'Library on demand'..../
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That makes sense! 
If the libraries could offer much services for those communities you mention, it would be easier for them to feel integrated. I think that through their services libraries could support the sense of belonging that we all need for social groups, which don't have other ways to get it.
I just realized that since I joined this discussion I feel the cause of the public libraries much closer to me as a psychologist and as a human
It's nice to hear that:)))
Thanks Milena for your point! Yes, public library is not just about resourses, it is a place for people to meet - the most open, free from any prejudice, safe, etc...
Americans promote their libraries as 'community centers' since the Carnegie times, when this great man made a deal with the american society that he would support building of a network of public libraries if the local communities agree to provide the lands and cover the yearly expences... So smart, ah? I think that since that time the average american libraries are community matters and real community centers. The American library assosiation encourage that through its' strong diversity policy especialy regarding multiculturality and community building.
I see that as a trend in Europe, too but honestly - there is lot more to do:)
And you are right - we all need a sence of belonging and it's worthy to think why not library of the future to identify this niche as its' priority. Especially for the groups we mentioned before, linked to the intensive migration and the global mobility...
Yes! Exactly! It's good to find people who think in the same direction, because it's not always like that in my country 
I think that public libraries must be community centers, I don't imagine their development in different direction. We can think of many services that the library can provide for these groups - social and practical support in their integration, communications and social life, entertainment, information, language courses if needed, etc. I think that public libraries should make a global assessment of the marginalized group's needs in their communities and develop a global strategy on the basis of the results. Do you know many libraries in Europe who have that policy?
There are many libraries which have developed that as a conscious policy, like those in the UK and in the Scandinavian countries, where public libraries' policy reflects closely their cities' agendas, e.g. - dealing with the issues of the migration from the developing world. Libraries do that through the creation of demand-oriented products which are supposed to cover the immigrants' needs and to fasten and maximize their integration. In practice all that products and services work also for the immigrants' community and social capital development.
Community building strategies have to do also with the development of the civil society, participation and direct democracy. This is what Global Libraries-Bulgaria aimes through their strategic plan for transforming of their learning centers, which serve at that moment the library community, into citizens' learning centers. That means libraries will be doing exactly what you suggest - assesment of the local needs and development of relevant collections and services in order to produce more informed, more self confident, more coherent and more 'included' groups...
Naturally, such groups are more likely to be active, to take part in local initiatives, to launch campaigns and petitions for the benefit of their communities....
Laura, I like very much your point about the responsibility of public libraries for social development. It is not just about immigrants, but it is also about elderly, disabled, unemployed, low educated people etc. I think libraries in Europe must be more active to offer such groups diverse services and places to meet. I think information literacy is not enough. We are living in hard times like Laura said and people need guidance and support how to look for jobs, how to prepare their papers, etc. I think each library is responsible to do that now, but I don’t see many libraries in Belgium which are doing that.
Social development means also social cohesion. At the same time libraries in Belgium are divided many times into libraries for Flemish speaking communities and others for the French speaking community. How can they contribute to the social cohesion this way?
I suppose that is because they are funded by those communities but anyway it is not the way they must be.
Responsibility for the social development - I like that point, too.
By the way, have you heard about the public discussions about the crisis in the libraries? Don’t you think that libraries can contribute to the public awareness of the deep reasons of the crisis and the necessity of the social change?
Hi guys! Sorry for not replying for so long. Life's too busy...)
I like all your comments about libraries' responsibility for the social development... We all forgot the distant communities, but I know someone who can introduce this aspect:)) Jennifer, that's for you:))
Anne-Mary, it's so pitty what you mention about the libraries in Belgium! I don't know what to say...
Penny, thanks a lot for raising the questions about libraries as 'agoras' through their ability to facilitate public debates and this way to support the civil society development and direct participation.
No, I have not heard about public libraries holding discussions about the crisis, but it seems a great idea... As far as I am aware of the libraries styles in Europe I would suppose that there are libraries in the north countries which are doing that. I bet Goteborg City library can't miss such a discussion:)
Libraries as neutral and independent are the best public places for that idea, becuase at the end of the day we all need to step forward more knowledgeable, wiser and changed...
And yes, next libraries as agoras of the direct democracy - that's something!
I am curious - why exactly Goteborg library?
Laura, I am so glad that you are starting the community centres project in Mexico! I am dealing with that subject recently and I see a great potential in that in the context of the global migration, the crisis and unemployment, poverty, the inrcrease of school drops, the digital devide, etc. By the way, it has been explored in several countries like UK, Canada, US, Denmark.. The last developments are in Denmark where such centres are in a process of opening in 20 disatvantaged areas up to 2012.
They are complex places arranged right in the centeres of the deprived communities where people go on a daily bases and they offer all kinds of library services, advanced technologies, learning facilities and municipality information in regard to citizenship, laws, integration, housing, social care, job market, taxes, etc. In Denmark they serve mainly the immigrant communities, but of course in Mexico they could face your local problems...
Then, Surveys in Denmark show that community centres diminish the negative social inheritance and provide better life chances to children, youth and families concerned... Please, continue providing information about this poroject in Mexico.
I believe this 'joint venture' libraries-community centres are perfect examples of a new type of demand driven entities...
Libraries as Agoras! Sounds impressive!
We like to talk about direct democracy but we never think how exactly it may happen
Libraries are the best places for that purpose because they combine delivery of information for the citizens who want to vote and nice amenities for them to get together and discuss important things for their communities. As far as I remember it was one of their main functions in the Antiquity.
Great idea!
Hi guys! Look at what we just got from the Next library crew/ the discussion second post/:
' What amazing discussions and creative ideas!
The outlook for the conference is promising!
We have decided to open new topics inspired by some great inputs of yours.
The topics are:
Capacity for Change
Library on Demand – Meeting User Needs
Libraries, Community Building and Libraries for Social Development
Please keep on sharing the ideas. You can also open new topics if you want to introduce new ideas".
I am citing it in case some of you miss it:))
Good job, isn't it!
Please, continue posting!
We have directed each topic to a new sub-forum Please check the "Co-create Next Library" main link
It should make it easier to discuss the specific topic
/ Jacob
Cheers, but don't forget libraries as creative industries !
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Thank you, Rumyana!
Cheers and keep walking :-)
Good luck to all of you!
Hi! May I switch the discussion towards 'libraries to create new demands"
Is that make sence to you guys?
P.S. What would Mr. Maslow say:)))
Hi! Isn't it libraries social responsibility also to bridge people and the most advanced technologies through their education activities?
Libraries can create new demands or they can support the demands created by the contemporary society. For example, what about the craving for social networks? Public libraries and community centers are actually social networks. We can see that there are new needs emerging from the socio-technological development of the world. Nowadays leaving someone out of permanent communication with the world is a transgression of human rights. Social networks are becoming a genuine necessity. From psychological view this process happens because we all need to find a balance between our busy schedule and our social drives. And a way to combine the material with the spiritual, which is one of the basic challenges of our times.
Public libraries are supposed to answer these demands, too. And why not also create new specific demands Smile
Maslow would be amazed by the high level of our self-functioning if we are able to create new needs According to his theory only ones who have satisfied all their basic needs can undertake "self-actualization". I am not so sure about that
I like the discussions that are happening here. This is my first post, and I just have to say that the *very reason* I became a librarian is that I felt so passionately about the power of information to empower and transform individuals. That any individual could theoretically be able to walk into a library and gain knowledge, improve their life. With the Maslow hierarchy - yes there are individuals that have very basic needs and I see the library as place as somewhere that a person can enter and have some relief from bad weather if they have no other place to go. Or, if they need skills-building for finding a job - the library can be the place. Or, to research their rights as a citizen (speaking as an American librarian who has come across many individuals over the years researching the constitution, and the legal system, etc.). Or to learn how to build a structure. Or to research how to go back to school, continue education. Or get lost in a novel. Or to develop ideas and thoughts and data to turn a far-off dream into a reality.
I am a university librarian and I teach information literacy to mainly college students and teachers throughout our state. Libraries are important places in the rural areas of our state, but I myself live in a city and I am on a university campus, teaching research skills to the students I meet. I strive to convey the enthusiasm I feel about how libraries can be transformative places. I'm not sure that I do a very good job of it!
--and sorry, I am not sure that I stayed on topic, about libraries "creating new demands"... I guess if we can market ourselves and let people know that we are there for personal development (capital P and D) that we stand for the enrichment of lives, that is important. However, that dynamic would be quite different depending on the socio-political atmosphere in which the library is serving. Hope that makes sense...
It is nice to meet you here Jennifer!
Sorry, just a quick note, because I need to leave:))
I think your information literacy project for isolated disatvantaged communities in Alaska is a perfect example of 'libraries creating new demands':)))
It will be interesting to hear about it, I am sure!
I will come back to all the new topics later today:)) I hope:))
Hi guys! I must admit I am a bit confused to fragment our lovely discussion/ I see it as one/ but let's try:) What I am going to do is to post here and there:) Here I will post on more general thoughts; there - on the 'new topics':))
Rumyana, I share your opinion. All of these topics seem to be so closely related that it's difficult for me to separate them - the creation of new demands and the capacities for change are part of the idea of the libraries as a source for social development. I would really like to continue this discussion as it is.
Jennifer, I strongly believe that libraries have the capacity of being transformative places and they can do it better than the digital world concentrated on the computer. The unique in the library is the social aspect. All the information in the world, designed in the best modern way, or presented by the most powerful multimedia tools cannot replace the value of a socially developed and people-focused library. I think that there should be more people like you that promote libraries. I don't like advertisement, but maybe we need to find ways to inform more people about the advantages and possibilities of today's libraries.
Milena, you took part last year in an information literacy project for youth raised in social institutions. It's par excellence a library project for social development. May be you could share information about the outcomes and the folow ups of that project....
Libraries as transformative places. What a great idea for a new topic! Thank you Jennifer for the way you talk about libraries!
I believe all of us who are busy with the library matters or are just passionate about them owe a lot to some libraries in our lives and to some people who brought us there for the first time... Then, we have seen libraries opening new horizons and changing people's lives...
Let's talk about that. Milena I just saw your post and I like your passion, too! And yes, we need to talk much more how to market our libraries as 'people's places'... It could be an interdisciplinary discussion with some sociology, social development, cultural science, psychology and all the other human sciences included...
I should say that members of our community are initiators of some innovative projects for a Library transforming a library work into a smooth-running operation by totally redesigning the layout.
Some of them are the following ones:
SElf-TEaching Other Languages (SETEOLA) is the project initiated in 2010 as a joint venture of Vinnytsia Regional Research Library, National Medical University and Institute of Trade and Economy (Vinnytsia, Ukraine). The main goal of the project is to assist self-teaching other languages and create a model of it up to the 21st century. This unites under its common umbrella the site EUROSETEOLA.ORG, the blog SETEOLA.WORDPRESS.COM, the Facebook Group SETEOLA-WORLD, the Facebook Page CAMBRIDGE-SETEOLA, the Facebook Page SETEOLA.
- two-books.net – the main idea of this project is that to make a list of the best world books. Every user specifies his two most favorite books. In such a way the list of the best books is formed.
Libraries and self-teaching/ self-developing!
Yulia, I ilke your point and I think it fits very well to today's people - busy, active, flexible, independent, etc. Focus on more materials for self-teaching and self-developing in the public libraries looks like a very relevant idea. This way parts of the libraries will really turn to laboratories for creation of personal knowledge and will welcome the crucial need for individual life long learning. What is more - through good knowledge management libraries can facilitate individuals' efforts and will influence the culture of self development...
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