Ruth Jenkins - Executive Officer Mar 25, 2025
The Mercian Collaboration and Conference Planning Group are excited to invite session and poster proposals for the Mercian 25: Resilience, Relevance, and Reach: Libraries making an impact! Conference, to be held in person on Wednesday 10th September 2025, at the Techno Centre, Coventry University Technology Park.
Mercian 25 Conference Themes & Areas of Interest
We know that the Mercian Collaboration members and the wider sector are facing significant challenges, not least in terms of staffing, resources, and funding. We want to recognise these realities, focus on what libraries and library staff are doing to meet these challenges, and explore opportunities for positive change and new ideas and approaches.
We especially welcome submissions which could cover, but are not exclusive to, the following conference themes:
- The role of the library in a changing world.
- The future of libraries and how to navigate toward this future.
- The value of libraries and how this can be demonstrated to the modern world.
- Evolving library services for all.
Eligibility: Who can Submit a Proposal?
Contributions are welcomed from colleagues working within Mercian member institutions. We welcome submissions from those working in library, information, and related roles of any grade, including individual and collaborative joint submissions. We particularly encourage and support submissions from those who are looking to present for the first time. We also welcome submissions from non-member UK academic institutions, in line with the conference title and themes.
We do not accept speaker submissions from commercial organisations. Mercian 25 is only possible thanks to sponsorship, and invite potential sponsors to consider contributing to the conference through a range of sponsorship options.
Format: What Types of Session Proposals can be Submitted?
Submissions can be focused on, but not limited to, the conference title and themes. We also welcome submissions which may fall outside of these themes but will still be of relevance and interest to our delegates. Contributions can take the form of talks, discussions, presentations, or interactive workshops in the following options:
30-minute short talks.
45-minute presentations or workshops.
Conference Poster.
Should you wish to submit a proposal outside of these formats, please contact the Speaker Liaisons Clare Towle, Jane Mansfield, and Peter Doveston: mercianconference@gmail.com.
How to submit a proposal
Presentation proposals can be submitted to the Conference Group by completing this online Speaker Proposals form. Please complete all sections of the form. The deadline for submission is Wednesday 14th May.
If you require the submission form in an accessible or alternative format, please contact the Speaker Liaisons as above and an alternative format will be provided. Sessions may be recorded and shared, along with the speaker slides and other materials, on the conference microsite following the event.
Speaker Briefing Events: Now Open for Booking
We are running online speaker briefing events to support you when submitting your proposal, scheduled for April/May 2025:
Event 1: Friday 4th April (Morning)
Event 2: Monday 14th April (Afternoon)
Event 3: Wednesday 7th May (Afternoon)
You can sign up to an event by completing this online Speaker Briefing event form. These events are open to anyone considering submitting a proposal, including advice for first-time presenters, support for presenting and public speaking, and guidance about what goes into submitting a great proposal.
Poster gallery and exhibition
We also invite colleagues who either have a smaller project or simply prefer not to present a paper to suggest a poster for our exhibition to showcase something you have done. Full details will be available in our Call for Posters, to be announced separately.
Webpage updated 25th March 2025
