So to start I’ll just give you a quick reminder of what LIBER is: we are the largest network of European reseatch libraries and have grown to a mebership of over 420 in over 40 coutnries Our mission is to represent the interests of European research libraries and associated universites and researchers with particualr focus on the following area.. I have underlined the terms which imply our commitment to improving digital perservation practice and highlighting its importance to research libraries. An efficient information service implies ensuring information is readily available and for it to be available digital information must be well preserved Access to research info in any form means asking the question- how do we ensure perpetual access to this information regardless of format and how do libraries deal with issues of disparated and defunct formats And of course preservation of cultural heritage- libraries are invovled not only in digitising cultural artifacts such as newspapers and books but also in archiving webpages.
So what’s next for LIBER and EU projects. We will continue to participate in EU projects- it’s core to achieving our mission A common thread in all of our current projects is the thread of e-science – whether that is making the data avialable to researchers (as in Europeana LIbraries) or creating the right conditions to ensure the continued availability of sceinctific data