2-3 July. My first visit to Liverpool, and summer is definitely here. I arrive at St. George’s Hall for the conference, along with 600 other library and information professionals. I’ve already noted which sessions I want to attend. I pick up my delegate lanyard, my conference bag and a vital custard doughnut as I enter. And so begins two whirlwind days at CILIP Conference 2015…

You’re not going to read a long report, so here are my marketing takeaways and to do list from #CILIPConf15…

• Remember David Lankes’ rules to control the narrative. I’ve printed one of the slides and put it above my desk. In fact, just listen to his whole keynote. David neatly captures what I’d like people to think about my library.

• Read ISO 16439:2014 Methods and procedures for assessing the impact of libraries. Libraries are increasingly being asked to prove their value, and this provides an international standard for doing this. I’ll definitely be looking at this in more depth.

• Get your statistics right – and use them! Full Fact talked about correcting politicians and national newspapers during the General Election, whilst Jo Alcock discussed using resource usage statistics in communications with stakeholders to demonstrate value.

• Libraries and librarians do amazing work all over the world. The Libraries Without Borders #IdeasBox is working with displaced communities and we heard from Erwin James the difference that prison libraries can make. As PPRG members, it’s our job to tell as many people as possible how brilliant libraries are.

And as you can see from the image above, we had some fun at the Conference Fringe sessions. In this #CILIPSelfie2015, I’m proving that PPRG members really are some of the most flexible of our profession!

Rachel Smith