Information, Medium & Society – The Publishing Studies Research Network

Exploring how media, technology, and publishing shape knowledge and culture.

The Information, Medium & Society Research Network brings together scholars, editors, writers, technologists, and cultural practitioners to examine how information systems and publishing infrastructures shape communication and culture. Member-based and scholar-led, the Network investigates the transformations of media—from print to digital, proprietary to open, and local to global.

The Information, Medium & Society Research Network began in 2003 with Creator to Consumer in a Digital Age, a research initiative and conference in Cairns that examined how creative work becomes public through publishing systems and cultural intermediaries. Under the guidance of David Emblidge, this effort took formal shape as The Book Conference, a venue focused on the book’s materiality, authorship, readership, and circulation. Early meetings established a space where editors, scholars, librarians, designers, and practitioners compared the long history of print culture with the emerging possibilities of digital media.

Over two decades, the conference has traveled widely, reflecting a global range of publishing and media cultures. Meetings have been hosted by Oxford Brookes University (UK, 2005); Emerson College (Boston, USA, 2006); the Spanish National Research Council (Madrid, 2007); the Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C., 2008); the University of Edinburgh (Scotland, 2009); the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland, 2010); the University of Toronto (Canada, 2011); Universidad Abat Oliba CEU (Barcelona, 2012); Universität Regensburg Universitätsbibliothek (Germany, 2013); Simmons College (Boston, 2014); UBC Robson Square (Vancouver, 2015); Imperial College London (2017); the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 2018); the University of Granada (Spain, 2019); Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (2020, virtual); Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2021, virtual); the University of the Aegean (Rhodes, 2022); Sorbonne Université (Paris, 2023); Sapienza University of Rome (2024); the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (2025); and NOVA University Lisbon – School of Social Sciences and Humanities (2026). Each edition engages a Special Focus linking scholarly reflection with practical innovation across publishing and media sectors.

• 2003 - From Creator to Consumer in a Digital Age, Cairns, Australia
• 2004 - Challenges and Opportunities in a Digital Era, Beijing, China
• 2005 - Authorship and Publishing, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
• 2006 - The Digitization of Everything, Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• 2007 - The Book: The Open Sarcophagus, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain
• 2008 - Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA
• 2009 - Past, Present, Future, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
• 2010 - The Digital Sphere, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
• 2011 - Creator to Consumer in a Digital Age, University of Toronto, Canada
• 2012 - Academe and the Book, Universidad Abat Oliba CEU, Barcelona, Spain
• 2013 - Publishing Practices: Past, Present, and Future, Universität Regensburg Universitätsbibliothek, Regensberg, Germany
• 2014 - Disruptive Technologies and the Evolution of Book Publishing and Library Development, Simmons College, Boston, USA
• 2015 - The Event of the Book, UBC Robson Square, Vancouver, BC
• 2017 - The Publisher Is Dead; Long Live the Publisher! Imperial College London, London, UK
• 2018 - Communicating Values—Scholarly Communication as Mediator, Agent, Actor, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
• 2019 - Publishing Ecologies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
• 2020 - The Role of Scholarly Communication in a Post-Truth Era: Lessons Learned, Futures Gained? Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy (Virtual)
• 2021 - Research in the Age of Thinking Machines: Implications for Scholars, Libraries, and Publishers, Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain (Virtual)
  
• 2022 - Is Publishing a Critical Infrastructure? Innovation, Creativity, and Resilience in an Age of Artificial Intelligance, University of the Aegean, Rhodes, Greece
  
• 2023 - Social Narrative Makers: Storytellers, Researchers, Publishers, Platforms, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
  
• 2024 - Traveling Concepts: Publishing Systems and the Transfer and Translation of Ideas, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
  
• 2025 - Oceanic Journeys: Multicultural Approaches in Publishing Practices, University of Hawaii, Hilo, USA