Parallel Session 13 – Library Partnerships for Societal Impact II
Moderator: TBC
Location: Room 2024
13.1) Collaborate and Innovate: Transforming Libraries through Citizen Science
Presenter: Anja Pedersen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
“The roles of both librarians and users in the ‘next generation public library’ remains underdeveloped.” – Cigarini et al. ( https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2021.101090)
Citizen science is a powerful new tool for democratizing science and society. Libraries are at the forefront of many paradigm shifts, adapting their services to promote access to knowledge through experimentation and creative methods. As society evolves, libraries evolve with it!
The University Library of Southern Denmark and Odense Public Libraries are leading the way with the project “Scientific and sustainable communities in public libraries” in 2023/2024 and onwards. Together with the public libraries in our network, we are currently exploring the huge potential of citizen science for the benefit of society and trying to develop new roles for both librarians and users.
Public and educational libraries are no longer just repositories of books, but transformative hubs of collaboration and social impact. Through innovative partnerships and initiatives, our libraries are reshaping their role as leaders in knowledge, creativity and community-driven solutions.
Citizen science is a powerful tool for democratizing knowledge and driving societal change.
By embracing Citizen Science, other libraries are now creating platforms for collective innovation, allowing citizens, researchers and librarians to work together to address pressing global challenges. Public libraries, as trusted and neutral spaces, are uniquely placed to facilitate such partnerships and collaborations.
Library partnerships driving changes
Citizen science projects in libraries go beyond data collection. We build networks of trust and inspire active participation. Citizens are driven by a desire to contribute, to connect and co-create with others, and to engage with scientific and societal issues.
Libraries, as community-centered spaces, enable these connections and facilitate impactful change.
Innovating for societal impact
Libraries play a critical role in fostering knowledge-based societal change. They provide inclusive spaces for dialogue, enabling citizens to explore different points of view, collaborate with scientists and substantiate research findings. Citizen science in libraries becomes a shared journey of discovery, bringing communities together in meaningful ways.
As Josep Perelló, a professor at the University of Barcelona, insightfully asks, “If libraries can lend books, why not a citizen science project?”
This vision reflects the evolving role of libraries as innovation hubs where partnerships create real impact. By working together, libraries and their partners empower citizens to become active participants in addressing both global and societal challenges.
Work in progress and pilot projects
Our initiatives are mature enough to draw meaningful lessons, while remaining flexible to adapt and grow. The shared knowledge from these pilots illuminates the evolving roles of both librarians and library users in driving societal impact.
Not only will libraries become platforms for global changes, but as one of many other benefits from such projects for libraries are the development of new competencies, better skills and professional advancement – Kaarsted et al. (https://doi.org/10.3390/publications12010008)
13.2) Enhancing Community Impact: Library Partnerships in Preserving the Legacy of Korean War Veterans and Their Marginalized Voices
Presenter: Ellie Kim, University of Hawaii Library, United States of America
The Korean War, often referred to as the “Forgotten War,” marked a pivotal chapter in U.S. history, particularly for the soldiers from Hawaii who played a significant role in the early battles of the conflict. Many of these soldiers were Japanese Americans, and their experiences during the war have largely been overlooked in mainstream historical narratives. As these veterans approach their 90s, their stories risk being lost. The University of Hawaii Library’s Korean Collection has taken on the crucial task of preserving these veterans’ legacies. Still, this effort extends far beyond traditional archival work—it represents a model for community engagement and collaboration.
This presentation will explore how the University of Hawaii Library’s Korean War Collection was developed through active partnerships with the local community, including veterans, their families, regional organizations, and international stakeholders such as the Korean Consulate. These partnerships have been instrumental in gathering personal stories, photos, and artifacts, ensuring that the voices of these veterans are heard and preserved. The collection serves as an academic resource and a cultural archive highlighting the deep connections between the university and the community it serves.
Through this initiative, we will discuss how university libraries can be powerful agents of cultural preservation and community engagement. The presentation will highlight the importance of libraries fostering relationships that lead to sustainable, mutually beneficial projects. We will also reflect on the broader ethical responsibility of libraries to preserve the histories of marginalized or forgotten groups, such as the Korean War veterans from Hawaii, and the impact these efforts can have on the local community and the wider academic world. Ultimately, the Korean War Collection serves as a model for how educational institutions can use their resources to engage with and support their communities actively, ensuring that the legacies of those who served in the war are never forgotten.
13.3) Converge or Die: The LAM Perspective Unlocks the Societal Impact of Collections as Data
Presenters: Saskia Scheltjens and Coen Wilders, Rijksmuseum, The Netherlands
How can we ensure that the information and data that we are responsible for, are not only findable, accessible, interoperable and (re)usable but also socially meaningful?
The digital convergence of Libraries, Archives, and Museums (LAM) varies by context but is essential for maintaining relevance. While research libraries come to realize that their responsibilities can extend beyond the classic library walls, some special research libraries, like those in museums, have engaged with the world outside earlier and more fundamentally, often reshaping their identities in transformative ways. We believe that this approach opens pathways to rethink our values and foster collaboration beyond the traditional library roles and discipilary boundaries, around one of the greatest assets that we share: open and FAIR information and data.
At the Rijksmuseum, the Research Library lost its independence in 2016, becoming part of a new department called Research Services, combining the responsibilities and services of the library, the archive, collection information and documentation, research data, data services, collection IT and digital collection strategy. Inspired by the Collections as Data initiative, and the ideas about LAM convergence by OCLC and – before that – by Boyd Rayward, the Rijksmuseum is exploring ways to drive societal impact through an integrated approach to information and data about and from the collection.
This vision translates into an integrated approach, some recent results of which we will highlight during our presentation, and which is driven by the necessity to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving societal and post-digital landscape:
– Extended Information and Data Policy: This recently extended policy prioritizes accessibility and interoperability adhering to FAIR data principles. This ensures our resources are usable by both humans and computers, maximizing reach and societal value.
– Inclusive Metadata Practices: a dedicated working group refines metadata to reflect ethical, inclusive narratives. This enhances discoverability and trust, ensuring collections resonate with diverse audiences. By embedding social responsibility in our data practices, we contribute to a more equitable cultural record.
– Renewed Collection Data Infrastructure and Services: Based on Linked Data technologies, we have developed an infrastructure that enables the re-use and linking of information and data, varying from bibliographic metadata, collection information to research data. This facilitates interdisciplinary research and international collaboration.
– New Collection Website: we launched a new, integrated website that provides unified access to our FAIR and open collections and data. This platform bridges academic research and public engagement, encouraging broader use of our resources.
– The Dutch Colonial Collections Datahub: This project illustrates the societal impact of our initiatives by collaborating with other heritage institutions to make records about colonial-era objects accessible. This fosters critical dialogue and deeper understanding of colonial histories.
Through this approach, the Rijksmuseum aims to show that without deep engagement with the LAM community, heritage institutions – including research libraries – risk stagnation and irrelevance. By embracing collaboration over institutional and disciplinary boundaries, resulting in ethical data practices, and inclusive policies, we believe institutions can not only drive innovation but also secure societal relevance in an era in which this is no longer taken for granted.