NLISN Conference
See our dedicated Conference Page
NLISN Online Coffee Catch Ups
These Coffee Catch Ups will run every month and are an opportunity for you to meet with other members of the network online in an informal space with no agendas/CPD/set topics, but instead to create a space where we can get to know each other and have informal and supportive discussions. We have tried to vary the days and times each month as we know everyone’s availability will change depending on role, sector, and individual working pattern.
Based on feedback after running the sessions for a year, these catch ups will now be self-facilitated by whichever members of the network attend, rather than a member of the committee. However if you do feel we need to go back to committee member facilitators please do let us know, and you are also free to reach out if you have other questions or concerns.
The meetings are not recorded and we also ask that you do not make personal recordings or save transcriptions of the meetings due to the personal topics covered. The use of live captioning/transcription tools are fine and there is inbuilt live captioning in Teams itself, but please do not use tools like otter.ai which save transcripts or send tools like that to the meetings on your behalf. It is important that these coffee catch ups are a space for network members to speak openly without being recorded or captured. If you notice an AI tool in the participant list please remove it, anyone attending should have the permissions to do so.
Please feel free to accept the Team meeting invitations even if you are not sure you will be able to attend to ensure they are in your calendar. Individual attendance beyond total number of people will not be monitored at all, so accepting them does not mean you are obliged to attend.
Topics that have been put forward for discussion at Coffee and Chat events in 2026 include:
- Reasonable adjustments/accommodations at work
- Formal and informal
- Sensory differences as relate to adjustments
- Areas of librarianship/strengths
- Co-conditions
- ND Management
- Trees! Windows! Natural light!
- How we interact with users/customers (especially public/school libraries)
- Experience of doing postgrad qualifications
- Procrastination and motivation
- Other Ideas:
- Study-groups/body-doubling for postgrad students and working synchronously
- Journal/chapter reading club for relevant articles
- When someone suggests an article/chapter, they commit to leading the discussion and providing a synopsis so that anyone can participate regardless of whether they had time to do the reading
2026 Coffee and Chat Dates
Links will be sent to the mailing list when set up, as well as monthly.
5th June 10:00 – 11:00
6th July 14:00 – 15:00
4th August 11:00 – 12:00
2nd September 15:00 – 16:00
8th October 11:00 – 12:00
6th November 10:00 – 11:00
7th December 14:00 – 15:00
NLISN Online Free Event – I, the mask: navigating work post-disclosure
Online
Tuesday 9th June 10-11am UK time
NLISN are hosting an online event on the 9th June 10-11 UK time where Elizabeth Cardoso Fernandes will be discussing the needs and effects of masking and disability disclosure at two Canadian university libraries.
In a job culture where there is only one correct way to do things, not all of us want to show how different we are. Referring to a song by the Swedish metal band In Flames, drawing on personal experience and to literature in different fields, Elizabeth will discuss the needs and effects of masking and disability disclosure at two Canadian university libraries. She will share the differences between reactive and proactive disability disclosure, the impact that disclosing has in her community and how patrons, colleagues, friends and family react to disclosure and changes in boundary-setting.
Elizabeth Cardoso Fernandes (she, her, hers) is a Humanities and Social Sciences | Virtual Reference at the University of British Columbia. She was diagnosed with ADHD in Brazil in 2013. She moved to Canada in 2018 and didn’t address her disabilities in academic or work environments until 2022, when she burnt-out and started learning more about her invisible disability. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and acknowledges that heavy metal is her life-long special interest.
This is a free event, however you still need to book your place via Eventbrite in order to receive the event link.
There is also a donation ticket option if you would like to support the work of NLISN. We have decided that all online events we run will be free, however a donation would support the costs of hosting the NLISN website, running in person events, and paying external speakers where a fee to speak would be required.
If you are interesting in presenting/speaking at an online NLISN event on a topic you feel would be relevant to the NLISN network and audience we are keen to hear from you.
Neurodivergent Library and Information Staff Network 