Library fusion is not about new technology but about developing excellence in the physical, social, technological and online experiences we offer. If libraries are to thrive they must become experiential, entrepreneurial, experimental spaces where access to technology enhances opportunities to learn, work and create.

This high-level overview looks at some of the recent societal and business trends that are impacting us all, as well as how innovative libraries are responding to them. How can we assess whether a trend is merely a fad? How are libraries learning from each other as well as learning from outside trends? What are the new opportunities for library engagement?

Hear how the British Library collaborates creatively with partners including Wikimedia, WordPlay, Burning Man Festival and the National Videogame Arcade, and participation in International Games Week in Libraries. Her talk will encompass experimentation, and making apps, games and interactive fiction using digitised collections.

Hear how libraries have transformed the way they work and the services they offer to respond to a new world. A group of UK universities made the decision to acquire a shared, multi-site library management system which needed collaboration on a deep level. Scotland’s national strategy for public libraries is focused on ambition and opportunity. The Municipal Library Network of Barcelona transformed its service offerings to provide creative and innovative new learning experiences and support open citizenship.

By working with users and being led by both users' expressed needs and by their observed behaviour, libraries can totally transform their service offerings. A refurbishment programme was led by student behaviour and resulted in a new zoning system - and a ‘love where you learn' campaign. A library renovation project used a variety of methods to gather data from library users to provide insight to staff, the architect and the designers. The result was a library conducive to scholarship.

People's Collection Wales is a bilingual, collaborative and federated programme developed by national institutions of Wales to tell the (digital) story of a nation from the perspective of its people. Hear about APIs, widgets, microsites and visualisation of the data behind the website. The collaborative approach to the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics international web archiving project required effective outreach strategies. Based at Rice University, OpenStax provides free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed college textbooks that are based online. OpenStax has teamed up with the UK Open Textbooks project to bring their books to the UK. 

How can we nurture and empower the digital citizen? Users trust librarians to protect the privacy of their reading and browsing histories. What practical steps can library professionals take to protect user privacy, and are there examples of good practice that the profession can make use of? Stockholm Public Libraries is exploring the use of a data detox suitcase to raise awareness about threats to privacy.

Innovative ways of understanding the user experience can have a profound impact on service design. Hear how an academic library found new UX-inspired ways to develop real insights into user behaviours and service use after it stopped surveying students! A public library service has used service design and customer journey mapping to gain a deeper understanding of user needs, expectations and behaviours.

Although libraries and archives are making great strides into the digital space, keeping pace with user demands is expensive. Corals is a new innovation, created by the Library of Birmingham and some techies, that allows any library with an archive to make digital content available online inexpensively. Explore innovative ways to present collections and engage digital audiences, the importance of simple design, the imaginative use of metadata and novel ways to commercialise assets. For Cengage, digitising its vast microfilm library promised great things - but was a major challenge.  Hear how the publisher built a model for accessing this content that would work for universities and benefit academics.

It’s time for libraries and librarians to assess their data strategies and to think about new opportunities, new research partners, and new roles. One new role – data curation – is already in play. The second new role – the information professional as data scientist – provides more challenges.

In two years, a traditional hospital library service has been transformed into a modern forward-focused service. The library now provides 24/7 IT access to personal and clinical resources in the library as well as a wide array of technologies, curated desktops and much more. Hear how this was achieved – and how everything happened within budget!

New university presses have been formed because of unhappiness with the existing publishing landscape, a desire to better serve students and in response to researcher’s requests. Hear how these university presses are performing, what innovative directions they may take in the future, and the pros and cons of libraries launching their own publishing programmes.

Many libraries spend money on expensive communication and project management tools. The good news is that there are dozens of free-to-use tools that are web-based and free and easy to use. This session introduces some of the top tools for team communication and project management and looks at how some of these tools are succeeding in transforming the effectiveness of library teams.

Data is driving decision-making in libraries. Hear how Jisc has begun to augment its library analytics services with data visualisations that can convey complex usage data quickly and easily. User satisfaction is a never-ending project. The University Library of Borås has measured and pinned down every single question asked at the library information point between September 2014 and September 2016! The result is a unique collection of user data that continues to inform library services.

What tools and techniques are being used to help build audiences for collections? At the ETH Library in Switzerland, a new content-marketing platform shares stories about digital curation and the collections and archives. In Spain a project is encouraging the public to interact with and respond to digital objects placing the citizen at the centre of the collection. Arthur Weiss has some advice on how to use the top content curation tools to share and market content and collections.

In Allerød, north of Copenhagen, the library is always open to the citizens. Library Director Annette Wolgenhagen Godt explores what they have learned so far, how the members of her community use the library during selfservice hours and includes a few funny stories. In response to student feedback, Kimberlin Library at De Montfort University became a 24/7 service a year ago. Hear about the challenges of staffing 24/7, how the transition was managed and about student use and expectations of the service.

Phil Bradley and Liz McGettigan in conversation

In this session Liz McGettigan and Phil Bradley discuss what users really want from libraries and librarians and demonstrate some of the best tools and apps that Phil has found in his never-ending search for the best, most practical (and free!) library resources around.

The King's Fund's Information and Knowledge Services (IKS) are always looking to find innovative ways to make sense of information about the constantly changing landscape of the NHS. They create relevant, topical and timely content in a variety of formats. At the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) videos guide users in the use of learning and research apps.