Welcome to the August 2026 LIBER Mailing
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Dear participants, members, and friends of LIBER,
Welcome to the August 2026 LIBER Mailing. In this issue, we are pleased to share updates about many of the developments across LIBER, as well as some organisational reminders as we enter the second half of the year.
As many of you may have read in our Executive Director’s summer greeting last month, we are delighted with the success of this year’s Annual Conference. Building on the energy in Trondheim, we look forward to the coming months and ending 2026 on a strong note, and hope many of you join us in the upcoming activities. With that, please find our latest updates below.
Kind regards,
Anja Smit
LIBER Secretary-General
WELCOMING OUR NEW MEMBERS
LIBER is thrilled to introduce its newest participants to the network. In the past months, we have welcomed:
- Anáhuac University Library Mexico, Mexico
- Aston University Library and Learning Services, United Kingdom
SUPPORTIVE MEMBERSHIP FEE PROGRAMME
The Supportive Membership Fee Programme gives LIBER members the opportunity to show their additional support for the Association. The programme is now open for members to opt in for next year.
For 2027, you can choose between a one-time contribution of €2,500 or €5,000. This amount will replace the standard annual fee for your institute for one year. Completed sign-up forms can be returned to LIBERAdmin@libereurope.org.
In the coming weeks, all official LIBER representatives will receive additional information about the programme. Keep an eye on your mailbox!
LIBER 2026: THANK YOU
Once more, we thank all who joined us at this year’s Annual Conference in Trondheim, it was a memorable week, bringing together familiar and new faces from across the library community. A special thank you to NTNU University Library for hosting us and helping make the conference a success
To revisit some of the moments from the conference week, take a look at the Annual Conference highlights.
While the conference may be over, the connections stay. We look forward to continuing the conversations at our upcoming in-person events, read on to find out more.
LIBER 2027: COLCHESTER, ENGLAND (UK) – SAVE THE DATE
Join us at the LIBER Annual Conference 2027, hosted by University of Essex Library, Colchester, England, United Kingdom, from 30 June to 2 July 2027.
The theme of next year’s conference is ‘Research Libraries as a Force for Knowledge Autonomy‘. Get to know next year’s host – read the Save the Date announcement here and stay tuned for more conference updates.
MIDDLE MANAGEMENT TRAINING 2027 – APPLICATIONS OPEN
We now invite applications for participation in the Middle Management Training Programme 2027. The online course is tailored to mid-management library leaders, open to professionals from LIBER member institutions. Starting in January 2027, this course offers a valuable opportunity to invest in your library staff and support their skills development.
The application deadline is 1 October 2026.
COMING SOON: LIBER WINTER EVENT 2026
The next Winter Event will take place at the National and University Library in Zagreb, Croatia, from 26-27 November 2026. To learn more about the event, visit the event page on our website.
The event will be preceded by a national pre-event on November 25th, 2026. More information about the event, including registration opening, will be announced on our website and social media in the coming weeks.
INDEXING OF MEMBERSHIP FEES 2027
As approved by the Executive Board and Meeting of Participants (MoP) in 2022, Annual Fees will be adjusted for inflation on a yearly basis, starting in 2023.
The fees will be indexed based on the consumer price index that is calculated monthly by the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS), based on the inflation level in the Netherlands and referencing the index for the previous financial year (2025). LIBER will continue to maintain transparency in its financial model, with tier distinctions based on national GDP per capita.
In 2025, the inflation level in the Netherlands was 3.3% on average based on the 2025 Consumer Price Index for the Netherlands. This Dutch index was chosen as nearly all LIBER costs are incurred in the Netherlands. The Board approved the indexing of the 2027 LIBER Fees at 3.3%
More information about the LIBER Annual Contribution Fees and the Fee Tiers can be found on the LIBER website.
MEETING OF PARTICIPANTS 2026
On Thursday, 2 July, the annual Meeting of Participants (MoP) took place in Trondheim, Norway. During the Meeting of Participants, changes in the Executive Board were announced, including welcoming Dr. Giannis Tsakonas as the new LIBER President.
Following a selection process, three new members were chosen to join the LIBER Executive Board:
- Katja Hilska-Keinänen, Director of Services, National Library of Finland
- Liz Jolly, University Librarian, University College Cork
- Salomé Rohr, Scientific lnformation Service Group Leader, CERN
Meet the new LIBER President Giannis and our new Executive Board members in the recent announcement.
The meeting also marked the end of terms for several other board members, including Julien Roche, Cécile Swiatek Cassafieres, Dr. Adam Sofronijević, and Sara Lammens. The concluding speech from Julien Roche as a LIBER President is available on our website.
We thank them for their contributions to the Executive Board in the past years.
Approval of Minutes MoP 2025
The approval of minutes for the Meeting of Participants 2025 took place during the 2026 meeting in Trondheim. You can find the approved minutes here.
ANNUAL REPORT 2025-2026
The publication includes updates from our Executive Board and Steering Committees, our impact and achievements, events and project updates, financial reporting, & much more. We thank everyone who contributed to our work in the past year and continue to support our mission in the future.
Download and read the report here.
EXECUTIVE BOARD MINUTES
At their July 2026 meeting, the LIBER Executive Board formally approved the Minutes of the March 2026 Executive Board meeting, published here.
If you have any queries about the content of this mailing, or if there is any further information that we can provide, please contact us at liber@libereurope.org.
Kind regards,
Anja Smit
Secretary-General
LIBER EUROPE
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