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Public Libraries 2030

PL2030

Public Libraries 2030 (PL2030) is a non-profit organisation that grew out of the Public Libraries 2020 programme funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Glenn Micallef (Commissioner) and

9 Dec 2025 · Courtesy meeting

Response to New European Bauhaus

17 Oct 2025

Public Libraries 2030 (PL2030) welcomes the European Commission's call for evidence in preparing a communication and a proposal for a council recommendation on the NEB. Together with the major European library organisations, we represent a vision of the European library sector as a vector for democratic participation and civic engagement. We believe that public libraries empower citizens to create a democratic, socially engaged and digitally inclusive Europe. Public libraries are bridgebuilders between societal groups, communities, and policy makers and they provide access to cultural content and skills. Both in the urban and rural context, public libraries are open, accessible and non commercial spaces, taking the function of a meeting of their communities. Public libraries aim to be qualitative and inclusive public spaces based on the principle of sustainability. They are ideally positioned to implement and transmit main objectives of the NEB by offering a place for communities to meet and connect. Public libraries can be strong partners for local transformation, citizen engagement and social inclusion at neighbourhood level. They are part of the essential social infrastructure and can contribute to local resilience in times of crisis. We recommend mentioning and considering libraries as strong partners in future NEB initiatives.
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Meeting with Nela Riehl (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

17 Sept 2025 · Exchange on the role of Public Libraries in Europe

Response to A Culture Compass for Europe

26 May 2025

make-a-thek is a project funded by the Horizon Europe Programme, bringing together 9 international partners. Together, we're setting up creative maker spaces in public libraries to explore circular fashion, traditional crafts, and local innovation. make-a-thek welcomes the European Commission's call for evidence in preparing the new strategic framework for EU cultural policy. make-a-thek envisions local public library makerspaces that provide tools, courses, and resources to foster community innovation, circularity, and collaboration, with a focus on fashion and heritage crafts, while supporting local businesses and initiatives, aligned with the New European Bauhaus values. Libraries provide access to cultural content, to literature, other cultural works and creative practices in a multitude of formats. They are gateways to knowledge and information and they are also important players in the field of non-formal education as they offer digital, literacy and media upskilling to diverse groups of our society. Public libraries are spaces for inclusion providing cultural and educational services to marginalised groups. The function of public libraries can be described as culturally transversal and interdisciplinary. Therefore, we recommend to integrate a focus on public libraries in the new EU culture compass. Based on the above, we recommend taking into account the recognition of public libraries as places for innovation, learning and sharing, promoting a more circular, local economy, anchored in local communities, for the elaboration of the culture compass. We recommend supporting a focus on culture having a role in delivering wider policy goals, and urge seeing libraries as a model of this at work. (Project: 101177660 make-a-thek HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-01)
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Meeting with Marc Angel (Member of the European Parliament)

6 Feb 2025 · Public Libraries

Meeting with Yannis Maniatis (Member of the European Parliament)

5 Nov 2024 · Intoductory meeting

Meeting with Sebastian Tynkkynen (Member of the European Parliament) and International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

5 Nov 2024 · Kirjastoalan ajankohtaiset aiheet

Meeting with Tomasz Frankowski (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and European Disability Forum and

21 Mar 2023 · The future of the European book sector-consultation meeting with stakeholders

Meeting with Sabine Verheyen (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

8 Feb 2023 · Libraries and Education

Response to Policy Program - Digital Decade Compass

13 Dec 2021

Contribution of Public Libraries 2030, December 2021 PL2030 represents a vision of the European public library sector as a vector for democratic participation and citizen engagement. We believe that public libraries empower citizens to create a democratic, socially engaged and digitally inclusive Europe. PL2030 welcomes the European Commissions’ proposal and highlights that achieving inclusion equality, sustainability, resilience, security, improving the quality of life, respect of citizens’ rights and aspirations can be supported by Europe’s 65 000 public libraries. As open spaces accessible to all members of society, public libraries support civic participation and citizen engagement by offering access to information both online and offline and actively structure services around the needs of their community. Additionally, public libraries often offer digital making opportunities and digital upskilling to their community allowing the most vulnerable members of society to be equipped with basic digital skills and also nurture curiosity, creativity and innovation through the use of digital technologies. With this Consultation on a Path to the Digital Decade, we encourage the European Commission to consider public libraries in Europe as key actors in bridging the digital divide and providing digital training to European citizens. As part of the non-formal education sector, public libraries reach out to vulnerable populations and foster social and digital inclusion by making information and training opportunities accessible for all. We encourage the European Commission to create opportunities through funding and capacity building for public libraries to reach the ambitious targets set out in the Path to the Digital Decade. For more details, please see our contribution in the attached PDF-document.
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