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MARIBORSKA DEKLARACIJA
“MARIBOR DECLARATION”
ON THE ROLE OF LIBRARIES IN EVALUATING AND ACCREDITING UNIVERSITIES
At the COBISS 2006 Conference, held in Maribor from 28 to 30 November 2006, participants
from the 12 countries who took part in the Round table, organised by the Danube Rectors’ Con-
ference and IZUM, devoted special attention to the position of libraries and library information
systems both in terms of the system layout and practice of evaluating and accrediting higher educa-
tion institutions.
The participants found that only in rare cases the contribution of libraries to a higher quality of
higher education has been adequately taken into account. But what is more worrying is that in nati-
onal standards and criteria for evaluation and accreditation libraries are not even mentioned, or are
mentioned only in passing. This relates to cases in which new higher education institutions have
been established and new programmes introduced, yet no library information support for them has
been provided. And this in particular needs to be pointed out to students, who in these conditions
will not be able to achieve success in their studies, and to financers investing in unproductive pro-
jects in the area of higher education.
Librarians and library IT professionals are making an appeal to the university managements and
governments of the region to accept it in their development strategies and policies as a proven
fact that the quality of higher education cannot exist without good library information systems.
We expect that within the national evaluation systems libraries will play a vital role in achieving a
competitive edge for higher education in the region within the common European higher education
environment. Library information systems ensure the transparency of research and pedagogical
results, which is required not only for an efficient exchange of students and teachers, but also for
entering into joint projects.
Adopted in Maribor, 30 November 2006.