News – LibOCS

03/03/202503/03/2025

Award for “Best Initiative in a Research and Special Library”

On February 28, the Estonian Librarians Association recognized the best librarians and achievements in libraries from the past year. The award for “Best Initiative in a Research and Special Library” was given to the Estonian team of the international Erasmus+ project LibOCS for successfully promoting the concept of citizen science and introducing the topic in Estonian universities and libraries.

The recognition was given for their work within the international Erasmus+ project LibOCS, which aimed to strengthen collaboration between researchers and citizen scientists while supporting the development of librarians’ skills in this field. The working group included Liisi Lembinen, Lilian Neerut, and Svea Kaseorg (University of Tartu Library), as well as Tuuliki Tõiste, Kaarin Birk, and Janelle Kirss (Tallinn University of Technology Library). As a result of the project, guidelines, an online course, and a toolkit were created, opening up new opportunities for Estonian libraries to support citizen science.

19/12/202419/12/2024

LibOCS Project Featured at Biržiška Readings ’24

The LibOCS project was presented at the international conference “Biržiška Readings ’24: Culture and Citizen Science,” held on December 2–3 in Panevėžys, Lithuania.

Organized by the Lithuanian Librarians’ Association, the conference focused on the role of libraries in advancing citizen science initiatives. It highlighted the untapped potential of public libraries to engage with these projects actively.

The conference which was held at the Stasys Museum featured speakers from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Iceland, and Spain. The event was opened with a discussion involving researchers and professionals from higher education institutions, libraries, and library associations, emphasizing libraries’ critical roles in introducing citizen science to both professional communities and the public.

Representing the LibOCS project, Svea Kaseorg and Lilian Neerut from the University of Tartu shared their experiences implementing citizen science at the university. They proposed ideas for fostering collaboration with public libraries. Aistė Pranckutė from the Kaunas University of Technology Library spoke about the skills needed for successful participation in citizen science projects and strategies for building these competencies. As part of the event, participants were introduced to the open self-paced course “Citizen Science for Librarians: Self-Paced Learning Course,” designed to help library professionals engage with citizen science initiatives.

“Biržiška Readings” is an annual conference for library and information professionals in Lithuania, celebrating the legacy of Vaclovas Biržiška, a renowned bibliographer and book scientist.

The conference recording, including an English translation, is available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8t4mnCQKoo

20/11/202405/03/2025

LibOCS presented at the ECLAC-LIBER Citizen Science Masterclass

During the Citizen Science Masterclass – ECLAC-LIBER on November 18, 2024, Tiberius Ignat presented the BESPOC model and discussed how it was implemented within the LibOCS project. The session explored how this model supports citizen science initiatives in libraries, emphasizing institutional strategies for fostering cultural change in research and strengthening library leadership in Open Science.

The masterclass, organized by the Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER) and the Hernán Santa Cruz Library (ECLAC Library) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), aimed to equip participants with methodologies and tools for developing effective institutional policies and Citizen Science projects. The program highlighted best practices for connecting science with the community and demonstrated the impact of Citizen Science on research quality and global challenges.

The session had over 75 online participants, and the recordings were shared with the CEPAL Library Network in Latin America, reaching an email list of more than 5000 librarians and researchers across the region.

01/11/202419/12/2024

LibOCS presented by Web2Learn at the CeOS_SE multiplier events in Cyprus and Greece

The Library of the University of Cyprus invited Dr. Katerina Zourou as speaker at the CeOS_SE project’s multiplier event, on October 18, 2024.

As the co-author of the successful CeOS_SE project, Katerina’s talk focused on the role of libraries in times of crises and how it can be further enhanced through open innovation by bringing to the fore special paradigms from the LibOCS project.

01/11/202419/12/2024

LibOCS project results presented during Open Access Week 2024

During the International Open Access Week (October 21-27), the Library of the University of Latvia organized a webinar on citizen science. The webinar covered topics such as the motivation to engage in citizen science projects and activities and the role of citizen science in fulfilling the university’s third mission.

Participants were introduced to a new section of the National Open Access Desk website, which now includes information on the results of the LibOCS project and useful Latvian templates for citizen science project implementers. Templates cover the different matters to be considered during citizen science projects. The template collection was developed through the LibOCS project in collaboration with Immer Besser GmbH and SKS Knowledge Services GmbH.

18/07/202419/12/2024

Sharing Our Experiences of Implementing BESPOC at the LIBER Annual Conference 2024

In July 2024, we had the opportunity to present at the LIBER Annual Conference, the leading conference for research libraries in Europe. This year, the conference was held in Limassol, Cyprus, bringing together professionals from across the globe to explore innovative approaches in library and information science. LIBER provides a valuable platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and the celebration of achievements within the library community.

Liisi Lembinen from the University of Tartu and Tiberius Ignat from ImmerBesser presented on the topic “Implementing BESPOC For Citizen Science Central Services in the Baltic Region” The full presentation is available here.

During our presentation, we shared the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing BESPOC. The experiences of the five participating universities highlighted how the model can be tailored to different institutional contexts while maintaining its core principles.

The LIBER conference provided a great opportunity to show the transformative potential of BESPOC and the LibOCS project. By sharing our work with an international audience, we aimed to inspire other libraries and institutions to adopt similar frameworks, amplifying the role of libraries in science-society engagement.

We’re proud of the impact LibOCS is making and grateful for the chance to connect with the wider library community at LIBER 2024. Together, we can continue building a future where libraries lead the way in bridging the gap between academia and society.

18/06/202418/06/2024

LibOCS presented to ERASMUS+ guests

Every year the Library of the University of Latvia hosts guests from ERASMUS+ mobility programmes. This year, in May and June 2024, guests were welcomed on several occasions, from different countries: Sweden, Romania, Germany. Guests were given demonstrations of the work processes in the library and briefed about collaboration in an academic environment. During the visit, the library also presented its services and development plans in the context of open science, including LibOCS. The guests were very interested in the idea and results of the LibOCS project.

The latest LibOCS development and output is the Citizen Science Toolkit for Librarians.

Read more about other results in Zenodo’s LibOCS collection.

31/05/202431/05/2024

Strengthening the Role of Libraries for Rising Citizen Science: LibOCS shares knowledge and experience at KTU

How to encourage public engagement in citizen science projects in the Baltic countries? What is the role of the libraries in implementing citizen science projects and promoting public engagement? Are the libraries prepared to initiate and/or carry out citizen science projects?

As the Erasmus+ project “University Libraries Strengthening Academia and Society through Citizen Science in the Baltic States (LibOCS)” comes to an end, it is time to take a closer look at the results achieved, the challenges overcome and the lessons learnt. We are eager to share our experiences and ideas on citizen science with colleagues from academic and public libraries. On June 11th of this year, at 11:00 AM, we invite librarians and everyone interested in citizen science to the Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) Campus Library (Studentų St. 48, Kaunas) to celebrate the work done and share best practices and future insights.

31/05/202431/05/2024

Reflections on the University of Tartu Library’s Citizen Science Seminar

On May 22 2024, The University of Tartu Library organized a seminar titled “Science for All: How Society Makes Science Better,” which focused on citizen science and public engagement.

With over a decade of advocacy for open science, the library emphasized the importance of citizen science, involving public participation in scientific research. The seminar explored how universities and libraries could engage citizens in scientific projects and highlighted various methods for volunteer involvement.

06/05/202406/05/2024

Seminar, “Science for All: How Society Makes Science Better”

The University of Tartu Library is organizing a seminar, “Science for All: How Society Makes Science Better”, which will focus on citizen science and public engagement. The seminar takes place on the 22th of May at the University of Library conference hall.

The library has been a strong advocate for open science and has supported researchers in this area for over a decade. One of the cornerstones of open science is citizen science. Citizen science, also known as amateur science, can be described as the voluntary participation of members of the public in scientific research.

We invite you to discuss how universities and libraries can involve citizens in scientific projects and why this is important. The seminar will introduce different ways to involve volunteers.

The first half of the training day will be in Estonian, followed by an English-language workshop on science shops after the coffee break, which will explore why and how universities could involve civil society in both research and teaching.

Who is invited?

Researchers, students, project managers, librarians and all other interested parties are welcome!