Public Libraries 2030 (PL2030) is a Brussels-based non-profit working to promote the relevance of public libraries to European decision-makers. We do this by lobbying for public libraries at EU level, working on innovative EU projects with libraries across Europe and connecting libraries with partners and funds. 

Our story

PL2030 grew out of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries programme, which ran from 1997 to 2018 and invested over $1 billion in public libraries across the world. In April 2018, a group of library leaders gathered together to create PL2030, an organisation which would work to promote the relevance of public libraries at the EU level, and highlight all that they do to promote a culture of participation and inclusion, and democratic life. In the last 5 years, our organisation has built a strong network of libraries across Europe and strategic relationships at the EU level. 

How do we do this? 

With over 65,000 public libraries in Europe, comprising over 150,000 employees and nearly 100,000 volunteers, the sector is diverse and complex - but fundamentally, libraries face similar challenges. We want to highlight these sectoral challenges to European leaders and collaborate with public libraries and librarians across Europe to address them.

A political debate before a municipal election at the DOKK1 Library in Aarhus, Denmark.

To achieve this, we’ve partnered in various innovative EU-funded projects focusing on digital competence development for librarians and citizen engagement. Within these projects, we are able to work with libraries directly and indirectly. One of these projects is the Erasmus+ project Future of Europe for Public Libraries (FEPL). Through PL2030’s network of ‘Lighthouse Libraries’, we gather library professionals from all over Europe to come together to work on EU advocacy issues surrounding democracy, sustainability and digital futures. Concretely, we organise in person meetings in Brussels, Ghent, Aarhus and Lisbon to discuss these policy areas. In addition to FEPL, we are partnering on several Erasmus+ projects such as the Advancing Digital Empowerment of Libraries in Europe (ADELE) and Resourcing Libraries to EU Resources (RL:EU). 

Group picture from the FEPL meeting on Digital Futures in De Krook, Ghent in March 2023.

Central to our mission is ensuring that European public libraries can connect with each other, learn and share best practices - as fundamentally, we believe that international cooperation and an understanding of national issues is vital to building a strong and resilient European library sector.

In August 2023, PL2030 hosted 27 librarians from Austria, Bulgaria, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, and Finland in Brussels for a Learning, Teaching, Training Week (LTTA) as part of the ADELE project. This is their visit to the local Sans Souci Bibliotheek in Brussels. Read more

Stay in touch

If you want to stay in touch or know more about our work, don’t hesitate to reach out (info@pl2030.eu), follow us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, or to sign up to our newsletter!