SCONUL annual residential conference, Leeds, 16 to 18 June 2010

10 December, 2009

Organisational leadership in a time of change

Academic librarians are facing unprecedented challenges. The parlous state of the national economy is posing challenges for higher education which are already having significant implications for academic libraries. Paralleling this are the extraordinary changes taking place in the digital environment which require us to embrace innovative technologies and keep up to date with new ways of delivering our services at the same time that budgets are declining and the expectations of our students are rising. Here is a time for leadership where issues of efficiency gains, shared services, the rationalisation of services, effective staff management and creativity in the configuration of services have a new urgency.

The conference will feature keynote speakers discussing these themes. There will also be a creative thinking cafe in which we can generate and share new ideas which in turn will be presented to the SCONUL Board for their consideration. And there will be a number of practical sessions highlighting some of our recent initiatives that will contribute to our thinking about how we may provide effective services in a time of financial restraint and identifying areas which could make a real difference to the ways in which we can deliver good quality services in the future.

A poster session outlining the varied work of SCONUL will feature prominently in the conference.

The social programme will include visits to the West Ridings academic libraries, the Bronte Parsonage, the Royal Armouries, the City Art Gallery and Temple Newsam.