Delegates from America, New Zealand, England and Scotland descended on Edinburgh Castle for the Edge 2010 Conference, sponsored by Improvement Service.
Held over two days and organised by Liz McGettigan, Edinburgh City Council's Head of Library and Information Services, the conference featured a series of strong speeches from a variety of experts, all of which provoked robust debate and discussion.
The need for a combined physical and digital regeneration of libraries was a common theme throughout the conference. Delegates from Manchester and Newcastle shared their experiences with the Edinburgh representatives, who are currently undertaking a huge refurbishment programme of the city's libraries.
Tony Durcan, Newcastle Council's Head of Culture, Libraries and Lifelong Learning, spoke of his "pride" at their new City Library, while Nicky Parker, Manchester City Council's Head of Transformation, revealed the various factors her authority considered before going ahead with their own £155million regeneration programme.
Naturally, Edinburgh's impressive library refurbishment plans were discussed at length and Ms McGettigan joined Jim Thompson, Quality Development Manager, to give an informative speech on the ambitious 'Virtual Library' project, which is at the first stage of its development but will play a key role in the city's long-term strategy.
Susan Benton, President and CEO of the American Urban Libraries Council, was the Keynote Speaker on the first day and talked eloquently about the need to change the perception of libraries in today's society.
"We have to position libraries to show our true worth," said Ms Benton, who described the conference as "wonderful". "We have to come out of our shells and promote ourselves in different ways. Libraries are trusted institutions and should be viewed as an essential public service."
Ms Benton's compatriot Michael Porter is known as America's Libraryman and gave an entertaining presentation. He talked at length about engaging communities and embracing new technology in terms of delivering services.
Mr Porter said: "We're at a cultural juncture. Books will always exist but we have to evolve to give today's people what they want. We must have physical and digital strategies."
Jim Mather MSP, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism helped open the conference, while other speakers at Edge 2010 included Jenny Dawe, Leader of Edinburgh City Council, social media expert Ewan McIntosh, Dan Franklin, Canongate's Digital Editor, and Daniela Hislop from The Design Concept.
Linda Constable, Chair of Libraries Change Lives, Nigel Ironside, Governor of Saughton Prison and Martyn Wade from the National Library of Scotland also delivered presentations.
