Advancing community-led scholarly publishing together: Highlights from LIBER 2026

Earlier this month, the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH) joined the LIBER 2026 conference in Trondheim, Norway, bringing together research library professionals, publishers, infrastructure providers and researchers from across Europe to discuss how libraries can navigate the challenges facing scholarly communication today.

LIBER 2026 provided a valuable opportunity to share updates on the EDCH’s work supporting Diamond Open Access (OA), while also exploring the priorities and challenges of the research library community. These conversations highlighted the importance of working together and not in silos to build a more open, transparent and sustainable scholarly publishing ecosystem.

Key themes that emerged

Across presentations, workshops and discussions throughout the conference, several themes strongly connected with the EDCH’s mission and ongoing work.

Libraries shaping the future of scholarly communication

A recurring theme throughout LIBER 2026 was the evolving role of libraries in supporting open and equitable scholarly communication in uncertain times and the need for community-led alternative models.

The traditional library roles are expanding as they increasingly contribute to publishing, infrastructure development and the creation of sustainable models for scholarly communication. Their expertise, institutional knowledge and close connection with research communities make them essential partners in strengthening Diamond OA.

The EDCH recognises the important role libraries play in shaping the future of Diamond OA infrastructure. By working closely with libraries and other stakeholders, we aim to develop services and approaches that reflect the needs and realities of communities across Europe.

These discussions were particularly relevant during our presentation “Shaping Sustainable Scholarly Publishing through the European Diamond Capacity Hub and National Capacity Centres”, where our co-coordinator, Pierre Mounier, presented how the EDCH and our network of National Capacity Centres support collaboration, knowledge exchange and capacity-building for Diamond OA communities.

The presentation slides are available here: https://zenodo.org/records/21479714 

Building sustainable services for the Diamond OA community

LIBER 2026 also provided an opportunity to discuss how EDCH services can support organisations working across different publishing contexts and disciplines.

Through services such as the EDCH Registry and the Diamond Discovery Hub, the Hub is helping improve the visibility of Diamond OA initiatives while providing opportunities for knowledge exchange, coordination and collaboration across the community.

Conference attendees also had the opportunity to explore the EDCH services through our conference poster outlining how we  support the European Diamond OA ecosystem. The poster is available here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21242774 

The next phase of this work will also be supported by the AEGIS-OA project, which will further strengthen the European Diamond OA ecosystem through upgrading and expanding practical tools and services for community-led publishing.

Building on the foundations established through past projects such as DIAMAS, CRAFT-OA, the EDCH and AEGIS-OA will help OA journal and book publishers, organisations and institutions streamline and professionalise their Diamond OA publishing practices and contribute to a more sustainable and diverse scholarly communication landscape.

Five key messages from LIBER 2026

EDCH’s participation at LIBER 2026 highlighted five key takeaway messages:

• Diamond OA continues to grow
  Across Europe, more communities are recognising the importance of sustainable and equitable publishing models that keep scholarly communication connected to the communities that create it.
• Collaboration is essential
  The future of Diamond OA depends on collaboration across different actors and stakeholders and the EDCH can serve as the central point for facilitating and supporting this effort. 
• Libraries are key partners
  With their expertise and long-standing commitment to open knowledge and open science, libraries have an important role in supporting and shaping sustainable publishing infrastructures.
• Community input is central to sustainable solutions
  Engaging with the people and organisations involved in Diamond OA is essential to ensuring that EDCH services respond to real needs and challenges.
• The Diamond OA ecosystem continues to evolve
  Through EDCH and the AEGIS-OA project, new opportunities are emerging to strengthen the tools, services and networks that support community-led publishing.

Looking ahead

Our participation at LIBER 2026 reinforced the importance of continuing to build scholarly publishing infrastructures together with the communities they serve.

The EDCH looks forward to strengthening collaboration with European research libraries and their networks, while continuing to expand services, tools and opportunities that support sustainable Diamond OA.

Together with the Diamond OA community and within AEGIS-OA, we will continue working towards a future where scholarly publishing is open, inclusive and community-led.