23 February 2026
On Friday 30 January, the presentation of the book "Overview" about life and work of Socires-founder Jos van Gennip, followed by a signing session. "Stocking roots is important to cope with changes," he said during the introduction. He lives by himself; the presentation took place at the Van Gogh Village Museum in his old hometown Nuenen.
18 February 2026
On 13 February 2026, college Ronald van Steden, together with two other editors, published the book Impact with action research: a method in many disciplines. This book gives a clear overview of action research and manages to connect theory and practice perfectly.
18 February 2026
The political-social context in which the police operates is changing and this change requires a renewed positioning of the police to continue to operate serving society. In this short essay Cor van Beuningen describes what is going on and what the police are asking for.
18 February 2026
Not so long ago, one in 20 children needed some form of youth aid. Now one in seven children get professional help. With the legislative proposal Scope, missionary Secretary of State Thielen wants to reverse the huge increase in the use of light youth care (failure training, dyslexia care). Too expensive and not necessary. In addition to a law, this requires a cultural change. And that's not that simple.
30 January 2026
Libraries are essential meeting places in society. Their meeting and information function is important for villages and neighbourhoods. In difficult times, that may become much more important. This is what Hans-Dieter Hiep and colleague David Oldenhof argue today in the Volkskrant.
23 January 2026
19 January 2026
Since the late 1960s, the number of Dutch believers in God has fallen sharply. According to the Social and Cultural Planning Bureau, a majority claim to be agnostic or atheist. However, this does not mean that small and large life questions have become irrelevant. Libraries play a surprising role in conducting conversations about those questions.
14 January 2026
Food aid and food exports are increasingly used as instruments of geopolitical power struggle. In the latest edition of DEVISSUES, Oane Visser, Stefan Voicu and Paul Bosman show how the war in Ukraine marks a turning point. The combination of conflict, climate change, speculation and weakening international institutions creates instability, price increases and shifting power relations worldwide.
25 December 2025
17 December 2025
Organised on 9 December 2025 Socires a round table in the context of research into the societal significance of public libraries. The immediate reason was the publication of the magazine Windows on Connection. Participants of the meeting were library directors and staff, scientists, officials from different ministries, a chairman of a national school umbrella and representatives of the ecclesiastical diacony.