Library legislation and information law

Publications:

Recommendation CM/REC(2023)3 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on Library Legislation and Policy in Europe
April 2023

 

 [ PDF - in English ] [ PDF - in Portuguese]

On 5th April 2023, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe approved the Recommendation on Library Legislation and Policy in Europe, drafted in collaboration with EBLIDA.

This Recommendation reinforces active citizenship in a democratic environment and, beyond culture and education, focusses on the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. It also reinforces the social dimension of libraries and their commitment towards a sustainable, democratic and equitable society.

“I trust that this Recommendation will inform, inspire and orient administrators and librarians in re-shaping their policies and orient them towards mainstream concepts of sustainable development, democracy and social inclusion”, maintains Ton van Vlimmeren, EBLIDA President.

“No less than fifteen Council of Europe member States have commented on the Recommendation. The joint Council of Europe–LIBLEG Group processed these comments, finalized the text and transmitted it to the Committee of the Ministers. We are proud of having completed the whole process in only three years”, says Giuseppe Vitiello, Director EBLIDA.

Portuguese translation:

Recomendação CM/Rec(2023)3 do Comité de Ministros aos Estados-Membros sobre a legislação e a política de bibliotecas na Europa

Translation provided by: Zélia Parreira, Executive Committee Member,
Portuguese Association of Librarians, Archivists, Information and Documentation Professionals (BAD), Portugal

 

 

 

 

More information:

• 2022: EBLIDA Director presenting the recommendation on the draft Guidelines on Library legislation and policy in Europe to the CDCPP committee of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg
• 2022: DRAFT Council of Europe/EBLIDA Guidelines on library legislation and policy in Europe
• 2000: Council of Europe/EBLIDA Guidelines on library legislation and policy in Europe

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Library Legislation and Policy in Europe: Results of a Questionnaire - Interim Report

 

"Hard" legislation at national level is only one of the ways library policy unfolds; some European countries - Germany, France and Italy, for instance - have functioning library systems, but no national Library Act.

In this report, which was prepared in collaboration with the French Ministry of Culture, library needs within a national library system are examined, together with library needs at local level and library needs in regard to policies other from cultural and educational policies.

The EBLIDA Secretariat started a consultation with its Members with the ultimate view of revising the Council of Europe-EBLIDA Guidelines on Library Legislation and Policy approved in 2000. This objective is one of the Strands of the 2019-2022 EBLIDA Strategic Plan.

"The 2000 Guidelines are a reference document which has exerted long-lasted influence in many European states. They need now to be reformed and/or adapted to renewed needs and activities in European libraries.”, says Ton van Vlimmeren, President EBLIDA.

“With the assistance of the recently created Working Group on Library Legislation and policy in Europe we can proceed now to step 2 of the process: the elaboration of more modern instruments designed to face contemporary library challenges: the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the presence of Information Content and Service Providers, like Google or Amazon, as library competitors”, adds Giuseppe Vitiello, Director EBLIDA.

See the report: Library Legislation and Policy in Europe: Results of a Questionnaire - Interim Report (2020)

See also: 

• Libraries from media cases to public plazas: Legislation, Policy,and relevant UN SDG measures and indicators in Europe (2019)

•  Position Papers and statements

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Please send your comments to:

Giuseppe Vitiello, EBLIDA Director
Email: g.vitiello@eblida.org

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