#RLUK26 Virtual Conference :: 25-27 March 2026

Stewardship in challenging times: the role of libraries in supporting civic society

Registration is now open for the RLUK26 Conference, a virtual event taking place on 25-27 March.

In an era increasingly defined by social and geo-political polarisation, financial instabilities, and shifting cultural policies, the responsibilities of library leaders have become both more visible and more challenging.

Libraries need to navigate the increasingly complex intersections of academic freedom, freedom of speech, censorship, and the management of contested spaces and collections. These complexities call for vision and clarity to restate and communicate the values of research libraries.

RLUK26 will explore how libraries can adopt dynamic, inclusive, empathetic, and strategic approaches to successfully manage the myriad human challenges they face, embrace the contested nature of library spaces, and support world-class research.

🔗 Find out more about the conference and register

RLUK26 Keynote Speakers

🔹 Dr Carla Hayden is currently a Senior Fellow at the Mellon Foundation. She is pursuing scholarship, writing, and research projects while also serving as a strategic partner and counsel, working in collaboration with Foundation leadership and staff, advising on opportunities to support and advance libraries, archives, and other organisations in the public knowledge ecosystem. Dr Hayden was the 14th Librarian of Congress – the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library, who was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on February 24, 2016. Her vision for America’s national library, connecting all Americans to the Library of Congress, redefined and modernized the Library’s mission: to engage, inspire and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity.

🔹 Professor Dame Sally Mapstone FRSE is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, a position she took up in 2016. During Dame Sally’s tenure, the University attained a historic “double first”, ranking top of the two leading University league tables in the UK: the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 and the Guardian University Guide 2024. At a national and international level, Professor Mapstone has also served as President of Universities UK for the period 2023-25, the Convener of Universities Scotland, Vice-Chair of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, and as Chair of the International Advisory Board for the University of Helsinki. She is also currently Universities Scotland’s newly created Lead Member for International, the Chair of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) board, and a trustee of the Europaeum. 

🔹 Dagnija Baltiņa is the National Librarian, Director of the National Library of Latvia (NLL) since September 2024. She is an internationally recognized expert in cultural heritage, with previous roles including Head of the NLL’s Special Collections Department, Secretary General of the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO, and Vice President of the UNESCO Executive Board. She holds Master’s degrees from Harvard University and Brandenburg Technical University and is currently a PhD candidate in History at the University of Latvia. 

🔹 Professor Archie Dick was Head of the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria from 1 July 2016 until 31 December 2019. Before that he was attached to the University of the Western Cape, and the University of South Africa. In 2008 he was a member of the technical team responsible for drafting a Library and Information Services (LIS) Transformation Charter for the ‘new’ South Africa. From 2009 to 2011 he was Deputy Chairperson of the IFLA committee of Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression.

🔹 Lynda Kellam, Ph.D., is the Snyder-Granader Director of Research Data and Digital Scholarship at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and a co-founder of the Data Rescue Project. Her work focuses on the U.S. government’s data infrastructure and enhancing access, resilience, and community support for the nation’s public data resources. She is driven by the belief that public data is a civic asset, essential to research, democratic accountability, and an informed public life.

 

RLUK26 bursaries and networking grants

We aim to make the RLUK26 Conference as accessible as possible, and to help achieve this we are offering a number of bursaries to help those that may otherwise not be able to participate with the conference. This year we are also offering a networking grant to facilitate regional, in-person conference events.

We particularly encourage those from underrepresented groups to apply for these bursaries. These may include but are not limited to:

  • Members of ethnic minority communities and other underrepresented groups within the library and information sectors
  • Early career researchers and professionals
  • Low income households or those for whom the fee is prohibitive

We welcome applications from all colleagues with a professional interest in the research sector, from the UK, Ireland or internationally. RLUK26 bursaries and grants are NOT restricted to colleagues working in RLUK member institutions.

You can find out more about the RLUK26 bursaries and networking grants on the RLUK Conference website.