The third Epico Conference was adjudged to be a huge success with colleagues attending from all over the world to collaborate, network, join workshops, listen to presentations and keynotes across a range of topics under the umbrella theme of – Libraries Together: Safeguarding Our Collections for the Future
The third EPICo Conference brought library professionals, partners, and others from across Europe and beyond together at the British Library in London from 30 September to 2 October 2026.
Under the theme Libraries Together: Safeguarding Our Collections for the Future, the conference continued EPICo’s focus on collaboration in the management and preservation of physical library collections. The programme explored some of the major challenges facing libraries responsible for print collections, including sustainability, storage, cost, security and risk, preservation and access, retention metadata and the development of successful shared print collaborations.
Three keynote sessions provided perspectives on the future of shared print. Stacy Brunner of OCLC explored the development of shared print programmes, the foundational concerns that they are set up to address and the benefits that they can bring. Dr James Suckling of the University of Surrey and Marco Martens of the KB in the Netherlands considered a range of specifics related to the sustainability of library collections, including considering the lifecycle costing of keeping material, while Katya Pereyaslavska, Network Coordinator for North/Nord and SPAN, considered the possibility for international collaborations as a next step for shared collections (which have mostly been local or national so far).
The wider programme provided plenty of opportunities for delegates to share experience and discuss practical approaches. Sessions included security and risk management, the cost of keeping a book, and storage solutions and architecture, alongside a poster session showcasing projects and initiatives. Breakout discussions enabled delegates to explore retention metadata, how to establish collaborations, the relationship between preservation and access, and the sustainability of print collections.
The Friday had an expert panel featuring Amina Shah, National Librarian of Scotland; Catriona Cannon, Senate House Librarian; and Harry Scoble, Head of Content Acquisition and Strategy at Findmypast, which considered the risks facing library print collections in a world increasingly shaped by misinformation and AI-generated information, with some really inspiring dialogue and a range of perspectives shared through the questions.
As well as the formal programme, the conference created opportunities for networking and discussion through the poster reception and conference dinner in the British Library’s King’s Library Tower. Delegates who joined the optional pre-conference visit were also able to visit the Library’s high-volume storage facility at Boston Spa in Yorkshire.
The conference concluded on Friday 2 October with closing remarks, the handover to the new EPICo Committee Chair (Karin Bystrom, University of Uppsala) and Deputy (Olaf Eigenbrodt, Hamburg State and University Library) and the announcement of the next conference taking place at the KB, the national library of the Netherlands in 2028.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to EPICo Conference 2026, whether as a speaker, panellist, poster presenter, organiser or delegate, and to the British Library for hosting the event. The conference demonstrated the value of working across institutional and national boundaries to ensure that print collections remain preserved, sustainable and accessible for the future.
- News-Archive
- 21.10.2026
- Category General