Latest revision as of 22:22, 13 July 2010
The Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche (LIBER) is the principal association of major research libraries in Europe. Founded in 1971 under the auspices of the Council of Europe (CEC), its current membership includes research libraries from more than 30 countries. LIBER membership is not restricted to the area of the European Union, and membership of research libraries outside the European Union is encouraged. LIBER actively promotes co-operation with all library-related organisations. It has strong links with the Council of Europe, the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), as well as with national library associations. LIBER’s overall aim is to assist European research libraries to support a functional network across national boundaries in order to ensure the preservation of the European cultural heritage, to improve access to research library collections and to provide more efficient information services in Europe. In order to achieve this aim, among other activities, LIBER represents the interests of European research libraries (especially national and university libraries), seeks to identify and define the needs for common effort and initiates activities in these areas, either alone or in co-operation with other organisations, and supports the improvement of professional skills in research libraries through meetings, seminars, working groups and publications. It also supports special projects and development schemes, promotes standardisation in areas such as library automation which are vital for co-operation amongst libraries, and plays an active role in shaping a long-term vision for the development of a European research library network, while representing the collective expertise of its member libraries. In order to fulfil these tasks, LIBER actively encourages its membership to support its work by making available expertise within individual member libraries.
LIBER members in Slovenia include the National and University Library (NUK), the Central Technological Library, University of Ljubljana, the Information and Library Unit of the Ministry of Finance of Slovenia and the University of Maribor Library.