I think that it is important to consider that Code4lib is not a formal
organization. It does not have membership, a governing board, officers, or
dues. Each year, we put out a call for proposals in the hope that some
institution or group will volunteer to organize the next conference, with
the minimum requirement that they furnish a venue and enough volunteers to
form a local organizing committee. We are very fortunate that we have
received, at least one proposal every year since the conference started. I
think that in our top year, we got three proposals, but that was a one off.
If we have multiple proposals, the group, meaning whoever is around, votes
to pick one.

Years back, there was a movement to organize the group, but the consensus
was that we should just leave things the way they were, although we did add
CLIR as our fiscal agency in order to have continuity.

To get to the point, we and our hosting partners tend to be risk averse.
This view was proven out by our experience during COVID, where we lost some
of our very thin cushion. Consequently, recent conferences have been in
venues, which generally hold between 150 and 300 attendees. In our early
days, the conferences would always sell out quickly, and it seems that we
are back to that profile again.

It is almost inevitable, that some, or perhaps many, folks will be
disappointed. Consequently, we have also made it a tradition to provide
video access to the conference at no charge.

Personally, I know that I always learn something at our conferences, which
is one of the benefits of having a single track. Now that I have retired
and pay everything myself, Code4lib is the only conference I attend.

Cary Gordon
lechienlunatique.com