2026 Forum Friends
This year’s Library Publishing Forum is an in-person gathering, but we heard loud and clear at last year’s virtual conference that options for remote engagement are increasingly important. We will be back in a virtual format next year, but we have come up with a fun, lightweight way for folks who can’t travel to engage with this year’s Forum: the Forum Friends program!
A small selection of Forum sessions (mainly the keynotes) will be livestreamed at no cost, and the pre-recorded lightning talks will be available online to everyone, no sign-up required. Forum Friends is another layer on top of that freely available content. It only costs US$10, and includes:
- 💌Forum mail: Participants will receive a package including a printed schedule of online events, stickers, and more.
- 💬Access to the Forum Discord: As usual, we will have a Discord server for the event that will host a mix of personal and program-related discussion channels. This will include a synchronous Q&A session with the lightning talk presenters, as well as plenty of asynchronous opportunities to chat.
- 🪩Access to sponsors: Opportunities to meaningfully engage with sponsors around shared library publishing project ideas.
- 🥂Invitation to a Forum Friends virtual happy hour session!
We know it’s not the same as being there in person, but we hope that the Forum Friends program will help us all feel a little more connected.
Library Publishing Forum 2026 Program: Forum Friends Edition
Each day of the conference, Forum Friends can anticipate:
- Over two hours of livestreamed plenaries and watch parties for pre-recorded presentations
- A virtual afternoon tea (or happy hour, depending on your time zone), hosted by LPC Senior Community Facilitator Melanie Schlosser
- More conversation on Discord, where we will be discussing all things library publishing, connecting with conference sponsors, and sharing our favorite pet anecdotes.
Join Us on Discord
We’ll send registered attendees the QR code to navigate to the 2026 Library Publishing Forum Discord server, which brings together those attending in person with those of us engaging remotely. If you’re new to Discord, you’ll find helpful tips in your list of channels, under #welcome-and-rules and #using-discord.
Detailed Schedule
All times are in Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7) to align with the in-person LP Forum in Seattle.
Day 1 (June 17, 2026)
8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. | Opening Remarks
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. | Keynote
Heather Joseph, SPARC
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Watch Party #1
Pre-recorded short presentations will be simultaneously watched on LPC’s YouTube channel by both online Forum Friends and in-person Forum attendees. See the full list of presentations for day 1.
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Virtual Afternoon Beverages
Day 2 (June 18, 2026)
8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. | Plenary Panel
Melanie Walsh, University of Washington; Sandy Littletree and Carole Palmer, University of Washington; Tracie Hall, HBCU Library Alliance
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Watch Party #2
Pre-recorded short presentations will be simultaneously watched on LPC’s YouTube channel by both online Forum Friends and in-person Forum attendees. See the full list of presentations for day 2.
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Virtual Pet Therapy
Bring your animal friends to the screen so we can all enjoy their comforting purrs, yips, barks, grunts, and chirps!
