Hello everybody and welcome back to a world of in-person meetings, conferences and banquets. Just as we had started to get used to living in a virtual world we will have to adapt again. Do you even remember what it was like to ask a question from the floor? Or how about shaking hands? What’s that? Well, I can confirm that it is possible to get quickly back into the swing of it. I have just come back from ECIR 2022 in Stavanger, and one thing that sums it all up is the word “fantastic”. But why don’t you read about it yourself as we have a great report in this issue of Informer.
Now, leaving ECIR 2022 behind we are in the process of getting the next non-virtual meetings organised. One of them is Search Solutions, our regular autumn event that brings together practitioners and academics, and we are planning to meet up in the head office of the BCS in London. Interested in presenting? Well, we have just issued a Call for Contributions. Whether you plan to present or attend, please save the date, it’s 23rd November. Incidentally, you can find the video recordings of Search Solutions 2021 on our group’s homepage.
Another physical conference will be ECIR 2023 in Dublin. And if you wonder where ECIR 2024 will be, well the call for bids to host the conference is coming up in a few weeks’ time.
Apart from our flagship events the BCS IRSG is also involved in a number of other activities, not least the Karen Spärck Jones Award. The next call will soon be issued … We also keep exploring what is the best way to go forward with our ECIR publication strategy. While everyone loves to have proceedings freely accessible it does come with a cost, not so much in finacial terms but in terms of effort that needs to get into getting open access sorted out on a viable basis. And that needs enthusiastic volunteers to step up to the challenge and join the committee. Watch out for the next election if that is something you would like to get involved in.
On that note I wish you a great start into the new term / end of term / term break (depending on where you are based) and send sunny greetings from Bavaria!
Udo Kruschwitz