“Vision and Revision: Virtual Libraries and New Beginnings” was the theme of the 2021 CILIP Ireland/LAI annual Joint Conference. Here Gerardine Blee, CILIP Ireland Relationship Manager, describes some of the highlights of the conference which was held virtually for the first time and ran across two afternoons, providing a platform for librarians and information professionals across the island of Ireland and beyond to come together.

The opportunity to consider and explore key themes and developments within the profession attracted 254 paid delegates. Bobby Seagull delivered an inspirational opening keynote address, sharing his personal experiences to illustrate the power and value of libraries and, in doing so, generated overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees.

This fantastic opening address was immediately followed by the announcement of the winner of the Staff Champion award, a joint initiative between CILIP Ireland and the LAI which, for the first time, was open to applications on an all-island basis. The award recognises and acknowledges the enormous contributions of our library colleagues to our individual libraries, our communities and our sector as a whole. The 2020 winner was Marie Cullen from Maynooth University and we extend our warmest congratulations to her.

The “New Voices” session maintained the uplifting theme as it featured new and recent entrants to the library community who successfully responded to a “Call for Papers” earlier this year. The selection of short presentations showcased the breadth of new and emerging talent within our profession. Presentations covered a diverse range of topics ranging from “Is There a Plan for Plan S?” to “Interactive Introductions to Library Facilities and Services Using 360 Virtual Tour Software.”

The “Response to COVID” session provided an opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous effort made by library and information staff across the island of Ireland in response to the pandemic. There were some wonderful stories of innovation, resilience and kindness as we heard testimony from fellow information professionals about how they and their colleagues responded to COVID-19.
The conference also tackled big issues for libraries and society in sessions on “Media Literacy and Misinformation” and “Sustainable Libraries”.

Stuart Hamilton, Head of Libraries Development from the Local Government Management Agency in Ireland opened day two of the conference with a keynote address celebrating the powerful role of librarians not as a "search engine with a heart" but as a "recommendation engine with serious expertise in books and reading". He explained that there was much we can do to power discovery, readership and representation. Stuart highlighted the unsustainability of ebooks and issued a rallying call for everyone to advocate on this issue. In his closing remarks he stated that “we don't want to go back, we have to go forward” but there are some big questions including:

• How to provide sustainable access to digital content;
• How to value physical and digital users on equal terms; and
• How to combine the best of face-to-face with the best of online.

He said that libraries have learned so much over the last 12 months that a new normal is needed, not a return to old familiar habits. We should use our spirit of innovation to embrace the new world post-COVID.

Áine Carey, Teaching and Research Development Librarian at Maynooth University particularly captured the mood of delegates as she said she had found the talks by Ricardo, Alan and Orna in the “Media Literacy and Misinformation” session particularly thought-provoking, “That’s what you want from CPD events isn’t it, a chance to hear a different perspective and maybe bring those practices into your own work.” The conference generated a stream of tweets from delegates and speakers with #CILIPIreLAI21 trending number 1 in Ireland on Thursday 15th April, reflecting an overwhelmingly positive event.