Security Working Group

The CERL Security Working group exists to help member libraries enhance the security of their culturally important heritage collections.

The Security Network organises summer schools on Security issues. Curators and security officers from libraries and archives are invited to spend a few days at a course where we aim to share knowledge on topics like collection security, reading the behaviour of your readers, legal aspects, national and international collaboration, what to do after a theft, embedding security in the wider organisation, and digital security.

The summer school is always organised in a different part of Europe. The first summer school, in 2017, was held at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the National Library of the Netherlands, the 2018 and 2019 summerschools in Rome and Tartu, respectively. The 2020 edition will be hosted by the ÖNB in Vienna. If you wish to host the summer school, please contact Marian Lefferts.


Hosts of each summer school address the issues above, but will tailor the programme to the situation in their own region, and will select the most suitable speakers to address the topics on the programme. The hope is that the summer schools will create a network of security officers and curators who work together on best practices, who alert each other to potential thieves or stolen books on the market, and who generally support each other in security matters.

• 2017 The Hague, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the National Library of the Netherlands
  
• 2018 Rome, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale
• 2019 Tartu, University of Tartu Library
• 2020 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

• To coordinate information about on-going security issues of relevance for collections within the scope of CERL, through the CERL Security Network and through other appropriate channels
• To monitor and disseminate information on emerging methods and technologies in library crime prevention and detection
• To identify emerging areas of vulnerability or concern
• To coordinate access to important documents on legislation, policy and practice relating to collection security
• To provide guidance on building robust collection security policy and practice relating to threats to collections
• To organise events for information exchange, as well as skills development
• To serve as an interface with security networks in related sectors

The CERL Working Group on security focuses on threats posed to collections by criminal activity, such as theft, willful destruction, or by the adulteration of collection. Other physical threats to collections, such as fire, earthquakes, terrorism or flooding are only within the group’s remit in so far as they have an impact on the collections’ vulnerability to criminal depredation.

Membership of the Working Group is restricted to CERL members, on nomination by the member library, but the Security Working Group conferences and workshops are normally open to all.

Chairman: Jacqueline Lambert, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België – Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, Brussels
Núria Altarriba , Biblioteca de Catalunya, Spain
Greger Bergvall, Kungliga Biblioteket, Sweden
László Boka, National Széchényi Library of Hungary, Budapest
Anne Pasquignon, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Andrea Cappa, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma (BNCR) and Flavia Bruni, Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle biblioteche italiane e per le informazioni bibliografiche (ICCU)
Per Cullhed, Uppsala University Library, Uppsala
Adrian Edwards, British Library, London
Claudia Fabian and Wolfgang-Valentin Ikas , Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, München
Claus Friis and Anna Magdalena Lindskog Midtgaard, Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Copenhagen
Nina Korbu, National Library of Norway, Oslo
Eva Nylander, University Library, Lund - on behalf of the CERL Swedish group members
Brian O'Donnell, National Library of Ireland, Dublin
Wim Tromp and Foekje Boersma, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague

Institutions may nominate one member of staff (typically the Head of Security or equivalent) to be included in the Security Network mailing list. This mailing list is a secure environment for the exchange of confidential information regarding incidents of criminal activity witnessed in subscribing institutions.

With the support of the LIBER Executive Board, the Royal Library, Copenhagen, set up the LIBER Security Network in December 2002. From January 2013 the Security Network is hosted by CERL.

The Quick Audit Tool (QAT) (2nd edition - November 2019) aims to raise awareness of a speedy way for any library/archive to see how their collection security policies and procedures compare against a baseline set by CERL institutions, both big and small, represented in the Security Working Group. Furthermore it provides guidelines and useful tips.

Two formats are available: to be printed as a booklet or to be consulted on screen. This Excel sheet helps you to record your responses to the questions.

Two supporting tools related to the QAT (see pp. 6-7 of the QAT) are under development. For this we will need the help of all the Network. We would like you to send us a maximum of examples (forms, check-lists, procedures, etc.) and experiences related to important points of attention that security policies require to ensure the fight against theft and vandalism (more details in the booklet). Please send to jacqueline.lambert@kbr.be.

A conference on Library security management was held under the auspices of LIBER in the Royal Library, Copenhagen, in May 2002, which formulated and endorsed The Copenhagen Principles (14 May 2002 / see below).