The conference of the European Association for Health Information and Libraries comes to an end

On 12-14 June, staff from the Rīga Stradiņs University (RSU) Library staff organised and participated in the hybrid format conference of the European Association for Health Information and Libraries (EAHIL) together with 270 other library and information specialists from 28 countries. The topic of the conference was "Small Step and a Giant Leap: Reorienting Towards a New Environment".

Before the conference, the EAHIL board and council held meetings to discuss the efficiency of their work and how to make it more visible to other members. Additionally, it was discussed how EAHIL can be useful for partnerships and networking. The Latvian representative at the EAHIL council is Elīna Veļa from the RSU Library. Meetings and continuing education courses were held at the Pharmaceutical Education and Research Centre on 10-11June.

The opening of the conference was held at the National Library of Latvia on 12 June. This and other events were live streamed to the conference's platform. EAHIL President Lotta Halgund, RSU Vice-Rector for Science PhD Agrita Kiopa, and Head of the Competence Development Centre of the National Library of Latvia Agnese Pašāne gave opening speeches. The keynote speakers were Kristīne Pabērza-Ramiresa (the Impact & Insight Manager, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) who opened the conference with the presentation "Community-centred impact planning and evaluation for health information libraries", and Andrea Alessandro Gasparini (Senior Librarian and researcher, University of Oslo Library) who closed the conference on 14 June with the presentation "The endeavour of using AI in research libraries – a designerly perspective".

At the conference's parallel sessions, research was presented, participants could peruse poster presentations, participate in workshops, and in continuing education courses. The programme for the conference was very impressive and participants' schedules were busy. Some of the topical issues raised were artificial intelligence tools and the opportunities they provide, library and information specialists' concerns about the authenticity of research, and respect for intellectual property rights.

Several reports and workshops were dedicated to improving the efficiency and quality of systematic searches in various databases, and research results from studies on libraries as agents of development and change were presented. These focused on strategic management, technology integration, and the impact of libraries in the academic and research environment. This year, the speakers focused on both basic aspects of library science as well as on innovative approaches to the management and distribution of health information in the digital era.

At the same time, it was also possible to meet with the biggest publishers, database developers, and maintainers. The publishing company Wolters Kluwer demonstrated its commitment to improving knowledge and professional practice in the medical industry with the latest technological advances, while EBSCO Information Services brought its extensive experience in research databases and information services to the fore, emphasising access to high-quality academic resources. Elsevier's global influence in science and health information, combined with AMBOSS' innovative medical education platform, offered attendees valuable resources and tools for both academic and professional development. The exhibition was accompanied by other esteemed exhibitors and conference supporters, including Thieme, Karger, Clarivate, Springer Nature, Sage Publications, Covidence, Cochrane, Technology from Sage, BMJ, TDNet, Accucoms, MA Healthcare, Oxford University Press, JAMA, MDPI, CABI, Taylor & Francis, Bentham Science, and OCLC.

The conference in Riga was organised by the RSU Library, which is the main library for medical and health sciences in the country and provides methodological assistance and support to Latvian healthcare institution libraries.

We kindly invite every medical librarian and information specialist to become member of EAHIL and join us next year at the EAHIL 2025 workshop in Poland, Lodz on 9 -13 June . The keywords for the workshop are "Imagine – Inform, Manage, AI, Grow, Integrate, Network, Explore".