Ruth Jenkins - Executive Officer Mar 30, 2026
Mercian 2025 Conference: Resilience, Relevance, and Reach: Libraries making an impact!
Conference Chair’s reflections – Paul Cavanagh
The Mercian Collaboration and the Conference Group
The Mercian Collaboration is a professional network of SCONUL higher education libraries in the East and West Midlands. Its annual Conference is organised by the Mercian Conference Group, which is comprised of volunteer library, information and related staff from Mercian Collaboration member institutions. Conference Group members work together in small teams to plan and deliver all aspects of the annual conference, including the venue, communications and programme, sponsors, speakers, and delegates. The Chair and Vice-Chair work closely together to prioritise and co-ordinate the different areas, including time lines, managing the workload, ensuring that all actions are clearly assigned and communicated.
Mercian 25: Resilience, Relevance, and Reach: Libraries making an impact!
The Mercian 25 Conference was held on Wednesday 10th September 2025, at the Techno Centre, Coventry University Technology Park.
Mercian 25 Conference was a lively, friendly day, with a wide range of presentations, posters, workshops and talks from staff across Mercian member institutions. Coventry University’s Techno Centre offered exceptional facilities and support alongside great spaces for conversations and networking.
The Conference was fully booked, with a final total of 128 attendees, including 55 delegates, 11 poster presenters and 24 speakers and presenters drawn from 21 Mercian member institutions.
Keynote speaker: Dr Beth Montague-Hellen – Supporter, ally or co-conspirator?
Our Keynote speaker was the inspirational Dr Beth Montague-Hellen, discussing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in libraries. Beth explored how staff and organisations can take real action to support colleagues and make changes; how EDI is a journey which becomes easier over time as change occurs; and we will likely get things wrong, but this is also how we learn for the future. Removing barriers has been a real part of the work and ethos of the conference in recent years, and Beth’s keynote was perfectly timed and very well received.
Programme, Presentations and Talks
The full programme is available here: 2025 Mercian Conference Programme
The presentations are available at Conference 2025 – Presentations – Mercian Collaboration.
Mercian 25’s themes were Sustainability in Libraries, Relevance and Engagement, Student Voice, and Digital Innovation. Thirteen proposals for breakout sessions were received and accepted from Mercian member institutions, all of which were of exceptionally high quality. In addition, a further session was added to the programme entitled ‘“About the Role” – A Spotlight on Professional Pathways’ that was delivered by members of the Conference Group.
The final programme featured 12 presentations and 2 workshops, with presenters drawn from 14 member institutions. The speaker sessions were 30- and 45-minute slots, with more time dedicated to exploring topics.
We also received high quality poster submissions that were exhibited on the day. As with speakers, poster presenters were in attendance to discuss their work.
Panel Discussion
I chaired this year’s closing panel discussion which featured Beth, Phil Brabban, Kate Marshall and Alex Mormoris. The Panel was chosen to represent organisational and personal leadership in different ways, whether as Directorate, senior staff, or a Mercian group. The Panel Discussion themes focused on resilience and responding to challenges, serving our communities, and inclusion and access to opportunity. Finally, the Panel shared insights into their career journeys and practical advice about personal and professional development. I enjoyed learning about the Panel’s experiences and the open, conversational approach when discussing the topics.
Sponsors and Supporters
We attracted interest from a diverse range of organisations, including suppliers, publishers, and community-led, not-for-profit open access charities. Mercian 25 was funded by sponsorship and support from publishers and library suppliers, and we attracted a record number of new and returning sponsors and supporters:
Platinum sponsor – AM Digital
Gold sponsors – Bloomsbury, Brown’s Books, Burgundy Information Services Ltd., Clarivate, Coherent Digital, EBSCO, Gale Cengage, OCLC, Overton, Prenax, Taylor & Francis, and Third Iron.
Silver sponsor – Reassurance Security Services.
Gold Supporter – Open Book Collective
As Platinum Sponsors, AM (formerly Adam Matthew)’s Oliver Brafield and Bethan Webber delivered a high-quality opening presentation, focusing on the themes of collaboration, impact and reach of Mercian member institutions. Most of our sponsors exhibited and participated in person on the day, with positive feedback from both sponsors and delegates.
Delegate Travel Bursary
To help remove barriers to conference attendance, a Delegate Travel Bursary was piloted. The Bursary supported delegates from Mercian member institutions in funding travel and encouraging first time conference attendees. There were several successful applicants in attendance, and the Bursary will be available at Mercian 26.
Mercian Conference Group
Delivering a Conference successfully is a significant undertaking, and planning started in October 2024, with monthly meetings, actions and progress checks until Conference day in September 2025. My thanks to Sue Ackermann, Steve Bull, Andy Calvert, Matt Cunningham, Peter Doveston, Kat Halliday, Jodie Heap, Kim Hepburn-Woods, Ruth Jenkins, Michelle Mayer, Kate Snaith, Clare Towle, Joe Williams, Deirdre Windsor and Giada Zanella, the Mercian Conference Group members who worked all year to deliver the best possible conference experience.
I strongly recommend joining the Conference Group, for your personal and professional development. It’s a brilliant experience in seeing our work come together in an event with so many positive, enthusiastic attendees. It’s equally brilliant to collaborate with and lead my dedicated and committed colleagues in the Conference Group. As part of the Conference Group, I’ve learned so much by working with exceptional colleagues from across the Mercian Collaboration. I wish you all success in organising Mercian 26.
My thanks to Coventry University for hosting and providing exceptional facilities; to our sponsors and supporters; and finally, to our delegates, speakers and presenters who came together from libraries, information, archives and special collections staff at Mercian Collaboration member institutions across the East and West Midlands to make Mercian 25 a memorable, welcoming and inspiring conference.
Delegate feedback
“The quality of the presentations and information sharing was outstanding – some of the best I’ve seen at any conference.”
“I really enjoyed the session “About the Role” — it was such a great session set up for networking and interaction with other Library professionals.”
“A good vibe – given how downbeat things are in the sector, it was a very upbeat event.”
“The conference team were very helpful – and did a great job in advance and on the day.”
“I feel Coventry University was outstanding in welcoming us all to their university and delivering such an outstanding conference. The atmosphere and vines at the conference were amazing and full of inspiration.”
“It was excellent as usual. Thank you to everyone for making the day so great, welcoming, and enlightening.”
“It was genuinely impressive. I had no expectations whatsoever, and came away feeling amazed by all that I had learned, and well pleased that I had invested the time in attending.”
“A session to learn more about Mercian and how you can get involved / showcase of all the groups (not just posters but maybe a drop in or similar)”
Sponsors and Supporters Feedback
“The opportunity (as a sponsor) to meet so many librarians on one day. Of course, this was made a success because of the clear communication and support from conference organisers such as Jodie and Kim (thank you!).”
“Very well organised”
“Sponsor presentation – invited exciting conversations and feedback, and an opportunity to share information with all delegates.”
“Talking with an engaged group of library staff”
