Coordination (OMC) Group of experts working on the multiple roles of libraries in EU Member States. The Group, which include experts from almost all countries within the European Union, discussed the report which they will present in mid-2025. This report will provide recommendations and guidance on how libraries can be supported as gateways to and transmitters of cultural works, skills and European values. During the visit, the guests toured the National Library’s reading rooms and visited the new permanent exhibition at the Palace of the Commonwealth.

The OMC Group of experts on “Building bridges: strengthen the multiple roles of libraries as gateways to and transmitters of cultural works, skills and European values” was set up by the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Council of the European Union in October 2023 under the EU Work Plan for Culture Plan 2023-2026. The OMC Group’s work is overseen by representatives of the European Commission. The Group is composed of experts – representatives of Ministries of Culture, librarians and representatives of national library associations – from EU Member States. One of Poland’s representatives is Julia Konopka-Żołnierczuk, Deputy Director of the National Library. The first meeting of the OMC Group took place in Brussels on February 13-14, 2024. The full text of the OMC Group’s mandate is available in English here.

The Open Method of Coordination is a form of intergovernmental policymaking in the European Union. The purpose of the work of the OMC Group is to enable exchange of experience between experts in the fields concerned, joint definition and identification of objectives for action, and joint development of recommendations. The results and findings of the OMC Group do not have the status of binding legislative measures within the EU, but they make a significant contribution to enabling the support of the groups and initiatives concerned at European Union and Member State level.