Our Services

Permanent Advocacy & Representation

LIBER has earned a reputation for effective advocacy. We have won meaningful improvements to copyright law and developed relationships with key decision-makers. Our goal is to ensure that the priorities of research libraries rank highly on the agendas of universities and the European Union.

Our advocacy work is led by members of the LIBER Copyright Working Group. Moreover, we are in the process of further expanding our influence in Brussels and responding to European Commission proposals. This is being materialised in the form of the Knowledge Rights 21 project (a joint effort with IFLA and SPARC Europe funded by Arcadia). The project focuses on bringing about changes in legislation and practice across Europe that will strengthen the right of all to knowledge.

 

Learning & Knowledge Exchange

Be part of the vibrant LIBER community, learn, and share your knowledge in our Working Groups, Taskforces, webinars, and consultations. Participants also benefit from extensive resources — reports and case studies, guidelines, posters, etc. The LIBER blog regularly publishes event reports and expert summaries of current developments in the library field from our Working Group members, project partners and the wider LIBER community.

LIBER’s research libraries have a say in the kinds of webinars they want to see us host and can put forward their ideas for running their own, as a way of sharing their own successes and insights with the entire community — and under the LIBER umbrella.

 

Working Groups

Participants can broaden their network and share knowledge by joining one of our active Working Groups, derived from the pillars of the LIBER Strategy. Each Working Group has a set of objectives, including possible publications, presentations, and events.

 

Committees & Task Forces

LIBER members have the chance to shape our work through committee and Task Force initiatives. Examples of such collaborative groups include the LIBER Rights & Values and Artificial Intelligence Task Forces, as well as the Conference Programme Committee:

 

i. Conference Programme Committee

As a Participant, there is the possibility to join LIBER’s Conference Programme Committee (CPC). This committee is responsible for planning the theme and programme of our Annual Conference.

 

Member & Network News

LIBER’s monthly LIBER Insider mailer reaches nearly 5,000 individuals and includes a regular section summarising notable events and news for European research libraries. The Quarterly Mailer goes out to all of our Participants,  containing official documents, updates on the activities of LIBER’s Executive Board and Steering Committees, important news and upcoming events.

 

Publication Opportunities

You can submit your research and best practices to LIBER Quarterly, LIBER’s very own Open Access journal.

 

Voting Rights

As a LIBER Participant, you can vote on key issues or be nominated to serve on the Executive Board. Voting takes place at the Meeting of Participants held annually at our Annual Conference (note that voting is for Participants in the institutional and organisational categories only).

 

Detailed Europe-Wide Studies

We produce in-depth reports to provide more data, insights, and intelligence on how the research library landscape is evolving. These reports take a pan-European view and cover relevant topics in considerable detail. Examples of such reports include The Impact of Covid-19 on Research Libraries Across Europe (for which we received the input of 298 individuals from research libraries across the continent) and the LIBER Action Plan (distilling the 1,200-page EC study ‘Improving Access to and Reuse of Research Results, Publications and Data for Scientific Purposes’ into actionable steps for libraries).

 

Input on the Future of LIBER

We have defined, created, and are in the process of implementing a strategic plan for 2023 – 2027, with the support of our Participants — staff, and institutional leaders. As a Participant, you can have your say in upcoming strategies and at events on the topic of the LIBER Strategy.