December 1, 2025
People Powered: Human Centred Innovation
20-21 May 2026, Albert Hall, Nottingham
Trends in Library Acquisition come and go; there’s always something new on the horizon, or issues and challenges from the past returning once again. One thing that remains consistent- arguably, more so than books themselves- is people. Our readers, our writers; our colleagues in publishing and supply; and of course, our staff, are all people. Without people, a library would just be a room of books, silent and unread. No matter how big or small your library, no matter the nature of your collection, on site or working remotely- people are what make it happen, and what make it worthwhile.
This year, the NAG Seminar and Forum is celebrating people; all the human factors that go towards making Library Acquisitions work. NAG invites papers on the topic of people-centred, human-led innovation in Library Acquisition. We want to hear your stories about how we recognise achievement; how we enable and support each other, to bring out our best; how we work together to overcome difficulties.
We welcome contributions on subjects such as:
- Technological and/or process innovations which enable humans to maximise their work and contributions; how do we ensure our systems serve our people, and not the other way round?
- Recruitment, training and empowerment: What brings people to Library Services? What works to bring out their potential?
- Recognising success and reaffirming professional achievements: How do we celebrate our people’s achievements, how do we share those stories?
- The human factor: What do people bring to our services that are uniquely, irreplaceably human? What are the ways in which a person’s mind is the best tool for the job?
- Connection and conversations: ways in which we bring people together, foster sharing of knowledge and experience, and learn from each other.
At this seminar there will be two separate streams, one for Academic Libraries and one for Public Libraries (Public Libraries Forum is for one day only on the 20th May). We invite prospective speakers from both sectors to submit papers for this event. There is the potential for shared papers for both audiences if applicable.
Abstract Submission Deadline: 1st February 2026
Notification of Acceptance: 20th February 2026
Please submit your abstracts via our form here.
Paper slots are normally 30 minutes including Q+A; however, if you have an idea for a longer or workshop style session please get in touch. Papers are generally presented by one or two speakers; if your paper has more contributors, again, please get in touch.
Up to two speakers will receive free Seminar/Forum registration and UK travel expenses. NAG membership is not required. We expect around 100 delegates for the Seminar and 30-40 for Forum.
To enable all NAG members to benefit from Seminar and Forum, a written article based on your presentation will also be published on our website and in our annual PDF journal issue of “Taking Stock”. It is preferred if you can write this yourself but if this is not possible, please notify us in advance and one of our volunteers or editors can take this on.
Commercial sponsorship opportunities are also now open. If you wish to present at Seminar or Forum as a commercial member, we recommend partnering with a library that uses your products or services to strengthen your proposal.
Interested in sharing your ideas but can’t make the May event? Please do still get in touch, we have an ongoing webinar programme which you could participate in instead.
With thanks to our Gold Sponsors; Kortext and VitalSource.
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