The International ISBN Agency was recently able to hold its first in-person Annual General Meeting for three years. The meeting took place on 7 and 8 September 2022.

We would like to begin by thanking our colleagues at the Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway). Without their hard work and cooperation, it would not have been possible for the event to have been the success it was. The National Library runs the ISBN agency in Norway and we were very grateful to our colleagues there. As usual, delegates from the national and regional ISBN agencies across the world were invited to participate.

The meeting discussed many important matters pertaining to the ISBN system and the publishing industry more broadly. These included a keynote speech from the Chairman of the International Publishers' Association’s Freedom to Publish Committee; the statutory updates and formal part of the AGM; presentations about publishing in Norway; and a workshop session at which attendees were invited to discuss the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their organisations and on publishing.

For the first time, part of our Annual General Meeting included a virtual component, so colleagues unable to attend the meeting in Oslo could still watch proceedings. We were delighted to welcome 64 delegates in person, with a further 44 delegates attending virtually. We thank all attendees of the meetings - your efforts and contributions were sincerely appreciated.