Dear colleagues, 

I write to invite you to register for the 2024 CDNL Annual Meeting, in Brisbane, Australia on 3 October 2024. Registrations will close on Friday 30 August.  

Register for CDNL and professional tour of National Library of Australia here.  

I request that each individual attendee complete the registration form to assist with catering and other function requirements.

IFLA Information Futures Summit 

Our CDNL meeting will follow the IFLA Information Futures Summit in Brisbane, which runs from 30 September to 3 October 2024.  Early bird registration for the Summit closes Monday 17 June 2024. I hope to see many of you at this wonderful opportunity to ‘be stronger together’.    

CDNL – 3 October 

The October 2024 CDNL will run as an in-person event only. The event – as with Conference membership – is open to chief executives of all national libraries.  

We will be meeting at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC), the same location as the IFLA Summit.   

Our theme for 2024 will be Leading Libraries through Cyber Security Disasters. We have colleagues from two national libraries joining us to speak about what these disasters require of us as leaders.  We will also hear from an Australian expert, to speak to the demands of leadership in an increasingly complex cyber security environment. We will share an agenda in coming weeks.  

As there are no membership fees for CDNL, we are unable to offer bursaries or other financial assistance to participants.  

Professional tour of the National Library of Australia 

On Friday 4 October – the day after CDNL – the National Library will offer a professional tour of our building and operations in our national capital, Canberra.   

Australia is a big country! For those planning to travel to Canberra, please bear in mind that flight time Brisbane-Canberra is around 1 hour, 40 minutes (950km). 

Canberra is not an international airport, so you will need to exit Australia via another city– return to Brisbane, or fly out via Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth.   

For a return flight and accommodation for one night, you can expect additional costs upwards of AU$1000.  

Formal invitations 

We can provide formal invitations for named individuals for the purposes of note verbales and visa applications. We have registered CDNL as an official Government meeting with our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, but cannot assist further with visa applications. 

Election 

During the October Annual Meeting, we will hold an election for the role of Vice-Chair. CDNL has two Vice-Chair roles; one is occupied by Leslie Weir from Libraries and Archives Canada and the other is vacant.   

In the next few weeks, we will call for nominations for this role.  For your convenience, the CDNL Statutes provide an overview of the Committee, including the roles and responsibilities of its members and officers. 

Future online meeting 

I had hoped to host an online meeting earlier this year, but this has not proved possible.  I now expect to schedule an online meeting for early 2025.   

Call for expressions of interest for attendance and speakers will be sent in due course.  

With kind regards, 

Marie-Louise 
 
Dr Marie-Louise Ayres  |  Director-General  |  she/her/hers
02 6262 1390  |  mayres@nla.gov.au |  National Library of Australia
Chair: Conference of Directors of National Libraries – cdnl@nla.gov.au