The exhibition
There’s no doubting that the vendor exhibition is still a major part of UKSG, this the major UK scholarly communications conference, which gives both librarians and publishers opportunities to contribute and network. The lively and bustling exhibition hall is certainly impossible to ignore, and can be quite overwhelming for a first-timer - this year publishers’ treated us among other things to: smoothie bars and smoothie bikes (a great idea after being sat in meeting rooms all day); a pick ‘n’ mix counter; giant games and jigsaws. As a returner, I found myself more equipped to navigate this cornucopia, aiming this year to resist the lure of freebies in the interests of the environment, and instead more prepared with issues I wanted to discuss with specific suppliers. Though I had some useful conversations with our database suppliers about upcoming developments, judging by the haul of goodies I returned home with, I was only partially successful in this mission!
Sustainability
The Conference team’s efforts to create a more sustainable conference this year are to be applauded - from removing the conference bag and offering drinking water taps to working with zero-waste Telford and local food banks to reduce landfill and ensure unwanted food was contributed to those in need. However, there was still no real reduction in the vast mountain of freebies handed out and it would be welcome to see more exhibitors get on board with the sustainability theme in future years.
The UKSG app was available again and once again I found it an invaluable tool in planning and getting the most out of my days. With eight breakout sessions running simultaneously, the ability to build a personalised schedule was really helpful, and having the practical information all available meant I didn’t need to lug around my hefty paper programme each day. If take-up of this continues increasing and allows a reduction in printed programmes in future years, this will be another sustainability success for UKSG.
Social events
This year I attended the ‘legendary’ UKSG quiz and supper for the first time, which to my great surprise our mixed team of publishers and librarians won. I cannot claim much credit for the win - although my unexpected wombat knowledge did come in handy, the quiz was undoubtedly the most highbrow ‘pub quiz’ I have ever attempted (think more University Challenge!) and we won largely thanks to the superb efforts of David Sommer, co-founder of Kudos. It was a great laugh and offered a more relaxed environment for networking, so I’d recommend anyone giving it a go, if only to find out the hidden knowledge of their fellow delegates! The Conference Dinner was once again a delicious feast, this year taking place within the conference centre. As such, many delegates stayed around between the final sessions of the day and the pre-dinner drinks, giving the dinner a slightly more informal atmosphere which seemed to suit many attendees.
Reflections
On returning from UKSG 2019 I have found myself particularly reflecting on the following points.
- If we are serious about improving diversity and equality in the education and scholarly communications environment, as individuals we must take recommended actions now.
- There is still much uncertainty about how Plan S will affect the scholarly communications landscape. Many questions remain to be answered, but supporting researchers to achieve their existing goals within a new, fully-OA environment should be a key priority for librarians and publishers.
- Conferences can be made both sustainable and successful, although there is still work to do on the part of attendees, exhibitors and organisers to reduce waste generated.
I must give a final mention to the inspiring session I attended with Helen Fallon of Maynooth University called ‘Get yourself heard: writing for publishing’. Helen urged all library staff give writing a go and offered useful tips and ideas for articles, and it must have worked because when the opportunity arose to write this article, I took it! So thanks to Helen for the encouragement!
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Laura Palmer is the subject librarian for business at the University of Huddersfield, UK. This is her second event report for Information Today Europe/ILI365. Read how she got on at a 'back to school' Make and Do Camp here.