ANZREG 2026: Final program now available
The final program for ANZREG 2026 is now available. On behalf of the ANZREG Committee, we are also very proud to announce our keynote speakers for the conference.
We are delighted to welcome Terry Reese to ANZREG 2026. Terry is the Associate University Librarian for Digital Strategies and Services at Arizona State University. Over the past 25 years, Terry has been interested in how Libraries create, modify, and curate metadata systems. As part of that interest, he created and maintains MarcEdit, a small research tool developed to assist metadata librarians in managing metadata for their collections. He continues to be interested in how libraries utilize metadata not only to describe and make known the large amount of cultural heritage information found at Universities – but also in considering how libraries can utilize tools and technologies to streamline the creation of metadata for access.
Terry’s keynote “Opening librarian collections: why cultural heritage organizations need automated tools to create better metadata”, proposes that we have reached a time when cultural heritage organisations can and should rethink how they evaluate materials and — utilising automated tools to prioritize access, while focusing professional description on those collections with significant cultural or historical value. Terry will discuss how cultural heritage systems can take advantage of new and emerging technologies and how this work can be used to reduce long-term backlogs while emphasizing the increasing importance of professional metadata professionals.
We are also delighted to welcome Kat Cain, Lead, Outreach & Engagement at Deakin University Library, co-lead of Deakin Library’s AI Lab, and co-convenor of the CAUL AI in Academic Libraries Community of Practice. Kat is widely recognised for her work fostering innovation, experimentation, and collaborative learning within the library sector.
Kat’s keynote, “Curiosity over certainty: Experimenting and learning with AI in libraries“, will explore how libraries can engage thoughtfully with the rapidly evolving AI landscape through curiosity, experimentation, and shared learning. Drawing on experiences from library innovation initiatives and AI practice communities, Kat will discuss how pilots, prototypes, learning groups, and collaborative exploration can help libraries build capability, evaluate emerging technologies, and support their communities in navigating change. Her presentation will highlight the value of sharing both successes and challenges, demonstrating how collective learning can strengthen the role of libraries in shaping understanding and responsible use of AI.
If you haven’t already, please register for the conference here: https://www.trybooking.com/DNBGY. Registrations will close on the final day of the conference at 11:00am AEST Thursday 27th August.
If you have already purchased tickets for the conference, the URL to access the conference was sent to the email address used to purchase the ticket.
We hope you can join us for what promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking conference.
