Libraries, Archives & Museums on the Frontline: Advocacy, Innovation and Sustainability

ACURIL 2026 Puerto Rico

Hotel Caribe Hilton, San Juan
Jun 07 - Jun 11 2026

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Program

About the conference

The biggest Library Conference in the Caribbean

Join us at the 55th edition of the most extensive library conference in the Caribbean, hosted this year at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico . This conference is for all librarians, archivists, museum personnel, information specialists, exhibitors, and other information professionals who want to be inspired, learn, and move forward.

Welcome

Keynote Speakers

Rene Leyva

Fossil Ridge Public Library District, Illinois

Rene Leyva is a library leader and advocate for lifelong learning, a strong supporter of intellectual freedom, and is dedicated to promoting equitable access to library services throughout Illinois. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Fossil Ridge Public Library District, supporting communities across Will, Kankakee, and Grundy counties, where he works to remove barriers to library resources for both residents and non-residents.

Rene has been a consistent champion for all types of libraries across the state. He previously served on the Board of Directors for Reaching Across Illinois Library System, representing more than 1,200 libraries in northern and west-central Illinois, where he also served as President. He is now the Vice President and President-Elect of the Illinois Library Association, an organization that supports nearly 2,000 individual members and more than 500 institutional members throughout Illinois.

As a first-generation college graduate, Rene earned his MLIS degree from Dominican University. He has actively advocated for expanding continuing education opportunities across the state of Illinois, helping create more equitable pathways for professional growth and long-term success in the field. His work centers on strengthening the library profession by supporting library workers and all types of libraries, including public, school, academic, and special. He believes all libraries are leaders in their own communities and should be part of the conversation and engaged in legislation to ensure continued success.

Snejanka Penkova

Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras

Dr. Snejanka Penkova holds a Ph.D. in Library Science and Bibliography from the Saint Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts, Russia. She serves as a teaching librarian in the Library System of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, and has over 30 years of professional experience, including more than 15 years in the management of academic libraries. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses and has mentored theses at UPR–Río Piedras, specifically in the Faculty of Humanities, the Graduate School of Information Sciences and Technologies, and the Graduate School of Business Administration. She has also served as a resident faculty member at the Center for Academic Excellence (CEA) and the Graduate Studies and Research Deanship (DEGI). In addition, she has taught at universities in the Dominican Republic and has been a visiting professor at institutions and associations in Bulgaria, Spain, Brazil, and Haiti. She is a member of the Institutional Review Board of UPRRP (CIPSHI) and serves on editorial boards and scientific committees of academic journals both internationally and in Puerto Rico, including QQLM e-journal, BBIA Online, Fórum Empresarial, and (In)Genios, as well as acting as a reviewer for scholarly publications. Her research interests include the evaluation of scientific publishing, publication ethics, open access, altmetrics, researcher profiles, and information literacy. She has published in peer-reviewed journals in Bulgaria, Russia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

Ana Flávia Magalhães

Universidad de Brasilia

Ana Flávia Magalhães is a historian with additional academic training in journalism. She is a professor at the University of Brasília (UnB) in the Department of History and in the Graduate Program in Human Rights. She is a founding member of the Working Group on Community Archives of the Latin American Association of Archives (GTAC/ALA), where she served as coordinator from 2023 to 2026. She is a member of the Black Historians Network (Brazil), the Council of Casa Sueli Carneiro, and the team of Instituto Cultne, the largest audiovisual archive of Black culture in Latin America. She is the general coordinator of the exhibition “Reintegration of Property: Narratives of Black Presence in the History of the Federal District” (2018–2026) and a member of the collective curatorial team of the exhibition “Constituent Assembly of a Possible Brazil” (2024–2025) and of the Projeto Linha de Cor (2018–2025).