University of Sheffield, 30 March-1 April 2026
University of Sheffield, 30 March-1 April 2026
We’re really excited to be welcoming you to LILAC: The Information Literacy Conference 2026 at the University of Sheffield.
So too are our colleagues from The University Library and the School of Information, Journalism and Communication, who are co-hosting this year.
Watch Professor Briony Birdi, Head of the School of Information, Journalism and Communication welcome attendees to LILAC 2026:
Watch Anna Clements, University Librarian and Director of Library Services welcome you to the University of Sheffield and LILAC 2026:
Why not take part in our Scavenger Hunt, incorporating the sights and sounds of Sheffield city centre - there’s even an exciting prize to be won if you choose to enter the draw. You can print a copy before LILAC or pick up a copy from the Registration Desk.
LILAC Committee members will be wearing purple t-shirts and/or grey hoodies featuring the LILAC logo, plus purple lanyards throughout the day. Local volunteers (staff and students from the University of Sheffield) will be wearing orange lanyards.
We’re all here to welcome you, answer questions, help with directions, and to respond to any enquiries or problems you might have; so please do come over and say ‘hello’. There will always be a member of staff on duty at the main Registration Desk on Level A throughout the day (details in the Location, registration & refreshment section below).
To help ensure a safe and comfortable environment for everyone, all attendees, speakers, sponsors and volunteers at our conference agree to the LILAC Code of Conduct. The conference committee and organisers will enforce the code throughout the event. Violations can be reported to members of the conference committee or via an anonymous form online.
Full information about our venue and getting to LILAC 2026 can be found online.
Buses 51 & 52 from the city centre stop outside The Wave building, where the conference takes place.
You can take the Sheffield Supertram from the city centre to within walking distance of the main venue. Board the Blue route from the train station heading towards ‘Malin Bridge’ or the Yellow route heading towards ‘Middlewood’, and alight at the University tram stop; The Wave is a 15 minute walk (uphill) from here. The Travel South Yorkshire site has a useful journey planner.
A taxi ride from the main rail station to the venue takes approx. 10-15 minutes.
Registration, keynotes, parallel sessions, and all refreshment/lunch breaks will take place in The Wave, Levels A & B: 2 Whitham Rd, Sheffield S10 2AH.
A 360° Tour (including accessibility tour) can be found on The Wave homepage; full accessibility information can also be found on the AccessAble website.
There are two entrances to The Wave: the main entrance on Whitham Road, and one on Northumberland Road; committee members/volunteers will be there to meet you each day.
Conference activities will take place on Levels A & B. Lifts and stairs are available to all floors.
Please see The Wave floor plan with LILAC rooms highlighted.
Please be aware that the building remains open to University of Sheffield students and staff throughout the duration of the conference.
Keynotes (and some parallel sessions) will take place in Lecture Theatre 1, located on Level A to the right of the main building entrance. Lecture Theatre 1 is a large and airy rectangular room with gently shelved rows of seats that are generously spaced. For the best viewing option, we recommend sitting in the central banks of seating.
There are dedicated accessible spaces for wheelchair users available in Lecture Theatre 1 at the front of the room (lower level, accessed via a lift), and towards the back of the room (street level, accessed via the atrium). If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to a member of the LILAC committee and/or email help@lilacconference.com.
If you are arriving late to a session, don’t worry, there will be plenty of seating options available - LILAC Committee members and local volunteers will be on hand to help guide you.
Have a look at what last year's keynotes looked like.
The registration desk will be on Level A of The Wave. If you enter via the main entrance, it will be immediately on your left, in front of the cafe & stained glass window. Main registration each morning is timetabled as follows:
The registration desk itself will be open and staffed daily until 15 minutes after the last session(s) ends.
When you register you will receive a welcome pack which includes your name badge. Please visit our dedicated table, stationed near the refreshments, to decorate it! You can include any additional information you’d like to share – pronouns, job role, institution, social media handle etc.
If you are new to LILAC and/or just beginning your career in libraries, you’re welcome to stop by the dedicated stall each morning where you’ll be able to chat with members of the Information Literacy Group’s New Professionals sub-committee.
A staffed cloakroom in the Cornerstone (immediately to your right if you enter the building via the main entrance on Whitham Road) will be accessible daily from 08:30 until 30 mins after the last session(s) ends. If it is closed when you need access, please come to the Registration Desk. You can leave coats, bags and luggage in the cloakroom - a member of staff will give you a ticket(s) so you can collect your item(s) when you leave.
There are daily refreshments and lunch breaks included with your conference booking.
Catering will be provided on Level A of The Wave between Workrooms 1 and 2 and in front of the wooden steps.
You may eat your lunch in Workrooms 1 and 2, or in the atrium of The Wave. If the weather is pleasant, there is some seating outside at both the front and rear of the building.
Download the Refreshments Menu. We are awaiting further menu/allergen details from our venues and will update this information as soon as possible.
There is a cafeteria in the building, but please be aware that bottled water is not sold on site. Multiple water fountains are provided throughout the building, so we’d encourage you to bring a refillable container.
If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to a member of the LILAC committee and/or email help@lilacconference.com.
A dedicated wellbeing/quiet room will be open throughout the conference, located in Seminar Room 1 on Level B of The Wave.
Any lost property items will be taken to the Cloakroom for collection.
If you require first aid assistance, please come to the LILAC registration desk or the reception of The Wave.
In the event of a fire, leave the building by the nearest available route. The assembly point will be the car park at the rear of The Wave. There are no planned fire alarm tests during the conference.
Please check the LILAC website for the most up-to-date programme. Limited printed copies can be provided via the Registration Desk on request.
Parallel session bookings are open and will remain open until the end of the conference; however, we recommend you book on as soon as you can as some sessions have limited places available.
To book onto parallel sessions, or to check which ones you have already booked, log in to your LILAC account and go to the ‘My Conference’ area at the bottom of your account page.
The conference rooms are located on the ground floor (Level A) and the first floor (Level B) of The Wave. Lifts and stairs are available.
Each parallel session will have a session Chair (usually a member of the LILAC Committee or Information Literacy Group) and a local volunteer present in the room. The session Chair will use signs to indicate to presenters how long they have left towards the end of their presentation.
If you are able to use the stairs to access seating in Lecture Theatre 1 please do. Some easily accessible seating will be reserved in proximity to room entrances - look out for signs indicating accessible seating or ask the volunteers on hand to help direct you.
Rooms in use for parallel sessions are:
Please see The Wave floor plan with LILAC rooms highlighted.
You can check our Flickr to see what to expect from a parallel session.
If you require any assistance please speak to a committee member, volunteers or email us: help@lilacconference.com
Eduroam is available campus-wide, so if you use this at your home institution, you should be able to connect using your institutional login details.
If you are not able to access Eduroam, please use the Guest Wifi. Follow these steps to connect:
Please remember to bring your tickets for social events. You will receive these when you collect your conference lanyard at the Registration Desk.
Our Drinks Reception & Information Literacy Awards will be held in Firth Hall, at Firth Court (Brook Hill, S10 2TN). The venue is a 5-minute walk from The Wave.
The event itself will take place in Firth Hall on the first floor. When you arrive, you can use the main entrance at the front of the building: or, if required, the accessible entrance which is to the left of the main entrance, via a long ramp leading to a door. The lift to the first floor is available just inside this entrance door.
LILAC Committee members and volunteers will be on hand to guide you in the right direction and meet you at the venue.
The evening will feature live music, with the presentation of the Information Literacy Awards at 18:00. Once the awards have concluded, guests will be able to continue chatting to fellow attendees and catching-up with friends. Have a look at what last year's Awards presentation looked like.
Welcome drinks, canapés and a limited open bar service will be provided, after which further refreshments can be purchased.
Cloakroom facilities will be available, including space for suitcases if you haven’t checked-in to your accommodation yet.
Download Firth Hall Canape’s Menu. You can also download the full ingredients list.
If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to a member of the LILAC committee and/or email: help@lilacconference.com.
The Dinner Party will be held at the Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria Hotel, and LILAC Committee members will be there to welcome you. On arrival, you’ll enter into a bar area which is attached to the main function room. Both these spaces are reserved exclusively for LILAC guests.
There’ll be a drinks reception from 19:30. There is no allocated seating, so please choose to sit where you will feel most comfortable. Check how the seating looked last year, you can expect a similar configuration. A buffet dinner will be served from 8pm and tables will be invited by the DJ in groups to visit the buffet.
Music and dancing will then follow until 23:30.
The venue is fully wheelchair accessible. For accessibility enquiries, services and venue contact details please visit the hotel website or the information via AccessAble.
Download The Crowne Plaza Menu, which includes allergen information.
If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to a member of the LILAC committee and/or email help@lilacconference.com.
Follow @lilacconf.bsky.social on Bluesky using #LILAC26 or check out LILAC on the ILG Discord.
Please note that photographs will be taken by designated LILAC photographer(s) throughout the conference. These photos may appear on the LILAC website or in other forms of conference publicity.
If you do not wish your photo to be used, please inform a member of the LILAC Committee and/or email us: help@lilacconference.com.
Organised library tours feature on the conference programme. Please be aware that each tour group is limited to a capacity of 20 people so we would recommend booking in advance: log in to your LILAC account and go to the ‘My Conference’ area at the bottom of your account page.
LILAC delegates are welcome to visit the Information Commons and the Western Bank Library at any time, please show your LILAC lanyard to gain access. Details of the libraries available can be found on the Libraries’ website.
As always, we have an exciting range of sponsors for LILAC, and each will have a stall set up on Level A of The Wave where you can find out more about their services and resources. Don’t forget to play our Exhibitors Raffle for the chance to win a fantastic prize - you’ll receive an entry card during Registration.
There are no shops/convenience stores within immediate walking distance of The Wave, so we recommend purchasing anything you might need before arriving.
There is a cafeteria in the building, but please be aware that bottled water is not sold on site. Multiple water fountains are provided throughout the building, so we’d encourage you to bring a refillable container.
If you are looking for somewhere to take a break there are a few options nearby:
The Sheffield Half Marathon will be taking place on Sunday 29th March, with the route taking in the city centre. Please be aware that there may be some local travel disruption including road closures.
If you have any queries not covered by the above, please email help@lilacconference.com.
If, as a result of LILAC you produce any conference reports via journals, blog posts, storify, or any other mechanism we'd like to know! Please send details to Martina at help@lilacconference.com so that we can include details in our conference archive.
If you need to contact someone from LILAC at any point there will be someone at the registration desk. LILAC committee members will be wearing purple LILAC t-shirts, volunteers will have orange lanyards.
LILAC is great opportunity for our fellow professionals to present their ideas, share best practice and show case new thinking in our sector. If you have an idea then we'd love to hear about it. We have many options for the types of sessions you might run from a symposium to a workshop. Visit our Call for Presentations page to find out how to apply.
Places at this year's conference are likely to be in demand more than ever before. Each year our conference grows increasingly popular and this year promises to be no different. Don't miss out and book your place now for this year's conference.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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