Regardless of whether one is just starting out or has already arrived in the community, as young librarians and information scientists, there are many interesting fields and new developments. For example, there are discussions about the diverse potential of artificial intelligence in library environments, the currently developing discussion on how to handle library collections with a colonial history and context, how to incorporate comics into bibliographic data sets, or the evaluation of the major transformative agreements in Germany - just to name a few. But how can one experience all this without having to visit completely different events and locations? For instance, by attending Bibliocon.
This year’s 112th Bibliocon took place in Hamburg and welcomed more than 4,000 guests from 30 countries BuB between June 4th and 7th 2024. Over three days, there were 240 events that covered every imaginable topic in the field of library and information science Bibliocon program6136. The presentations were organized by overarching theme areas, such as library-related topics, open-access-related topics, information science-related topics, etc. In addition, there were presentations from a wide range of companies, such as publishers like Elsevier, Springer Nature or service providers like Clarivate.
Among the many attendees were also two student employees from the Information Management department at the Berlin School for Library and Information Science (IBI) at Humboldt University Berlin who had the great opportunity to attend the congress. As “first-timers”, our attendance was naturally about collecting as many interesting experiences as possible - both in terms of information management to enrich our work in the research group and also in our own areas of interest. To coordinate this beforehand, we could even use an app provided by the event Apple App Store and of course also refer to a printed program with a detailed schedule.
Alongside an extremely enthusiastic and friendly staff, who gave us some useful tips for orientation in the massive Congress Center Hamburg (CCH), we would like to highlight the very accommodating first-timer event of the Professional Association of Information and Libraries (BIB - Berufsverband Information Bibliothek). For young trainees and students in the library sector, there was a lot of material and tips for the trade fair, as well as general guidance for navigating the profession.
Unfortunately, we had to miss out on attending some events due to time overlaps with similar events or miscalculations regarding expected attendance numbers, which often was quite regrettable. Although there was a seated streaming offer on site, not all overcrowded events were streamed or could be streamed frequently. This was particularly evident at the AI panels, where there was high demand for events that focused on their practical applications and assistance functions.
Although the app unfortunately only catered to iOS users, Android users could still use a browser version (not optimal but okay), and despite having very few power outlets and corresponding charging options, Bibliocon provided a spacious and practical working area. However, it must be noted that food and drink prices were not student-friendly at all.
The general political discussion and development also found its way onto Bibliocon. For example, there was an interesting event about Czech libraries that dealt with their positioning in political debates in the country. (Petrak 2024) Three projects from different libraries were presented that had caused a stir with events during Pride Month and a debate event on same-sex marriage.
Two libraries in Brno and Usti nad Labem were presented as examples of cooperation with local associations to organize Pride Month events. These included readings by drag queens for parents and children as well as an installation of a themed corner for young people featuring a “Rainbow Mailbox” similar to a complaint box where young people can anonymously express their fears, worries, or general their feelings. The drag queen readings sparked both enthusiasm and opposition in both cities; conservative parties from the regions even mobilized people to disrupt these events. What stood out about this event was how strongly they adapted their plans to suit local circumstances while also reflecting on failed approaches – such as how attention shifted mainly towards those opposed during debates divided into two evenings based on position due to higher attendance numbers among those opposing it. At the same time, speakers were open to suggestions from outside during discussions so they could incorporate them into future planning.
Several panels were dedicated to the historical reevaluation of colonialism and practical conclusions for today’s work. In addition to a stimulating podium discussion, “Challenges of Cultural Heritage from Colonial Contexts in Libraries” (Müller et al. 2024) et al., with literature and cultural scientist Albert Gouaffo (University of Dschang), who was cut in from Cameroon, library representatives at the State Library in Berlin (Staatsbibliothek Berlin) had organized a workshop for discussing a guide for handling these library collections with sensitivity (Schmid and Scheibe 2024).
As student employees, we were naturally also interested in the various company presentations at the fair. However, there was only limited feedback after visiting several stands. We could still listen to an Elsevier presentation, where Max Vögler presented an international interview study on challenges for universities and research funding organizations, particularly research evaluation, research assessment, and the concept of the “4th Generation University”.
Various projects by or with involvement by the research and teaching group of Information Management (IBI) were also represented in this year’s Bibliocon program. In addition to the Hands-On Lab “Scenarios for further development of open-access repositories”(“Szenarien für die Weiterentwicklung von Open-Access-Repositorien”) (Beucke et al. 2024) in cooperation with DINI AG Elektronisches Publizieren (DINI working group Electronic Publishing), the research project “Professionalization of OAR Infrastructure in Germany” (Pampel et al. 2024) was able to present itself and initial results on analyzing challenges for developing “Next Generation Repositories”.
Joshua Shelly (UB Potsdam) presented a study from Transform2Open (Ferguson et al. 2024) on “Process Optimization of Open Access Workflows in Academic Libraries”, which demonstrated that OA workflows need to be designed holistically and integrated into daily operations as well as various institutional departments to be sustainable, practice-oriented, and optimized. The study was developed with contributions from partner institutions such as Forschungszentrum Jülich, the Helmholtz Open Science Office, and the University of Potsdam. Additionally, the Hands-on Lab “Central Publication Cost Recording: When a Few Bucks Come Together in Science”(“Zentrale Publikationskostenerfassung: Wenn ein paar Kröten in der Wissenschaft zusammenkommen”) (Stein et al. 2024) highlighted the possibilities repositories offer for central publication cost recording. Cornelia Lang (UB Regensburg) and Lisa-Marie Stein (openCost) provided a very detailed discussion on workflow issues, centralization, and repository software. Another interesting contribution was made by Najko Jahn (SUB Göttingen), who discussed the status and development of the Open Access transformation in hybrid journals (Jahn 2024). Among other things, he introduced the Hybrid Open Access Dashboard HOAD and compared developments in the German scientific landscape with those in the international arena. Finally, we agreed that attending Bibliocon was a great enrichment and can only recommend the conference to interested students. There are many new contents and perspectives to discover that are not covered in everyday studies. However, it should be noted that the ticket, like many other conferences, is not particularly cheap, although there is a discount for students and early bookers. Therefore, it is worthwhile to book as early as possible and in conjunction with a job. In any case, the experiences are definitely worth it.
Further information about the research group can be found on our official website.
This text – excluding quotes and otherwise labelled parts – is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 DEED.
References
Citation
@online{kretschmar2024,
author = {Kretschmar, Pia and Onzie Khamis, Christopher},
title = {Die {Bibliocon} 2024 - Ein Studentischer {Reisebericht}},
date = {2024-07-26},
url = {https://doi.org/10.59350/rhn65-25g40},
langid = {en}
}