Bìblìotečnij vìsnik (Jan 2018)
Conference of European National Librarians (CENL): History of Creation, Organizational Bases
Abstract
The article is devoted to the activities of The Conference of European National Librarians (CENL) as a centre of international cooperation of Europe’s national libraries. The integral picture of the CENL’s beginnings and development has been rendered. It was shown that the establishment of such an organization in 1987 had been objectively necessitated carrying out of the national libraries activities deep studying. The author has defined CENL’s structure, its scope, aims, vision, mission, key strategic challenges, purposes and benefits, priority areas for action; systematized the facts of the membership in CENL and the officers of its Executive Committee. The author has studied the activities of the CENL’s working groups. The CENL’s contributions in the theory and practice of digital libraries and in realising project of The European Library (TEL) are examined. Its role in the development of strategic partnership of national libraries of European countries, building relations with the professional, public and private sectors, establishment of effective communication, especially cooperation in digital initiatives, is defined. The results of CENL’s activities allow to consider it as an authoritative international organization that has in-depth solid experience in various aspects of the functioning of national libraries as social institutions. Substantiating the value of the CENL’s fulfilled investigations the author has pointed out the importance of Ukraine participating in international library co-operation by membership in this organization and the necessity of using the CENL’s recommendations for the improvement of Ukrainian national libraries activities.
