Public libraries as centres of European cities – are they also on the European agenda?

Public libraries, often referred to as third places, are lighthouses for education, exchange, inspiration and citizen engagement in European cities. However, they are rather invisible on the European agenda.

The action ‘Raise awareness for public libraries in Europe’ within the framework of the Urban Agenda for the EU, has set itself the task of creating a provable basis for this thesis and is intended to make public libraries more visible at European level. Its aim is to raise awareness among decision-makers, to recognise the importance of public libraries for Europe and to derive recommendations from this for the European level.

In this context, the Senate Department for Culture and Europe of the city of Berlin and the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA) are organising two online discussions on the topic in 2021 in cooperation with the city of Espoo, the German Library Association (dbv), the Finnish Library Association (Suomen Kirjastoseura) and the European organisation Public Libraries 2030.

The first online discussion will take place on 27th May 2021, 14.00-15.30 (CET).

Registration

A registration is required: anymeeting.com/PIID=E054DB80844E38

(The event will be recorded.)

Programme

Moderator: Hella Klauser (German Library Association, EBLIDA Executive Committee member)

I. Municipal libraries and Europe – opposites or harmony?

• Gerry Woop (Permanent Secretary for Europe at the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe)
• Ton van Vlimmeren (President of EBLIDA)

II. Where are you? Public libraries in European policies

Presentation of the results of research within the framework of the action

• Ilona Kish (Director of Public Libraries 2030)

III. Public Libraries on the European agenda!

How do we deal with the results of research, how do we use them, and what do we derive from them?

Participants of the panel discussion:

• Volker Heller (Director of the Central and Regional Library Berlin)
• Ton van Vlimmeren (President of EBLIDA)
• Ilona Kish (Director of Public Libraries 2030)
• Laura Colini (Tesserae Urban Social Research)

Moderator: Hella Klauser (German Library Association, EBLIDA Executive Committee member)

IV. Where do we go from here?

Summary and way forward

• Reiner Schmock-Bathe (Head of Unit for Public Libraries and European Cultural Affairs at the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe)

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