LIR Annual Seminar 2025: Communities of Practice

This guest post is written by Jenny O'Neill on behalf of the LIR Community.

Daniela Bultoc speaking at the LIR annual seminar. Picture credit: HEAnet User Group for Libraries, 2025. 

Four Questions to Ask When Forming a Community of Practice

In April 2025, the LIR HEAnet User Group for Libraries held its annual seminar at the HEAnet offices in Dublin. This year’s theme focused on community engagement within the library sector, particularly through communities of practice and social media networks.

One of the keynote speakers was Dr. Daniela Bultoc, who delivered an insightful talk on Communities of Practice in Higher Education. Daniela outlined three key goals for her presentation:

1. To define what we mean by communities of practice
2. To understand their benefits in higher education
3. To identify opportunities for incorporating them into our work

What Are Communities of Practice?

The concept of communities of practice has its roots in the apprenticeship model, where learners would meet and learn from one another. This approach is supported by social learning theory, which suggests that around 70% of what we know is learned through others, through doing, and through experimentation.

In the complex organisational structures of universities, many professionals find themselves working in isolation or as the sole expert in a particular area within their department. Yet, others across the institution may be working on similar challenges. Communities of practice offer a way to break down these silos, enabling us to connect, share, and learn from each other.


Membership and Sustainability

There are several models for community membership. Members may self-select or be nominated based on their expertise. However, it is passion and commitment that truly sustain a community. Crucially, line management support—linked to appraisals, career development, or talent development—is essential.

Daniela made an important point: a community of practice will last only as long as there is interest, passion, and energy. When that fades, it’s perfectly okay for the community to come to a natural end. Flexibility is key to the lifecycle of a community.


Why Libraries?

In libraries, communities of practice can be transformative. They support professional development, encourage innovation, and ultimately enhance library services and student support.


Benefits of Communities of Practice

Daniela’s evaluations revealed compelling benefits:

• 80% of members said they were generating innovative ideas and solving problems
• 77% were sharing resources, information, and experience
• 72% felt a stronger sense of belonging and connection

Other benefits included:

• Improved awareness of where and who to go to for information
• Better communication across departments
• A collective vision of excellence
• Service alignment
• A stronger sense of professional identity

Ready to Get Started? Ask Yourself These Four Questions

1. Purpose: Why Do We Exist?

Communities of practice aim to produce, extend, and exchange knowledge, connecting people with shared interests. They represent a grassroots model of change. Clarify your shared goals, skills, and expertise, and define what you want to achieve together. A clear and motivating purpose is essential.

2. Members: Who Belongs?

Once goals are clear, it becomes easier for individuals to decide if they belong. Typically, there’s a core group of active members who both learn and share. There may also be wider members with an interest but less expertise, and key stakeholders who contribute occasionally.

Daniela recommends a co-leadership model. Communities can be:

• Self-organised/informal – member-driven and less visible
• Supported/formal – intentional, strategic, and more visible
• The “third space” – autonomous but with strategic support via a Champion

Strategic sponsorship helps align the community’s purpose with organisational goals.

3. Activities: What Are We Going to Do?

Define your collaborative projects and events. Create opportunities for meaningful interaction and focus on solving shared challenges. And celebrate successes!

Activities might include:

• Relationship building
• Knowledge sharing
• Collaborative problem-solving
• Learning-focused initiatives
• Strategic alignment efforts

4. Process: How Are We Going to Do It?

Establish your meeting rhythm, communication channels, and processes. Start meetings with light, engaging interactions and prioritise psychological safety. Focus on quick wins to maintain momentum and energy.


Useful resources:

• Co-creating your communities of practice - Toolkit: https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_829077_smxx.pdf
• Devis-Rozental, C., & Clarke, S.R. (Eds.). (2024). Building Communities of Practice in Higher Education: Co-creating, Collaborating and Enriching Working Cultures (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003330554

To join the community and keep up to date about future events please sign up for the LIR mailing list 

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A Review of IFLA Library Publishing Special Interest Group Virtual Open Programme: Library Publishing: A Catalyst for Change, October 15th 2020.

Guest post by Dr Johannah Duffy, Head of Library Services, Marino Institute of Education. Johannah has a strong interest in Library Publishing, Open Access, Research. Scholarly Communications, History, Cultural Studies & Learning

Attending the event was an insightful experience in seeing what so many information professionals and librarians are working towards in their own regions, countries, and libraries.  The expansion and increased access to information will inevitably create greater opportunities for the library community around the globe.  Organisers of this event, The IFLA Library Publishing Special Interest Group, advocate for the expansion of library services to include a library publishing service. A significant element of library publishing is the desire to advance open access as well as to meet local needs related to the creation and dissemination of scholarship. This webinar comprised of seven short presentations on library publishing case studies and collaborations. The diversity of the presentations, in terms of geography and diverse experiences made for an informative webinar with presentations from the Philippines, Russia, Nigeria, Germany, Turkey, Canada and the United States.

The case studies and collaborations included Jason Coleman, Karen E Dowling and William Lopez of the University of Michigan, who gave a powerful talk 'Collaboration & Commitment: Publishing Diverse Academic Scholarship for the Public Good'.  With a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, their goal is to help faculty share their expertise and research capacity with the public, through purposeful efforts focused outside the academy.  To facilitate this initiative, Michigan Publishing Services provide a suite of publishing-related services to help increase the visibility, reach, and impact of scholarship.

Dr Agnieszka Wenninger and Kathrin Ganz’s fascinating talk on 'Library Publishing & Editors – A Promising Partnership Based on OA', highlighted the invaluable role that librarians play in supporting editors and the overall publishing process. It powerfully captured open access literacy, advice on impact, typesetting, dissemination and more.  While, Selin Can Cemgil’s insightful presentation entitled 'Yilmaz Akkilic City Research Awards and Publications: A Library Publishing Example from Turkey', showcased the power of collaboration. This impressive presentation on how the Yilmaz Akkilic City Research Awards and Publications in Turkey has stimulated an extensive amount of high quality library publishing output provided an impressive example to us all. 

‘Library Publishing as an essential function in today’s information world: Models and Sustainability Plan by Academic Libraries in Nigeria’ by Dr Ngozi Blessing and Dr Aishat Egbunu, portrayed a robust example of models and sustainability of library publishing in Nigeria. This inspiring presentation articulated the possibilities but also the challenges that must be surmounted in relation to library publishing. It gives an excellent recommendation that library publishing should be taught to students. 

Gianina Cabanilla’s stimulating presentation on ‘An analysis of a publishing business plan for the UP College of Law, Information and Publication’, stressed sustainability, scalability and visibility. Ekaterina V. Nikonorova and Ekaterina A. Shibaeva of the Russian State Library, provided an excellent overview of their extensive and impactful Library Publishing Program.  I particularly enjoyed the focus on open access and transparency in Dr Ursula Arning’s presentation on ‘PUBLISSO Publishing and Advice Services’. This appears to be a primary and critically important imperative across library publishing programmes. 

This Library Publishing: A Catalyst for Change webinar highlighted that Libraries need to move beyond traditional roles of purchasing and distributing scholarly literature, librarians need to strategically position themselves and take ownership of improving access. As a direct result of Covid-19, there is a new level of urgency to transform the communication scholarly communication process and there are enormous opportunities for an expanded and inclusive library publishing service which addresses access to knowledge and literature.  The rich discussions of this event will stimulate the drive to make library publishing a mainstream service within libraries.   The clear message from this open programme is that libraries need to include publishing in their services, advocate for open access and serve our communities and societies.  If you have the chance, consider attending future IFLA Library Publishing Special Interest Group’s events to see the true scope of libraries and librarians.

The recording is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIo_Ckq6ZHI

For more information, see: 

IFLA Library Publishing Special Interest Group

 and

Library Association of Ireland Library Publishing Group

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Libraries of Sanctuary: Supporting Migrant Communities

Guest post by Louise Cooke-Escapil  Louise works as a Library Assistant at Maynooth University Library. She is interested in the social impact of libraries.

Introduction 

The City of Sanctuary is a collection of groups across the UK and Ireland - including theatres, schools, colleges, universities, churches, and gardens - that aim to build a culture of inclusiveness for incoming migrants. Specific organizations involved include Places of Sanctuary Ireland and, as of June 2020, Libraries of Sanctuary. The Library of Sanctuary title is awarded to libraries working to fill gaps in provision of information and resources to refugees and asylum seekers. Libraries playing this role is not novel, however the introduction of this title is a welcome step towards further developing public library services for those who may otherwise be left unseen.

Proto-Library of Sanctuary

It was this aspect of libraries working as powerful regenerative educational institutions that first drew me into librarianship as a profession in 2015. My first paid library job was in the Public Information Library in the Pompidou Centre in Paris. This experience shaped how I think about libraries and showed me the important social role they can play in people’s lives. In 2015, a new wave of migration into Europe had reached an all-time high. I worked in the autodidactic section of the library, where patrons came to borrow materials to help them learn new skills, such as driving, study skills for secondary school exams, or, most frequently, learning a language. I found myself working in a library in France that had more resources on learning Irish than my local library had back home in Ireland. If people chose to, they could borrow materials on learning up to 250 languages, including Sámi, Zulu, and Navajo to name a few. This section of the library also had a huge variety of materials, from books to CDs, DVDs, computer programmes, newspapers, magazines, and TV channels from 11 different countries.

Photograph: Pixabay

During the year I worked in the library, I realised how necessary this service was to many of the patrons. Before taking up this post, I had experienced language learning in a very different context. Learning a language was something people did out of love of the language or to be able to travel with greater ease. Now, many of the patrons who regularly came to my desk came to learn French out of necessity. Often, patrons could not speak French or English and did not have the means to ask for what they were looking for in the library. Word must have travelled and as more patrons would come up to our desk we quickly learnt to adapt. Myself and my desk colleagues started to keep a list of languages at the desk, each language written in its own script. We would ask the patron to go through the list until they identified a language, be it Arabic, Pashtu, Urdu, Farsi, or any of the other dozen languages we had listed. Once we had determined the patron’s mother tongue, we would find language-learning materials for them and set them up at a work desk. Eventually, those who kept returning would be able to ask for the materials they wanted in French. It was so rewarding to see patrons’ progress month by month as they moved on to more difficult materials, grew more confident in their abilities, and became more fluent in French.

Home to Ireland

After my time in France, I worked for a short spell at King’s College London. That was cut short by COVID-19. In January of this year, I took up a post in Engagement and Information Services (EIS) at Maynooth University. Returning to Ireland, I was delighted to see similar work to that I had encountered in Paris. Last year, Maynooth University became a University of Sanctuary and we currently have three students who live in Direct Provision undertaking degrees.

Libraries of Sanctuary

New initiatives such as Libraries of Sanctuary are encouraging libraries across the UK and Ireland to strengthen their services to refugees and asylum seekers. Like the Public Information Library in Paris, Libraries of Sanctuary have identified a new need, particularly pronounced over the last few decades, to pay particular attention to emerging communities in their locale, as well as existing ones. A resource pack, created by John Vincent, was released in June 2020 which gives libraries interested in this initiative a roadmap towards being recognised as a Library of Sanctuary.

The first Irish library to qualify for this title was Portlaoise Library on the 10th of March 2020. Librarians worked with communities from the local Direct Provision Centre to foster a space where everyone in the community could find tools and resources which were tailored to them (City of Sanctuary, 2021). At the award ceremony, County Librarian Bernie Folan said on the day;

“Places of Sanctuary is a movement that seeks to promote a culture of welcome in every sphere of society, a network of places of sanctuary where refugees and migrants are welcomed and included. We know that newcomers have a lot to offer, and we believe that as barriers come down and connections are made, the whole of society benefits” (Kiernan, 2020)

Photograph: cityofsanctuary.org

Going Forward

Libraries are in a unique position in that they are situated in almost every village and town in Ireland. Library staff are reaching out to migrant communities in their area and provide much needed services. They are a bridge for new communities, providing services to all. The first library to be awarded this the title of Library of Sanctuary, Thimblemill Library in the West Midlands in England, offered a number of services to emerging communities in their area such as ESOL classes for those who wanted to improve their English, welfare and asylum sessions to help with the mental and physical impacts seeking asylum can cause, and “Welcome to Your Area” events that aim to introduce locals to each other and allow newcomers to feel welcome (Vincent & Clark, 2020). It’s exciting to see this work being recognised and encouraged in libraries. Over the next few years, I hope many more libraries all over Ireland will continue to develop their services for refugees and asylum seekers. Public libraries have a key role in creating an inclusive and welcoming society.

More information on moving forward with qualifying for the title of Library of Sanctuary can be found at the Irish City of Sanctuary group’s contact us page. The Library Association of Ireland’s Career Development Group will also be holding an information evening later this year where John Vincent, the creator of the Libraries of Sanctuary resource pack, along with other speakers, will discuss the process of qualifying for the Library of Sanctuary title. In order to be the first to hear about booking information for this event, be sure to sign up to the LAI’s Career Development Group’s mailing list, or follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

References

Kiernan, L., 2020. Launch: Multicultural Portlaoise to receive Library of Sanctuary award. [online] Leinsterexpress.ie. [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Places of Sanctuary Ireland. 2021. Portlaoise Celebrates Ireland’s First Library of Sanctuary. [online] [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Sinnott Solicitors. 2015. Direct Provision 'A Severe Violation of Human Rights' - Sinnott Solicitors. [online]  [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Vincent, J., 2020. Libraries of Sanctuary Resource Pack. [ebook] City of Sanctuary. Available at: [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Vincent, J. and Clark, B., 2020. Libraries of Sanctuary. Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues, 30(1), pp.6-7.

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Strategic Thinking for Academic Libraries Using Appreciative Inquiry – Part 2

Ronan Cox (@ronancox2) - Business Librarian, Dublin City University

Appreciative Inquiry as a Strategic Process
Developed by David Cooperrider, appreciative inquiry (AI) is an approach that only shows up in library literature within the past decade (Dole, Dabbour & Kott, 2017, p. 471). To my mind, the power of this approach lies in the fact that while social organisations such as libraries need to demonstrate value to several stakeholders, this value is not in monetary form and therefore requires a different strategy. Unrepentant in its aims, with a focus on strengths-based practice, and the search for the best in people and organizations as a way to create organizational innovation and transformation (Orr and Cleveland-Innes, cited in Openo, 2016), AI provides a platform to capture and accentuate the positive and good that libraries are doing. At the risk of sounding alarmist, I think the latter is something many academic libraries may not yet fully leverage. Libraries continuously innovate and break new ground, the time to speak up and speak out is now. Remember, the visionary strategist considers the environment not as a given but as something that can be moulded to your advantage. But only if you are willing to make the leap and stay the course!

As mentioned previously, academic libraries gauge their value in ways other than monetary. Cox (2018b) referred to this at the DBS Library seminar, citing examples including; information literacy impact on students, open access citations, archives engagement, and scholarly collaboration. As a result, AI maps particularly well to strategic planning because of its focus on a desired future state, achieved through reflection exploration of the ‘best of what is’ and focusing on internal strengths, values, sources of pride and positive experiences. This information capture can be used to identify emerging strategic areas and inform the creation of the strategic plan that is unique to the library, yet also encompasses institutional priorities. From a strategic purpose perspective, this might seem like the pinnacle. However, we must keep in mind that a purpose can never be fully reached. The best organisations continuously adapt and evolve to meet environmental demands.

AI Models
There are several AI models, including, the 5-D cycle, 4-D cycle, and the strengths, opportunities, aspirations, results (SOAR) model. The most commonly used is the 4-D cycle (see Figures. 2,3).

Figure 2: 4-D Cycle (Wikmalm and Wikmalm, 2009)

Strategic Planning Stage	4-D Cycle Stage
Environmental scan, identifying important values Creating a vision Creating a structure to implement the plan Sustaining the change	Discovery-Appreciating Dream-Envisioning Design-Constructing Destiny (or Delivery)-Sustaining

Figure 3: 4-D Cycle mapped to strategic planning process (Dole, Dabbour and Kott, 2017)

Dole, Dabbour & Kott provide an excellent case study of the benefit of using an AI approach as a basis for strategic planning in academic libraries. Of particular value in their case was the ability to include both internal and external stakeholders in the discovery and dream stages. Rather than simply taking an introspective view, the Library Strategic Planning Task Force actively engaged the services of students, faculty and staff when seeking data collection. For the discovery process, the aim was to capture the ‘best of what is’. Participants were asked to examine the current mission, vision, and values statements of the library and determine what they would retain for the future strategic plan. In addition, they were asked to describe a high point in their experiences with the library. Following this, participants generated ideas on how the library could contribute to student, faculty and staff success in the future, thereby fulfilling the dream stage. At the time of writing, the design and deliver stages had yet to be completed. The reason I refer to this study is to provide an example of what an AI approach could look like within academic libraries and to stimulate the thought process with regard to your own organisation.

AI Problems
To paraphrase Roosevelt - nothing worth having is easy. Given the complexity and scale of academic libraries, it would be naive to paint a simplistic picture of AI integration. Like any change initiative, to gain support and traction requires a considerable cultural shift, a departure from the current way of doing things, most notably a change in existing values and beliefs. The AI approach is not intended to be the solution to all strategic approaches within libraries, it is simply another to consider. Perceived weaknesses have been documented (Egan and Lancaster, 2005, p. 42 cited in Kelly, 2010; Preskill and Catsambas, 2006, p. 27 cited in Openo, 2016), including;

• difficult interpersonal situations are overlooked
• feelings of anger or frustration may not be voiced
• dissatisfied organization members may retreat and withdraw from the process
• the process overlooks or ignores existing problems

However, several authors have argued that AI does not ignore problems or issues; rather it looks at them in light of current strengths and successes. Whitney and Trosten-Bloom (2003, p. 18, cited in Kelly, 2013), argue that AI ‘does not dismiss accounts of conflict, problems or stress, it simply does not use them as the basis of analysis or action’. Upon reading this quote for the first time and without being aware of it previously, I immediately understood this to be my default thought process. Through the lens of AI, problems and conflicts are viewed as lived experiences, and subsequently re-framed as a positive inquiry, thus requiring a shift in how we think. Kelly offers the example of a common complaint that the academic library is undervalued. Rather than fixate on this, the AI process would extrapolate the positives and investigate the most effective ways to demonstrate the value of the library service to stakeholders.

Conclusion
Shining a spotlight on the shifting issues and trends that affect the position and perception of academic libraries and library staff within the wider environment is something we all need to consider. Rather than viewing the situation as a negative, I have offered the opinion that we need to recognise our current operating environment and look both inward and outward to discover what our collective strengths and opportunities are and how they might best serve us when mapping our future. This involves the development of methods that allow for the recognition and further progression of these strengths and opportunities, not just through internal means but also via collaboration with external stakeholders such as staff and faculty. The literature has shown that one such method is the application of appreciative inquiry to library strategic planning.

While perhaps not the ‘silver bullet’ solution many might hope for, at a minimum it provides a starting point to begin these important conversations. To finish with a business-related reference - in such a competitive environment, the use of such a method bears striking similarities to the very effective Blue Ocean Shift strategic model proposed by Chan Kim and Mauborgne (2017). Within this, they suggest five steps to open up new ideas and space for organisations:

1. Get started
2. Understand where you are now
3. Imagine where you could be
4. Find out how to get there
5. Make your move

Have you started yet?

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DEVELOPING SNAPCHAT AT MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY LIBRARY: THE STORY SO FAR

Highly Commended post in the Conul Training and Development Library Assistant Blog Award 2018. 
This post is by Edel King, Maynooth University Library 

Introduction 
Social media is an extremely effective way to connect. Maynooth University Library has always had a strong online and social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the MU Library Treasures blog. However, Snapchat was a new frontier.

Portrait of William Shakespeare from the ‘Fourth Folio’ on our blog ©Russell Library, Maynooth University

 What is Snapchat?

Snapchat logo ©Snapchat

Snapchat is a mobile messaging application used to share photos, videos and text (Webwise).
Its focus is the here and now. Posts are called Snaps. Alternatively, you can create Stories with multiple Snaps. Snaps are viewable for anything from three seconds to indefinitely and Stories for 24 hours.
Images and videos can be manipulated with filters ranging from geo-filters (location-specific) to dog-ears! Emojis, pictures and text can also be added.

Trying out a filter! © Edel King

My role with Snapchat 
I am a member of the Maynooth University Library Digital Communications Team (DCT). Last October I was given responsibility for Snapchat. Snapchat was new to me; I learned by doing. I spoke to a Transition Year work experience student about it but mainly I just figured it out myself through trial and error.
The Library uses Facebook to flag upcoming events and for photos after events; Twitter in a similar manner but also for immediate news such as a system downtime. Instagram is primarily for images of library activities. Where to position Snapchat in all of that?
(Below are some examples of what we send out from our social media accounts)

Commemorating 1916 on Twitter ©Maynooth University Library

Library Event Notification on Facebook ©Maynooth University Library

Advertising our Information Literacy classes on Instagram © Maynooth University

Our focus on Snapchat is on student life. I created short (the appeal of Snapchat is brevity) demo pictures and videos of all aspects of the library – such as how to access the Library or borrow books. I posted these on a phased basis over the first few weeks of semester 1. I was told that unusual angles are a feature of Snaps. Below is an example of such an image.

An instructional Snap ©Edel King

I began to look around for new content. Some days it was easy – perhaps there was an event happening in the Library. Often, questions were repeated e.g. “Where's the stapler?” so I would do a Snap answering the question (at the end of the information desk, just FYI!). News we wanted to impart to students, e.g. closures, also became Snaps.

Opening hours for a new Semester © Edel King

One issue I was concerned with was how often to post. It’s a fine line between being engaging and annoying. I discovered that with Snapchat continuous posting is key. On an uneventful day, I might only post once but often it’s more frequently.
A colleague came up with the idea to advertise our DVD collection with a feature called "Movie Monday". Every Monday we highlight a DVD from our collection. As a film fan, I am enjoying finding a suitable DVD and Snapping it with a fun caption.

Advertising Movie Monday ©20th Century Fox

I have run two successful campaigns on Snapchat. One was to attract more followers. Students added the library Snapchat account using a code and new followers were entered into a draw for €20 credit on their MyCard. The second competition was for existing followers, asking them to take a “shelfie” (a picture of their bookshelf), which they posted to Snapchat. The winner received a coffee shop voucher.

Limitations of Snapchat 
A limiting feature of Snapchat is that you cannot see engagement with the Snaps. Followers can’t “Like” or “Share”, and I can’t see if followers even look at a Snap. I send out Snaps, hoping that they reach their audience and are appreciated.

I have asked for feedback and have received a good reaction, with sample responses below.

They always post helpful tips, reminders, events and important info. I love when they share pictures of the different films they have available. 

Eimear, 2nd year 

It really helps me to know what events are going on in the library and helps me to find my way around. 

Ellen, Final year 

Conclusion 
Since September of last year, followers have increased from 94 to 346 (as of 09/05). There is always a large spike in followers during a campaign but there is a steady stream at all other times.

The increase in our followers since September 2017

I have really enjoyed learning about Snapchat and I feel it is a useful social media tool for the Library.

References 
• Webwise. 2018. Explainer: What is Snapchat?. [Accessed 8 May 2018].

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