The Erasmus+ project EU-READ&ART aims at creating concrete networks at the local level between partners and libraries. From tiny public libraries to huge city institutions with multiple branches, libraries build community and support local culture in exciting ways.
Libraries are part of the fabric of a city, but they’re more than a physical place where books are collected. They are the castle where we keep our history and protect our past, a safe place for experimentation and exploration, an institution to help us learn and produce throughout our lives. Changing the way we think about the role of libraries as a place where communities are built and sustained takes us beyond books to all the other ways that libraries can connect us.
No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive
Mahatma Gandhi
The public library transcends national and cultural boundaries – no matter where you are in the world, they are an essential part of creating and maintaining an educated and literate population by providing free access to educational, news, and historical resources. Centers of learning and professional development, libraries can also be access point for a range of health and social services and cultural and recreational spaces to nourish community life.
One could argue if we still need libraries in the age of digital, real-time information, but going beyond being merely hubs of information, they stay relevant providing opportunities to take part in collective educational and cultural activities playing a vital role in today’s society by helping bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots, especially when it comes to literacy.
When was the last time you were in a library?
Author: Francesca Politi - JUMP Team