The organizing committee of The New Shape of Sharing: Networks, Expertise, Information is pleased to share the report generated from this forum, which took place from January to April 2021. The Report details current key issues facing European collections as seen through a series of presentations and a poster session by librarians and members of the book trade from North America and Europe. At a final interactive meeting, attendees discussed practical ways to respond to the ideas and issues raised during the event. Presentations and discussions coalesced around three themes: new models for collaborative collection development and services; the growing range of content and format types and their significance for libraries and researchers; and the evolving role of libraries and librarians in the research process.
The report incorporates the main outcomes and ideas for future work that emerged from this event. It provides concrete examples of how libraries and their communities are addressing challenges of budget, space, and changing research practices and interests, including ways of keeping European studies library collections relevant to current scholarship. Notably, the report offers pathways for additional collaborative work for librarians working with European library collections, and academic library collections more generally.
The New Shape of Sharing: Networks, Expertise, Information was organized by members of CRL’s Collaborative Initiative for French Language Collections (CIFNAL) and the German-North American Resources Partnership (GNARP) — both working projects of the Center for Research Libraries, and hosted jointly by CRL and Casalini Libri, with support from additional sponsors. Attendees came from across North America and Europe, and included librarians, scholars, and members of the book trades.