In the fall of 2019, I received the ARIAH-RIHA Professional Exchange Fellowship, which gave me the opportunity to spend time in New York City, working on a project that aligned with my research and practice interest in emergency preparedness. The Frick Art Reference Library hosted me for three weeks, during which I could apply some of my theoretical knowledge and gain practical experience, while contributing to their preparedness by assessing risks related to an impending move of the collection. Working on prevention and preparedness in my own institution at the time, I wanted to get a sense of the steps that another library, similar in size and scope, was taking to ensure the integrity of its holdings in preparation of such a complex activity as a relocation of the entire collection.

Gustavo Grandal Montero (ALJ): The three of you founded Fehras Publishing Practices in 2015 in Berlin and since then have been working together in a series of long-term art projects focused on archives and publishing. Collectives, collaboration and networks are central to your practice, how much is this connected to an expanded understanding of publishing as a quintessentially collaborative cultural activity?

How can European library staff working in digital humanities connect with peers in the library sector, determine where to find relevant information about digital scholarship, provide their collections as data and to be an equal partner in digital humanities research? The LIBER Digital Humanities Working Group was created as a participatory knowledge network in 2017 to address these questions. Through a series of workshops, knowledge sharing activities, and a Europe-wide survey and resulting report, the Working Group engaged with the international LIBER DH community. Useful reflections are provided on organising an open, voluntary DH community and planning for inclusive activities that benefit digital scholarship in European research libraries.

Like most librarians, when I have a research question, I go to the databases to search the literature for comparable questions and possible solutions. The onslaught of COVID-19 and its impact on libraries (let alone every other aspect of life) has thrown librarians for a loop and disrupted all our standard modes of enquiry. In a matter of days in the spring of 2020, librarians went from business as usual to locking the doors behind us and trying to figure out how to run a Zoom research support session from the dining room table.