The LIBER Citizen Science Working Group has been established in 2019 after it has been carefully considered by the LIBER Board. LIBER is the European Association of Research Libraries and for over 50 years is leading the way for research libraries in Europe and beyond. Citizen Science represents the complex approach of performing scientific activities by including the lay citizens. It increases the scale, time frame, diversity, inclusivity and geographical penetration of the research endeavour. This approach is not only helping scientists to collect more data but it also contributes significantly to increase the science literacy in the society. Chaired by Dr Paul Ayris, the Pro Vice Provost of UCL and the former president of LIBER, the Citizen Science Working Group has been set to support the European research libraries in their overall transformation toward Open Science. Citizen science is an important pillar of Open Science, as defined by the EU’s Open Science Policy Platform. It proved to be an effective way for research organisations to engage with the broader public and to promote the scientific method in the knowledge societies. Our working group has given two representatives to the recent LIBER Knowledge Cafe at the 50th LIBER Annual Conference which is the regular workshop that defines the LIBER strategy. It shows the importance that Citizen Science plays in the overall process of designing new roles for libraries. A specific conversation is carried now in Europe about the common work that could be done by research and public libraries in the area of citizen science. This presentation will discuss the results of the working group, the strategy that has been employed to support the research libraries in their citizen science advocacy and programmes and the opportunity for international projects that exist in this area. The presentation will be delivered by Dr Paul Ayirs, the chair of the group, Vasso Kalaitzi the Strategic Direction Leader for ‘Projects’ and by Dr Tiberius Ignat, the Strategic Director Leader for ‘Partnerships’.

Keywords: Citizen science, EU’s Open Science Policy Platform.