LibrarIN Conference: Innovation and value co-creation for a new generation of libraries

Taking place on May 22-23 in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, the upcoming international conference builds on the groundbreaking work of the Horizon Europe project LibrarIN, focusing on value co-creation and social innovation in libraries. Join the conference to help reimagine libraries as key players in addressing societal challenges and creating lasting impact.

In today’s world, libraries are evolving to address some of the most pressing societal challenges. No longer limited to their traditional roles centered on books and readership, a new generation of libraries is emerging as dynamic hubs of community engagement, identity building, digital transformation and societal well-being. These modern libraries foster citizen participation, meet the needs of vulnerable populations, preserve cultural heritage, and contribute to sustainable development and growth at local, regional, and national levels.

Libraries have the potential to act as catalysts for service innovation, tackling 21st-century European challenges such as aging populations, migration, and social inclusion. By offering high-quality, forward-thinking services, libraries are becoming vital players in addressing societal demands. Technology plays a pivotal role in this transformation, leveraging digital advancements and innovative tools like artificial intelligence to deliver impactful solutions.

The foundation of innovation in libraries lies in a new paradigm of service provision. This paradigm prioritises:

• Co-creation and active user engagement.
• Multi-agent collaboration, bringing together diverse stakeholders.
• Technological and organizational transformations, complementing each other to create synergy.
• An open innovation culture that fosters collaborative skills, advanced managerial models, and robust policy support.

Conference topics 

The conference topics include: 

• Innovation and co-creation in libraries: theoretical frameworks and practice experiences.
• Digital transformation, technological advances, and artificial intelligence for libraries.
• Preservation of cultural heritage for libraries.
• Social inclusion and services to vulnerable communities.
• Entrepreneurship and support for entrepreneurs.

Who is this event for? 

This International Conference is targeted towards researchers from different academic disciplines and fiels, library practitioners, policymakers and publishers and users. Researchers, practitioners, publishers, authors, and policymakers have a unique opportunity to collaborate and transform libraries into engines of economic, social, cultural, and public value creation. Through joint efforts, this new generation of libraries can unlock their immense potential to shape a brighter future.

Logistics 

The conference will take place in the Universidad de Alcalá (UAH), in Spain. 

This international conference is free to attend, with no registration fees. However, optional services, such as attendance at the gala dinner, may have a cost.

The call for presenting a paper or case study is open until February 22, 2025. More information on this call can be found on the conference website.

Programme

THURSDAY MAY 22, 2025 

• 14:30 - Arrival and registration
• 15:00 - Welcome and Opening Session
• 15:30 Keynote: The future of Library Services: Innovation, Technology, and Value Co-creation with  Stuart Snydman, Harvard University, Paul Windrum, University of Nottingham and Luis Rubalcaba, University of Alcalá (chair)
• 16:45 - Coffee Break
• 17:15 Parallel Sessions:
  • Paper presentations - Research tracks 1-7
  • Parallel Special Session: Engage with Leadership from Professional Associations (Chair: Marieke Willems, Lisbon Council) with representatives from the sector
• 19:30 - Guided tour of the University of Alcalá’s World Heritage buildings and libraries
• 20:30 - Gala dinner

FRIDAY MAY 23, 2025 

• 8:00 - Parallel Sessions. Research and practitioners tracks 1-8
• 9:30 - Plenary Session: New evidence from the EU LibrarIN project in selected library
  topics
• Chair: Anna Triantafillou, Athens Technology Center
  • Ines Mergel, University of Konstanz, «Digital transformation and AI»
  • Benoît Desmarchelier, University of Lille, «Public-private networks and social innovation»
  • Lars Fuglsang, Roskilde University, «Living Labs, co-creation and co-innovation»
  • Anthony Arundel. Merit- Maastricht University, innovation metrics in libraries
• 11:00 - Parallel Sessions:
  • Research and practitioners tracks 1-8
  • Parallel Special Session: Connect with Leading Publishers and Journal Editors in the
    Field of Libraries (Chair: Faiz Gallouj, Lille University). Publishers and journals (tbc)
  • Parallel Special Session: Preservation of Cultural Heritage for Libraries with Jacobo Vera (Libnova), Stuart Snydman (Harvard), Laura Guindal (Spanish Ministry of Culture)
• 13:00 - Lunch
• 14:00 - Parallel Sessions:
  • Research and practitioners tracks 1-8
  • Parallel Session: The LibrarIN Project and other EU sister projects (tbc)
• 15:30 - Policy Session: Reimagining Libraries: Actions towards Sparking Collaboration &
  Innovation (Chair: Francesco Mureddu, Lisbon Council))
• 16:30 - Closing Session