EAHIL 2025 Workshop – Colleagues of a global community

By Artemis Chaleplioglou – EAHIL Council Member, Assistant Professor, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

Since my first EAHIL Conference in Cluj, Romania, in 2006, leading up to the 2025 EAHIL Workshop in Lodz, Poland, a long series of annual conferences and workshops has taken place. Countries like Finland, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Latvia have made their mark. Over all these years, these places leave impressions in memories, smiles, knowledge, and adventures. Like classmates who meet again after a long time, we, as colleagues of a global community—the community of EAHIL—reconnect. We meet, exchange opinions, learn from each other’s experiences, and sometimes wildly dance (!). Because even if we don’t speak the same language, we all share the same love in our hearts: love for libraries, love for science, and love for providing accurate and timely information to the public. It was precisely these values that we share, carry, and envision as creating a better future for Libraries and Information Science.

During the EAHIL 2025 Workshop, I attended many interesting presentations and sessions covering a wide range of topics such as predatory journals, open access, institutional repositories, gamification, library services, and evaluation tools. I also participated in the Council of Members’ Meeting at The Main Library of the Medical University and in the SIG Evaluation and Metrics. A special moment for me was being elected as SIG co-chair alongside Valeria Scotti, following the departure of the excellent colleague Alicia Fatima Gomez Sanchez due to her busy professional and personal schedule. I also enjoyed and took part in the conference’s vibrant social program, including the welcome reception at the Central Museum of Textiles, the guided tour titled “ŁÓDŹ – A CITY OF WOMEN,” and the Gala Dinner held in the ballroom of Andel’s Hotel in Łódź. The opening and closing ceremonies, as always, were emotionally charged. A particularly interesting highlight was Janina Bak’s keynote presentation. The Plenary Session on Sustainable Development in Libraries provided much food for thought. The awards and closing ceremonies always bring tears of joy.

As I was leaving, a colleague from the excellent Łódź organizing committee asked me how we say, “see you later” in Greek… “Ta leme”. Ta leme, my friends. Until next time, may you all be well, and don’t forget to imagine…