Europe’s Libraries Come Together This September
Blog by Elizabeth Joss, Editorial Officer, The European Library
Libraries across Europe are invited to attend The European Library Annual Meeting taking place on 16-17 September 2013 at The Amsterdam Central Public Library. This informative and engaging event aims to promote innovation across Europe’s national and research libraries.
Amsterdam Central Public Library, Wikipedia Commons, by Ceinturion, CC BY-SA
The event venue, The Amsterdam Central Public Library, is the embodiment of innovation and cutting-edge research in the Netherlands. The library is a modern architectural gem comprising 7 floors, a theatre, broadcasting facilities and panoramic views of the city. It is the ideal venue for library representatives and those interested in library innovation and digitisation to come together and explore the latest ideas in the field. Furthermore, the library is conveniently located within walking distance from the Amsterdam Central Station.
Who Can Attend The European Library Annual Meeting?
Current and prospective partners of The European Library, thought leaders and anyone interested in the digital innovation of libraries are strongly encouraged to attend.
What to Expect
At the event you will meet the new Management Committee of The European Library and hear about our exciting future plans. Expect to attend hands-on workshops and learn about the projects in which we are involved and how they may benefit you. These projects include cloud infrastructure, full-text aggregation and discovery, data mining and virtual research environments.
Potential partners will also learn about the many benefits of joining The European Library – increased exposure for libraries and how we work with libraries to save time and money in delivering key services to users.
Library of the Month Campaign
'Croatia revived. Croatia rediviva, regnante Leopoldo Magno caesare / deducta ab eq. Paulo Ritter', The European Library, Rights Reserved - Free Access
One of the many benefits of joining The European Library is the exposure it gives libraries. At the Annual Meeting you will learn about The Library of the Month Campaign, just one of the ways in which we work towards ensuring greater coverage of libraries across the continent.
This campaign has the purpose of celebrating one of our partner libraries each and every month. We work towards promoting the many magnificent treasures housed at the chosen library and made available digitally on The European Library portal. The campaign includes promotion of libraries through online editorials and social media marketing. In this way we are able to establish and foster concrete relationships with partner libraries.
The National and University Library in Zagreb is currently our Library of the Month for July. The campaign importantly coincides with Croatia joining the European Union this month. We have importantly strengthened our relationship with this library through the campaign and we have brought the library’s resources to a much wider audience.
Mrs Breza Šalamon-Cindori, the Website and Social Networking Manger at The National and University Library in Zagreb has the following to say about the campaign thus far:
'The presentation of the National and University Library in Zagreb as Library of the Month for July was both an honour and a challenge for us. We presented The European Library in a special manner to online users of the National and University Library in Zagreb. Our portal has over 540,000 visits annually. We also introduced The European Library to around 6,700 active followers on our various social networks.'
In a short space of time, potential and current partner libraries are spreading word of the campaign, therefore growing our audience to other libraries, their users and to researchers. The beauty of the campaign is that it is generating awareness far beyond social media and our stories have been picked up by numerous websites in the industry.
An example of the reach of our campaign and the sense of community it creates can be seen below. The Russian State Library has in fact promoted the National and University Library in Zagreb as Library of the Month in the form of a blog post on their website.
Register for The Annual Meeting Now
Complimentary tickets to the Annual Meeting are available for partner libraries, research and national libraries, potential partners and anyone interested in digitisation and innovation in the libraries sector.
You can easily register with Eventbrite to obtain your free ticket. Ensure you register by Monday 2 September to secure your place. You can also read more about accommodation options, the agenda of the meeting and further details on The European Library website.
We encourage you to take this great opportunity to network with fellow professionals, learn more about the benefits of joining The European Library, and attend workshops and discussions about innovative library practices.
