Conference Admin Jul 09, 2026
The Mercian Conference Group is delighted to announce that bookings for Mercian 26 are now open!
Following the success of last year’s pilot, we are also pleased to once again offer the Delegate Travel Bursary Scheme, helping to make attendance as accessible as possible for colleagues across the Mercian Collaboration.
Conference Details
- Mercian 26: I can’t do any more with less! – Collaborative and innovative ways to enhance library spaces, collections, and engagement without over-stretching ourselves
- Date: Wednesday 9th September 2026
- Location: The Venue@DMU, De Montfort University, Leicester
- Hashtag: #Mercian26
- Conference Fee: Free (including lunch and refreshments)
Booking Information
To ensure fair access across to all Mercian Collaboration libraries, we are initially allocating up to three delegate places per institution. These places are in addition to colleagues who are members of the Mercian Conference Group, conference speakers, or poster presenters.
Additional places may be released during August. Please check with your line manager and your institution’s Mercian Staff Development Group representative to see how places are being allocated within your library.
Bookings can be made here.
As part of the booking process, you will be asked to provide:
- Dietary requirements
- Accessibility requirements, including anything we can do to help make your day enjoyable and inclusive
- Whether you would like to apply for a travel bursary (see below)
- Your indicative preferences for breakout sessions
Please note that breakout session selections are not final choices; these will be made on the day. The information you provide will help the Conference Group with planning and allocation of rooms.
- Bookings close: Wednesday 12 August 2026
Delegate Travel Bursaries
The Delegate Travel Bursary Scheme aims to remove financial barriers to attendance for colleagues whose institutions are unable to fund travel for Continuing Professional Development (CPD), or who may incur additional costs when using accessible forms of transport.
Applications can be made through the conference booking form. Full terms and conditions are available here.
The Delegates Information page contains practical information about attending (and will be updated as we go through this month and next).
If you have any questions, please contact mercianconference@gmail.com.
The conference is organised by the Mercian Collaboration, a professional network of SCONUL higher education libraries in the East and West Midlands.
