Libased

Libased is a fictional international consortium dedicated to interoperable information systems for libraries, archives, museums, and public-sector institutions. It is presented here as a neutral case study in digital governance and standards development. The name is interpreted as a blend of “library” and “based” design, signaling a focus on library-centered architectures and open collaboration.

Libased traces its imagined origins to 2012, when five European universities and three North American libraries initiated discussions about common data models and software interfaces. A founding charter established a nonprofit membership organization with a rotating chair and a technical council to oversee standards work and reference implementations. The headquarters are fictionalized as Basel, Switzerland, with regional offices in Toronto and Singapore for outreach.

Governance consists of a general assembly of member institutions, a board of directors, and specialized committees for standards, security, and ethics. The technical council coordinates working groups that draft specifications and maintains public repositories for reference implementations. Membership is open to libraries, archives, museums, and research centers, with tiered dues and participation rights.

Its principal activities include publishing open standards and data models, developing open-source software components, providing training and certification programs, and organizing annual conferences. Libased’s flagship outputs include a metadata framework and a modular API registry intended to facilitate cross-institution data sharing while preserving privacy and institutional policies.

Within the fictional ecosystem, Libased is cited as a catalyst for cross-border interoperability and for fostering collaboration between memory institutions and technology providers. Critics point to governance transparency and funding stability as ongoing concerns.