NEWSLETTER

From the President

Dear EURASLIC members, 

It is with great pleasure that I write to you as President of EURASLIC. Firstly, I would like to thank my predecessor Sofija Konjević who did an impeccable job as President over the last four years - guiding us through the most turbulent of times.

The year 2023 has been a good year for EURASLIC, one where we finally got to reconnect in person and celebrate together. We are grateful to Bart Goossens and the team at the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) for hosting our 20th biennial conference. Our title was EURASLIC XX, Sustainability and infodiversity: (aquatic) libraries strengthening biodiversity knowledge. The conference was held from 3 – 5th May in Brussels, Belgium and we were given the warmest of welcomes. We had three days of excellent presentations, discussions, meetings, workshop, field trip and time to catch up, while breaking bread (and chocolate) together. Further details about the conference can be read in the proceedings edited by Bart, Sofija and me.

During the Conference a new Executive Board was elected, which included a reshuffling of current members and we saw the departure of others.  The main changes saw Sofija taking over from Marina Mayer as Executive Secretary, while also being our current Past President and website editor. While Marina leaves the board, she remains part of our EURASLIC family, and we are grateful to her for her dedication over the past few years. Olga Kopytova was elected Vice-President, and Malgorzata Grabowska-Popow remains our archivist. Many thanks to the Nominating Committee: Olga Kopytova, Barbara Schmidt and Natalja Kondratjeva, for their work.

While EURASLIC met in person this year, the 49th Annual Conference of IAMSLIC was successfully hosted virtually by the University of British Columbia Library and the Cyamus Regional Group from 23- 26th October. Due to the accessibility, we had many members of EURASLIC attend and present. You can read my account of the conference further on in this newsletter. My gratitude goes to all members of the EURASLIC Executive Board and EURASLIC members that participated in IAMSLIC committees and activities this year, for their continued commitment, and also to the editors and contributors to this Newsletter.

Our members were active in other activities with four attending the 2023 ASFA Advisory Board Meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand in September. At this very successful meeting, a new partnership agreement for the organisation was brokered. 

Next year IAMSLIC will celebrate the 50th annual conference fittingly in Alexandria, Egypt. Where once the greatest writers and thinkers in the world came together to convene their knowledge, the trend will be emulated next autumn and we hope that the proximity to Europe will allow many of our EURASLIC members to attend in person.  Watch out for further information on travel grants and confirmed dates. 

We hope that you all continue as members of EURASLIC and indeed spread the word about our wonderful organisation, as only through engagement and strength in numbers can we thrive. 

I want to wish you a very Happy Christmas on behalf of myself and the Executive Board. Stay safe and have a prosperous New Year for 2024. 

Stephanie Ronan
EURASLIC President