BIALL Annual Conference 2024 - CLIG Bursary Report

BIALL Annual Conference 2024 - CLIG Bursary Report

I know what you did last summer

I attended my first BIALL conference in 2023, new to the profession and being relatively fresh faced (clinging to last few weeks of my 20s) I found it quite overwhelming. A healthy bout of imposter syndrome meant I didn’t network enough with other delegates or with the vendors. Being too nervous to raise my hand and worried about asking a stupid question, I didn’t speak during any of the sessions.

My main takeaway from the talks, as it was mentioned by nearly every speaker, was that generative AI was about to drastically change the trajectory of a career I had just started. Please note I resisted the temptation, that many speakers didn’t, to get ChatGPT to write this for me.

A second chance at a first impression

At my firm, we alternate who attends the annual BIALL conference, so fast forward a year and my only chance to get to go this year was through the CLIG bursary. I was keen to attend again, as being further into my career I was feeling more confident in my abilities and having attended several BIALL and CLIG events I was no longer feeling daunted by a room of my peers.... Well, maybe I was still a little daunted.

Get with the programme

At the 2024 conference, generative AI dominated proceedings again, though the message had quickly moved from “get ready”, to “oh god, it’s here”. It felt like every supplier was demoing a new AI tool, platform or plugin. Although I am not an AI-sceptic, I think it can be the right tool for the right job, it did start to feel repetitive, and the environmental impact of the technology is hard to ignore.

My highlights from the conference were more focused on personal developments, rather than technological ones. I found it much easier to talk and connect with people, to ask for advice, but also to feel like I had something contribute to conversations over coffee between sessions. I roamed the exhibition floor, talking in person with vendors I only knew through email, and I even raised my hand and asked a question, something that felt unthinkable the year before.

Jackie Hanes’ lightning talk on analysing usage data of legal databases was as interesting as it was reassuring, to get a peek at someone else’s data and learn that the same struggles with engagement are everywhere. And David Wills’ Willi Steiner Memorial Lecture was a fascinating look at the last 30 years of librarianship. I couldn’t help but imagine what an update of that lecture would look like in another 30 years. Will generative AI still be dominating discussion in 2054, or will rolling blackouts and rationed electricity bring forth a new dawn for print?

Death on the BIALL

It wasn’t all fun and games though, someone was murdered during the annual dinner! But we didn’t let it spoil our evening and our table even managed to solve the mystery and find the culprit, deciphering clues from more innuendo than a Carry-On movie marathon. It was hard, but working together we were able to beat it.

Getting CLIG-y with it

One of the great things about BIALL and CLIG, is that although our firms may be competitors, we are a collaborative community, and it is one that I now feel a part of. This was helped in no small part by receiving this CLIG bursary and talking to members of the committee.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that I will get to attend the conference next year, so I would encourage anyone thinking about going and who has the opportunity, to apply for the bursary. It’s a great way to attend a great conference.

 

Tim Coppen, Information Services Officer

Pinsent Masons LLP

 

Tim with CLIG committee members at the conference (from left to right: Tim Palmer, Alfred Ye, Chrissy Street, Jessica Loud, Agnieszka Dyzma, Zoltan Csirko and Tim Coppen).