25
Fiesole
Retreat
What is the likely shape of the library of the Future?
And how do we build collections for it?

Fiesole Collection Development Retreat Series

Fiesole
2025
Learning from the Past, Informing the Future
April 7-9, 2025

European University Institute
Fiesole, Italy

Together with the EUI and CLIR, we will meet in Fiesole to build upon our foundations and move towards the next 25 years of collaboration.

Programme

Monday, April 7

 EUI Badia Fiesolana, Via della Badia dei Roccettini, 9, 50014 Fiesole FI

10:00 - 12:30
Pre-conference
AI and Libraries – Innovating for the Future
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being adopted in libraries, offering innovative solutions to streamline routine tasks, address challenges, and improve services. This panel aims to provide a platform for sharing experiences and practical applications of AI in libraries, with insights from professionals at the forefront of this transformative technology. The panel will focus on five case studies demonstrating the practical applications of AI in libraries, specifically in the areas of information literacy, copyright, space management, and cataloging.
  • Convener

    Pep Torn-Poch
    Library Director, European University Institute Library, Fiesole, Italy
  • Laurie Bridges
    Instruction and Digital Initiatives Librarian, Oregon State University, USA
    AI Literacy Education at Oregon State University

    Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2023, librarians at Oregon State University have taken on a series of initiatives to increase AI literacy across campus. Laurie Bridges will discuss these efforts:

    1) Developing and delivering a 1-credit elective course for undergraduate honors students, “Generative AI & Society";

    2) Facilitating workshops, convening book clubs, and developing Libguides for graduate students and faculty;

    3) Funding two AI literacy fellowships for Liberal Arts faculty through the OSU Center for the Humanities;

    4) Working with the OSU Center for Teaching to plan a virtual AI Literacy Center as part of the library’s strategic action plan.

  • Paris O'Donnell
    Metadata and Discovery Librarian, Biblioteca Berenson, I Tatti, the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Italy
    Probing the potential of genAI for creation of collection management and development tools

    This presentation traces some steps from curiosity and inexperience with generative AI to hands-on creation of tools for collection management and development. Using ChatGPT at first to generate simple Python scripts, we began in the summer of 2024 to explore affordances, limitations and quirks of genAI. This helped us to identify other potential applications of AI within our organization, a research library focused on Italian Renaissance studies. This presentation considers two currently under development. The first is a tool for collection development, designed to support the work of selectors. Using retrieval augmented generation (RAG), which enhances LLM-generated responses with retrieval of relevant data from custom datasets, the tool evaluates and ranks potential library acquisitions at scale. The second application, for collection management, is a prototype shelf-reading tool which integrates simple computer vision (object recognition) and ChatGPT-powered text extraction in order to identify missing or misplaced books on the library shelves. These two applications respond to needs in our library, but the components, design and integrations that they employ to exploit large language models – and the challenges and setbacks encountered in their development – are transferable to other library use cases.

  • Carme Fenoll
    Director of the Area of Culture and Community at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain
    Rewriting Cervantes: AI and the Future of Creative Libraries

    This presentation is based on the results of the workshop "What if Cervantes Were a Machine?", a creative writing initiative developed in collaboration with Instituto Cervantes (International Library Network). This innovative practice integrates artificial intelligence tools to inspire participants in exploring new forms of storytelling. By blending AI with cultural heritage, the workshop encourages creativity while raising critical awareness of emerging technologies. We will share insights on its design, implementation, and impact, demonstrating its potential for cultural institutions worldwide.

12:30 - 13:30
Lunch
13:30 - 13:35
Welcome and introduction
13:35 - 13:50
Opening from the EUI
  • Patrizia Nanz
    President, European University Institute Library, Fiesole, Italy
13:50 - 14:10
Re-Framing the Retreat: Thoughts on the New World Order in Collection Development
  • Michael Keller
    Vice Provost and University Librarian, Director of Academic Information Resources, Stanford University, USA
14:10 - 14:30
Keynote
  • Richard Gallagher
    President & Editor-in-Chief, Annual Reviews; Publisher, Knowable Magazine, USA
14:30 - 15:40
Session 1 (Part 1) - Panel
Biodiversity at the Margins: Spaces of Innovation in Scholarly Communication
"Institutions" and "Communities"
In ecology, it is well recognized that most biodiversity occurs at the margins of ecological zones - where one zone (e.g., a forest) meets another (e.g., a meadow). This insight feels particularly relevant to Fiesole, where publishers, vendors, librarians, and scholars can talk and create together on common ground. In this session, we’ll explore some areas of productive tension (“ecotones”) where opportunities for innovation in our work may be most potent. The first half of the session will focus on the sometimes contested intersection between “institutions” and “communities” at a moment when engaged scholarship is at the heart of most university strategic plans, but many communities feel alienated.
  • Convener

    Charles Watkinson
    Director, University of Michigan Press, USA
  • Carol Mandel
    Dean Emerita, New York University Libraries, USA
    Jenny Evans
    Research Environment and Scholarly Communications Lead at University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
15:40 - 16:00
Coffee Break
16:00 - 16:50
Session 1 (Part 2) - Panel
Biodiversity at the Margins: Spaces of Innovation in Scholarly Communication
The second half of the session will explore the relationship between “content” and “platforms” when a proliferation of custom publishing platforms is jarring with library needs for consistent workflows and predictable user experiences. Join expert speakers to explore these scholarly communication “ecotones” and collaborate to discover the innovation possibilities that they offer.
  • Convener

    Charles Watkinson
    Director, University of Michigan Press, USA
  • Sy Holsinger
    Chief Technology Officer, Operas, Belgium
    Georgios Papadopoulos
    Founder, Atypon, Greece
16:50 - 17:00
Closing Discussion
18:00 - 21:00
Evening reception at Villa la Torrossa

Tuesday, April 8

 EUI Badia Fiesolana, Via della Badia dei Roccettini, 9, 50014 Fiesole FI

09:00 - 12:30
Session 2
Through the Lens of the Humanities
"The humanities" are always in a constant state of reinvention, deconstruction, and crisis. The digital revolution, large upheavals in the global sociopolitical landscape, and too many news stories about universities cutting back, closing down, and "rightsizing" their humanities programs have all made the last quarter-century memorably distracting. What are the humanities today and who are they for? Speakers in this session will draw lessons from this recent past and point to strategies promising success for the decades to come.
  • Convener

    Ann Okerson
    Director, Offline Internet Consortium, USA

    Most recently, Ann Okerson is serving as Director of the Offline Internet Consortium, an organization devoted to bringing network-quality information to the half of the human race that does not have broadband. Previously, Ann Okerson joined the Center for Research Libraries in fall 2011 as Senior Advisor on Electronic Strategies, working with that organization to reconfigure and redirect various existing programs into digital mode. She has worked as INASP Associate, responsible for that organization's agreements between developing nations consortia and publishers.

    Prior experience includes 15 years as Associate University Librarian for Collections & International Programs at Yale University; prior to that she worked in the commercial sector, and also for 5 years as Senior Program Officer for Scholarly Communications at the Association of Research Libraries. Upon joining Yale, she organized the Northeast Research libraries consortium (NERL), at that time a group of 28 large and over 80 smaller libraries negotiating for electronic information. She is one of the founding spirits of the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC). Activities include projects, publications, advisory boards, and speaking engagements worldwide. Over the years, Okerson has also been active in IFLA (including the Serials, Acquisitions, and News Media Committees) and its Governing Board. She responds positively to offers of fine dark chocolate!

  • Joy Connolly
    President, American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), USA

    Joy Connolly began her service as President of the American Council ofLearned Societies on July 1, 2019. Previously, she served as provostand interim president of The Graduate Center at the City University ofNew York, where she was also Distinguished Professor of Classics. Shehas held faculty appointments at New York University, where she servedas Dean for the Humanities from 2012-16, Stanford University, and theUniversity of Washington. Committed to broadening scholars' impact onthe world, as provost at the Graduate Center Joy secured generoussupport from the Mellon Foundation to foster public-facing scholarshipthrough innovative experiments in doctoral training. She has publishedtwo books with Princeton University Press and over seventy articles,reviews, and short essays. Connolly earned a BA from PrincetonUniversity in 1991 and a PhD in classical studies from the Universityof Pennsylvania in 1997. She was elected a fellow of the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences in 2021.

    Fighting system failure with a quiet revolution

    Perennially criticized and under-funded, the humanities in America entered a high risk phase in the 1980s that after the financial shocks of 2008-09 became a state of emergency. In the same period, in a revolution that has been under-reported and widely misunderstood, humanists made extraordinary progress in their scholarship and teaching that shows great promise for the future – if we can prevent system failure. In this talk, focusing on the past 25 years, I will describe the most important elements of humanists' boldest moves and how they underpin the efforts currently underway to renew and rebuildt he humanities, by changing academic culture and policy as well as public opinion.

  • Karla Pollmann
    President, University of Tübingen, Germany

    Karla Pollmann is President of the University of Tübingen. She was formerly Executive Dean and Professor of Classics and Theology at the University of Bristol, and before that held deanships at the Universities of Reading and of Kent (Canterbury). Her research focuses on literature and culture of the Roman Imperial period and early Christianity. She has authored several key monographs, including The Baptized Muse (Oxford University Press, 2017) and serves on several editorial boards. She is renowned for her defining work on Augustine of Hippo, including as Editor-in-Chief of the 3 volume Oxford Guide to the Historical Reception of Augustine (2013). She is a member of the Academia Europaea, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and in 2020 she was awarded the Humboldt Research Prize for her distinguished contributions to international research. In 2023, she received an honorary doctorate from Dōshisha University (Japan). She is actively involved in shaping higher education policy in Germany, in particular as Vice-Chair of U15.

    Open Access to the Humanities - an Open and Shut Case?

    We live in an age where the humanities appear to be on the losing side. But most recently, strident digital progress, geo-political changes, culture wars, and pressing issues of sustainability have thrown the nature of the humanities as cluster of disciplines into sharp relief. There is a renewed need for them to reflect on ethical implications of technological developments, to offer unique possibilities for knowledge diplomacy, to (re)define values that have been taken for granted for too long, and boldly to raise the question whether sustainability issues can only be resolved by further material advances.

    Together with humanities scholars, libraries as gatekeepers and gateways of knowledge will need to serve a double function for societies of the 21st century: both as platforms of interaction for academic experts, and as disseminators and educators for a wider public in a world where knowledge (or what looks like it) is increasingly difficult to navigate. Simply opening up resources will not suffice to ensure responsible and meaningful engagement with what the humanities have to offer. The paper will outline some implications for the "Open Humanities" of the future.

  • Kristine Rose-Beers
    Head of Conservation & Heritage, Cambridge University Library, UK

    Kristine Rose-Beers ACR is Head of Conservation and Heritage for Cambridge University Libraries. In this role, she is responsible for the strategic leadership, development and delivery of the conservation, preservation and heritage science functions for physical collections held by Cambridge University Libraries.

    Kristine is an active figure in the field of Islamic and Western manuscript conservation. She has held roles at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin and The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Her approach is based on her understanding of materials and technologies gained through historical reconstructions as well as academic studies. She has published widely in this field and taught and lectured internationally. Kristine is an accredited member of the Institute of Conservation (ICON), a regular tutor at the Montefiascone Project in Italy, and a member of the Kairouan Manuscript Project (KMP).

    Advocacy for Books: balancing access and preservation for special collections at Cambridge University Library

    Contemporary research libraries have multiple stakeholders and multifaceted roles. These have evolved rapidly in the 21st century, and exponentially since the Covid-19 pandemic. These changes are mirrored in the Conservation profession, which has grown to include heritage science, collections care and practice-based research, all of which inform interactions with every user, including librarians, archivists, scholars and the public. As a result, Conservation now plays a crucial role in research library strategy, ensuring libraries and their special collections can be accessed and interpreted by a global community.

    Finding a balance between our enduring responsibility to preserve historic collections and contemporary needs for openness, accessibility and research remains a challenge, but new perspectives can offer alternative solutions. These expand understanding and the availability of collections to new audiences. The Conservator's work has often been hidden behind closed Library doors, but their work is no longer siloed and offers increasingly important new avenues for research and access, for an ever-widening audience.
    As Cambridge University Library heads towards its centenary in its current building, this paper will offer a timely exploration of the importance of inclusion, sustainability and preservation as it permeates all aspects of the collecting research library.

12:30 - 13:30
Lunch
13:30 - 15:00
Session 3 (Part 1)
The Broad Topic of Metrics: Examining Two Aspects. Measurement and Monitoring in the Digital Age, Lessons Learned and Perspectives
Over the last two decades, measurement and monitoring activities have gradually taken on a central role in higher education and research, as well as in publishing. Indeed, the advent of the digital age has created opportunities to use indicators and decision-making tools to help university management to steer their institution and to help publishers to design services tailored to the needs of their customers and users. This development has been fostered by the creation of the first ranking initiatives (e.g. ARWU by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2003, followed by many others), which have led to growing efforts by academic institutions and publishers to deal with the consequences of a (criticised) ranking-driven context in higher education and research. More recently, Artificial Intelligence has brought new perspectives and opened a new phase in the development of measurement and monitoring activities, challenges and issues for institutions and publishers.
  • Convener

    Julien Roche
    University Librarian and Director of the Libraries, University Lille, France; LIBER President
  • Laetitia Bracco
    Co-coordinator of the Open Science Monitoring Initiative, University of Lorraine, France
    How to measure open science? The Open Science Monitoring Initiative (OSMI)
  • Tasha Mellins-Cohen
    Executive Director, COUNTER, United Kingdom
    How COUNTER evolves with the knowledge community to create an equal playing field for measuring usage
  • To be announced
15:00 - 15:30
Coffee Break
15:30 - 17:00
Session 3 (Part 2)
The Broad Topic of Metrics: Examining Two Aspects. The Perverse Arithmetic of Prestige
In 1999, the Fiesole program addressed issues like publisher consolidation, ‘unfair’ business models, the struggle with the ‘flood of information’, and the decline of humanities scholarship. Yet, 25 years later, many of these challenges persist. Why have they proven so intractable, and how can we ensure they are resolved before another quarter-century passes? This session will examine the incentives and constraints that drive these issues, exploring how traditional benchmarks and success metrics perpetuate them.
  • Convener

    Charles Henry
    President CLIR, USA
  • Stephen Rhind-Tutt
    President, Coherent Digital, USA
    Introduction and Framing of the Issues
  • Michael Levine-Clark
    Dean, University of Denver Libraries, Colorado, USA
    Rankings and Reputation: A First-Hand Report
  • Alison Mudditt
    Chief Executive Officer, PLOS, USA
    Reinventing Scholarly Publishing: Rewarding Open Science Practice and Promoting Inclusivity
  • Charles Henry
    President CLIR, USA
    All the Money in the World
19:00 - 22:00
Conference dinner at Hotel Baglioni

Wednesday, April 9

 EUI Villa Salviati, Via Bolognese, 156, 50139 Firenze FI

09:00 - 09:30
Keynote
  • Buhle Mbambo-Thata
    University Librarian at National University of Lesotho, Lesotho
    Inclusivity in knowledge development: a strategic imperative
09:30 - 12:30
Session 4
Equitable Partnerships for an Equitable World of Knowledge
As the challenges of scholarly communication accelerate and upscale to find solutions to the big global research issues, it is time to move on from the stage of wishful thinking that we should collaborate to the stage of actually working together. Partnerships are everywhere, not only between libraries, initiatives, associations, countries and so on, but also among sectors, such as libraries and publishers. However, not all partnerships are formed equal and allow equitable participation. In this session of the Fiesole Retreat 2025, we will look deep at initiatives that aim to create a better environment for collaboration and avoid the past mistakes that preserve or even increase inequalities. We will also look at how the library and publishing worlds support the research communities when they collaborate, i.e. how does the knowledge grid underneath the researchers work? The expected outcome is to understand some of the principles, attitudes and practices that are required to build the context of balanced participation and beneficial partnership for all.
  • Convener

    Giannis Tsakonas
    Director, Library & Information Centre, University of Patras, Greece
  • Heli Kautonen
    University of Turku, Finland
  • Sharon Memis
    General Director of IFLA, The Netherlands
  • Mpho Ngoepe
    Professor and Executive Director of the University of South Africa Library, South Africa
12:30 - 13:00
Closing Remarks
  • David Worlock
    Chief Research Fellow, Outsell, United Kingdom
13:00 - 14:00
Lunch

Learning from the Past, Informing the Future

Celebrating 25 Years and Looking Forward

Over the last 25 years the scholarly communication sector has risen to the challenges set by rapidly changing times and technology, trends and expectations. This anniversary Retreat presents the opportunity to reflect on the journey so far, review the questions raised over the years and revisit major themes in order to respond to the priorities facing us today and to prepare for tomorrow. Join us in Fiesole as we look to the coming 25 years and, in a climate of dialogue, participation and partnership together with representatives from across the sector, contribute to identifying shared strategies to pave the way for a sustainable, multifarious and equitable future in the ever-changing landscape of higher education, working towards more widespread, open and inclusive access to cultural heritage and knowledge.

Latest News [ January 28, 2025 ] 

Host 2025

EUI (European University Institute) is the leading institute in Europe dedicated to social sciences and humanities. Founded in 1972 by the six original members of the then European Communities, the EUI connects academic excellence and research capabilities across Europe and to the world of policy and practice, for the betterment of society.


CLIR (Council on Library and Information Resources) champions a world in which information and cultural heritage are preserved, accessible, useful to - and reflective of - all people, cultivating partnerships with an international network of libraries, archives, museums, governmental organizations, nonprofits, and educational institutions to create and preserve a commonwealth of knowledge.

Committee

Programme

  • Gracian Chimwaza - Executive Director ITOCA, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Michael Levine-Clark - Dean of the University of Denver Libraries, Colorado, USA
  • Charles Henry - President CLIR, USA
  • Buhle Mbambo-Thata - University Librarian at National University of Lesotho, Lesotho
  • Ann Okerson - Director, Offline Internet Consortium, USA
  • Stephen Rhind-Tutt - President at Coherent Digital, USA; CLIR Board member
  • Julien Roche - University Librarian and Director of the Libraries, University Lille, France; LIBER President
  • Cécile Swiatek Cassafieres - LIBER board member; University Librarian - Université Paris Nanterre, Paris, France
  • Pep Torn - Library Director, European University Institute Library, Fiesole, Italy
  • Giannis Tsakonas - Director, Library & Information Centre, University of Patras, Greece
  • Charles Watkinson - Director, University of Michigan Press, USA

Co-founders

  • Barbara and Michele Casalini - Casalini Libri, Italy
  • Rebecca Lenzini - Charleston Hub, USA
  • Katina Strauch - Charleston Hub, USA

Organization

  • Antonio Cordola - Casalini Libri, Italy
  • Leah Hinds - Charleston Hub, USA
  • Giulia Scarpelli - Casalini Libri, Italy

Participate

Registration

Registration is now open. Register here.

Please note that the conference registration fee includes:

  • in-person attendance
  • lunches (7th-9th April)
  • cocktail reception (7th April) 
  • conference dinner (8th April)
  • shuttle service to and from the centre of Florence each day
  • bus transfers to the cocktail reception and conference dinner

Participants should arrange accommodation separately; please refer to the Practical Information section for our recommendation and details of a special offer available until 6th March, 2025.

Practical Information

Accommodation

Grand Hotel Baglioni

Located in the heart of Florence, the Grand Hotel Baglioni is housed in a magnificent 19th-century building, in which past and present coexist in perfect harmony. The warm and welcoming atmosphere and high level of service make it one of the most famous and renowned hotels in Florence.

The Grand Hotel Baglioni will also be the location for our Conference Dinner on Tuesday 8th April.


The Grand Hotel Baglioni offers a special rate for Fiesole Retreat delegates, with prices set at:

  • €261 (single use) 
  • €291 (double room)

for bookings made before 6th March 2025.

To take advantage of this offer, you can book directly through this link, or using the Group Attendee code FR2025 on the hotel's website.

Hotel Palazzo Castri

Palazzo Castri 1874 is a sophisticated boutique hotel in the heart of Florence, charming and delightful down to the last detail.
“La Limonaia” is the hidden garden at Palazzo Castri 1874 – a peaceful and relaxing oasis where you can rest and regenerate.

NH Collection Firenze Porta Rossa

With its 13th Century tower and marvellous frescos, the five-star NH Collection Firenze Porta Rossa – thought to be the oldest hotel in Italy – is truly extraordinary.

The 'Locanda Porta Rossa' is mentioned in a letter dating back to 1386, and a new building was constructed on the spot in the 16th century, incorporating the 13th-century tower.

The Torrigiani family owned the building from 1559 and lived there for over two centuries renting it to hoteliers in the first half of the 19th century.

Hotel Orto dei Medici

Hotel Orto de' Medici is located in Via San Gallo, in the historic centre of Florence, and the site in which Lorenzo de' Medici's established a school of art and sculpture. It is said to be in the Florence garden of Orto de' Medici, in 1489, that Lorenzo de' Medici met the exceptionally gifted young sculptor, Michelangelo Buonarroti. The Hotel, with its charming wooden floor and the original frescoes, still keeps that magic atmosphere from its past.

Hotel Villa Bonelli

The Hotel Villa Bonelli is a small jewel located in the heart of the historic village of Fiesole and at the same time surrounded by the sweetness of the Tuscan countryside. The hotel has charming rooms overlooking the breath-taking views of the Fiesole hills.

Proceedings

Listed in order of programme schedule

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