The Conference of European National Librarians (CENL) is a network consisting of 46 national libraries across 45 European countries. Its members are the directors of the national libraries from the member states of the Council of Europe. Since its founding in 1987, CENL has been dedicated to promoting the role of Europe’s national libraries, ensuring the preservation of the continent’s cultural heritage and making it accessible to all. CENL’s mission is to strengthen collaboration among Europe’s national libraries, allowing them to achieve more together than they could individually.

For those interested in CENL’s early years (1987–1993), the article “Europe’s National Libraries – The Memory of the Continent” by Renate Gömpel (German National Library) offers valuable insights. It focuses on the period of change in Central and Eastern Europe, the East-West dialogue, and the development of cooperation between European national libraries. The article is based largely on unpublished documents from the archives of the German National Library. It was first published in German. Renate Gömpel, as the Personal Assistant to former Director General Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, was responsible for the CENL Secretariat during his term and has worked at the German National Library since 1982. She currently serves as Director of the Department of Use and Preservation.