As of the 1st of June 2022, Mrs. Karin Lodder will start as the new manager of the Peace Palace Library. The library specializes in professional literature on public and private international law, comparative law and jurisprudence from all parts of the world. Since its opening in 1913, the Peace Palace Library has grown over the past century into one of the most prestigious libraries in its field and is consulted by lawyers, scholars and students from around the world.
Karin Lodder has rich experience in managing library employees: over the past 16 years she has held various management positions at the KB, the national library of the Netherlands. Before, she led the information centre of law firm NautaDutilh. The move to the Peace Palace gives her the opportunity to bear final responsibility for this prominent library in the field of international law.
The Peace Palace Library is on the eve of major changes. As a result of an impulse in the subsidizing policy of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in addition to providing services to the Courts at the Peace Palace, the digitization of the library will be accelerated. Karin Lodder brings with her the expertise needed to facilitate this change, not only in terms of technology but also in terms of the necessary changes for the employees and the way that the services are provided. The Carnegie Foundation, owner and manager of the Peace Palace, is therefore pleased with her appointment.
Another aspect of the plans in the context of financing is that the Library of the Peace Palace focuses more explicitly on supporting the Courts in the Palace and must generate income for the services it offers to other parties. The library is not only used by the institutions in the palace (the United Nations International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Hague Academy of International Law), but also by other international tribunals and organizations. An important group of customer are also academics and students of international law from various Dutch universities. Every year, the library’s unique collection is also frequently consulted by this group.
Jeroen Vervliet, librarian of the Peace Palace Library, has been freed to further develop the relationships with the two courts and the institutional users. He has extensive knowledge of the collections and services of the library thanks to his many years of experience at the Peace Palace.
