The development and use of this survey were based on the recommendations found in the Library Publishing Coalition’s (LPC) Roadmap for Anti-Racist Practice. This is a charge carried out by the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Committee. The 2025 survey was administered to Library Publishing Forum (LPF) attendees to understand who attends the Forum. In addition, this survey helps us track demographic changes over time. (View the reports on the 2024, 2023, and 2022 surveys.)
The 2025 Forum was a virtual event held May 5-8, 2025. There were 316 registrations, slightly more than the last virtual Forum in 2023 (267). While we track attendance for each session, we didn’t track individual participation, so we don’t know the overall attendance rate for registrants. The opening keynote address attracted the highest attendance for a single session, 119 people.
Notes
As all questions were optional, not all questions were answered. Therefore, numbers/counts may not always add up. The respondent information includes both LPF attendees and presenters.
Summary of responses and comparisons
Sixty-three Forum attendees responded to the 2025 LPF demographic survey. This is the lowest response rate to the demographic survey from LPF attendees since the practice began in 2022. In-person forums tend to have a higher survey response rate.
Most attendees were ages 30-49 (collectively, 62% of respondents). This is similar to previous years. All respondents indicated they were employed full-time.
This year’s results show an increase in attendees identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), at 22%. Participants were invited to share additional details about their identity. Few respondents commented, but those who did included “Asian,” “Latina,” “Asian American,” and “White.”
Of the responses to the question on gender, most (70%) respondents were women, which is a slight decrease from previous years. Additional responses include men (22%), non-binary (5%), and another term (1%). Participants were also given the option to share additional information on their gender identity, but no respondent provided additional information.
Forty-five people responded to the question Do you identify as disabled or as having a disability? Over half (56%) shared that they did not. About 13% of those who responded to this reported having a disability. Since 2022, this question has been free-text or provided space to include an alternative response. This year, additional comments included “visual,” “No [I don’t identify as disabled], though I do have disabilities,” and “I could be identified.”
Since 2023, respondents have been asked if they identify as neurodivergent. In 2025, there were 46 responses to the question, with 13% identifying as neurodivergent. It is too early to draw any conclusions from this question, as with some of the others, but it is important to include it to reinforce the inclusive community of the Forum.
Beginning with the 2023 survey, an open response question is provided for respondents to share any other identities. This year, very few respondents provided comments. Those that did related to sexual orientation and gender, with responses including “Queer,” “LGBT,” and “LGBTQ+.”
Similar to the 2024 survey, an open-response question asked how future forums can be more accessible for attendees. Few respondents provided comments; those that did focused on presentations. This included a request to have the slides accessible ahead of or at the time of sessions, clarity on how to access recordings, and a request that presenters test computer microphones ahead of time because the sound quality in several sessions was poor.
Significant trends
There were a couple of categories that seemed to be broad indicators of participation in the Forum. As mentioned, the dominant age groups are 30-39 and 40-49. At the 2024 in-person Forum (yellow in the chart below), those groups were even more highly represented, with the youngest and oldest age groups noticeably less represented.
We observed a similar effect for the question about which race/ethnicity respondents identify as. The 2024 in-person Forum showed the lowest representation of non-White participants. The 2025 Forum showed the highest level so far of participation by BIPOC and other non-White persons.
Final Comments and Recommendations
Since 2022, LPF formats have changed year-to-year, including in-person, virtual, and hybrid. Continued consideration will need to be given when comparing survey data across years. Significant registrant number differences between in-person and virtual forums can limit our ability to apply meaningful comparisons.
- Because it appears that more participants identifying as BIPOC or non-White attend virtual forums than in person, we recommend continued alternate year virtual forums, as well as further exploration of virtual options for in-person forums.
- As in past years, attendees provided feedback on presentation accessibility. We recommend that future forum planning committees explore the use and testing of presenter microphones ahead of sessions, at both in-person and virtual sessions. For virtual sessions, we strongly recommend that presenters use microphones or headsets, as this minimizes background noise and echoing, which affect attendees’ ability to hear the presentation.
- Regardless of whether attendees are in-person or remote, we also recommend that each session (including the keynotes) display a QR code to the demographic survey and encourage attendees to complete the survey. For virtual conferences, attendees might be able to attend only one or two sessions. Naturally, the message should include the request that they complete the survey only once.
The Library Publishing Coalition’s DEIA Committee members are incredibly appreciative of the many LPF participants who took the demographic survey during this year’s Forum.
We welcome LPF participants and LPC members to contact us at inclusion@librarypublishing.org if you have additional resources or feedback you would like to share to help us improve our work.