Events

Events are generally organised by the Mercian's Special Interest Subgroups, with the Staff Development Group having a particular remit to deliver an annual programme of development events for member library’s staff.

Event Suggestions

We always welcome suggestions for themes or topics for future events. If you’ve got an idea or request for a particular theme or event you’d like to see, please contact us and tell us your thoughts.

Eligibility

Events are normally only open to attendance by library staff coming from Mercian member organisations. Where attendance for staff from outside the Collaboration is available, it will be highlighted in the event description.

Upcoming Events

Title Date Location Description
All the Same, But Different: Newman University 21 January 2020 - 10:30am to 3:00pm Newman University Library, St Chad Building, Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 3NT This event will be hosted by Newman University, on behalf of the Mercian Staff Development Group, featuring: experience exchanges, thinking about website structures, supporting school children’s learning, managing student behaviour and service marketing. More details will follow, or contact Gemma Dixon (G.Dixon@staff.newman.ac.uk) or David Crozier (D.Crozier@newman.ac.uk) for more details. Audience: All library staff
Mercian Metadata Group 'End of Year' Meeting 22 January 2020 - 10:00am to 1:00pm George Davies Centre Boardroom, Ground Floor, George Davies Centre (GDC), University of Leicester, Lancaster Road, Leicester, LE17HB A meeting hosted by the Mercian Metadata Group, which aims to review the group's activities to date along with planning for the year ahead. There will also be an opportunity for delegates to exchange best practice and share experience, alongside commenting on current developments in the metadata field. See the booking link for more details or contact Richard Birley for more details. The event agenda is here. Audience: Any and all staff dealing with metadata, cataloguing and related activities, based at member institutions.  
Marketing & Communications Group Meeting 24 January 2020 - 10:00am to 4:00pm Room C389, The Curzon Building, Birmingham City University,4 Cardigan Street, Birmingham, B4 7BD This event is a discussion and experience exchange forum, hosted by the Mercian Marketing & Communications Group. Attendees will be able to share their own experiences, as well as hear from others. The day will be themed around 'data and feedback', and there will be a particular focus into marketing data collection and reporting practices (from web analytics, through social media, student feedback and everything in-between). Finally, there will also be a chance to consider how refurbishment projects are communicated. Booking: Contact Jakki Carton (Jakki.Carton@wlv.ac.uk) or Stewart Sandilands (Stewart.Sandilands@bcu.ac.uk) Audience: All staff involved in any any aspect of marketing, promotion and outreach to their instutitonmal communities.
Skills Development for New Managers 29 January 2020 - 10:30am to 3:30pm Seminar Room 1, Pilkington Library, Loughborough University This MSDG workshop aims to provide new managers a forum to discuss approaches and share knowledge amongst their peers, in a supportive environment. Delegates will be encouraged to reflect on what they have encountered in their current roles and come with questions they would like to be discussed during the workshop. For more information see the flyer and booking link, or contact Matt Cunningham (M.S.Cunningham@lboro.ac.uk) Audience: Newly appointed line managers or staff looking to move into management. 
Delivering Information Literacy Skills Online 3 February 2020 - 9:30am to 4:30pm Betty Boothroyd Library, the Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6BB In this hands on course, you will learn how the award winning Open University Library’s Live Engagement Team develop and deliver their online training sessions. This event will be hosted by the Open University, on behalf of the Mercian Staff Development Group. More details are available via the booking link, or contact Jude Bennett (judith.bennett@open.ac.uk) or Cheryl Coveney (cheryl.coveney@open.ac.uk) for more details. Audience: All library staff interested in developing their online teaching skills.
Supporting Your Users Undertaking Systematic Reviews 4 March 2020 - 10:30am to 4:30pm Frederick Lanchester Building, Coventry University, Gosford Street, Coventry CV1 5DD This will be an opportunity to learn more about systematic literature reviews and to share and discuss experiences. The session will discuss what is a systematic review? The role of the library in supporting systematic literature reviews, developing robust search strategies and documenting the search process. There will be hands on opportunities to develop more advanced search strategies. We will also consider some of the associated software packages. This event will be hosted at Coventry University, on behalf of the Mercian Staff Development Group. More details will follow, or contact Chris Bark (chris.bark@coventry.ac.uk ) for more details. Audience: All staff with interest in or experience with systematic literature reviews.
Best Practice in Marketing & Communications 18 March 2020 - 10:30am to 4:00pm Library, Aston University, Aston St, Birmingham B4 7ET This event will be hosted by Aston University, on behalf of the Mercian Staff Development and the Marketing and Communications Groups. More details will follow, or contact Emma Hollinshead (e.l.hollinshead@aston.ac.uk) for more details.
Changing Role of the Library Assistant 21 May 2020 - 10:30am to 3:30pm University Library, University of Birmingham This exciting and much anticipated event, postponed from last academic year, will be hosted at the University of Birmingham, on behalf of the Mercian Staff Development Group on Thu 21st May 2020. Details to follow, but for further information, please contact Teresa Jordan (t.jordan@bham.ac.uk). Audience: TBC
Decolonising Academic Libraries 16 June 2020 - 10:30am to 4:00pm University of Leicester, University Rd, Leicester LE1 7RH This event will be hosted by the University of Leicester, on behalf of the Mercian Staff Development Group. More details will follow, or contact Keith Nockles (khn5@leicester.ac.uk) or Kaye Towlson (kbt@dmu.ac.uk) for more details.
What Placement Students Need to Know 17 June 2020 - 10:00am to 4:00pm Library, Aston St, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET This event will be hosted by Aston University, on behalf of the Mercian Staff Development Group. More details will follow, or contact Angela Brady (A.E.BRADY@aston.ac.uk) for more details.