Joanna Yeomans, Director of EBLIDA, explains how library services are affected at a European level and how libraries can work to influence future legislation.

1. Can Brussels tell us how to run our
libraries? …. And should we care?
Joanne Yeomans
Director, EBLIDA
(European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation
Associations)
www.eblida.org
eblida@eblida.org

2. The EU’s influence
 % of UK legislation decided  Education
at EU level  Adult learning
 EU influences the UK  Research assessment
government and vice versa  Open Access
 Information Society
 Culture
 Legislation – laws and  Inclusion – disabled, aging
regulations population, migrants, ethnic
 Policy enforcement and minorities, e-inclusion
guidance  Copyright
 Funding – direct and  Contracts
indirect  VAT
 Plus many others…
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

3. What are politicians talking about that will affect
libraries in the near future?
 Legislation
 Copyright revision for the digital era?
 Piracy and “theft” of intellectual property, illegal downloads and “3-strikes”?
(e.g. UK’s Digital Economy Bill)
 Web privacy?
 Policy
 Culture: promoting access to culture - books, art, music, images, museums, etc
 Google & Europeana (European Digital Library) – digitization and cross-border services
 i2010 – to develop a European digital economy
 Lifelong learning, skills
 Inclusion: especially e-inclusion – participation in online society
 Funding
 Lifelong learning, support and services
 Inclusion, training for e-inclusion, services for excluded members of society
 Culture, digitization, innovation
 Employment, training, links with business and industry, etc
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

4.  Can Brussels tell us how to run our libraries?
 They will have a big influence on what we do.
 Can we influence what they tell us?
 Yes we can!
 All of us: individuals, libraries, Library Associations, EBLIDA
 Should we influence them?
 Yes we must!
 Otherwise we risk others telling them what libraries want.
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

5. So…
 How do we influence them?
 A little about how the EU works…
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

6. So…
 EU structure
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

7. UK Government
How the EU works
UK
Ministers Head of State
Brussels MEPs Permanent
Representatives
European Council
European European Council of the
EU Commission Parliament European Union
DGs Committees Parties
Units
7-9 June 2010 EU countries, organisations, citizens
CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

8. UK Government
UK
Ministers Head of State
Brussels MEPs Permanent
Representatives
European Council
European Council
2 per country +2
European European Council of the EU
European European
EU Commission
Commission
Parliament
Parliament Council of per EU
Voting the The
34,000 736 population
EU
DGs Committees Parties
The EU makes decisions
Units about policy and funding
7-9 June 2010 EU countries, organisations, citizens
CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

9. UK Government
UK
Gov
UK Ministers
Ministers
Depending on Head of State
subject
Permanent
Brussels MEPs Permanent
Representatives Advise
Representatives
Civil servants
European Council
European European
EU Commission Parliament Council of the EU
DGs Committees Parties
The Council of the EU
and the
Units European Parliament
are the decision-makers
7-9 June 2010 EU countries, organisations, citizens
CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

10. UK Government
European
Parliament
UK
Ministers Head of State
MEPs Permanent
Brussels MEPs
72 UK Representatives
European Council
European
European European
EU Commission
Parliament
Parliament Council of the EU
736
DGs Committees Parties
Committees Parties
22 7+1
The Council of the EU
and the
Units European Parliament
Are the decision-makers
7-9 June 2010 EU countries, organisations, citizens
CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

11. UK Government
UK:
Catherine Ashton,
European Vice-President
UK Commission of the EC
Ministers Head of State
Brussels MEPs Permanent
Representatives
European Council
European
European European
EU Commission
Commission Parliament Council of the EU
27 Commissioners
Directorate Generals
DGs Committees Parties
24 departments
The
European Commission
Units
does the work
7-9 June 2010 EU countries, organisations, citizens
CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

12. UK Government
All these should be
influenced
UK
Ministers Head of State
Brussels MEPs Permanent
Representatives
European Council
European European
EU Commission Parliament Council of the EU
DGs Committees Parties
Units
7-9 June 2010 EU countries, organisations, citizens
CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

13. UK Government
EBLIDA tries to
influence these
UK
Ministers Head of State
Brussels MEPs Permanent
Representatives
European Council
European European Council of the
EU Commission Parliament Council of the EU
European Union
DGs Committees Parties
Units National
Library Associations
try to influence these
7-9 June 2010 EU countries, organisations, citizens
CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

14. What is needed to influence them?
 Enthusiasm
 Evidence:
 Information and data.
 Case studies.
 What you want.
 Presentation designed for the audience
 Get to know the audience/target and design your information accordingly.
 If you can keep track of news, offer information related to relevant events.
 Relationships
 Don’t think of one-off meetings, develop relationships.
 Offer expert advice if appropriate.
 Ask for information, don’t just give it – they are servants of UK citizens.
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

15. What methods can be used to influence?
 General updating
 Distributing information leaflets, news, data, etc.
 Meetings with individuals, invitations to events.
 Particular topics
 Position papers and campaigns - from libraries alone or from cross-interest
groups.
 Meetings with individuals.
 Particular responses
 Written responses to EU consultations.
 Representation at meetings and in expert groups.
 Meetings with individuals.
 All of us can engage at any level – local, national, European.
 You don’t need to do everything!
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

16. What EBLIDA does
 EBLIDA – the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations.
 Set up in 1992 with a strong copyright focus (at that time).
 Members are Library Associations (LAs) and individual libraries (voluntary membership
with membership fee).
 Members in all 27 EU states plus 6 other (mainly European) countries.
 Executive Committee of 10 European Country representatives.
 Expert Groups arranged around EU subjects.
 On behalf of members:
 Perform lobbying for libraries at the EU – on all library-related topics.
 Help share information on EU and other topics of interest among members.
 Organise meetings and events to share best practice, news, etc.
 1.6 employed staff.
 125,000 EUR annual budget.
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

17. EBLIDA’s activities
 Experts Groups – to develop expertise on EU topics so that
libraries can react when necessary.
 Write position papers and promote the work of libraries.
 Write responses to EU consultations on behalf of libraries.
 Collect data for the European Commission.
 Meet MEPs from relevant Committees and relevant Commission
staff to put forward the views of libraries.
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

18. What you can do
 Library Association
 Develop action plans for communicating outside the library world.
 Feed information to the MEPs, EU office, Permanent Representatives to the
EU, etc about what libraries in the UK/Scotland do and what they need.
 Make contact and get regular meetings with MPs and MEPs to tell them what
libraries do and why they should be supported.
 Invite them to events.
 Research and think about what interests your contacts (e.g.social inclusion,
employment, economy, etc) and try to frame the library in terms they will
care about.
 Watch the EU news and try to relate your communication to what’s going on.
 Individual
 Contact your MEP or MP.
 Volunteer to help CILIPS in this area.
 Develop your own expertise in an area that interests you by reading and
keeping up to date.
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

19. If you want to read more…
UK and Scotland links with the EU
 European Commission in the UK: includes contact for Scottish Office
 List of Scottish MEPs
 The Scottish Government’s EU Office in Brussels
 UK Permanent Representation to the EU: Represents the UK’s interests in the European Council.
The representatives for Information society and Copyright are listed under “Competitiveness and
Markets”
 UK Office of the European Parliament:: Raises awareness of what the EU is doing and helps
makes links with organisations and the European Parliament
 Scotland Europa: Organization that helps Scottish organizations network in the European Union
EU bodies
 European Commission’s DG Information Society
 European Commission’s DG Culture
 European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT)
European Organisations
 EBLIDA newsletter: news collected by the EBLIDA Director for EBLIDA members
 Open Rights Group: UK organisation representing citizens’ rights in the digital age
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

20. Should we care?
 Politics decides funding, policy and the
future.
 Put it another way…
 Do we believe libraries should exist in the
future?
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow

21. Thank you
Joanne Yeomans
Director, EBLIDA
(European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations)
www.eblida.org
Joanne.yeomans@eblida.org
7-9 June 2010 CILIPS Annual Conference 2010, Glasgow