ABSTRACT
Cultural Information and Research Centres Liaison in Europe (CIRCLE), is the oldest network of institutions and individuals working in cultural policy research, information, and documentation. CIRCLE illustrates well the tension between researchers, documentation specialists, and administrators, as well as the tension between the nonprofit side of the research infrastructure, the governmental side of the research infrastructure, and the growing profit-making side of the research infrastructure. CIRCLE's central method of working has been focused around its roundtables. It is clear that whatever happens, CIRCLE cannot continue to function drawing on the volunteer labor of its members. CIRCLE has also made a major contribution with respect to the Council of Europe's Program of Evaluations of National Cultural Policies. CIRCLE has had a tremendous impact on the field of cultural policy research and on the international exchange of information in that field.
