10 December 2021
It is that time of year again – to look back at the year gone and look forward to the next. The Trustees of UKSG have volunteered to give us all summaries of their work in the year past and their hopes for 2022 and exciting plans for a hybrid Glasgow 2022.
Dominic Broadhurst:
2021 has certainly been another eventful year! UKSG has responded to the challenges brought about by the pandemic delivering a series of high quality events and articles through its open access journal Insights.
Through this wide range of activities it has it has enabled debate and knowledge sharing on some of the key issues facing the scholarly communications sector. From Open Access to e-book pricing to industry consolidation, it’s all been covered! The online events including the annual and one day conferences have been real successes with increased delegate numbers from all across the world both attending and contributing to the discussions.
For 2022 the future looks really bright with an exciting hybrid annual conference, in April 2022, packed to the brim with informative sessions and opportunities to network. It’s going to be a great year ahead including hopefully more opportunities for us to meet in person.
Katherine Rose:
When I think ahead to 2022, I hope for openness in all its forms: access, equality, debate, self-reflection. I know that the new UKSG strategy being finalised (thank you to all who gave us your valuable feedback) puts us in a great position to have these conversations. Our November Conference this year explored the transition to open research, looking honestly at the challenges and opportunities it’s bringing to our sector. Our completely online Main Conference back in April was a new experience for many, and delivered the thought-provoking and high-quality speakers we all expect. The socialising was certainly a bit different though! 2021 is a year where we have had to do things differently and question the norms. I’m personally looking forward (with only a little trepidation) to seeing what 2022 brings us. I know whatever it does bring though, UKSG is well prepared to face it, with a curious mind and a commitment to openness.
Tasha Mellins-Cohen
After joining the Main Committee back in April I was excited to deepen my understanding of how we can better support the disparate parts of our community through events, training, our publications and more. I knew all of those things were happening, but I’m not sure I really appreciated just how much UKSG offers until now
Looking to the future, like many people I’m excited about the UKSG conference in March. Partly owing to what promises to be an outstanding programme of informative and interactive sessions, but mainly because it’ll be my first in-person event in several years, offering an opportunity to reconnect with so many colleagues and friends. I’m keeping my digits crossed that we’ll be allowed to go ahead with it – and I’ll see you in Glasgow!
Rob Johnson:
After all the upheaval of 2020, 2021 has been another year of change and uncertainty. We have all had to get used to holding our plans lightly and responding to ever-changing circumstances, and UKSG has been no different.
The move to wholly virtual events over the last couple of years has allowed for broader and more inclusive engagement with the information community, while the next challenge will be the implementation of hybrid events, beginning with our 2022 conference. As those who have been following the open access transition over the last decade and more will know, hybrid approaches typically offer greater choice and flexibility at the expense of increased costs and complexity. Our aim will be to maximise the former, and minimise the latter.
More broadly, hybrid working looks set to be the norm in 2022 beyond, with many of us now splitting our working hours between home and office environments. The long-term effects of this are likely to be mixed, with productivity and wellbeing gains for individuals potentially offset by weakened interpersonal connections and team dynamics. These negative impacts will be particularly acute for early career professionals, but all of us will have to work a little harder at maintaining interpersonal links and forging new ones over the coming months and years. UKSG’s role in connecting the knowledge community will be crucial in this context, and will be delivered through activities that increasingly span both physical and virtual environments.