UKSG 2016: Sociological Observations

The UKSG 2016 Conference is analyzed in terms of Andrew Abbott's ecological theory of professionalization and Gorman and Sandefur's description of new knowledge workers. The sessions at the UKSG can be understood as a result of an interaction between market-oriented, entrepreneurial, globalized, new knowledge workers and more traditionally organized and located librarians. The provision of new services for patrons and scholarly communication (as competitive areas of professional expertise being carved out by librarians) are the categories with the largest number of sessions offered. UKSG has primarily become not about serials. Open access, ethical concerns, and other issues raised at the Conference are also placed in context.