CBHL 58th Annual Meeting 2026
May 12-15, 2026
Books | Blooms | Brandywine Valley: Celebrating Libraries, Archives, and Gardens
Hosted by Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens has a long history with CBHL. Librarian Florence Roberts helped organize the first CBHL annual meeting in 1968. We hosted the 1976 annual meeting in partnership with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society during our country’s 200th birthday celebration. And now, we feel it is only fitting to invite you back in 2026, the year of our country’s 250th birthday celebration.
Spanning more than 1,100 acres, our Gardens showcase horticultural splendor, intricate fountain systems, architectural grandeur, and so much more – all with conservation and learning at the core of our mission. With the realization of Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience – a sweeping renovation of 17 acres – we are honored to enhance, steward, and preserve one of the world’s most important and beautiful collections of gardens and greenhouses. Longwood Reimagined also includes new Library and Archives spaces, including our Plant Records archives.
Nestled in America’s Garden Capital, Longwood Gardens is one of more than 30 gardens within 30 miles of Philadelphia. This CBHL meeting will include the opportunity to tour some of these gardens, as well as art museums, revolutionary-war era history, and the local beauty of the Brandywine Valley.
The Library and Information Services (LIS) team is excited to welcome you to Longwood and to Pennsylvania’s breathtaking Brandywine Valley.
Registration will open in early 2026.
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The annual meeting hosted by a member institution is held each spring. Here members have a chance to meet one another to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern, and have a unique opportunity to get an insider’s view of the host institution.
The yearly meetings have included lectures on the care and preservation of collections, computer systems and services, as well as talks on garden literature and botanical art. Individual programs and a business meeting are regularly complemented by site visits to neighboring gardens and historic locales.
