UVic Libraries and Global Partnerships

Kula researcher at Germany’s TIB Hannover

This spring/summer, a Kula: Library Futures Academy researcher took up a residency at the Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology (TIB) in Hannover, Germany. TIB is the world's largest library for science and technology, a member of Germany's national library system, and a leading European hub for open science research and infrastructure.

VPRI Aspiration 2030 & Kula Postdoctoral Fellow Nathaniel Brunt is an interdisciplinary scholar and award-winning documentary photographer. He won the prestigious 2026 Hannah Arendt Fellowship by the German state of Lower Saxony, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. Hosted by TIB's Open Science Lab (OSL), Nathaniel is expanding the SERSAL Project, an international initiative to digitally preserve the photographic and cultural heritage of Iraq's Yezidi (Êzîdî) people. His fellowship includes fieldwork with Yezidi communities in Lower Saxony, the region with the largest Yezidi diaspora in the world, as well as research on open and sustainable software solutions for safeguarding cultural heritage in the aftermath of conflict.

This partnership between UVic Libraries and TIB Hannover continues to grow, as a delegation of German library researchers and professionals led by Lambert Heller is also visiting UVic Libraries and UBC in September 2026 to continue the exchange.

UVic Libraries & the University of Leeds: a growing partnership

The partnership between UVic Libraries and the University of Leeds Library continues to deepen. In May 2026, Kula Director Matt Huculak and Masud Khokhar, Chief Digital and Information Officer at the University of Leeds, were invited to co-present at the inaugural session of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Futures Club — a new series launched as part of the IFLA and Institutions' centenary (2026–2027). Their conversation explored how libraries can actively shape resilient, adaptive, and equitable futures in a rapidly changing global information landscape.

The IFLA session builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2025 between UVic Libraries & Art Collections and the University of Leeds Library. The MOU provides a framework for collaboration over five years in areas including exchange of professional expertise, collaborative research, collection development, exhibitions, student engagement, and digital transformation. A delegation from UVic Libraries, including Nathaniel Brunt, visited Leeds this July to further activate the partnership.