Welcome to the March 2026 LIBER Mailing

This mailing is sent directly to LIBER Libraries and is posted publicly on the LIBER website. Please feel free to share this mailing with others.

Dear participants, members and friends of LIBER,

Welcome to the March 2026 LIBER Mailing, the first member update of the year. This is a special year for LIBER, marking the 55th anniversary of our Association. On this occasion, we thank all our members for being part of the vital work to support European research libraries and encourage you to join the activities planned throughout the year.

Looking back to the past year, we have made significant progress in improving our financial position and now expect a positive result for 2026. As part of our efforts to strengthen our financial status and sustainability, the Executive Board and Office have been reviewing the sponsor model, with new sponsorship models set to launch this year.

During this transitional period for the Association, we would like to extend a thank you to all our members, including the libraries that signed up for the Supportive Membership 2026, as well as new institutions that recently joined our community. For more organisational updates, please see the items below.

Kind regards,

Anja Smit
LIBER Secretary General

WELCOMING OUR NEW MEMBERS
LIBER is thrilled to introduce its newest participant to the network. In the past month, we have welcomed:

• SWU ‘Neofit Rilski’, University Library, Bulgaria
• CERN Scientific Information Service, Switzerland
• Library and Archives, Graz University of Technology, Austria
• Sumy State University Library, Ukraine
• Library of the University of Seville, Spain

DO YOU WANT TO MAKE AN IMPACT IN THE WORLD OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES?

Call for Nominations – LIBER Executive Board

In 2026, LIBER is looking for 3 passionate librarians who want to take their professional development to the next level and become member of the LIBER Executive Board. By serving on our Executive Board, you will

• Be part of a dynamic and active group of library professionals, who are committed to furthering the work of research libraries across Europe.
• Have a key say in setting LIBER’s strategic priorities, advising on, and advancing the work of the association.
• Network, exchange best-practices, and share your expertise with library leaders within Europe and globally.
• Gain hands-on experience with strategic planning, budget-setting, and reporting.

Being on the Board is a fantastic way to make new connections and grow professionally. In accordance with the Statutes and the Rules and Regulations of the LIBER (Stichting) Foundation, appointments are due to be made at the Meeting of Participants (i.e., Annual General Meeting) in July 2026, for the following vacancies on the LIBER Executive Board:

Three new LIBER Board Members  

LIBER Executive Board Members serve a 2-year term and can be reappointed twice. LIBER Board Members are active in several roles, such as Steering Committee Chair for one of LIBER’s strategic goals.

LIBER aims to be inclusive, representing Participating Libraries and Organisations in all geographical regions of Europe. Nominees from areas which are not represented in the LIBER Board are invited and therefore particularly welcome.

The role of Vice-President will become vacant in 2026. Following the Statutes, Rules and Regulations of LIBER, the current LIBER Executive Board can appoint a Vice-President from among its members. For the year 2026, this role will be appointed by the current LIBER Executive Board, and hence the candidate will not be selected from the 2026 nominated candidates.

Nomination Process 
Board Members Appointments to the LIBER Executive Board are open to nominated candidates in all current LIBER Libraries in the Institution and Organisation categories. Candidates may be proposed by the nominee’s home library or by another LIBER Library. The consent of the candidate should be obtained by the proposer in all cases before a nomination is submitted. Candidates from current LIBER Libraries can also nominate themselves with the support of a proposer.

Completed nominations on the Nomination Form should be returned to the Secretary-General Anja Smit by email (anja.smit@dans.knaw.nl). The closing date for Nominations is Friday, 8 May 2026 at 23:59 CEST.

Please note that the LIBER Executive Board welcomes candidate nominations from libraries in countries in all parts of Europe and from younger candidates.

If you have any questions about this call, please send your inquiry to anja.smit@dans.knaw.nl.

UPDATES TO RULES & REGULATIONS

LIBER Rules and Regulations can be found on the Governance page under ‘Accountability, Statutes & Regulations’. In this updated version, the Associate membership category is revised to now include organisations with an explicit, formal public purpose, supplying services to research libraries as well as non-European libraries and library organisations.

An overview of the different membership categories and corresponding benefits can also be found on the Join LIBER webpage.

NEW LIBER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

LIBER is delighted to announce that Alexander Hasgall has been named the Executive Director of LIBER, effective as of March 1, 2026. In this role, Alexander will take over the coordination and implementation of our strategic actions, the management of the LIBER Office and Foundation, and will help advocate for our research library members at the European level. Read the full announcement here.

LIBER ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN TRONDHEIM

We’re happy to share that registration for the LIBER 2026 Annual Conference taking place in Trondheim, Norway, is now open.

Book your tickets today and join us from 1-3 July at the NTNU University Library. This year’s conference is themed ‘The Power of Libraries in an Uncertain World’.

• Early Bird Registration: Open until 30 April 2026
• Standard Registration: Open until 31 May 2026

For details on how to register, visit the LIBER 2026 website registration page. Do you have questions about the registration process? Contact liber2026@konferanser.ntnu.no.

We look forward to welcoming you to #LIBER2026

LIBER ANNUAL CONFERENCE: CALL FOR A HOST

Could your library be the stage for an upcoming LIBER Annual Conference? The search is on and we’re looking for hosts for 2028 and beyond to bring together Europe’s research librarians and information professionals.

Have questions or want to express interest in hosting our field-leading research library conference? Please contact LIBER Executive Director Alexander Hasgall by email (alexander.hasgall@libereurope.org).

LIBER ARCHITECTURE SEMINAR (LAG) 2026

The 22nd LIBER Architecture Seminar will be held on 6-8 May 2026 at Technological University Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. The theme of the seminar is ‘Invest – Involve – Inspire: Shaping the next generation of Library Buildings‘.

Visit the official website for full seminar information, including provisional programme and keynote speaker biographies. Registration for the seminar remains open until 8 April 2026.

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