conference fee waived.*
Ticket Prices:
HSLG member: €35
Non-LAI member: €80
LAI member/Student/Unemployed: €50
[*Note: Standard presentation will be limited to a maximum of two presenters, with short presentations limited to one.]
Bridges to New Horizons: Innovations in Health Information and Medical Libraries
8 – 12 June 2026, Antalya, Turkey
Under the theme Bridging Horizons, the conference will explore how emerging technologies, ethical practices, and collaborative partnerships are transforming medical libraries and health information systems worldwide.
Register to attend here.
Information on conference theme and subtheme here.
Key Deadlines
- Call for Papers Opens: 15 September 2025
- Abstract Submission Deadline: 14 November 2025
- Notification of Acceptance: 15 December 2025
- Early Registration Opens: 1 December 2025
- Early Registration Closes: 8 May 2026
- Preliminary Programme Release: March 2026
Join this free, online event to help future-proof your career and provide you with guidance on steps you might take to support your career development.
The event is on Thursday October 30th from 2 – 4.30pm
This event is open to anyone working in academic libraries or a related organisation.
The event might particularly appeal to early or mid-career academic library workers, regardless of job level who want to develop and progress in their career, whether that be within their current role or in a different role entirely. The event will help you think about the skills you need to do that, and how you might undertake future activities to support you.
You do not need to be connected to or a member of CILIPS, SALCTG and SCURL to book a place.
The event will feature:
- An opening talk from Martina McChrystal, Director of Library Services, University of Glasgow on succession planning and future proofing your career
- Career journeys – some shared examples from a variety of library colleagues
- Professional qualifications and values – ways that everyone can develop, regardless of prior experience or qualifications
Register here
14th ICML Congress will take place in Glasgow from 14th -16th July 2026
Conference theme – Flourish: growing our communities
Subthemes:
- Growing Medical Librarianship through innovation
- Careers: flourishing careers from new professionals to retirement and beyond
- Equity, equality, disparities
- Research assessment: the impact and quality of medical research
- Evidence based practice: advancing library practice and our profession through research and evaluation
- Health and Wellbeing
- Sustainability
In-person and online registration options available
In-person early bird rate until 31st January 2026
For more information see here
This conference is for Clinician Librarians, Outreach Librarians, Embedded Librarians, Expert Searchers, Information & Knowledge Specialists and interested parties.
Full conference and 1-day tickets available.
Register here https://uhl-clinicaleducation.org/iclc/?kinsta-cache-cleared=true
The forum is a unique day for people who specialise in information retrieval, systematic searching, knowledge or data mining, evidence synthesis, archiving and reference management. The day will consist of talks, workshops, networking, celebrating achievements & discussing latest innovations for information professionals.
This free in-person event is sponsored by the NIHR Methodology Incubator and NIHR Innovation Observatory and follows a team science ethos, welcoming information professionals from all disciplines to come together and share their knowledge.
Themes explored through a series of talks and workshops will include:
- Community: collaboration & networking
- Opportunities: training & development
- Research: share your methods and research
- Experience: career routes and progression
Register for this event here
Our 2025 HSLG Conference title is Cultivating curiosity: a wonderland for librarians.
Date: Thursday, 6 March 2025
Venue: Ashling Hotel, Dublin 8
Our theme explores the role of curiosity within librarianship, which includes:
- Innovating, challenging and being open to new ideas, experiences and perspectives
- Planning for the future / creating or adapting to environments of change
- Delving deep. Understanding and providing evidence of value
- Lifelong learning
- Believing impossible things – and making them happen
The conference will be relevant to many library sectors, with speakers from health, academic and
specialist libraries, and will introduce ideas, practical tools and key updates of significance to your
work and professional development.
Discounted prices are available for LAI members and library students, and registration includes
lunch and coffee break.
Curious? Register for this event now: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/hslg-conference-2025-cultivating-curiosity-a-wonderland-for-librarians-tickets-1092203563259?aff=oddtdtcreator
The programme is packed with interesting and relevant speakers, with plenty of time to network.
Highlights include keynote speaker Sue Lacey Bryant, CILIP President, and a knowledge café led
by Mairéad McKeown and Amy Bond of Bord Bia.
HSLG Virtual Journal Club, 21 April 2021, 11am – 11.45am
Wikipedia Q&A
Wikipedia version of “Librarian”, available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Librarian
Suggested questions by Anne Madden:
- Does this Wikipedia entry feel like it was written by a librarian? See also the “Talk” tab – any comments? Does it feel neutral or do pro or con librarian views come across? If you were considering librarianship as a career, would this piece encourage or deter you?
- Are librarians still “custodians” or keepers of knowledge or has this role now passed to publishers? If so, where does that leave librarians?
- Looking at the ownership or sponsorship of the earliest libraries, how much credence should we give any surviving texts from this era? What may have been the driving force for creating these libraries?
- In the 1870’s, librarian tasks were considered to be “”Eminently Suited to Girls and Women.” Do you think this was based on convenience or related to the position of women in society at the time? Or for some other reason?
- “The CDC had earlier named librarians as key public health staff to support COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing.” What librarian skills would have led them to that conclusion? What image does it seem to portray of librarians? Is it an image we should promote?
- Copyright isn’t mentioned either. In fact, in the 17th Century, a librarian was seen as a “scribe, one who copies books”. Do librarians need more legal skills to address copyright and publisher licencing issues, and should they be the first port of call for these issues?
- If you were to add a section on Health Librarians, what additional roles or skills would you include? What non-typical skills are you called on to provide in your service?
- Looking at the list of “additional responsibilities”, are the core roles of librarians still intact? What does this list suggest about assumptions on librarian values?
- When it comes to librarian education, there is very little consensus across the globe. Steve McKinzie argues that an academic qualification is required for e.g. reference interview and doesn’t rate “special training”. In our own experience, what has been the role of any academic qualification and of CPD/special training?
- Technology: “librarians must continually adapt to new formats”. Instead of adapting, should we be leading or collaborating in developments in this field?
- Librarian stereotypes – help! Is this seriously still true? Anyone have any personal experiences of any of this? Do we inspire fear – timidly??
Ann Wales: Something Old, Something New: Health Librarian Capabilities for the Knowledge Economy and the Digital Age
Since 2005, Ann has held the national role of Programme Director for Knowledge Management in NHS Education for Scotland, leading national strategic development of knowledge management across health and social care. This has included delivery of the national online Knowledge Network as a national gateway to evidence, information and learning resources for health and social care. Ann also worked with partners to design and operationalise a national service for translating knowledge into action in health and social care, with a strong focus on developing knowledge broker roles to facilitate that process The constant driving force behind Ann’s work is her commitment to translating knowledge into decisions and actions to improve health and care.
Abstract
Drawing upon international research and upon the experience of the Knowledge into Action Strategy for Health and Social Services in Scotland, this presentation will explore the knowledge, skills, behaviours and mindsets required to realise the potential of the health librarian role in the 21st Century. It will highlight the need for librarians to respond to transformation of health and social care delivery; the “digital first” approach to public services, the growth of the knowledge economy, and the financial challenges underlying all these drivers for change. An overarching theme is the need to develop beyond the traditional librarian role in organising information to become knowledge brokers that facilitate the translation of knowledge into practice. Participants will be invited to debate the real-life challenges of evolving professional identity and skills in this changing context.
