The BL Labs Symposium is an international annual networking event and awards ceremony showcasing innovative projects which have used the British Library's digital collections and data over the past year. The awards recognise outstanding use of British Library's digital content in the categories of Research, Commercial, Artistic, or Teaching & Learning. This will be our seventh annual symposium.

The keynote speaker for this year will be announced in due course! Watch this space.

Date and Time
Monday 11 November 2019, 09:00 - 17:00*
*Registration is from 09:00. The event starts at 10:00 prompt. The closing reception will begin at 16:00.

Cost
Free

Location
The British Library, Knowledge Centre, Auditorium, London NW1 2DB, United Kingdom.
Please collect your badge, head upstairs to the first floor and follow the signs to the Auditorium.

Map
The following map details how to get to the event.

Biographies of speakers
The biographies of speakers at the event will be available here once they are confirmed.

Delegate list
A delegate list of the people registered for the event containing 'Name', 'Affiliation', 'Professional Status', 'Research Interests' and which 'British Library Digital collections' they are interested in, will be available as a google sheet and a pdf.

See our Digital Projects Archive for examples of using the British Library's digital collections and data
Information about over 150 projects which include previous entrants to the BL Labs Competitions, BL Labs Awards and other work using the British Library's digital collections is available in our Digital Projects Archive.

We also recommend you browse our digital scholarship case studies.

Programme
The final programme (which includes details about WiFi access) will be available as a google doc and pdf.

Event Feedback
Please ensure that you give us feedback about the event (this helps us to improve the event and learn about what we might be able to do to support you in the future).

09:00 - 09:55 REGISTRATION AND COFFEE in the Knowledge Centre Foyer
Network with new and familiar colleagues and British Library staff. Several BL Labs Awards entrants and other projects will be exhibiting their work and we encourage you to chat to them.

Please take your seats in the main auditorium by 09:55 as we will start at 10:00 sharp

MORNING SESSION

10:00 - 10:05 Welcome and Introduction

10:05 - 11:05 Keynote

11:05 - 11:25 The Research Award

This Award recognises a project or activity which demonstrates the development of new knowledge, research methods, or tools using the Library’s digital content.

Previous winners include: Combining Text Analysis and Geographic Information Systems to investigate the representation of disease in nineteenth-century newspapers, by Ian Gregory et al (2015), Scissors and Paste by Melodee Beals (2016) and A large-scale comparison of world music corpora with computational tools by Maria Panteli et al (2017).

11:25 - 11:35 Speakers TBC

11:35 - 11:50 A Series of 3 Lightning Talks

11:50 – 12:00 The Artistic Award

This Award recognises an artistic or creative endeavour that has used the Library’s digital content to inspire, amaze and provoke.

Previous winners include: 'The Order of Things' by Mario Klingemann (2015), 'Hey there Young Sailor' written and directed by Ling Low with visual art by Lyn Ong (2016) and 'Imaginary Cities' by Michael Takeo Magruder (2017).

12:00 - 13:25 LUNCH in the Knowledge Centre Foyer. BL Labs Awards / Projects Showcase

Take this opportunity to network with new and familiar colleagues as well British Library staff if you need any help or advice. Several BL Labs Awards entrants and other projects will be around if you want to chat to them and see their work.

Please return to the main auditorium by 13:25 as the event will start at 13:30 sharp

AFTERNOON SESSION

13:30 - 14:00 Digital Scholarship Projects

Highlights of some of the innovative projects recently completed and underway in the Digital Scholarship Department.

14:00 - 14:10 The Commercial Award

This Award celebrates an activity that delivers or develops commercial value in the context of new products, tools, or services that build on, incorporate, or enhance the Library's digital content.

Previous winners include: 'Redesigning Alice' by Dina Malkova (2015), 'Curating Digital Collections to go mobile / Bibliobard' by Mitchell Davis (2016) and 'Movable Type' by Robin David O’Keeffe (2017).

14:10 - 14:20 The Teaching & Learning Award

This Award celebrates quality learning experiences created for learners of any age and ability that use the Library's digital content.

Previous winners include: 'Library Carpentry' by James Baker et al (2016) and 'Vittoria's World of Stories' by Vittoria Primary School (2017).

14:20 - 14:35 Speaker TBC

14:35 - 14:50 British Library Staff Award

This Award recognises a current member of staff, or team, who has played a key role in an innovative project using the Library’s digital content or data.

Previous winners include: 'Libcrowds' by Alex Mendes (2016) and 'Two Centuries of Indian Print' (2017) by the Two Centuries of Indian Print team.

14:50 - 15:20 Coffee break and networking in the foyer
Please return to the main Auditorium by 15:20 as the final session will start at 15:25 sharp

FINAL SESSION

15:25- 15:35 Speaker TBC

15:35 - 15:55 speaker TBC

15:55 - 16:00 Closing remarks

16:00 - 17:00 NETWORKING RECEPTION in the Knowledge Centre Foyer

Enjoy drinks and nibbles, say hello to new faces and old friends and marvel at the various technologies and projects on display!

17:00 Finish

Event Feedback
Please ensure that you have given us feedback. This helps us to improve the event and learn about what we might be able to do to support you in the future.