List of Contributors

Dr Didar Bayır is Head of the Library and Archive Department at the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art, and Culture in Istanbul, Turkey. Previously, she was Library Director at Koç University and worked as a faculty member in the Information and Document Management Department, Istanbul Medeniyet University.

Dr Fernanda Campos is a Graduate in History, Postgraduate in Documentation Sciences, and PhD in Modern History. She was Deputy-Director of the National Library of Portugal (1992–2006), Chair of the IFLA Committee of National Libraries and the PUC-Permanent UNIMARC Committee, and a member of CERL until 2006. She is presently Senior Researcher at Lisbon’s NOVA University and the Catholic University of Portugal.

Professor Raf Dekeyser was Library Director of KU Leuven from 1996 to 2004. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the LIBER Quarterly, the journal of the Association of European Research Libraries.

Liudmyla Demianiuk, Candidate of Sciences in History, has been serving as the Head of the Department of International Information and Foreign Relations at the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine since 2022. She is responsible for overseeing the library’s international activities, developing strategies for mutually beneficial co-operation, and promoting sustainable development pathways.

Dr. Kathinka Dittrich van Weringh ist eine deutsche Kulturpolitikerin. Sie war seit 1967 beim Goethe-Institut beschäftigt. 1991–1994 leitete sie das von ihr mitgegründete Goethe-Institut in Moskau, 1994 bis 1998 hatte sie das Amt der Kulturdezernentin der Stadt Köln inne.

Jana Dreimane is a library researcher specializing in the history of 20th century libraries. She has been working at the National Library of Latvia since 1994.

Professor Lyubov Dubrovina is a Doctor of Sciences in History, Honoured Science and Technology Figure of Ukraine since 2004 (state award), and a corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine since 2006. She has been Director-General of the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine since 2018.

Professor Dr.-Ing. Horst Arend Flemming war Direktor der Städtischen Bibliotheken Dresden vom 03.10.1990 bis 31.12.2022. Er war von 1998–2001 Bundesvorsitzender und von 2001–2005 ehrenamtlicher Geschäftsführer des Deutschen Bibliotheksverbandes DBV; im Landesverband Sachsen: Vorsitz 1991–1995, 2010–2015 sowie ehrenamtlicher Geschäftsführer von 2015–2022.

Antonia Ida Fontana directed the National Central Library of Florence from 1996 to 2010, promoting its renewal both in bibliographic and technological fields. She also directed the Italian National Bibliography and taught indexing theory and techniques at the University of Udine.

Odile Grandet is Conservatrice générale des bibliothèques. She has worked in a number of institutions: Institut français London, Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, Musée du Quai Branly, and Campus Condorcet, where she was involved in restructuring and building construction.

Renate Gömpel ist Leiterin des Fachbereichs Benutzung und Bestandserhaltung und seit 1982 in der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt/M. tätig. Sie war Persönliche Assistentin des Generaldirektors Klaus-Dieter Lehmann während dessen Amtszeit 1988–1998.

Professor Esko Häkli war von 1976 bis 2001 Direktor der Universitäts- (und Finnischen National-) Bibliothek Helsinki. Von 1995–1998 war er Präsident von LIBER. Er hat darüber hinaus viele weitere internationale Aufgaben übernommen.

Dr. Ekkehard Henschke war von 1992–2005 Direktor der Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig, weitere Informationen unter https://www.ekkehardhenschke.com.

Dr. Peter Hoffmann war von 1992–2005 Direktor der Universitätsbibliothek Rostock. Er war Mitglied des Bibliotheksausschusses der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft, des Fachbeirats des Deutschen Bibliotheksinstituts und der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.

Dr Tinka Katić previously worked at the Collection of Old and Rare Books and Manuscripts, and then as head of the Croatian Institute for Librarianship in the National and University Library in Zagreb, Croatia. She has authored numerous publications, including the book Stara knjiga: bibliografska organizacija informacija.

Dr Heli Kautonen is Director of Turku University Library, Finland. She earned her PhD degree at the Aalto University School of Science in usability research. She is a member of the Executive Board of LIBER, the Association of European Research Libraries (2019–2025).

Michael Knoche war von 1991 bis 2016 Direktor der Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek Weimar. Seit 2019 ist er Mitglied des PEN-Zentrums Deutschland: http://www.knoche-weimar.de/, s. auch den Blog Aus der Forschungsbibliothek Krekelborn: https://biblio.hypotheses.org/.

Yurii Kovtaniuk, Candidate of Sciences in History, has been the Deputy Director-General for Scientific Work at the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine since 2022. His areas of expertise include electronic documentology, IT communications, and the development of strategies for the digitization and digital transformation of library processes.

Dr Ewa Kobierska-Macziusko has worked at the University of Warsaw Library (BUW) since 1982. She was its Vice-Director 1995–2002, Director 2003–2013, and she has been Head of the NUKAT Centre since 2014.

Svend Larsen worked for many years at the State and University Library, Aarhus, Denmark, from 2004–2016 as Director. In 2016, the Danish Ministry of Culture entrusted him with the task of merging the Royal Library Copenhagen and the State and University Library into a new organization: The Royal Danish Library.

Professor Dr. Klaus-Dieter Lehmann war von 1988–1998 Generaldirektor Der Deutschen Bibliothek, 1998–2008 Präsident der Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz sowie von 2008–2020 Präsident des Goethe-Instituts.

Dr Kateryna Lobuzina, Doctor of Sciences in Social Communications, was Director of the Institute of IT Technologies at the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine from 2016 to 2024.

Dr Irina Lynden was Deputy Director-General for International Relations at the National Library of Russia (St Petersburg) from 2006 to 2013, and Associate Professor at the Library Department, St Petersburg State University of Culture, and at the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, University of Rhode Island, USA, where she taught courses on the organization of information, collection development, and international and comparative librarianship.

Maria Cristina Mataloni is coordinator of the Development and Coordination Area of the SBN (Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale) network and for access to the bibliographic information of ICCU (Istituto Centrale per Il Catalogo Unico), Italy.

Dr Ann Matheson, formerly National Library of Scotland, was Chair of CERL (Consortium of European Research Libraries) 2000–2006, LIBER Secretary-General 1994–2000, 2007–2017, and Secretary of the General Council of the University of Edinburgh, 2001–2009. She is currently Chair of the Library Committee, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Dr Yeznik Mirzoyan is Associate Professor and Director of the Sarkis and Marie Izmirlian Library, Yerevan State University, Yerevan in Armenia.

Prof. Dr. Drs. h.c. Elmar Mittler ist Prof. em. für Buch- und Bibliothekswissenschaften der Universität Göttingen. Er war von 1990–2006 Direktor der Niedersächsischen Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, von 1989–2004 Sprecher der Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Bibliotheksverbände, LIBER-Präsident von 1999–2002 und von 2007–2112 Chairman von CERL (Consortium of European Research Libraries).

Dr. István Monok ist Generaldirektor des Bibliotheks- und Informationszentrums sowie Präsident Arbeitsgruppe Buchgeschichte der Ungarischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Budapest. Von 1999–2009 war er Generaldirektor der Széchényi Nationalbibliothek.

Dr Rossana Morriello, PhD in Library and Information Science, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florence, Italy, where she teaches courses in library and information science, digital libraries, and cataloguing and metadata.

Kristina Pai was Deputy-Director at Tartu University Library and Executive Director of the Estonian Libraries Network Consortium. Since August 2021, she has been Director of Tartu Public Library. She is a board member of the Association of Estonian Librarians and has been active in LIBER, organising the LIBER Annual Conference in Tartu in 2012.

Carolin Paoli ist Leiterin der Hochschulbibliothek der Hochschule Anhalt.

Peter Petsch war von 1992 bis 2013 Direktor der Stadtbibliothek Magdeburg.

Dr. Cornelia Poenicke war von 1994–1997 Leiterin der Städtischen Volkshochschule, von 2000–2014 Pressesprecherin der Landeshauptstadt Magdeburg. Sie ist seit 2014 Leiterin der Stadtbibliothek in Magdeburg.

Jacqueline Sanson was Director-General of the Bibliothèque nationale de France from 2007 to 2014. She is Président of the Société française d’archéologie in Paris since 2015.

Klaus G. Saur war Verleger des K. G. Saur-Verlags und Geschäftsführer des Verlags De Gruyter. Er ist Ehrenmitglied des Vereins Deutscher Bibliothekare. Er war Mitglied des Präsidiums des Goethe-Instituts, Vorstandsmitglied im Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels und Vorsitzender des Beirates der Deutschen Bibliothek.

Hannah Schöller ist Leiterin des Sachgebiets Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Städtischen Bibliotheken Dresden.

Ute Schwens ist seit 1980 an der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek tätig. 1999 wurde sie Direktorin des Frankfurter Hauses der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.

Professor Dr Yakov Shrayberg, Dr Sc. (Technology), corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Education, Chief Operating Officer, and Director for Research, formerly Director-General at the Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology, President of the National Library Association “Libraries of the Future”, Moscow, Russia.

Dr Adam Sofronijević is Librarian Adviser at the Svetozar Marković Library, University of Belgrade, and heads the Public Policy Institute Library, Belgrade, Serbia. He is a member of the LIBER Executive Board, Director in charge of Philately in the Post of Serbia, and he is involved in many activities in culture and science in Serbia and Europe.

Martin Svoboda has served as Director of the National Library of Technology for the past 27 years. A lifelong advocate for ICT in library services, he spearheaded nationally significant projects like CASLIN, CzechELib, and CARDS, and led the construction of the National Library of Technology’s new building, enhancing library services for the benefit of society.

Ülo Treikelder has spent his career in Tartu University Library, the Estonian Libraries Network Consortium and Tartu Public Library, where he is currently Deputy-Director.

Dr Giannis Tsakonas is Director of the Library & Information Center, University of Patras, Greece. He has been Vice-President of LIBER, the Association of European Research Libraries, since 2022.

Hilde Van Kiel is Director of KU Leuven Libraries since 2015 and Chair of the LIBER Leadership Group since 2019.

Dr Andris Vilks is a book science researcher based in Riga, Latvia. He was Director of the National Library of Latvia from 1989 until his retirement in September 2024.

Giuseppe Vitiello is currently Senior Adviser Europe, for Rete delle Reti. After a career in international organisations (European Commission, Council of Europe, NATO Defense College), he was Director of EBLIDA from 2019 to 2023. He is the author of six books and some 150 articles on library science and the history of culture.

Ute Weber ist Referentin für Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Stadt- und Landesbibliothek Potsdam.

Professor Dr Mirna Willer formerly served as Full Professor in the Department of Information Sciences of the University of Zadar, Croatia. She has published extensively, and her publications include the books UNIMARC u teoriji i praksi and Bibliographic Information Organization in the Semantic Web, co-authored with Gordon Dunsire. With Gordon Dunsire she is co-editor of the ISBD for Manifestation.