Call for Proposals LIBER Annual Conference 2026

The Call for Proposals for the upcoming 55th LIBER Annual Conference is now open. The deadline for submitting a proposal is 5 January 2026. Submission requirements and process are outlined below. 

Keep up with the latest news about the LIBER Annual Conference 2026 on the official conference website. 

LIBER Annual Conference 2026 Theme:

The Power of Libraries in an Uncertain World

At the 2026 LIBER Annual Conference in Trondheim, Norway, the community of research libraries is invited to explore the vital role they play in safeguarding fundamental rights and values amid a rapidly evolving and uncertain world. Shifting technological, social, and geopolitical landscapes test both institutional resilience and societal cohesion. In this context, the central position of our research libraries within the information ecosystem renders their contribution more critical than ever. Operating under increasing pressure and facing significant ethical dilemmas, libraries are often required to make complex decisions; decisions that ultimately exemplify responsible and forward-looking leadership. 

Topics

We ask our community to submit their proposals for contribution in our LIBER 2026 conference distilling -in an engaging way- their work on the following topics: 

• Research Data and Knowledge Security
• Collection Development
• Working Conditions in Libraries
• Digital Content and AI 
• Leadership for Sustainability
• Shifts in Research Assessment
• Academic Freedom and Access to Knowledge 

Each contribution can be linked to a maximum of two topics, where the first one should be the most relevant to its content.

Submission Formats

LIBER 2026 invites submissions that adhere to the theme and its topic comprising of any of the following content directions:  

• Future-oriented, thought leadership pieces arising out of current research.
• Presentation of research-based solutions, with a clear illustration of the methods used, the ways they can be applied, the results.
• Work in progress or pilot descriptions, sufficiently mature to warrant attention.
• Experiences, best practices and case studies specifying requirements, challenges or opportunities. 

When submitting a proposal, speakers can choose the best format for the content they intend to deliver from the list of options below: 

• Presentation: mature works that showcase research, best practices, and case studies, which cover the methods used and open a discussion on the theme and its topics.
• Poster: visually inspiring displays of an initiative, completed or in progress, processes, and results. Please provide evidence of maturity and prioritize in your poster presentation what the conference participants can learn from your example.
• Panel: lively panel sessions, consisting of brief and engaging presentations related to the theme and the topics of the conference, inviting discussion among the panelists and with the audience.
• Workshop: dynamic and engaging sessions related to the overall theme and topics of the conference, providing delegates with hands-on experience. 

Note: For all proposals, the Conference Programme Committee may, in some cases, accept an abstract while proposing an alternative format from the initially selected one, if it fits better within the programme. In this case, the author will be consulted. 

 Selection Criteria

The CPC will select abstracts based on the following criteria:  

• Relevance
• Originality/Innovation
• Method/Elaboration
• Interest/Engagement
• Impact/Implication  

Artificial Intelligence Policy

The LIBER Conference Programme Committee encourages authors to present their work and express their original thoughts and ideas in the most natural way. The use of generated content is not encouraged as authors must confirm that the generated content does not incur plagiarism, breach of confidentiality or any form of copyright infringement. 

However, we acknowledge that some authors might use AI to linguistically support their submissions. AI-assisted technologies should only be used to improve the readability and language of the work, and, in case of edited content, authors must carefully review and edit the generated content to ensure accuracy and consistency. AI support should be acknowledged/disclosed in a statement at the end of their submission. 

Reviewers reserve the right to reject a submission, if the abstract does not convey original ideas and experiences. 

Similarly, reviews are conducted by our Conference Programme Committee members and there is no use of AI for delivering the reviews. Reviewers will not upload any abstracts to generative AI tools as this may violate the authors’ intellectual property and data privacy rights. 

Submission guidelines

• Accepted contributions will be limited to one presentation and/or poster abstract per author. Similarly, we aim to avoid more than one presentation on a single initiative/project.
• Submissions advertising commercial products and/or services will not be considered.
• All standard presentation submissions will be automatically considered for the LIBER Innovation Award.
• Abstract length should be a minimum of 300 words and should not exceed 600 words (for all forms suggested above).
• Only submissions in English will be considered, in line with the official language of the conference.
• Make sure that you have approval from your institution to participate in the conference at the latest when the results are announced.
• All submitted contributions will be peer-reviewed by at least two reviewers, based on the criteria mentioned above.
• Authors are encouraged to submit their accepted abstracts for publication in LIBER Quarterly, a fully peer-reviewed journal. Instructions for this can be found on the journal website, as can contact details for LIBER Quarterly’s managing editor. LIBER Quarterly is also accepting practice papers, more information for the submission process can be found here. 

For tips on writing abstracts, please see this link.

How to Submit Your Abstract

To submit an abstract, please visit the LIBER 2026 submissions portal. The deadline for submission of abstracts is the 5th of January 2026 at 23:59 CET. 

Notification of Acceptance

We expect to announce the outcomes of the peer review in early March 2026. 

Note: This Call for Proposals has been assembled by LIBER’s Conference Programme Committee (CPC).

Contact

For any questions about this call, please contact us at liber2026@libereurope.org. 

Download the full call here