CIL 2025 is one of the major conferences for the library world in the United States. This year, around 800 participants from 42 different countries gathered once again in Washington, D.C. Right from the conference opening, it became clear that the library sector in the U.S. is not going through its best times, due to the rather drastic measures implemented by the current government.
Despite this, there was plenty of enthusiasm among participants to learn and network. Unsurprisingly, the main topic of discussion was the role and impact of AI on libraries. Notably, there were more presentations focused on the dangers and downsides than on the opportunities and advantages.
Eric Kokke delivered two presentations on behalf of GO opleidingen. In front of a full room, he discussed the development of roles in information services in a talk titled “Information Services for 2030; Evolving Roles, Opportunities”. This glimpse into the not-so-distant future sparked a lot of discussion, including questions about how to land a job in the Netherlands…
The second presentation was a case study on a university library during the session “Valuable Info Pros in the Organization”, which clearly showed that good marketing (having a strong message and clearly communicating your added value) helps strengthen your position within an organization. This talk also gave the audience plenty of inspiration to take action.
On the final day, Eric also served as session chair for the track “Learning: New Modules of Librarianship”. Once again, a great opportunity to put GO on the map. Our presence generated considerable interest in our training offerings.
It was another wonderful and valuable experience in a city visibly burdened by the current developments!
