The 2026 Charleston Conference opens Monday, November 2 and closes Friday, November 6. In-person registration at the regular rate of $695 ended on October 23. Registration reopens November 2 at $850 per person.
The rate steps
The organiser publishes one ladder. Regular registration ran September 24 through October 23. In-person registration is shut from October 24 to November 1, and virtual registration stays open across that gap. On-site and late in-person registration runs November 2 to 6 at $850. A library student or retiree pays $110 in person and $75 virtual, both with no deadline. A one-day rate stands at $295 with no deadline.
Three dates carry the same weight. Check-in opens Monday, November 2 from 2 to 6 p.m. The Vendor Showcase runs one day only, Tuesday, November 3, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and the main sessions run Wednesday through Friday.
What the wait costs
The price moves from $695 to $850 on November 2, a step of $155 per person. The closure covers nine days, and the organiser publishes one in-person entry after it.
The 15 percent group discount does not apply to the Extra Early Bird period or the Late Registration period. Four in-person seats at $850 come to $3,400 with no group relief. The same four seats at the regular rate came to $2,780, or $2,363 after the discount.
The virtual tier stays open
Virtual registration costs $450 in the regular column. The late column reads "n/a" for virtual, so the organiser publishes no higher virtual price for November. The early virtual rate was $390.
The virtual badge carries livestream access to keynotes and plenaries, virtual-only sessions on Zoom, questions through Whova, digital vendor booths, and recordings from November 16 with three months of on-demand access. A team that wants the recordings can book the virtual tier after the in-person door closes.
The refund window shut in October
The page sets refunds through October 10 with a $125 processing fee on any registration, and the next line reads "NO REFUNDS AFTER OCTOBER 9". Both readings put the deadline in the past.
Two routes remain. A registration transfers to someone else at the same institution at no charge. A full credit applies to the next calendar year, carries no monetary value, and cannot be extended or transferred. Confirm the attendee before you pay.
The room block closed on October 1
The organiser sets the group reservation deadline at October 1 unless a property notes otherwise. The headquarters property, The Francis Marion Hotel at 387 King Street, is marked SOLD OUT at $244 a night with online code Library26. The second headquarters property, Courtyard by Marriott Charleston Historic District at 125 Calhoun Street, lists $379 a night.
Shuttle transport runs from every conference hotel on the list to the Gaillard Center and the Francis Marion Hotel for sessions. A property outside that list means arranging the walk or the car yourself. Three published rates from the list: Doubletree Hilton Riverview at 84 Ripley Point Drive for $151 a night, Moxy Hotel Charleston Downtown at 547 Meeting Street for $175 Sunday through Friday, and Holiday Inn Express Downtown WestEdge at 250 Spring Street, which tiers by night at $119 or $120 Sunday through Wednesday, $129 or $139 on Thursday, and $159 or $169 on Friday.
Each figure is a block rate behind a deadline that has passed. Ask the property whether the rate still applies before you count it.
The organiser adds one warning to the same page: the week is a busy time in Charleston "due to other events in town", and the page asks readers to reserve well in advance.
Which nights to book
Check-in opens Monday afternoon, and the exhibitor networking event runs 5:30 to 7 p.m. that evening at the Charleston Share House. A Monday arrival through a Saturday checkout is five nights. A Tuesday arrival through the same checkout is four nights and misses the Monday desk and the networking hour. Sessions end at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, and the closing plenary and luncheon run 12:45 to 2 p.m. A Friday checkout covers the closing luncheon.
The order of operations
Choose the badge first. In-person entry reopens November 2 at $850, and a virtual badge books now at $450. Take the $295 one-day rate for a team that needs a single Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Book the room after the badge, because the block deadline has passed and the property sets the rate now. Choose the arrival night from the Monday desk and the Friday luncheon. If the trip depends on a refund, register nobody.