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The latest Internet World International Conference, and the first to be organised by Learned Information since the company acquired the event off the previous organisers, Meckler, took place at Wembley Conference Centre, London from 16–18 May. Clearly, the clue to the theme of the conference is in its title — the Internet — and if we wanted to heap acclaim on the event, its organisers, its exhibitors and its attendees, we could go on for ever. It was generally agreed that there has never been anything like the Internet for information distribution, which hopefully is not telling readers of The Electronic Library anything new. So what came out of it that is actually of interest to TEL? Most of the discussion mentioned below centred around electronic publishing. However, what follows is really applicable to any sort of activity interested in providing a service and staying in business, including electronic librarians.

The paper aims to give a synopsis of proceedings at the Internet Librarian International Conference held at the Olympia Conference Centre, London from 15 to 16 October 2013 from a participant's viewpoint.

The narrative method of describing events as they occurred was used.

The conference provided participants with a wide array of information that spanned the three tracks the sub-themes of the conference were divided into. Participants had opportunities to network and find out more about the products the sponsors showcased as well.

The report tells what transpired at the conference and exposes new technologies, new resources and innovative ways of using the technologies available to librarians and other information professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to summarise a number of presentations at Day 1 of the Internet Librarian International conference, London, UK (16 October 2018). This was the 20th conference in the series, and the three key themes included were the next-gen library and librarian; understanding users, usage and user experience; and inclusion and inspiration: libraries making a difference.

This paper reports from the viewpoint of a first-time attendee of the conference. This summarises the main issues raised by each presentation and draws out the key learning points for practical situations.

The conference covered a variety of practical ways in which libraries can use technology to support users and make decisions about services. These include developing interactive physical spaces which include augmented reality; introducing “chat-bots” to support users; using new techniques to analyse data; and piloting new ways to engage users (such as coding clubs). A key theme was how we use and harness data in a way that is ethical, effective and relevant to library services.

This conference focussed on practical examples of how library and information services across sectors and countries are innovating in a period of huge change. The conference gave delegates numerous useful ideas and examples of best practice and demonstrated the strength of the profession in adapting to new technologies and developments.