Panel Session II – Giving Knowledge and Truth Visibility and a Place in Society: Case Studies in Civic Engagement Leadership
Date: Thursday, 2 July 2026, 16:00 – 17:00
Room: R5
Moderator: TBC
Speakers:
Layla Bloom, University of Leeds Library, United Kingdom
Eleonora Gandolfi, University of Surrey Library, United Kingdom
Laura Shanahan, Library of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
In an increasingly uncertain world, within a constantly shifting financial, technological and geo-political context, societal cohesion is under threat on a global scale. Deploying case studies of initiatives delivered in their respective libraries, representatives from cohort 7 of the LIBER Emerging Leaders Programme will explore why civic engagement is so vital for the future position of research libraries within and for society.
Research libraries are positioned at the epicentre of the knowledge ecosystem: linking cutting edge research and artefacts of historical significance to multiple audiences. They play a fundamental role in the learning experience of students and scholars and perform a key public function in showcasing research through means of storytelling in public exhibitions, talks, and other engagement events.
Social cohesion is critical to the survival of the academic realm, as well as vital to economic and human development. However, the threats are increasing: experts are under attack from anti-elite sentiment, and the dynamism of migrant communities are threatened through a populism infiltrated by profiteering, among others. The Emerging Leaders posit that research libraries play an important civic role in countering these challenges.
Research Libraries can support personal skills development and self-actualisation, serve local community needs for integration and belonging, as well as contributing to placemaking and identity. Civic engagement contributes to knowledge equity; it supports decolonising knowledge, in co-production with diverse communities and dismantling barriers to access. When delivered ethically and collaboratively, civic engagement can lead to more resilient systems of knowledge.
Such complex activity requires responsible strategic leadership. It requires a paradigm shift in the organisational understanding of the value of civic engagement, and necessitates a fundamental overhaul in support for programmes of civic engagement.
This panel presents case studies of innovative civic engagement activity from the ELP7 cohort, reflecting on achievements to date and sharing a leadership vision for the future. It will be followed by an open invitation to the audience to discuss these issues creatively and productively:
- How can leaders in research libraries drive civic engagement strategically and sustainably?
- What are the risks if we do not make civic engagement a core function of our operations?
- How can we ensure that we are being ethical in our civic engagement activities?
- In what other ways can we ensure that research libraries remain relevant to society, and fulfil our wider academic and sectoral mission for knowledge growth and development?