Knowledge, Community, Sustainability: Professional Horizons for the Future of Libraries at the 57th Hungarian Librarians’ Itinerary Convention

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/FT.2026.007

Keywords

the future of libraries, digital transformation, community building, sustainability, social knowledge infrastructure, Hungarian Librarians’ Association, Katona József County Library

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide a professional analysis of the 57th Itinerary Conference of the Hungarian Librarians’ Association, held in Kecskemét (Katona József County Library), within the framework of the interrelationships between knowledge, community and sustainability. The study is based on a thematic analysis of the conference’s plenary, section and workshop programs, as well as an interpretive synthesis of the international literature on the social role of libraries. The results show that digital transformation, artificial intelligence, research data management and metadata standards bring about not only technological changes but also organisational and competency-related changes. At the same time, the role of libraries in community building, preserving cultural identity and supporting social participation is gaining prominence. The environmental, economic, social and organisational dimensions of sustainability emerge as mutually reinforcing factors. The study concludes that the library of the future will function as an adaptive social knowledge infrastructure that integrates the preservation of cultural memory, access to reliable information, competency development, community participation and sustainable development.

Author Biography

Erzsébet Dani, University of Debrecen; Katona József County Library, Hungary

Erzsébet Dani is an associate university professor at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, who teaches several courses in Library and Information Science, Culture and Literature. She graduated from Eszterházy Károly College, at Eötvös Lóránd University, and was awarded her PhD degree in Eötvös Loránd University Doctoral Program for Literature and Cultural Studies (2008). She got her habilitation degree (sociology, 2016) at the University of Debrecen. She is the Head of the Department of Library and Information Science and the Director of the Bács-Kiskun County Library. Her general research interests are reading research/digital reading narratives, dissemination of scientific results, cultural identity and institutional history in the Carpathian Basin. She has two scientific monographs and several published studies.

References

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Cox, A. M., & Pinfield, S. (2014). Research data management and libraries: Current activities and future priorities. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 46(4), 299–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000613492542

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2023). Powering Sustainable Development. IFLA.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, & UNESCO. (2022). IFLA–UNESCO Public Library Manifesto 2022. IFLA. https://repository.ifla.org/items/0cd26664-4908-464c-8ade-f355c555730e

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van Melik, R., & Merry, M. S. (2023). Retooling the public library as social infrastructure: A Dutch illustration. Social & Cultural Geography, 24(5), 758–777. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2021.1965195

Wilkinson, M. D., Dumontier, M., Aalbersberg, I. J., Appleton, G., Axton, M., Baak, A., Blomberg, N., Boiten, J.-W., da Silva Santos, L. B., Bourne, P. E., Bouwman, J., Brookes, A. J., Clark, T., Crosas, M., Dillo, I., Dumon, O., Edmunds, S., Evelo, C. T., Finkers, R., et al. (2016). The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship. Scientific Data, 3, Article 160018. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18

Folia Toruniensia

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Published

2026-11-06

How to Cite

Dani, E. (2026). Knowledge, Community, Sustainability: Professional Horizons for the Future of Libraries at the 57th Hungarian Librarians’ Itinerary Convention . Folia Toruniensia, 26, 149–161. https://doi.org/10.12775/FT.2026.007

Issue

Vol. 26 (2026)

Section

Reports

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