Citizen Science Hub: A Bridge Between Science and Society

Over the last few decades, citizen science, when members of the public actively participate in research by contributing to data collection, analysis, idea generation or other stages of research process, has become an important component of research. Citizen science initiatives help to create a closer link between science and society by encouraging broader participation and increasing public understanding of scientific processes and results. Citizen science is one of the strategic priorities of Kaunas University of Technology, aiming at the use and dissemination of scientific knowledge in society. Several projects promoting citizen science initiatives have been implemented at the University. One of such projects implemented by the Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities was TIME4CS (2021-2023), under which the university established a virtual Citizen Science Hub and institutional contact point for citizen science, as well as developed guidelines for initiation and implementation of citizen science projects. Another project related to citizen science, LibOCS (2022-2024), was implemented by the University Library. This project aimed to remove barriers to citizen science, develop librarians' competences in citizen science, and act as an intermediary between scientists and society. During the LibOCS project, the library entered into a dialogue with university leaders, research administrators and researchers on the priorities for a citizen science hub based on the BESPOC model (Ignat et al., 2024). The BESPOC model proposes a new approach to citizen science, comprising nine strategic modules. Together, these modules strengthen the operational and strategic integration of citizen science activities in academic libraries, thus giving them an important role in knowledge exchange between academia and society. During the discussions, the elements of the BESPOC model that the university decided to prioritise, were discussed: Activities Portal, Gateway to Society, Specific Citizen Science Communication, and Community Builder. This poster presents the library partnerships in the frame of the Next Generation EU project "Development of Citizen Science Activities at Kaunas University of Technology". The project develops the activities of the Citizen Science Hub, which was established in the previous projects, in order to increase the involvement of Kaunas University of Technology community in citizen science projects and to promote the involvement and participation of members of the society in scientific research and encourage cooperation between scientists and society in solving social challenges. The Citizen Science Hub plays an important role in creating sustainable interaction between science and society. The Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities and the University Library joined forces to develop the activities of the Citizen Science Hub. The Hub is located in the Library, as the Library connects the research communities of all faculties, provides support and advice to all researchers, and can effectively take over the functions of a citizen science contact point. By connecting researchers with citizen scientists, the library acts as an intellectual hub where scientific knowledge can be accessed and scientific activities can be engaged in. Ignat, T. et al. (2024). Implementing BESPOC For Citizen Science Central Services in the Baltic Region. LIBER 2024, Limassol, 3-5 July. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12704512