EUPeace at UWB: Libraries as Partners in Science

Scientific autonomy, educational collaboration, and the development of citizen science. Seven partner European universities aim to work together to strengthen libraries' role as bridges between science and the public. Representatives agreed on this at the EUPeace alliance’s March meeting.

Supporting education in the field of open science and the development of citizen science. According to representatives of European university libraries, these two areas are key to further development. They believe that libraries should become more accessible to people outside the academic community and enable them to engage with science and research. The meeting of the Libraries and Open Science working groups of the EUPeace alliance was hosted by the University Library of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen at the end of March.

French analyst Pierre Mouniere spoke at the very beginning of the meeting about scientific sovereignty and the role of publishing infrastructures in contemporary scientific communication. Representatives from partner universities then presented their libraries and described their work in open science - specifically, their efforts to ensure open access to scientific knowledge and the infrastructures they use. They shared experiences and discussed opportunities for deeper collaboration within the alliance.

In the future, the EUPeace partner universities aim to focus their library efforts on promoting education in open science, including the sharing and curation of educational courses. They also see opportunities for joint development in citizen science - that is, the involvement of the general public in scientific research. University libraries aim to serve as intermediaries between the scientific community and the public, thereby contributing to the fulfillment of the alliance’s principles focused on building a just and inclusive society.

“The meeting allowed us to gain a better understanding of each partner’s activities and identify specific areas where we can collaborate effectively. The open discussion on the role of libraries in supporting open science and communicating with the public was also very valuable,” said Klára Čapková, the meeting’s organizer. Representatives from the seven partner universities also had the opportunity to network informally in Pilsen; the program included a tour of the UWB campus and the city’s historic center. The meeting of the Libraries and Open Science working groups of the EUPeace Alliance in Pilsen was organized by the University Library of the University of West Bohemia with support from the 4th EUPeace Fund Call.