Charleston Conference Asia
26 January – 28 January 2026
Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel,
Bangkok, Thailand
2026/01/26 09:00:00
Join librarians, publishers, and vendors from across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to shape the future of scholarly communication.
The Charleston Conference, a leading forum for open and meaningful discussion in the academic publishing world, is expanding to Asia!
The inaugural Charleston Conference Asia will be a three-day event that brings together librarians, publishers, and vendors to engage in regional and global conversations. With a strong focus on inclusivity, innovation, and collaboration, this conference aims to empower voices from underrepresented regions.
📍 Location: Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel, Bangkok
📆 Dates: 26–28 January, 2026
👥 Who Should Attend: Academic librarians, Publishers, Vendors, Researchers
Themes & Topics
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Joyashree Roy
Professor of Economics, Jadavpur University, India ICSSR National Fellow
About the Speaker:
Dr. Joyashree Roy is a renowned economist and climate policy expert, currently serving as Professor of Economics at Jadavpur University and a National Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). She leads the Global Change Programme and directs the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund Project on sustainable development.
She was a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA), and has contributed to major international efforts including the IPCC (Nobel Peace Prize 2007), the Stern Review, and the Global Energy Assessment. Dr. Roy has authored over 75 peer-reviewed publications and is recognized globally for her work in climate change economics, energy modeling, and environmental policy.
Prof. Devika P. Madalli
Director, INFLIBNET Centre, UGC-IUC, Gandhinagar
About the Speaker:
Prof. Devika Madalli is a leading expert in knowledge organization and digital information systems. She currently serves as Director of the INFLIBNET Centre and was formerly Professor at the Documentation Research and Training Centre, Indian Statistical Institute, as well as adjunct faculty at the University of Trento, Italy.
Her work spans open educational resources (OERs), open data repositories, semantic web technologies, and multilingual information services. She played a key role in shaping India’s One Nation One Subscription initiative and is widely recognized for her contributions to digital libraries, data management, and information infrastructure development.
Prof. Zhang Bin
Library Director, Renmin University of China
About the Speaker:
Prof. Zhang Bin is the Director of the Library at Renmin University of China and a professor at the School of Information Resource Management. Recognized as a national-level talent professor by the Ministry of Education, he serves as Secretary-General and member of the State Council’s Academic Assessment Group for Information Resource Management.
He is also Chair of the Teaching Guidance Committee for Archival Science, Executive Director of the Chinese Library Association, and Vice Chair of the University Library Division. Prof. Zhang holds several additional leadership roles, including Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Higher Education Library Work Committee, Executive Deputy Director of BALIS, and Vice President of the Chinese Society of Archival Science.
He also contributes as Director of the Beijing Academic Center for the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme and a member of the Expert Committee for the Archival Heritage Project. His accolades include the “New Century Excellent Talent” award, Baosteel Excellent Teacher Award, Beijing Teaching Master Award, and recognition as an Advanced Individual in Teacher Ethics.
About the Charleston Conference
The Charleston Conference is an annual gathering of librarians, publishers, electronic resource managers, consultants, and vendors. It serves as a unique forum where professionals come together to discuss issues of importance to scholarly communication, publishing, and library acquisitions.
Founded in 1980 by Katina Strauch, the conference began as a small regional meeting of 20 librarians and has grown into an international event with over 3,000 attendees. Held each fall in Charleston, South Carolina, it is widely recognized for its collaborative spirit, cross-sector dialogue, and future-focused discussions.
Katina Strauch is the founder of the Charleston Conference and a longtime librarian at the College of Charleston. She also served as Editor-in-Chief of Against the Grain, a publication she created to foster continued conversation among librarians and publishers.
A respected voice in the library and publishing world, Katina is known for her commitment to community, innovation, and scholarly collaboration. Her legacy continues through the Charleston Hub and its expanding initiatives.
“It’s been a grand 45 years.” — Katina Strauch, reflecting on the Charleston Conference’s journey
In 2026, the Charleston Conference expands its reach with the launch of Charleston Conference Asia, extending its mission of open and inclusive dialogue to new regions.
Quotes & Voices
Call for Participation
Be Part of the Dialogue
We thank our headline sponsors, iGroup, for their support. We have additional opportunities for sponsorship and exhibiting at the Charleston Conference Asia Vendor Showcase that are included at the link below:
Sponsorship & Vendor Showcase Details
✅ Interested in in exhibiting or sponsoring?
Contact: Caroline Goldsmith, Associate Director, Charleston Hub, – [email protected]
✅ Have questions about Vendor Showcase exhibits?
Contact: Toni Nix – [email protected]
✅ Stay Updated – Join Our Newsletter!
Key Dates and Deadlines
Call for Papers
Item
Date / Info
Opens
5 May, 2025
Proposal Deadline
15 August, 2025
Review Period
19 August – 29 August, 2025
Decision Emails Sent
Week of 8 September, 2025
Preliminary Full Agenda Ready for Publication
22 September, 2025
Registration
Item
Date / Rate
Opens
15 July, 2025
Early Bird (15 July, 2025 – 10 October, 2025)
$225
Regular Rate (11 October, 2025 – 9 January, 2026)
$300
Late (10 January, 2026 – On-site Registration)
$375
Reduced rates and scholarships available for librarians in low to middle income countries as defined by the World Bank.
Vendor Showcase Registration
Item
Date / Rate
Opens
13 August, 2025
Early Bird (13 August, 2025 – 30 September, 2025)
$2,275
Regular Rate (1 October, 2025 – 10 January, 2026)
$2,500
Discounted rates will be available for 2025 Charleston Conference exhibitors with an option for early registration.
Reduced rates will also be available for local/regional Asian publishers.
Agenda
Day 1
Monday, January 26
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
FSCI Course 1: The Future is Open Scholarship: Explore and Discuss Four Key Topics in the Evolving Open Landscape
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
FSCI Course 2: Assessing Institutional Research Data Using OpenAlex and R
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
FSCI Course 3: AI-Powered Search in Libraries: A Crash Course on understanding the fundamentals for Library Professionals
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
FSCI Course 4: Intro to Translation for non-Translators: Encounter the World of Translation
11:30 am – 11:30 am
Grand Opening of the Vendor Showcase Exhibit Hall
11:30 am – 7:00 pm
Vendor Showcase Exhibits Open
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch for Conference Attendees
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
FSCI Course 5: Diamond Open Access: Publishing Without Paywalls or Profits
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
FSCI Course 6: Level Up Your SciComm: How to Identify Your Audiences, Communicate with Non-Specialists, and Restore Trust in (Open) Science
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
FSCI Course 7: Implementing Open Science for Sustainable Development: Practices, Policies, and Impact
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
FSCI Course 8: Library Publishing and Global Scholarly Communication
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Tea Break in the Exhibit Hall
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Poster Session 1
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall
Day 2
Tuesday, January 27
9:00 am – 10:15 am
Opening Keynote: Dr. Joyashree Roy
10:15 am – 10:45 am
Tea Break, Exhibit Hall open
10:45 am – 11:30 am
Expanding Accessibility – How Publishers and Librarians are collaborating to meet new legal mandates and deliver meaningful change
10:45 am – 11:30 am
Innovating Library Services through Generative AI: Challenges to Academic Publishing and Implications for University Sustainability
10:45 am – 11:30 am
Regional Trends and Global Connections: Shaping Collections Strategies in Asian Universities
10:45 am – 11:30 am
SDG Tampok = SDG Highlights: Celebrating the Philippine Libraries’ SDG-related stories
10:45 am – 11:30 am
Transforming Academic Libraries with AI: The Taiwan Experience in Literacy, Services, Knowledge Organization, and Competencies
10:45 am – 11:30 am
Lightning Round 1
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Exhibit Hall Open
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch Break
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Breaking Down Silos: A Roundtable discussion on Persistent Identifiers ORCID in Editorial, Research Management Workflows and Beyond
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Ethics Meets Innovation: Guiding Researchers Through the AI Landscape
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Empowering Early-Career Researchers in Emerging Research Communities: Inclusive Models for Equitable Access
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm
From Stewardship to Directive Action: Libraries as part of the Publishing Workflow
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Lightning Round 2
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Addressing Accessibility: How Two Institutions Navigate Web Accessibility
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
STREAMlining the Curriculum
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
Advancing Equity in the Open Access Transition: Perspectives from Asia
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
Guardians of Trust: How Libraries Can Lead Global Defenses Against Predatory Publishing
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
IRINS: National Research Information Management Infrastructure
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
The Tie that Binds: The Importance of Open Metadata in the Developing Open Ecosystem
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm
Lightning Round 3
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Tea Break, Exhibit Hall Open
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Poster Session 2
4:45 pm – 5:30 pm
Keynote Presentation: Prof Devika P. Madalli
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Gala Dinner
Day 3
Wednesday, January 28
9:00 am – 10:00 am
Keynote Presentation: Strategies and Practices of Library Alliances in Building an Equitable Knowledge Ecosystem
10:00 am – 10:30 am
Tea Break, Exhibit Hall open
10:30 am – 11:15 am
The pulse of AI in academic libraries
10:30 am – 11:15 am
Resource Sharing for All: The RSCVD (Resource Sharing Collaborative and Voluntary Document Delivery) Project
10:30 am – 11:15 am
Navigating Monograph Publishing: Developing AI-Enhanced Assessment Frameworks for Global Scholarly Communication
10:30 am – 11:15 am
Open Access Books in Asia – What’s the status?
10:30 am – 11:15 am
The Share Family initiative: enabling a new level of cooperation for authoritative linked open data to support research, teaching, and AI
10:30 am – 11:15 am
Lightning Round 4
11:45 am – 12:30 pm
Charleston Trendspotting Initiative
11:45 am – 12:30 pm
Breaking Barriers: Gender Equity in Asia-Pacific Academia – Does a Divide Still Persist?
11:45 am – 12:15 pm
The importance of metadata for Asian scholarship
11:45 am – 12:15 pm
Building AI-Informed Library Collections: The Power of Library-Vendor Partnerships
11:45 am – 12:30 pm
Global Equity in the Shift to Open Access: A Focus on the Asia-Pacific Region
11:45 am – 12:30 pm
Lightning Round 5
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
Lunch Break, Exhibit Hall Open
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
Scholarly Communication in the Age of AI: From Full Articles to Essential Prompts
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
From Strategy to Signature: How JULAC Designs, Negotiates, and Manages Transformative Agreements
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
A Decade of Open Data: Insights, Impact, and the Path Forward for Asia
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
Shaping Student Engagement in a Changing World
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
Lightning Round 6
2:30 pm – 3:15 pm
Closing Session
Venue
Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel
Bangkok, Thailand.
Address:
2 Charoen Krung Road Soi 30, Siphya, Bangrak,
Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Contact Number
+66 2 266 0123
Easily accessible from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK), approx. 45 mins by taxi or airport rail link.