The Researcher to Reader Conference is now able to announce the proposition and speakers for the Debate that will be part of the Programme for the Conference on 25 & 26 February 2025.

At the 2024 Researcher to Reader Conference, we hosted a debate on the provocative proposition “Resolved: Academic Libraries Are No Longer Necessary.” The twist was that we asked a librarian (Keith Webster from CMU) to argue in favor of the proposition while a publisher (Mandy Hill from CUP) argued against. This time, the proposition is questioning the need for publishers, with the resolution “Scholarly Publishers Are No Longer Necessary”, and we have a publisher arguing in favor and a librarian arguing against.

Keith Webster, Dean of Libraries at Carnegie Mellon University returns to the stage for 2025, and Caroline Black, Publishing Director, STM Journals at Cambridge University Press replaces Mandy Hill (who is unavailable). Rick Anderson, from Brigham Young University will moderate as usual.

R2R’s debates have proven to be very popular over the years, and also are the most-watched sessions on our YouTube Channel.

Registration for the Conference is open and the full programme is on the website.

Mark Carden
13 December 2024