The Conference of European National Librarians in London

On 15–16 May, Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, Director General of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania participated in the 31st Conference of European National Librarians (CENL) in the British Library, London.

Prof. Dr. Gudauskas was one of the keynote speakers of the Conference and presented the changes in the National Library spaces. The Director General's presentation Changing Library Spaces touched upon the creative spaces set up after the reconstruction, renovated reading rooms, new depositories and new spaces for work and leisure.

Presentations were also given by the heads of national libraries of Romania, France and Luxembourg.

On the second day of the Conference, a memorandum between the National Library and the British Library Board was signed. The agreement with Roly Keating, Chief Executive of the British Library and Chairman of CENL included:

• the provision of research and analytical support on various policy issues;
• the creation of innovative programs that support civil society and build social capital in their countries;
• big data curation and providing guidance to storing, analysing and making accessible big data sets;
• collaboration in terms of institutions’ cultural programmes including events and exhibitions;
• organization of training events as well as supporting the continuing education and in-service training of employees of the other parties.

CENL aims to reinforce the role of national libraries in Europe, in particular with respect to their responsibilities in maintaining the national cultural heritage and ensuring the accessibility of knowledge.

More information about CENL is available at www.cenl.org.