LIBER is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Award for Library Innovation, sponsored by OCLC. The Innovation Award recognises the four abstracts submitted to the LIBER Annual Conference which best describe innovative work within the overall theme of the event; ‘State-of-the-art libraries in the service of science and society’. The awardees were announced at the closing ceremony of the 53rd LIBER Annual Conference in Limassol, Cyprus.
Award criteria
The criteria (in order of importance) for the Award are:
- Level of innovation
- Impact on the wider library community (especially the European library community)
- Originality
- Quality of the abstract
The three abstracts which best fulfill these criteria are selected by the Conference Programme Committee (CPC). The Award comprises the opportunity to present the winning abstract at the 2024 LIBER Annual Conference in Limassol, free Conference registration, and travel expenses and accommodation. The Award is funded by OCLC as part of the valued, multi-year collaboration between OCLC and LIBER. Due to strong competition, the CPC has chosen a total of four awardees, with two papers tying for the 3rd spot.
Innovation Award Winners 2024
The Conference Programme Committee for the 53rd LIBER Annual Conference presents the 2024 Innovation Award to:
AI Augmented Library – Leading Institutional Generative Artificial Intelligence Delivery
Authors: Masud Khokhar, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
The author discusses a case study of how the University of Leeds Libraries have positioned themselves as Library AI leaders in the UK through a series of steps. The paper provides a roadmap for GenAI delivery in the library, and how it has led to a rethink of the structures through which the library delivers digital services and initiatives.
Read the full abstract (Presentation 1.1)
Getting academic library staff up-to-speed on artificial intelligence
Authors: Beate Granström, Chalmers University Library, Helena Schmidt Burg, Helena Francke, Lisa Larsson and Anders Klevbacke, Gothenburg University Library, Sweden
The authors discuss a project between three libraries in Western Sweden, sharing experiences from this collaborative effort to further professional development among staff members concerning AI in libraries. The programme ran during the academic year 2023-2024 and contained several online lectures and two active learning classroom (ALC) sessions. The authors explore the challenges of designing content for professional development around AI at a time when so much is happening and happening fast, at the same time as much actual implementation in the library field is in its infancy.
Read the full abstract (Presentation 1.2)
Improving Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Postgraduate Research at the British Library and Beyond
Author: Alice Marples, The British Library, United Kingdom
Focusing on a PhD Placement project undertaken at The British Library in 2023-2024, the author explores the structures and value of collaborative staff-student research in Independent Research Organisations (IROs) in the UK and how these link to institutional strategies and public activities. The paper also demonstrates how such research can be used to improve the infrastructure of libraries and the cultural sector, and develop equity beyond cultural programming.
Read the full abstract (Presentation 5.1)
A guide for research libraries to engage youth in research
Author: Mette Fentz Haastrup, Anne Kathrine Overgaard, and Thomas Kaarsted, University of Southern Denmark
The authors discuss youth participation in research projects as part of engaging with the community. The University Library of Southern Denmark (SDU Library) has chosen Citizen Science (CS) as a platform to interact with society, thereby ensuring the empowerment of the citizens, and providing new perspectives and insights for the researchers. Based on several past projects, the SDU Library has co-developed a semi-generic model for engaging high school students in research projects.
Read the full abstract (Presentation 12.2)
Congratulations to all of this year’s Award for Library Innovation Winners!