The European Parliament's Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (DG EPRS) is the in-house research centre and think tank of the EP. It provides research, analysis and information, on an independent basis, to Members of the European Parliament and parliamentary committees on all EU policies, legislation and issues. Usually known as the European Parliamentary Research Service, it comprises four directorates: the Members' Research Service, the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value, the Directorate for the Library and Knowledge Services, and the Directorate for Resources.
In addition, there are four horizontal units within the Directorate-General's central services: the Strategy and Innovation Unit, the Publications Management and Editorial Unit, the Strategic Foresight and Capabilities Unit and the Linking the Levels Unit. The Directorate-General comprises a total of 24 units and three services and more than 300 staff. 'Empowering through knowledge' is the guiding principle of EPRS, underpinning the mission of the entire DG.
In concrete terms, between 2014 and December 2022, EPRS:
- Answered over 24,000 requests for substantive research and analysis, including from 90 per cent of current Members of the European Parliament;
- Replied to over 3,700 such requests from other parliamentary clients;
- Undertook targeted research work for 20 parliamentary committees;
- Treated about 155,000 reference requests from within the Parliament and over 480,000 citizens' enquiries;
- Produced over 9,800 publications, most recently at a rate of 800-900 physical publications and around 150 digital-only texts annually.
A video about EPRS is available here.
A video specifically on EPRS publications is available here.
We are a team of around 12 library professionals, managing the Brussels Reading Room of the Library of the European Parliament. Our collection focuses on European policies, law, international relations and politics. Apart from the books, there is a growing number of e-books (now more than 150 000) and online databases, media sources and specialised e-journals.
We operate a front desk, replying to some 20 000 reference requests per year and we organise classroom or individual training sessions for our clients, e.g. in the use of databases. Regularly, the Library's reading room is the venue for events with an academic character, organised by the European Parliamentary Research Service or by Members.
Your tasks
Depending on your background and interests, you could participate in a variety of library tasks:
- Catalogue maintenance;
- Collection management, including electronic resources;
- Assistance with events held in the Library;
- Assistance in the management of the Reading Room or assistance with enquiries at the front desk.
You are
- You have a strong interest in libraries and you are aware of the information needs of researchers;
- You should preferably have experience of working in a library and/or an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in librarianship or information science;
- You have a keen interest in ICT with the focus on the end user and have strong communication skills;
- You have a very good knowledge of English. At least a passive knowledge of other EU languages, especially French, is an advantage.