A&SL

Congratulations to Alana Mahon O'Neill for 'Death of a Library' which received a special mention from the A&SL Blog Post Competition judges. They praised the originality and creativity of the piece, highlighting the strong ending which brought it to a memorable and thought-provoking conclusion.

The third blog post to get a special mention from the A&SL Blog Post Competition judges is 'The Last Patron Before Closing' by Bláithín Hurley. The judges were impressed by the originality of focusing on a single scene in John Wick: Parbellum and by the vivid, engaging way it was brought to life.

Save the date! We are thrilled to announce that the Academic and Special Libraries Conference is returning on 9th April 2027. Add the date to your diary to join us next year in the @ria.ie in Dublin. Our #ASL2027 conference theme announcement and call for papers is coming soon!

The second post to get a special mention from the A&SL Blog Competition judges is from Lisa O'Leary @ucclibrary.bsky.social. They praised the fresh and interesting approach of using video games as a lens for exploring the competition theme.

Let the A&SL Blog Post competition countdown begin! Keep an eye on @libfocus.bsky.social over the next few weeks for the 4 entries that received a special mention from our judges, followed by 3rd, 2nd and 1st place. This is such an enjoyable read from Grace O'Connor @dculibrary.bsky.social.

We're excited to share the winning & highly commended entries to the A&SL Blog Post Competition! Over the next 3 weeks @libfocus.bsky.social will publish 4 entries that received special mentions from the judges, building up to the announcement of the 1st place winner in early November - the TENSION!

Don't miss this @libfocus.bsky.social post from our talented chairperson Martin O'Connor about human curators of music and information vs the algorithm. He will also be presenting a new radio show from 10 September - listen out for The Thursday Mixtape on UCC 98.3FM Thursdays from 6pm to 8pm.

Just one week left to submit your blog post to the A&SL Blog Post Competition! Do those final spell checks, go through the competition rubric with a fine tooth comb and get your entries to us by 5pm on 31st August!

Struggling for inspiration 2 weeks from the A&SL Blog Post Competition deadline? Look no further than the Reel Librarians site which lists films and series featuring librarians and libraries reel-librarians.com/movielists/

We're delighted to see entries for the A&SL Blog Post Competition arriving in already. Make sure you get your submission to us by 31st August to be in with a chance to win €100, €75 or €50 and to get your blog post published in @libfocus.bsky.social

6 weeks left to the deadline of the A&SL Blog Post Competition! Library folk in Ireland - submit your blog posts on the theme 'The representation of librarianship, libraries & information work in media and popular culture' by 31 August to be in to win €100, €75 or €50! aslibraries.ie/asl-blog-pos...

Brilliant article from A&SL committee member Nadina Yedid about her work with the Bibliotheca Maria Eleanor Walsh community library initiative

Our A&SL Committee were hard at work in @nlireland.bsky.social on Saturday planning the year ahead. We have great ideas for #ASL2027 and for networking opportunities for our members, so make sure you're signed up to receive our emails through your @laibluesky.bsky.social account or HEAnet!

We're looking forward to this joint Summer Networking event this Thursday. If you're a current member of the A&SL or HSLG then book your free ticket before sales end at 1pm Wednesday. It's set to be a great night with a talk by Jane Burns and an opportunity to catch up with library colleagues.

Only 1 week to go to our joint summer networking evening with @healthlibraries.bsky.social from 5.30pm on 11th June in @ria.ie! Open to current members of the A&SL and HSLG - register for your free ticket now to enjoy a talk by Jane Burns and connect with library colleagues tinyurl.com/ya9ufb4y

Join us for our joint Summer Networking Evening on 11 June in The Royal Irish Academy! Current @healthlibraries.bsky.social @aslibraries.bsky.social members are invited to book their free tickets to meet with library colleagues & attend a talk by the wonderful Jane Burns tinyurl.com/ya9ufb4y

New Libfocus post by @stephaniechen.bsky.social @ucclibrary.bsky.social, based on delegate input at @aslibraries.bsky.social conference reflecting on what librarianship means today & for those in the profession: evolving roles, skills, and focus on access and users. www.libfocus.com/2026/05/what...

Save the date for our joint A&SL and HSLG Summer networking evening on 11 June in The Royal Irish Academy! Open to current @aslibraries.bsky.social and @healthlibraries.bsky.social members - watch this space for more details...

If you joined us at #ASL2026 in March then check your inbox please! We'd be very grateful if you could fill out our conference survey to help us deliver an even better experience next year - thanks everyone!

Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me! I feel very lucky to work in a profession that I'm very passionate about, and to be surrounded by a wonderful community of librarians 🏅😊

Sarah Cleary is the winner of the best #ASL2026 post competition with this lovely post

Congratulations to Niamh McHenry @librarymie.bsky.social who won our #ASL2026 poster competition! No mean feat considering the high standard of posters from Anne Byrne and Emberly Davey from Hibernia College, Sarah Timmins @mulibrary.bsky.social and Andrew Ryan from City Education Group

Our final two #ASL2025 speakers!Ann O'Sullivan from A&L Goodbody speaks about the changes in the information landscape over her 30 years of librarianship. Jenny O'Neill from Asiera explores how core library competencies are increasingly essential within national research infrastructure initiatives.

A great afternoon @aslibraries.bsky.social with an interactive session about values and papers about prioritisation of decisions, change in the profession and reimagining/reframing our roles and skills #asl2026

Dr Bláithín Hurley @waterfordlibraries.bsky.social @openuniversity.bsky.social discusses the position of Irish Anglican diocesan libraries in Ireland at #ASL2026. Robert Whan @nlireland.bsky.social reflects on what it means to reframe librarianship for the next generation.

Given we have a website review coming up in Griffith, Francisca’s piece on a collaborative website redesign project will be one I’ll definitely be referring back to. And similarly Genevieve’s presentation resonated - the power of prioritisation!

Genevieve Larkin examines the considerations that shaped strategic decisions in a recent service development and modernisation in @librarymie.bsky.social. Francisca Silva walks the #ASL2026 attendees through the processes involved in completing a website redesign project in @librarydbs.bsky.social.

Would love to see where this goes, really interesting talk. The range of responses to the polls were very illuminating!

Stephanie Chen @ucclibrary.bsky.social leads the #ASL2026 attendees through a workshop that encourages them to consider their professional values. Keep an eye out for the results in @libfocus.bsky.social in a few weeks!

Sunshine 🌞 finally making an appearance at #ASL2026 Ample timing ahead of this afternoon's lightening talks!!