On 6 October 2024, members of the Europe Regional Division Committee joined the mid-term meeting in the beautiful Gabriel García Márquez library in Barcelona. The meeting was held in a hybrid format. 10 members were present on-site, and 4 members joined the group online.
The mid-term meeting included a discussion on current issues and four presentations. The group, under the presidency of the EURDC chair, Ertugrul Cimen, discussed the self-evaluation process as well as the execution of the action plan. Subgroups’ coordinators referred to the current state their of works. The question of supporting IFLA HQ during the upcoming nomination process has also been discussed. Julia Konopka-Żołnierczuk, EURDC’s information coordinator, reported on the IFLA Information Futures Summit that took place from 30 September to 2 October in Brisbane, Australia.
During the second part of the meeting four presentations have been given. Julia Konopka-Żołnierczuk presented on the work of the Open Method of Coordination “Building bridges: strengthen the multiple roles of libraries as gateways to and transmitters of cultural works, skills and European values” group which was set up by the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Council of the European Union in October 2023 under the EU Work Plan for Culture Plan 2023-2026. Pavel Kuzmin gave a speech on libraries and their role in modern Russia. Catharina Iseberg presented how the Swedish Library Association cooperates with and helps the Ukrainian Library Association and other Ukrainian colleagues during the full-scale Russian invasion. Last but not least, Mikkel Christoffersen, Director of EBLIDA, presented the work done by the organization and its plans for the future. As there was much lively discussion – after all the group doesn’t have the opportunity to meet in person very often – two other planned presentations on cyber-security at the British Library and 500 years of printing in Latvia were postponed until the next meeting to allow for more discussion time. At the end EURDC’s members present in Barcelona got a chance to visit the Gabriel García Márquez library, a building which won the IFLA Public Library of the Year Award 2023.
From 7 to 8 October 2024 EURDC’s members present in Barcelona participated in the Culture. Knowledge. Community. International Library Conference co-organised by the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Government of Catalonia, Barcelona Provincial Council, Municipal Library Network of the province of Barcelona and seven IFLA sections, including the Europe Regional Division Committee. The conference was held in the beautiful and recently refurbished Paranimf Building at the Escola Industrial.
EURDC’s members took an active part in the conference: Catharina Isberg, alongside members of the Public Libraries Section, co-moderated the workshop on Democracy and Public Libraries and Alicia Sellés Carot moderated a round table with the participation of Carolyn Anthony, president of the IFLA Metropolitan Libraries Section, Jane Cowell, president of the IFLA Public Libraries Section, CEO of the Yarra Plenty Regional Libraries and Philip Kent, president of the IFLA Library Buildings and Equipment Section, director of the University of Sydney Library.
The mid-term meeting and the following conference were a great opportunity to gather, exchange ideas, get inspired and build relationships over delicious Spanish food. We are entering the second year of our work with confidence and many plans.
