About us

Saxion Library serves as the central gateway to knowledge for education, research, and the organization of Saxion University of Applied Sciences. With a team of over 25 employees, we form a “safe haven” where students, lecturers, researchers, professors, and other staff members can turn for support with the entire process of information and content management.

Saxion Library is a network organization closely connected to academies and services within Saxion, but also actively participates externally in national knowledge networks such as the Samenwerkingsverband Hogeschool Bibliotheken (SHB) and DCC-PO. In daily practice, the team is visible and personally approachable at the various Saxion locations and online.

Policy and Strategic Goals

The library’s direction is set out in the Annual Plan 2026-2030 (Want to know more? Email us: libraryservices@saxion.nl), titled “Content with Content”. The policy is based on five core values: collaborative, personal, flexible, people-oriented, and fairness.

The key strategic goals for the coming years are:

  • Promoting Student Success and Well-being: Providing an inspiring and safe study environment (both physical and digital) and supporting students with their information literacy skills.
  • Supporting Research: Active involvement in every research project, with a specific focus on Research Data Management (RDM), Open Science, and meeting funding requirements.
  • Open Education and Open Science: Encouraging the (re)use of digital open learning materials and the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) publication of research output.
  • Efficient Content Management: Responsibly managing and archiving the organization’s (retention-required) content to comply with laws and regulations.

Tasks and Services

The library’s tasks are organized around the so-called content cycle: searching, finding, selecting, (re)using, creating, storing, sharing, publishing, and archiving information.

Specific tasks include, among others:

  • Educational support: Providing (guest) lectures on information literacy and copyright, and offering an optimal mix of physical and digital collections.
  • Research support: Advising on Data Management Plans (DMP), support with systematic reviews, and assistance with publishing in Open Access.
  • Archiving and Documentary Information Provision: Managing the administrative archive and advising on metadata and retention periods via Saxion Content Services.
  • Study and workspaces: Managing various types of workspaces, from quiet rooms to group rooms for brainstorming and project work.