The role of libraries in the future was thoroughly scrutinized in a conference

​European Business School Librarians' Group is a network of the leaders of the most successful business and economics libraries in Europe. The roll of members also includes librarians and other influential background people from organizations which offer MBA and EMBA programs.

The conference, arranged annually in Europe, concentrated in Turku to the future and new role of the libraries. In the workshops led by the experts from the Finland Futures Research Centre of the Turku School of Economics the new trends which affect the commercial environment were discussed as well as the way to study and to work.

One keynote speaker of the conference was the Unesco professor of the Turku School of Economics Markku Wilenius who has, among other things, studied the strategic anticipation of organizations and the role of culture in the society and in economy.

Library Director Ulla Nygrén thinks that the themes of the conference are extremely current:

–It is important to consider what the task and role of the libraries is in the digitized studying and teaching environments.

Open science is in focus

During the second day of the conference open science and the role of libraries in data management rose to the addresses. The president of LIBER, Association of European Research Libraries, Kristiina Hormia-Poutanen brought out the role of libraries in enabling open science both in Finland as well as in other parts of Europe.

The heads of services of the Turku University Library, Heli Kokkinen and Jukka Rantasaari, presented the development project of data information reading skills and research data management which is a part of the data policy operation program of the University of Turku. The library has a significant role in the charting of the present situation of the data management and in the coordination and planning of the data management education with other units operating in the OpenUTU project.

What is objective is that in the future there would be an education path of data management in the university beginning at the stage of basic studies and continuing through the doctor education even as far as the post doc -stage.

–We want to make sure that the essential skills of data management will be taught at the right time supporting studies and research, Kokkinen and Rantasaari crystallized.

The outlook of the University of Turku to open science was presented by the Research Liaison Officer Mari Riipinen who told about the actions and practices of open science in Finland. Riipinen demonstrated the OpenUTU project of the University of Turku. The purpose of the project is to direct the developing of the operation in accordance with the principles of open science and research in the University of Turku.

The assistant professor of Hanken, Mikael Laakso, took a point of view which concentrates more closely on the economics journals. In his presentation, Laakso demonstrated the present state of the open access publishing and the alternative ways of operating in the future.

Library directors Ulla Nygrén (the University of Turku) and André Lohisse (Université Paris Dauphine) welcomed the participants.

>> Conference pages
>> EBSLG pages

Original text: Kaisu Kesonen
Translation: Erik Lindgren
Photos: Teppo Kahtola